I'm so happy to hear that you are enjoying the story. I'll be uploading the next chapter in the next day or so. The story is complete in ten chapters. I hope you'll enjoy seeing how the mystery is solved.Thanks for reading and for taking the time to leave a comment.

.  PS.  Found the recipe and hubby and I have decided to try it on Valentines day, for our special meal, which we always cook together.  Best wishes.

I'm so glad you are enjoying. I loved writing Flitwick in this story. We don't know much about him from Canon, so I felt free to indulge myself with his character. Poor Snape ... lol  Things are going to get tense between him and Hermione for a bit.I hope to upload the next chapter by Monday.Thanks for reading and for taking the time to leave comments throughout. They are greatly appreciated.I hope your Valentine's dinner goes well. Please be sure to drop me a line and let me know how the veau Normande turned out. It sounds yummy!

I hope to upload the next chapter by Monday. They will all be diligently working to find a  cure.Thanks for reading and for taking the time to review.

As always, Julianna, your enthusiasm brightens my day. Thank you so much for your continued encouragement.

I'm glad you're liking it. I certainly had fun writing it. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to review.

Thanks so much!

Now, why didn't I think of that? Oh, well, a little suffering is good for the soul.Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment.

There are still a few obstacles to hurdle, but don't despair! I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reading.

I'm so happy to learn that people appreciate what I've done with Filius Flitwick. We don't know a lot about him from Canon, but he sure was fun to write in this story.I hope to upload the next chapter by Monday. Thanks for reading and for all your lovely comments throughout. They are appreciated.

Oh, I think its exciting to give characters we don't know much about in canon a good story.

I'll be looking out for the next chapter!

You deserve the comments. It's nice to know your work is being appreciated, and as someone who writes, I know it makes you feel good to see that even if one person reviews, you know your work is not going to waste.

Oh, you are so right about that! We pour our hearts and souls into our writing, don't we? It's very gratifying to know all that hard work is appreciated. I try to leave a comment on everything I read, even if it's just one line because I know how DIScouraging it is to see that story hit counter go up and not see comments posted. "Real Life" authors hear the 'ka-ching, ka-ching' of cash registers when their work is bought and appreciated. These few lines are all we have. I encourage all readers to leave a comment on the stories they read, mine or any one else's.I'll climb down off my soap box now!

Amen, my dear amen.

I loved writing Filius in this story. And I love writing Snape in all stories. The story is completely written with just four more chapters to post. I'm glad you're enjoying. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to post comments.

Because the story is all written, updates will be pretty quick. I hope to have chapter 7 in by Monday. Only 3 more after that.Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment.

Don't things usually get worse before they get better? Just remember that I'm a sucker for a happy ending!Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment.

And as always, I truly appreciate your lovely comments.I've already uploaded chapter 6, and hopefully, it will be validated soon.Thanks again.

I'm glad you like the writing. There will be some interaction between Hermione and Snape in a future chapter. I think it was important to show Snape's state of mind. He is having sexual thoughts about Hermione, but he feels they are inappropriate, so he tries to 'forget' her by thinking about someone else. It doesn't do him much good, however, as it is Hermione he 'sees' at the critical moment. I hope this explains things.Thanks for reading.

I'm not sure if you are objecting to the descriptions of the sex, or to the fact that he is with someone else. I'm tending to think that it's because he's described with someone else. There is a valid reason for this. He is starting to have sexual thoughts about Hermione, but he thinks they are inappropriate. So, he tries to fantasise about someone else. It doesn't do any good, however, as Hermione's face is the face he sees when he actually climaxes. So, yes, he's really thinking about Hermione, even though he doesn't want to. If you are objecting to the descriptions of the sex itself, I would say that the rating is a warning that there will be some explicit sex, though I really don't think this is very graphic.I hope this makes sense to you.Thanks for reading.

no i was at frist liking the fact he thought about other women but then i seen when he tries to picture the 2 others that hermione is there instead. when i was reviewing before i finshed i reread the part again and read between the lines to see that when tries to think the other 2 but only see hermione both times. sorry if i might have upseted you. just for the record am not a fan of hermione and severus stories that have them having detail sex scenes with others. some say am picky but hay we all have stories we like and don;t like. hope some lemons fall of the tree soon between them in real life and not fantasy.

The story is all written, and I will be uploading the next chapter within the next day or so. I'm glad you are enjoying. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to leave a review.

I'm glad you are enjoying. I really enjoyed writing this one. (Okay, so I enjoy writing all of them, but this one just seemed special somehow.)After more than five years of going it alone, I thought Hermione deserved to have the support of her friends and family at last. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to leave such a lovely review. I will be uploading the next chapter within the next couple of days.

The story is all written, so I will update regularly. I'm happy to hear that you like my Snape. Sometimes it's hard to find the right balance with him. i'm glad to know that you think I've done a good job of it.Thanks for reading and for taking the time to leave a review.

I'm so glad you are enjoying the story. We're halfway through now and things will begin to move a bit more quickly. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to post the lovely review.

I'm glad you enjoyed. We don't know a lot about Scrimgeour in Canon, but it has been demonstrated that he's tried to use Harry's fame to his own advantage. Hermione and Severus have a few issues to work out.I think I'm in the minority in that regard, but it's something I feel strongly about. Besides, what do you do if you have to go back and change something and you've already started posting? Sometimes things just don't work out as you'd originally hoped and the only way to 'fix' things is to go back and re-write something you wrote earlier. I can't imagine writing and posting any other way, but again, that's just me. I'm paranoid about plot holes and as my beta will tell you, I'm a perfectionist regarding the 'little' things. If I mention that the moon was full on the third Tuesday of the month of June in 1997, you can be sure that it was, indeed, full on that night! Thanks for reading and for taking the time from your own writing to post such great reviews. They are really appreciated.

I actually finished writing a chapter today; so, I could afford the time to read and review. LOL

What you said has become so true for me. I really need to go back and take a sub-plot in another direction, and I can't.

I'm glad you are enjoying the story. I'll answer the second question first. A stone is unit of weight equal to fourteen pounds. A 'first-footer' is the first person to cross your doorstep in the New Year. Follow this link for more information on first-footers and other New Years's customs and superstitions:   http://www.snopes.com/holidays/newyears/beliefs.aspThanks for reading and for taking the time to post a comment.

Thank you for your kind comments. Poor Severus -- always thinking he doesn't deserve to be happy. I don't want to give too much away, but keep in mind that this IS a romance -- and that my giftee did request a happy ending. lolI'm glad your enjoying.Accio Happy Ending!

And I see that in my response, I made a huge grammatical/spelling/usage error. Of course I meant to to say that I'm glad you're enjoying! Boy is my face red.

Oh no worries.  We don't have to be perfect in our reviews, thank goodness.

Now, go back to writing!  I'm chomping at the bits to read your next chapter. 

.

I'm glad you are enjoying the story. I had a lot of fun choosing the menu for their Christmas dinner. I love veal, but my husband is not fond of it, so I don't get to enjoy it too often.Here is the link to a recipe for Veau Normande. Let me know if you try it and how it comes out.http://frenchfood.about.com/od/quickweekdaymeals/r/mmvnormand.htmThanks for reading and for taking the time to leave such a lovely review.

I"m happy that you liked the chapter. I have a feeling that in Book 7, it will be Hermione who will be the voice of reason when Severus's true allegiances are revealed. (A girl can dream, anyway ... sigh) I had a lot of fun choosing the menu for that Christmas dinner. I can't tell you how many times I've started a story only to be left hanging for weeks and sometimes forever! (The very first HG/SS story I ever read, the one that got me hooked on fanfiction was called "Falling Further In." When I started reading it, there were 26 chapters posted and I stayed up all night to read them. Another chapter posted maybe a week or so later. Then months went by without another update. Then, finally! chapter 28 appeared. That was in Oct. or Nov. of 2006, I think, and there hasn't been another chapter since. This story had one of the best Snapes I've ever read. He was ascerbic, sarcastic, and as snarky as one could wish for -- and underneath it all, he was honest, honourable, and completely human. Oh, how I wish this story were not abandoned!) I made a promise to myself that I would never do that. That's not to say that I haven't abandoned stories. I've got about ten of them on my computer that are Works in Progress. But they will never see a web site until they are finished! Again, thanks for reading and for taking the time to leave such lovely comments. They are appreciated.

I'm happy to know you are enjoying the story. They will be working diligently to find a way to help her. This story is complete in ten chapters. I will be uploading the next chapter within the next day or so. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to post a comment.And, I'm a sucker for a happy ending, too. Accio, Happy Ending!