Pretnick did teach Defense, after all, and you know who visited Albus looking for a job one recent winter's night . . . <g>

Glad you liked that line! :) 

Doesn't he just?

Minerva feels the same!

Pretty much, yeah. ;)

Yup, whether they're wizards or Muggles! LOL!

I'm glad you like Gertrude and Quin. They keep popping up in this story, and, once I've recovered from writing RaM, I have a sequel in mind, and they will both appear there, provided RaM doesn't completely exhaust me! :D

Thanks for the review! 

"Haven't a clue how it is you are writing this so fast.  Congratulations on 100 long chapters.  This hummer will hit a million words before you are done with it!"

I tend to write a lot at once, then go for quite a while without writing anything at all. It helps that I have had it outlined for a while, and that I occasionally write bits of future chapters to be used later. It's also just about my only hobby these days. Good thing most TV sucks! Haha! I'm thinking it'll be less than a mill, actually, but I'm not certain.

"Perhaps Quin could be outfitted with a pair of wings and  a bow and arrow, since he is determined to play cupid."He'd look cute in the outfit."

Mm, especially if it were gauzy and, um, not very concealing! LOL!

"I can't help my amusement at Quin's discomfort with Malcolm.  I can't help wondering what Malcolm is up to and what he's really doing for a living.  That it is "unspoken" might be significant?"

Malcolm's doing what he usually does to earn his living . . . though I don't suppose that was very informative!

Thanks for reviewing! 

You are a tease!  But then you've been torturing Albus and Minerva for 100 chapters.Evil snicker.Have a good one!

Thanks for the review!

Thank you very much. I'm glad you like Blampa. She shows up now and again.

He did, indeed.

Thank you very much! And I'm glad you like the title. :D Every now and then, I can't help myself!

Thanks for letting me know you're enjoying the story! I hope it continues to entertain you. 

Glad you like "whinging" -- quite evocative of what it is, I always think!

Yes, Gertrude's hints are getting broader, particularly now that Minerva trusts her more.

Gertrude's just a bit depleted, not suffering from magical drain or magical exhaustion -- she is just exhausted in the ordinary sense and has (mysteriously!) been doing too much magic all of the sudden . . . Apparating about . . . we will eventually learn more about what is going on with her and what's causing her to be so tired.

I may not be able to update quite so quickly again for a while, but I hope at least to get something new up on Wednesday.

Thanks much for the review!

How odd that the html is showing -- I'll have to take a look at it and see if there's some misplaced code somewhere that's throwing it all off.

I'm glad you like Quin so much -- I'm fond of him, myself! :D

Their fantasies and dreams are mere shadows of what reality will be! ;P (BTW, I don't remember whether you've read An Act of Love or not --  if you are looking for "hot sex." ADMM-style, you might want to read that.)

You'll eventually learn all about what ails Gertrude -- in more detail than she shares with Minerva.

Thank you very, very much for reviewing! :) 

"Why do I get the feeling that there is more going on with Gertrude than she's telling?"

Um, maybe because there usually is more going on with Gertrude than she lets on?

I'm sure there will be more blurting to come!

Thanks for the review! 

Thank you very much! :)

You're welcome -- I'm always happy to introduce new folks to TPP. I like this site a lot. :)

Thanks very much for reviewing -- and letting me know you found the story over here! :D

I have a few more chapters written, so the updates should be pretty regular for at least a while -- who knows what RL will throw at me, so I make no guarantees! LOL But unless I die or otherwise become completely unable to do so, I will finish this story. We are in reach of the end now. Comparatively speaking, anyway!

Thanks again for reviewing! Hope you have a look at the other great stories on this site! 

Read the little scene between Albus and Wilspy a couple chapters back, just before he had his nap.

Glad you liked the chapter!

Thanks for reviewing! 

Ah, so Wilspy is a dreamweaver! Love it!

She doesn't give them the dreams, she just "encourages" them a little! Frees them up. It's a talent that comes in handy when taking care of little children and stubborn wizards . . . and broken-hearted witches.

*sniffle* Now you've got my allergies going! And I'm sure that's all it is . . .

*sigh*It gets better, but then it gets worse . . . but then it gets much, much, much better. And at that point, your allergies may be cured. Or you could develop one for another reason . . . :)

We'll find out a teeny bit more in the next chapter about what's wrong with Gertrude, but as is always the case with that witch, we won't learn the full story.

I've been waiting for Dustern to "have her say" for a very long time -- she's been holding it in for years -- and have Gertrude come right back at her. :D

Thanks for reviewing. Perhaps your allergies won't be so bad next chapter you read.  ;) 

Well, the next couple chapters are written, just have to patiently wait the "appropriate interval" so folks have time to find the update and read it and all that. Hopefully you will find the next chapters satisfying in a different way from this one. And we will find out about Albus and what was going through his mind, and what his wish was, and all that good stuff.

Poor Minerva is also feeling heartbreak at the moment, but it will pass, at least for a time, for a rather unusual reason. 

Glad, too, that you liked that closing image.

I'm glad you liked the story in the ballad -- I've had that in Malcolm's character sketch for an AGE and was happy to find a very natural place to put it at a time that also makes sense -- I needed to do it before certain other chapters, really . . .

Thanks very much, as always, for your thoughtful and very nice review! 

I suppose I can be patient, since you hold out the carrot of "other chapters"...

Yup, you'll get that little visit inside Albus's head next chapter. And a visit to Minerva's. And a few other things, as well!

I'm glad you liked the romance!

Thanks much! 

Yup! Well, maybe slightly abashed . . . haha! I'm glad you like Quin-as-Cupid!

Thanks for reviewing!

There may be a queue!

Thanks! (Especially for the "better-than-competent writer" compliment! )I enjoyed writing the "young Minerva" bits, and hoped they would work well woven into the story through Minerva's (and Albus's) memories. I thought it would let me highlight the more significant events and moments between them when she was a student, and show the development of their friendship, without having the narrative turn too much into the story of Minerva as a student.I'm glad you like their relationship here. It was fun to imagine their respective personalities at that point, especially Minerva's -- the girl that later became the older woman we know from the books. As you say, it is a balancing act between having magic be mere window dressing or an afterthought and having it dominate and have everything be miraculous and easy for magical characters, so I'm glad you like the use it's put to in the story. Thanks very much! Hope you continue to enjoy it!

I could watch Pierce Brosnan sit on a stool and read the telephone directory and be happy, I think! Yes, he's the source of the pic of Quin. I've pictured him that way since I first conceived of him. But with slightly longer hair, and with some dusting of gray through it.

I can't imagine writing a story set in a British universe and not using British spelling -- well, I can, but not for me, ya know? When I was growing up, I had a tough time in school with spelling "correctly" since I read so many English (as in "British") books, and back then, they didn't change the spellings for an American audience, so I was confused about "colour" and "color" and "behaviour" and "behavior" for years, and it took me a long time to realize that "gray" was the correct spelling, since I always spelled it "grey." Haha! So it's easy for me to spell that way, and I think it adds to the "flavour" of the story. I do use American punctuation because that would require far too much thought, it would feel unnatural, and my typing fingers would have problems with that. LOL So I try to consistently use UK spelling and US punctuation -- and avoid the use of the word "gotten," though I am sure I've slipped occasionally there, and likely elsewhere, but hopefully not too eggregiously. However, I will never put a male character in "knickers"  -- that always just makes me ROTFLMAO when I read that, and I know immediately that the author isn't British. I have read more than one SS story that puts him in "knickers," and I always envision him in red satin and lace panties, for some reason, and that just makes me laugh (and spoils any sexy mood that may have been developing). Of course, maybe Severus is into cross-dressing! LOL!

Thanks for the review! 

OK, so now I had to break out my Remington Steele DVDs...my hormones are SO confused...I'm an editor by profession, one of the unfortunate side effects being it ruins one for reading. But I do especially appreciate your perpesctive on "British-isms" and punctuation. Yes, the punctuation would be jarring, I agree. It would slow me down trying to type it! Oh, dear, I think I'm going to picture Snape in red lace for quite some time now. Hysterical!

Thanks!