Thank you, Truly, for reviewing! I am very happy you enjoyed the chapter.

No, thank goodness; although I am referencing the end of HBP to some degree, this is not why Snape killed Albus.

I hope that the story continues to please. Thereis at least one more chapter to go, possibly two, depending on whether I decide to split them up.

Thank you very much for your review. I'm glad you are enjoying it!

and I'm kinda glad I guessed wrong

Thanks very much!

You are right; this is a difficult situation for all three of them. The title of the chapter, as you may have noticed, could refer to any of them.

I'm glad I've been able to evoke some sympathy for Severus. He may be a "nasty bastard," but he is suffering, and even through the haze of the spell, he realizes that Minerva is burdened by the spell, as well, and that even Albus is not unaffected.

Thank you very much for your thoughtful review!

*grin* Thank you, Truly! I hope to get the next chapter into the queue this week.

Thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. It's sort of an experiment for me. I hope to have the next chapter written next week.

Thank you! Poor, pitiable Snape . . . groaning and sighing all over the place! I want to finish and have the story uploaded in time for the close of the Challenge on April 27, so you shouldn't have too long to wait for the next chapter.

Thank you! I'm glad you like the spell -- I think it still meets the parameters of the Challenge, but with a bit of a twist. *grin* I hope you continue to enjoy the story. The benefit of writing it in response to a challenge is that I have a deadline to meet!

Yes, bastard Snape returned with a vengeance there, didn't he -- as though all the pent-up nastiness from the previous five days all spewed out at once. And Minerva is forgiving. After all, he did apologize and recognize that what he did was really bad -- before the spell, he probably woudn't have bothered apologizing even if he'd thought he was wrong. And he did have some nice things to say to her afterward.

Oh, and Minerva didn't kiss his "tip," but his shaft, and only very, very quickly. (I had a feeling that, given your antipathy toward Minerva having relations with anyone but Albus, that move would probably bother you -- but it just came out as I typed, and I didn't change it! LOL)

Thank you SO much for continuing to read every word, despite your discomfort with certain aspects of the story. The epilogue will be slower in coming, but will be up in a week or two. I think that will satisfy your curiosity about what's up with Albus and how he and Minerva will deal with the whole event. We'll also see something of Severus, of course.

Thanks for reviewing! 

Ahhh...gotcha. Thanks for clearning that up for me. However, she could have kissed the tip of HER FINGER and placed it on his cock and I still would have cringed and shuddered. Minerva's "special" kisses should be restricted to Albus and his body parts, nobody else's. LOLAnd do we really have to see more of Snape????? Can't he just sulk quietly in the dungeons while Albus and Minerva TRY to rebuild their relationship? It would make it so much easier...for me at least LOL.

Sorry, dear, but we will see more of Snape. Can't help it. The spell did hit him, after all!

So glad to know you found and enjoyed Act of Love, too! And Severus is not gone, nor forgotten! He's a focus of the epilogue, and most of the sequel, which is about a third written, I think, is from his point of view. It's a bit . . . different. Sort of a cross between RaM-style and AAoL-style, but with something different tossed in. I'm pleased with it so far.

If you'd like to read a more "adept" Snape, you could check out "Heat," which is not set in the AAoL universe.

Glad you liked chapter 14 -- I was a little nervous about how it would be received, but I figured that with adequate warning, anyone who didn't like that sort of thing could skip or skim it, and it appears that a lot of people did enjoy it. So that makes me happy! *grin*

Thank you for the lovely review! 

I'm glad you enjoyed it, livi! The sequel is Death's Dominion, which is up here at TPP. It's different from An Act of Love, and more suspenseful. BTW, if you like the SSHG-ness, there's a whiff of SSHG in the An Act of Love epilogue!Thank you very much for the review! I really appreciate it!

LOL! Yep, he had a lot to learn! Poor lad!

LOL! Yep, he had a lot to learn! Poor lad!

Thank you very much! I'm very glad you enjoyed it so much -- and that it provided some distraction in between daily chores.

Thanks for taking the time to review! :-)

Thank you very much! I'm very glad you enjoyed it so much -- and that it provided some distraction in between daily chores.

Thanks for taking the time to review! :-)

Thank you, Truly! I'm glad you enjoyed it. They did use their time well!

The next chapter will be a bit in coming -- busy and I will be out of town for a while. But the chapter is underway, so it will be up!

Thank you for your review! 

Poor Snape needs friends . . .I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your reviews!

Poor Snape needs friends . . .I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your reviews!

Thank you! I'm blushing here! I'm very glad you liked it.

Thank you! I appreciate your review!

Thank you. (Of course, DH may dash all our hopes, but we will see soon! And there will always be fanfic!)

Thank you very much! Actually getting to the "deed" was a little more difficult than Minerva anticipated, given her growing comfort over the past few days, but she was still determined to have it be a decent experience for Severus.

I hope you continue to enjoy the way the story progresses and the way in which the characters deal with what they went through over those five days.

I greatly appreciate your review! I look forward to your thoughts on the next chapters!

"Death's Dominion" is the sequel -- I didn't post the epilogue to AAoL until I was ready to begin posting the sequel. It's very different from AAoL. It has a deliberately nonlinear narrative structure, and rather than following events closely (as in AAoL, which covers only six days, aside from the epilogue), it doesn't tend to have a day-by-day or week-by-week narrative of events, although after the prologue, the first nine chapters are in chronological order, though there are flashbacks through Severus's memory. There are essentially two main story lines, and the prologue serves as sort of the axle around which they turn. Or the prologue is the hub of the wheel and the chapters are like spokes around it. Eh, my metaphors aren't working for me today. But I think you'll like the sequel. I hope so.

"Death's Dominion" is the sequel -- I didn't post the epilogue to AAoL until I was ready to begin posting the sequel. It's very different from AAoL. It has a deliberately nonlinear narrative structure, and rather than following events closely (as in AAoL, which covers only six days, aside from the epilogue), it doesn't tend to have a day-by-day or week-by-week narrative of events, although after the prologue, the first nine chapters are in chronological order, though there are flashbacks through Severus's memory. There are essentially two main story lines, and the prologue serves as sort of the axle around which they turn. Or the prologue is the hub of the wheel and the chapters are like spokes around it. Eh, my metaphors aren't working for me today. But I think you'll like the sequel. I hope so.

Yes, Minerva is very aware of Albus's magic, particularly when they make love, though at other times, too. (If you read the sequel, you would do well to remember this detail. *wink*) And, of course, Albus feels hers, as well.Oh, yes, Minerva sees that quite clearly! haha!

Yes, Minerva is very aware of Albus's magic, particularly when they make love, though at other times, too. (If you read the sequel, you would do well to remember this detail. *wink*) And, of course, Albus feels hers, as well.Oh, yes, Minerva sees that quite clearly! haha!

Yeah, that just kinda slipped out, and Severus regretted telling him. Poor Severus . . . in the sequel, he goes through a lot, but there's hope for him, even though he doesn't see it himself.

Yeah, that just kinda slipped out, and Severus regretted telling him. Poor Severus . . . in the sequel, he goes through a lot, but there's hope for him, even though he doesn't see it himself.

Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

Haha! You caught that in the agony aunt column! I hoped it would amuse. ;)As you say, at least Severus came to his senses, and quickly.

Haha! You caught that in the agony aunt column! I hoped it would amuse. ;)As you say, at least Severus came to his senses, and quickly.

Thanks!

Thanks!

*grin* I was hoping you'd enjoy this chapter. I started out in HP fanfic after finding some really good SSHG fics, and up until I started writing, I'd say that at least three-quarters of the fics I read were SSHG. I'm glad you enjoyed their interactions here! (I read almost no fanfiction any longer -- I find it interferes with my writing. I thought I'd be able to start reading again after finishing Resolving a Misunderstanding, but I still haven't finished Death's Dominion, so I'm still on my restricted diet of fanfic! lol)I don't really ship Severus and Minerva, though I have read a couple nice SSMM fics that I enjoyed. (I don't consider this as an SSMM-ship fic, because there's not a real relationship between them, other than their deepened friendship.) The only one I can think of at the moment is "Auld Acquaintance," which is over at OWL. I enjoyed it.Thanks for reviewing!

It definitely isn't a happy SS/MM fic, but you do a good job with their friendship and the odd situation you've placed them in.

*grin* I was hoping you'd enjoy this chapter. I started out in HP fanfic after finding some really good SSHG fics, and up until I started writing, I'd say that at least three-quarters of the fics I read were SSHG. I'm glad you enjoyed their interactions here! (I read almost no fanfiction any longer -- I find it interferes with my writing. I thought I'd be able to start reading again after finishing Resolving a Misunderstanding, but I still haven't finished Death's Dominion, so I'm still on my restricted diet of fanfic! lol)I don't really ship Severus and Minerva, though I have read a couple nice SSMM fics that I enjoyed. (I don't consider this as an SSMM-ship fic, because there's not a real relationship between them, other than their deepened friendship.) The only one I can think of at the moment is "Auld Acquaintance," which is over at OWL. I enjoyed it.Thanks for reviewing!

It definitely isn't a happy SS/MM fic, but you do a good job with their friendship and the odd situation you've placed them in.