You Can't Have One Without The Other
RachelW254 Reviews | 5.03/10 (254 Ratings, 0 Likes, 335 Favorites )
In the wake of the fall of Voldemort, a new law threatens Muggleborn women with forced marriages, including Hermione Granger who must make the best of a bad situation by marrying Severus Snape. This story is that of the long and rocky road to eventually find contentment.
Winner of the Multifaceted Award, round three, Courage category. Thanks!
Chapters (31)
About RachelW
Author
RachelW
Member Since 2005 | 6 Stories | Favorited by 106 | 2 Reviews Written | 46 Review Responses
Reviews for You Can't Have One Without The Other
I favour the A-frame, it gives something to rest against so you don't strain your shoulders too much.
I had a hunch that the rings would match. Nice wedding night lemon.
Classic! And I'm inrigued by the rings.
The five year plan with a difference. Sev is such a master!
Cue dramatic music!
cucumber? maybe she should start with something a little smaller? How about a banana, it has sufficient length...
At least she didn't do 'hermione loves Severus' and start counting letters and and adding them until they made a percentage!
thank you for finishing this fic.but talk about moral ambiguity ...
Saftey word. That's all I'm saying. She's smart, she'll research it.
Good start. There are a lot of marriage law fics out there, so the first chapter is really important. It worked, I'm off to read the next chapter now!
I have read both endings and both could happen with these characters. The potions ending feels very in keeping with the Snape JKR created. I have no doubt, given the opportunity, he would have used such a potion on Lily. The potion ending is in keeping with a Snape with an obsessive love. I would like to think Snape has it in him to have the Treva ending. I read there that Snape now understands what love can be, and perhaps he can find it with Treva, who I think loves him truly. I would love to read the story of how she helps him. Either way, I enjoyed ALL the chapters. You created poignant scenes. I truly ached for both Severus and Hermione at times. I think maybe at times it must have been difficult to write. THANK YOU for sticking with it. You have a wonderful gift. I hope someday to read something you have written, bound in a cover, off the shelf of my local bookstore.
Sigh...
I've read both versions of the ending and I sympathize with the problem I think you had. The other version, where she orders water is too far left (so to speak), while this one is too far right.
I am grateful that you found the strenght of character to finish the story after such a long break (not to mention new canon).
I wonder what you would have written had you finished the story while it was fresh. This Severus seems to me acceptable without the potion. Wasn't that exactly what she missed when she kissed Harry (of all people, but let's not get into that)? This Severus loves her and cares for her happiness.
I think that perhaps one potion might be the middle line. Enough for Severus to learn to pay attention to her wishes so she can rest assured that he loves her.
Well, it is a good, rich and very special story whatever the ending, written or imagined.
Thank you.
Gutsy ending for a gutsy story. I think it fits the Severus Snape that you have portrayed in your fic. In reading some of the comments from disappointed readers I ask, how could anybody, who read your story, really feel that he would turn into a selfless, understanding partner after a mere separation? The wizard is flawed… seriously. No matter how we want to romanticize him to fit our fantasies, (and oh do we have our fantasies) the true character of Severus Snape is a man that is somewhat stunted when it comes to his development in the love process. This is a person who, seemingly, has not developed much past the stage experts term as “mania” love - the stage where jealousy, dependence and several other negative traits are portrayed. He doesn’t fully embrace the true meaning of “agape” or unselfish love. So, to expect him to miraculously turn around because *ding! ding!* Hermione left him or he is being “saved” by some good intentioned heroine who “loves” him (as seen in many fics) is unrealistic. His intentions are there to “love” but he doesn’t know how to do it properly. Severus is the bad boy we want to love and save. Many of us “Snapeaholics” want to show the poor man, through writing, how it is properly done then live blissfully happy together, with maybe 2.5 kids in a quaint cottage with a picket fence, forever. But, as in most real-life situations, it doesn’t always work out to a happy ending and many times, the bad boy keeps being a bad boy despite the positive influences around him. Your story rings more true in this aspect than most Snape fics I’ve read. I can really see him, when backed up against the odds, using a tactic, such as the potion, to justify his own means.
I have not yet read the version on Ashwinder so I’ll be heading in that direction soon. But I want to thank you for a good story. It is one that sticks with me and I’ll be reading it over several more times, now that it is finished. I’m sorry, for selfish reasons, that you are pulling your stories offline, but life is a crazy ride and sometimes you just got to tell the driver to slow down. Good Luck Rachel!
I actually like this ending more than the one at Ashwinder. But then, I'm a great fan of George Orwell and Adulous Huxley.
I guess it was all about control - not love - after all.
Poor Hermione. That is horribly tragic, and I'm sorry that Severus had to resort to that. Thanks for finishing, though.
:) beautiful way to end. I can see where some wouldn't agree...but for the Severus you've developed, I think it works just wonderfully.
Thank you for finishing this story and thank you for putting yourself so "out there" with this story. Reading some of the other reviews, I have to say I am sorry that some had such bad reactions. This was and is a very important story for me. It really made me think about and re-evaluate my own preferences. And it made me do some additional reading that was also very important to me, in spite of or because of how difficult the issues raised are. You basically allowed me to think about issues that I have been taught not to think about from a very early age. It was like being given permission to explore an extremely loaded issue in a non-judgemental way--and I really appreciate it. It is not easy to address such things in public and I admire your courage--you must be a Gryff :>) So long and thanks for all the fish!
Response from RachelW (Author of You Can't Have One Without The Other)
Negative reviews used to bother me. They don't anymore. I understand that there will be people who feel betrayed by this ending. I can accept some responsibility for that, because I did start writing this story saying it would end happily. I was not able to live up to that promise, and I've learned a great deal about promises that should not be made as a result. I gave this story the only two endings I thought were truly possible. The other one is actually the 'happy' ending in my opinion, but many, many people live life in the 'happy' ending posted here. They put away their dreams and goals and friends and live the life they choose. I'm glad to know that this story made people think about things. I didn't think about it really hard at first, but reached a point at which I went back and re-read it and was absolutely horrified at the manipulative man I'd written. I truly did not see it while writing it, even though I wrote a perfectly horrible man. I used to find this sort of man attractive. I used to want to give all my autonomy over to such men. Ironically, the abusive types I've run into thought BDSM was a terrible thing, while those who were into BDSM were the more honest, up-front, and functional people I knew. I had to come to some serious conclusions of my own about serious issues in order to finally finish this thing. I am sorry I didn't give it as powerful a finish as it ought to have had, but I just couldn't think of what else to write or how else to write it.Thanks for your kind review and words. I appreciate it. Though I'm more of the oddball ravenclaw that knows everyone laughs at me. ;-)
"This story is that of the long and rocky road to eventually find contentment." I invested time and emotion into this story because of that summary. Neither this ending -- nor the one on Ashwinder -- contains this contentment. I realize that the Hermione-and-Snape pairing lost appeal for you some time ago. A long time ago, I also strongly suspected that you may have had too much of your real life issues (whatever they were) tied up in this story and that this story just wasn't going to fulfill its original vision. That's always the danger of using writing to resolve personal issues (although most do, to some extent) and with writing summaries before the story is complete. However, I still would have appreciated a story that gave me what was advertised. As a result, this reader is not any more contented than your characters. You put a lot of work into this story and I appreciate that. But in a very real sense, I feel that you broke faith with your readership. It is admirable that even though you lost interest, you did come back and finish the story, but I feel that even a weak ending that portrayed the characters as contented would have been preferable to these endings. That said, I appreciate your work and wish you good luck with all your future endeavors, both professional and personal. Contentment really is a fine thing!Best wishes always.
Response from RachelW (Author of You Can't Have One Without The Other)
I'm sorry that it was not the ending I promised when I started writing it. I'm four years older and have had some signifigant learning experiences in the last several years that have made me think a lot about people and relationships. In the future, I will not post works in progress, and this story has taught me the importance of understanding a story as a whole, and not just a progression of chapters. Thanks for your review. I understand your feelings, and am sorry, though I can't say it would have been possible for me to end it otherwise.
Response from Cerydden M_Layne (Reviewer)
Thanks for the response. Your story was one that always stayed in my mind and I mentally wrote quite a few endings for it, since I couldn't stand the lack of resolution. I have my own magical world and brought your Severus (and sometimes Hermione) to it a number of ways.
I always feel a bit reluctant to criticize anything about a story since I haven't put any of my own up. None are actually completely finished and I am not comfortable posting anything until they are, precisely because I don't want to find myself having to change horses in the middle of the stream. I'm sure you've learned a lot over the last four years, both as an person and as an author -- although I'm not completely sure those are ever really separated.
I really do wish you the best and should you ever find that you can write that happy ending to this story -- even just as an exercise -- I know I'd be happy to see it, even as a rough draft in an e-mail. Your story did affect me greatly, and perhaps sometime you may not be unhappy to know that someone else, in her own mind, did give your characters their happy ending, even if she did have to drag them to her own universe to do it.
Again, best wishes and good luck.
hmmm....so nothing changes, she is still under his control, only now she doesnt realise it! Although I guess this isnt an unhappy ending for hermione, I think i really prefer the one on ashwinder more.thank you for this story, its been a very interesting read.
oh... this is?... oh....
This is awful. The ending on Ashwinder is much better- this is just awful, I don't know what else to say- I am in shock, this is HORRID.
Response from RachelW (Author of You Can't Have One Without The Other)
How many people live it though?
Response from Darkangel001 (Reviewer)
How many people live it? What do you mean?
countrymouse said exactly what i have been feeling throughout the story. especially the fact that so many reviewers had such a creepy response to the abuse of hermione. which is weird because i really like a lot of the creepy short stories by siriuslysnogged, but i supposed the problem i have is that this is an extremely long story and it makes you get more attached to the characters so seeing hermione so weak and severus much creepier than there is any indication of in canon is more disturbing. anyways i would not be able to articulate my feeling half as well. thanks for the story it was extremely well-written and though provoking. good luck!
Wow. Not at all how I expected that to end, but definitely a realistic ending to the rest of the story. Very well written. I am so happy to see it finished. Thanks for a wonderful ride. Why are you deleting all of your stuff? Just curious.Good luck with whatever you do! Hugs, Muggle Mom