Ouroboros
Chapter 5 of 17
OlethrosSunrises from two vastly different times. We finally find out the importance of Hermione’s bracelet. Preparations for battle, when some things are said and others left unsaid, and someone discovers Hermione’s secret.
A/N: After you guys have finished this chapter, be sure to check out my DH-inspired fic More Than a Dream. Without giving too much away, I think it'll make Snape fans rather happy.
Nerd points to anyone who can tell me how I got the number 479,001,600.
Chapter 5
Ouroboros
--8:008:30am, June 27, 1998--
Hermione loved to watch the sunrise. At least, she strongly suspected that she did.
In her time at Hogwarts, she usually studied so late into the night that she awoke fifteen minutes before breakfast began. Now, however, most mornings found her standing by her kitchen window overlooking the Cam at 6:00am with the sun well into the sky and an inexplicable feeling of contentment.
She figured that none of those precious moments ever made it onto her parchments either because words could never adequately describe the sight, and she preferred to experience her first Cambridge sunrise over and over... or because she had been so engrossed in watching that she had... well, forgotten.
It shocked her when she found out that even with every memory living on borrowed time, she still sometimes forgot to record properly. On her second day at the Burrow, she had tasted one of Mrs. Weasley's new recipes and declared it absolutely divine, only to have Harry look oddly at her and tell her that she had spoken the exact same words over the same dish last night. She must have judged "it was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted" to be a poor representation of the real experience.
It wasn't only the inadequacies of her memoirs that prevented her from recording as diligently as she probably should have. Hermione had finished studying seven years worth of subjects for the NEWTs three weeks early and had remembered all that material in perfect detail until the time came to take the tests. She had a good memory and had long since come to take it for granted.
Such an oversight almost had disastrous consequences one Saturday, a week after she had moved into her flat in Cambridge. She had had a visitor not long after breakfast.
Hermione was standing with her back to him, head bowed over something she held in her hands. A single tear fell from her eye, and she quickly wiped it away before it could drip.
"Camilla?"
His voice sounded very faint, and her hands began trembling uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry, I..." She cast her thoughts back and nearly screamed in frustration when she encountered nothing but blankness. "I... don't remember, Harry. You must have told me when you gave me this... W-who is it?"
The scrap of parchment in her hands said "Knights Enham Cemetery".
Harry folded her hands gently in his. "It's your parents, Camilla. This is where they're buried. McGonagall found the address for you."
Hermione's lips seemed to have difficulty moving. "My parents... my parents." She threw herself into Harry's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. One of his hands patted her back gently, hesitantly.
"I'm sorry, Cami. I'm real sorry."
She scrunched her eyes shut, nodding absently. Harry would not understand. He could not understand the sheer terror she had felt, thinking that someone she had known had died, one of her closest friends perhaps, and that she had simply forgotten. "Never again," she whispered fiercely.
"Too right, Camilla." His voice rumbled where she was pressed against his chest. "We'll get them back for what they did to you. We'll never stop until we do." He drew back and steadied Hermione on her feet, briefly brushing a strand of black hair back behind her ear.
His eyes dropped from her suddenly. "Er... oh! I have something else for you. It wouldn't do for me to bring you nothing but bad news. Here..." He fumbled within his robes, eventually emerging with a small, silver bracelet in one hand and a sheet of parchment in the other.
"Found it in the git's quarters after you'd gone. McGonagall must have left it for you, and you forgot to pick it up. Frankly, I think she's brilliant. Don't think her artistic skills are at the level of her charms, though; her dragon looks rather like a worm."
Hermione smiled, which had obviously been the intended effect. Harry beamed. She held the bracelet up and considered the worm-like squiggle that could have been a dragon etched into the silver. The tail of the creature melted into wavy lines of a river that wrapped around the circumference of the bracelet until it reached the dragon's mouth, which in turn appeared to be drinking the water from the river.
"Why a dragon?" she asked.
"They represent courage, Camilla. They may be vicious, dangerous creatures, but they've got a fierce sense of pride and fight ferociously for what's their own."
"That was mostly a compliment, Harry. Thanks."
Harry grinned and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'll leave you to it. Mrs. Weasley gives me icy glares of death if I ever stay more than an hour at your place."
So he had visited before. She sighed. She really needed to become more detailed in her recordings.
Hermione smiled again, her heart twisting a little at his earnest attempts to comfort her. Harry paused before stepping into her fireplace, Floo powder trickling from one hand. "Cami, we're here for you. Always, okay?"
She nodded, tears pricking the backs of her eyes. "Go on home, Harry."
After he had disappeared in a roar of green flames, Hermione turned her attention to the parchment, which was filled with Minerva's neat script.
Miss Granger...
Hermione frowned.
Enclosed please find a gift that shall hopefully prove invaluable to you in the days to come.
Even with your new quill, the notes that you record from day-to-day will doubtless become too cumbersome to track and eventually too long to read through in less than half an hour. The charm on the bracelet will activate when you place it on your wand wrist and will recognize only you. Any notes that you have already written can be reduced and tucked underneath the band. Any future notes that you write with your special quill will be automatically stored within the bracelet. Touching the bracelet at any time with your left hand will enable you to recall everything you have previously recorded.
The bracelet will also tingle against your skin when two minutes of each half hour remain, allowing you ample time to record before you can no longer remember.
Consider this a small token of how much we are in your debt.
Hermione turned the silver bracelet over and over in her hands, admiring the brilliant sheen. She slipped the circlet over her hand slowly, feeling it settle perfectly in place against the knobby imperfection where her hand ended and her misshapen wrist began. A prickling sensation, not unpleasant, fluttered through her skin.
A flick of her wand reduced her considerable sheaf of parchment to the size and thickness of a poker chip, and she slid it into the space between the bracelet and her skin. The tiny object stayed, held by an invisible force. Then, slowly, she wrapped her left hand around the bracelet.
Words, words, words!
She gasped and drew her hand away. There had been no images, no sensations, only words.
During her time as a student, quite a few of her friends were convinced that she had lived in the Hogwarts library. That was not true. The most time she had ever spent continuously in the library was three days.
For a week after that ill-advised marathon, she saw pages from Bogram Boffert's "The 479,001,600 Combinations of Uses for Dragon Blood" on the insides of her eyelids every time she blinked. She had carefully restricted the length of time she spent in the library after that.
Her fingers slowly curled around the bracelet again, and this time she let the words invade her mind without resisting. Eventually the maelstrom of text stopped whirring, and she began to sift through the collection of memories that covered her mind like a blanket of snow.
Once she got the hang of it, it wasn't too difficult. Rather like reviewing the highlights of an engaging football game, except that she had no images and only the commentator's voice to guide her.
As a commentator for her life, Hermione realized that her voice was rather dry and uninspiring, a necessary sacrifice for the sake of impartiality.
She finished sifting through the jumble of her entries and withdrew, removing her hand from her silver bracelet. Looking at her watch, she was stunned to see that the entire process had taken mere seconds.
This could work. She would get faster at sifting through her memories each time. It was rather like remembering the spells and charms that she had learned after the onset of her condition. The right words were written in her notes; she merely had to convince her body that she knew how to use them.
It was much like the charm Minerva had taught her to apply and remove her Glamour. Even now she felt a tingle of uncertainty when she waved her wand over herself, though a perusal of her notes indicated she had spent over an hour practicing. She imagined it felt like throwing herself off a cliff after she had been told that she had wings but could neither see nor feel them.
She nearly jumped out of her skin as the bracelet seemed to hum against her wrist. A quick glance at the wall clock confirmed that two minutes remained before 8:30am.
She lifted her quill into the air and wrote, taking care to focus on every detail, down to the color of the shirt Harry had worn. She placed her hand experimentally over the bracelet and was happy to sense that the words had been recorded. Hermione smiled slightly. This would work.
For now though... she looked down at the slip of parchment. She had somewhere she needed to go. Tomorrow would be Sunday. The majority of the neighborhood would be at church in the morning, and her visit to the graveyard would hopefully go unnoticed. Unfortunately she was rather familiar with the cemetery in Knights Enham.
--6:006:30am, October 31, 1998--
Hermione was standing with her back to him, head bowed over something she held in her hands. A single tear appeared her eye, and she quickly wiped it away before it could drip.
"Miss Granger?"
His voice sounded very faint, and she bristled upon hearing it. She felt his body moving closer before leaning over to see what she held in her hands.
It was a Polaroid photo that showed a full-color bleed of the Cam at sunrise. The sky was a riot of blue, red, and orange color reflected in the calm water. A faint curtain of mist rose from the surface to be slowly burned away by the emerging sun. A single rower was sculling across the middle of the photo, his long, lean body frozen over the vessel as his oars splashed down into the water.
Hermione pressed her nose to the photo, as if the square of Muggle plastic held the scent of fresh morning dew. She drew away before tears could stain the photo.
She turned to Severus. "Hi," she said weakly. He was looking at her nervously, and after a moment of hesitation, he held out his arms tentatively, as if unsure if such was a proper action.
Hermione froze, something inside of her recoiling at the thought of drawing near him. How could he... after what he had done?
But the uncertainty in his eyes drew her in like a magnet. She sniffed and stepped into his arms, laying her head gently on his shoulder. He was warm and solid beneath her. She grimaced and tore herself away.
His dark brown eyes gazed at her curiously, breaking her heart. "What was that all about?"
Hermione closed her eyes so that she would not have to look at him. She gestured to the photograph instead. "I always knew I loved sunrises," she muttered. "It will never be real, but it's enough."
"Don't be ridiculous," Snape replied, his voice edged with an odd intensity.
She frowned before sliding the photograph underneath her bracelet. "Seeing as this is the last sunrise I'll see of this world, I thought it reasonable to record it. Who knows what the world will look like after tomorrow? Everything will have changed then."
Snape frowned. "You give Voldemort far too much credit. He has not changed the world as much as he might imagine, and a few years after his death, most of the world will have forgotten he existed."
"It will be different for you, though," she said softly. "You will be free."
His face was expressionless. "Yes."
Hermione thought he could have looked happier about it.
Then he smiled. "You look beautiful," he said. He stepped forward to kiss her.
At the last moment, she turned her face so that his lips landed on her cheek. Even then, a jolt ran down to the pit of her stomach at the touch. She pushed away from him and grabbed her bag.
"They're waiting for us at Grimmauld Place," she said brusquely. "I'll meet you there."
She Disapparated, leaving him alone in her kitchen.
--8:008:30am, October 31, 1998--
"Er, Hermione. Did you know that Ginny and I are, ah..."
"I know. And I'm happy for you two."
"You-you are?"
"Extremely. She never stopped loving you, you know."
Harry blushed. "I know. Ginny gave me quite an earful about how much of a prat I'd been. Listen, Mione, I've tried not to think about it, but I've got to ask. You and Snape basically lived together for three months. Did he ever..." He went a little green.
Her heart thudded heavily, just once. "No. We were never anything like that."
It was surprisingly easy to say.
The color returned to Harry's face. "Thank goodness." His eyes went hard. "If he lays so much as a finger on you, I'll kill him. Deal or no deal."
Hermione smiled weakly.
--5:005:30pm, October 31, 1998--
"Hermione?"
She turned and smiled at the Headmistress. "Yes, Minerva?"
"I wonder if I might inquire what Severus has done. You have been glaring daggers at him all afternoon."
She scoffed. "You know Professor Snape. He doesn't even need to try."
Minerva was looking at her thoughtfully, and Hermione began to feel uncomfortable. "You probably do not know, but Severus has never in his life shared his home, much less his lab, with anyone. He cares for you very deeply, Hermione, no matter what he may have done."
Hermione's mouth went dry, and she suddenly had to sit down.
Seeing her stricken face, Minerva smiled reassuringly. "I wouldn't worry that others would be able to guess. But I have known Severus for so long that it was impossible not to notice his changed behavior. I can't say that I could have predicted this, but you two do complement each other remarkably well."
"I... I thought we did," Hermione said miserably. The ability to finally confide in someone else about Severus almost made her cry. "But now... he's done something that I just can't understand, no matter how I think about it. Minerva, may I ask you an impertinent question?"
"I would be offended if you did not."
"How did you manage to forgive Severus for the Headmaster... what he did? Professor Dumbledore's loss was awful for us all, but for you, it was personal."
The older woman pursed her lips. "I reminded myself that for half his life, Severus has been forced to do things that make people think the worst of him. And even if his reasons aren't enough to make the hurt go away, it wasn't my place to insist that he could have made a different choice."
Minerva removed her spectacles and dabbed lightly at her eyes. "Also, Albus told me to forgive him, and I could deny him nothing."
Hermione nodded slowly, chewing her lip in thought.
"I don't expect you to decide immediately," Minerva said. "I have no doubt that whatever Severus did deserves the full measure of your ire. But I must remind you that we are going to war tonight. Can I trust that you won't let this get in the way of what must be done?"
"No," Hermione said with a knowing sigh. "I will fight by his side until the very end. Minerva... you won't tell anyone, will you?"
The Headmistress shook her head. "No, I daresay that's something they're not prepared to think about now, especially Harry."
--8:008:30pm, October 31, 1998--
They were sitting in the library. Hermione had been reading the same sentence in her book for nearly fifteen minutes.
"Hermione?"
She smiled. She could get used to being called that again. "Yes, Ginny?"
"What's it like? Being in a battle?" Ginny had not fought in Hogsmeade. She had been mysteriously locked inside her bedroom before the rest of the DA had left. Harry had later admitted to the deed, and Ginny had threatened to hex his bits off if he tried to do it again now. Despite her earlier bravado, the red-haired girl was now remarkably nervous.
Hermione thought for a moment. "Chaos," she said. "No order, no reason. Nothing at all like a wizard's duel. The only thing that you can do is to never forget what you're fighting for."
"A better future?" Ginny said.
"If you must," Hermione said. "But keep first and foremost in your mind the things that your enemies have done to you. They will show you no mercy, and the strength of your spells sometimes depends more on your hatred than your optimism."
Ginny looked at her thoughtfully. "Is that what this is about for you? Getting vengeance for what they did to you?"
Hermione nodded sharply. "I don't know if you can understand, Ginny, but it's hard for me to think about the future. My life, as it is, has become an endless sequence of nows. And the only thing I can think is that if... when this potion works on Voldemort, when I know that the one who did this to me is dead or captured, then maybe, maybe, I can have some peace."
"Wow..." Ginny said. She seemed to be at a loss for words. "I'm... I'm sorry, Hermione."
She waved off her friend's concerns. "Don't worry about me. After tonight, things will be... very different either way."
"Then how can you stand this waiting?" Ginny jumped to her feet and began to pace back and forth. "What are we waiting for?"
Hermione closed her useless book. "Voldemort thinks that Harry will arrive at Godric's Hollow right before midnight to pay respects for the passing of the night that his parents died. We'll arrive there by Portkeys around 10:30 pm. Too early and it will look suspicious; the Death Eaters have many spies, and they will notice any notable deviations from our regular schedules."
As she finished, she noticed Ginny grinning at her. "What?"
"Nothing. It's just... I can always count on you for the best answer for everything. It's good to know you haven't changed that much, Hermione."
She made a grim face. "I wouldn't be that optimistic." Had she really become nothing but someone seeking revenge?
"You're still you, Hermione," Ginny insisted. "No matter what those bastards might have done."
She smiled. "Thank you, Gin. That means a lot."
The other girl coughed lightly. "Well, I have to make up for all those evil glares I gave you when I thought you were dating Harry."
--10:0010:30pm, October 31, 1998--
The entire Order and the DA stood or sat in armchairs in a circle in the study. Harry and Severus stood in the center. The arrangement looked oddly familiar to her.
Severus held something out to Harry that definitely looked familiar. "Slytherin's locket. One of Voldemort's remaining fragments of soul."
The majority of the room visibly shrank away from it. Harry let the locket fall into his palm. "I know what this is," he said. "But why are you giving it to me?"
"Voldemort has conveniently informed all of the Death Eaters of the locket's existence, and he has demanded in no uncertain terms that it be brought to him undamaged. By wearing this, Potter, it will ensure that you will save your energy for fighting Voldemort. No Death Eater will dare touch you."
Harry had a look on his face as if he were holding something poisonous in his hands. "Is that wise? Going against Voldemort while carrying a bit of him with me? Will the soul fragment be able to interfere with my magic?"
"Potter, you have carried a bit of Voldemort in you ever since he gave you that scar, and I daresay that has done nothing to weaken your desire to see him dead. What worries me more is your ability to summon the amount of hatred necessary to cast the Killing Curse."
"I have it. Voldemort is the most evil son of a..."
"Who nevertheless has done nothing to hurt you personally," Snape interrupted. "Yes, he is responsible for countless deaths, most of whom you weren't alive to know. The most direct attack he has made on you was to kill your parents, and you were far too young to remember."
"Maybe I'll just imagine that he's you then," Harry said with an ugly glare.
Hermione stiffened. Minerva bristled. "Mr. Potter..." she said warningly.
Harry seemed to deflate slightly. "Yeah, yeah, I know. We're going to work together." He placed the chain over his neck and settled Slytherin's locket against his chest.
Then he grasped his wand and looked around at the people in the room. His eyes locked on Ginny, Hermione, Ron...
He coughed nervously. "I'm really bad at this sort of thing, so I don't really have a speech or anything. All I have to say is... let's finish what we started."
A mighty roar went up around the room. Then there was much milling about as people split into groups of four or five. They would Portkey to separate locations in Godric's Hollow that had been scouted out as providing good cover.
Hermione finished writing with her quill and looked up to see her Portkey group. Harry. Ron. Ginny. Harry held out an empty plastic water bottle.
"Hermione... Granger."
Her eyes snapped up at Severus' voice. He had his own Portkey, as he would need to arrive far away from the rest of them. He had not bothered to keep his voice low, and nearly half the room had turned to look, bewildered.
"Be careful," he whispered. For a moment there was a look in his eyes that was warm and familiar. Then it was gone. "It would be terribly inconsiderate for you to get yourself killed before you see the results of your potion."
There was scattered grumbling and glares leveled at Severus before they turned away. Harry was looking at him very coldly. Hermione dropped her eyes to the Portkey, but she couldn't help feeling as if her heart was no longer as heavy.
"Ready, everyone!" Harry said. "The Portkeys will activate in three, two, one..."
Hermione touched the side of the water bottle. There was an almighty jerk behind her navel, and she was spinning, tumbling, through nothingness.
They hit the ground with a thud and groaned in unison. Then they got to their feet immediately, drawing their wands, when they realized that one of the voices was not their own.
Amycus Carrow, the pig-like Death Eater, waddled away from them slowly. He was not wearing Death Eater robes and looked utterly shocked to see them. He had apparently been scouting out the exact location where they had arrived.
"Stupefy!" Ginny screamed.
The jet of red light flew towards the little man, its path straight and true. But not before Amycus had touched his stubby forefinger to his Dark Mark, hissing words that they could not understand.
As Amycus hit the ground, unconscious, there came a series of pops around them one after another. Within thirty seconds, all around them were black-robed Death Eaters, more of them than they could count. They were not masked; they apparently had not had time to prepare. Also, they probably realized that concealing their identities no longer mattered.
There was a moment of deathly, unbearable silence. The moon came out from behind a cloud, bathing Godric's Hollow in silver.
With a mighty roar, everyone cast their spells at once.
"Protego!" Hermione shouted and watched streams of colored light bounce off her shield away from them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry shoot a jet of red sparks up into the sky.
The final battle had begun.
A/N: Knights Enham is a real town in England, to the west of London. I was browsing photographs of cemeteries in England, and it was by far the most beautiful one represented.
Next chapter: An interlude and possibly the ultimate betrayal.
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Latest 25 Reviews for Memento Amori
114 Reviews | 3.13/10 Average
I think this ending is most apt and very powerful! I know it's a happy ending and I feel the continuation of their story is a cure.
I can't thank you enough for putting the time and effort into creating such a complicated masterpiece. I enjoyed every minute of every read through I've attempted to piece it all together. This tale was very satisfying.
You've managed to infuse lovely humor and saracasm and believabilty into their relationship and their characterizations. All with a convoluted mystery that needed solving and truly does make sense in the end. Chris Nolan eat your heart out.
Only thing I didn't "get" was the Harry becoming enamored of Cami/Hermione. That was awkward and she avoided that well.
Haha although Cicero "died" this is another great and funny chapter. And thank you for the notes, it's really coming together now.
Love love this chapter! Lots of great one liners and little scenes that I adore.
"... she shivered at the butterfly-wing feeling..."
Oh my that was very sensual.
Omg they really did it. She should be ecstatic! The best in his life, indeed.
A very intense and engaging battle scene you've written here. Loved it!
Wow you really know how to twist things up! I'm ready to settle down for a long drawn out read.
Swoon swoon swoon. Romantic!Snape to the rescue.
My gosh I wish she could remember all these little humorous things that happen between them! I love how she's getting to know him but upset that she won't recall.
Someone really needs to draw a fan art of Snape AK-ing some daisies!!
Wow! I finally finished reading it for the second time. I had to print it out and read it straight forward chronologically the second time. That was a great story. I do wish there could have been an epilogue but I know in my imagination they live happily ever after. My hat is off to you for being able to pull something like that off. Truly amazing. Thank you for a wonderful read.
Response from Olethros (Author of Memento Amori)
I hope that not too many trees had to give their lives for this noble cause 
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Response from Olethros (Author of Memento Amori)
I hope that not too many trees had to give their lives for this noble cause Thank you so much for your kind words!
“Excellent, we have demonstrated that we know each other’s names,” Hermione said. One of the funniest lines I've ever read. Maybe I shouldn't have done, but I found this chapter was very funny. I was also chuckling at performing the Killing Curse on bunnies.Good meeting between the three of them, nicely written, things are becoming clearer. There has been a few warnings about the dodgy stairs now, could there be a simple explanation for Hermione's injuries? I am intrigued, so I'd better get on with the story.
Response from Olethros (Author of Memento Amori)
Glad you enjoy my dark humor... most of this chapter was definitely intended to be funny.Also, not going to answer about Hermione and the injuries but the stairs... ah yes, the stairs will indeed make a repeat appearance. Good eye!
I haven't reviewed every chapter because this is the first time I have paused. You weave your story beautifully, the non chronological time makes me really sympathetic with Hermione's position. I am pleased that you haven't spent the majority of these early chapters wading through too much of Hermione's emotional state. It would have been very easy to get bogged down in the sadness and loss of most of her memory. Still, you have clearly shown her reation, and I particularly admired the way you had Ron and Harry react. You have done a good job of keeping everyone in character, Hermione's practicality, Harry's moving forward to do what he must, and Ron's affection. It's nice to see a Ron in an HG/SS fic that isn't belittled and killed off at the first opportunity.You certainly have a flair for dramatic writing. Your scenes are well constructed to give the reader a lot of information in relatively few words. This really adds to the fast pacing, giving us a lot of action as well as explanations, meaning that readers like me are thoroughly swept along with Hermione.I look forward to reading the rest.
Response from Olethros (Author of Memento Amori)
Possibly one of the most flattering reviews I've ever gotten, thank you so so much!! I am glad that you are enjoying my work; it's the best reward that a writer can get. I'm especially glad that you thought my writing to be in character - that is always what I strive for first and foremost.Hope that the rest of the story lives up to your expectations!
*is stunned*
After reading chapter sixteen, my intention was to go back and read the whole thing backwards, but that last chapter was so exhausting, I think I need to step away for a while. Maybe some day I'll leave you a real review, but all I can say for now is that you have written an amazing story; I'm just not sure how I feel about it.
Oh this chapter is dark. Exquist imiagry of torture and pain. Very conflicting too, given the crying Snape before he chucks her down the stairs. Never ever read anything like this. It must have been challenging for you, I could never see me writing something like this.
Did they meet at McDonald's?
I am enjoying this fic, but I'm having trouble keeping the time lines straight.
I've just discovered it is possible (for me, at least) to squee in delight, cry, laugh, sniff and moan at the same time. You are absolutely right, no epilogue is needed. Let us imagine, each one, what life will be like to Severus and Hermione. What an amazing way to complete the story! Bravo!
I don't know if you'd intended it to be tricky, but I was thinking it was a sunset until I read this chapter; maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention to the dates and confused myself. Goodness, the dates are getting closer together now...
I had really hoped it was something like that. Wow!
The next chapter sounds exciting. And I don't have to wait. Very compelling story so far.
*applauds with a yawn* If I could keep my eyes open, I would. I haven't mentioned before, but I like the way you write everyone. Ron and Harry are often shortchanged in SSHG fics, but you've done a good job with them.
I like how there is something that ties the halves of the chapter together, like the wand in the previous chapter. I am so intrigued by the bracelet thing; I already want to go back and reread the first four chapters, but then I know I'd never get any sleep.
Oh, I told myself that I wasn't going to leave a review for every single chapter, but so far, I've had something to say.
I'm really interested in Hermione's research; I've already got a few ideas. Your recaps-as-forshadowing are brilliant!
Hmm, she remembered to call him "Severus." That has possibilities. Writing this story backwards and forwards must have been hard; it's amazing.
Okay, I know I said at one point that I wasn't going to read this because I was working on something similar, but I've pretty much given up on '50 First Kisses' and I can't ignore the siren call of a completed fic. I only hope I don't stay up too late reading this tonight, because right now I want to read the whole thing. You really gave us somehting to mull over.