Yes, she reaches a different conclusion. I am pleased that I got her thoughts on the subject relatively on mark; I have never had the marriage v. cohabitation discussion, so I'm very glad that it is realistic to those who have. Thank you for your continued reviews -- I always look forward to hearing from you.

Yes, she reaches a different conclusion. I am pleased that I got her thoughts on the subject relatively on mark; I have never had the marriage v. cohabitation discussion, so I'm very glad that it is realistic to those who have. Thank you for your continued reviews -- I always look forward to hearing from you.

He's not still in love with Lily -- he's just hard, obstinate, and unwilling to compromise. He has learned to value control over emotion -- a hard man to love. Thank you for the review!

He's not still in love with Lily -- he's just hard, obstinate, and unwilling to compromise. He has learned to value control over emotion -- a hard man to love. Thank you for the review!

I'm so pleased that you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading. Best wishes.

'Music of the Night' is definitely my #2 favorite. :-) Gerard is fabulous -- definitely my top actor crush behind AR. Great minds clearly think alike.Hermione's struggle seems to be touching a chord in readers, and I am so pleased that it is resonating. Obviously, the emotion itself is painful, but I am glad that it is coming off well. And may I add that I appreciate that you can appreciate the Severus/Ron dichotomy "in advance," so to speak. Thank you so much for your continued readership -- it means more to me than you know.

'Music of the Night' is definitely my #2 favorite. :-) Gerard is fabulous -- definitely my top actor crush behind AR. Great minds clearly think alike.Hermione's struggle seems to be touching a chord in readers, and I am so pleased that it is resonating. Obviously, the emotion itself is painful, but I am glad that it is coming off well. And may I add that I appreciate that you can appreciate the Severus/Ron dichotomy "in advance," so to speak. Thank you so much for your continued readership -- it means more to me than you know.

I cannot tell you how much I needed to hear that. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a detailed review, and let me just enjoy the compliments for a brief moment! :) I am so pleased that you are enjoying (perhaps not quite the right word) Hermione and Severus, and that you enjoy the secondary characters, as well. Cosette is possibly my favorite OC I've ever written in a HP story. I apologize for making you cry, but you may cry again before we're out of the "past' timeline... *offers you Kleenex for the tears* Thank you again for reading and for taking the time to review.

I cannot tell you how much I needed to hear that. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a detailed review, and let me just enjoy the compliments for a brief moment! :) I am so pleased that you are enjoying (perhaps not quite the right word) Hermione and Severus, and that you enjoy the secondary characters, as well. Cosette is possibly my favorite OC I've ever written in a HP story. I apologize for making you cry, but you may cry again before we're out of the "past' timeline... *offers you Kleenex for the tears* Thank you again for reading and for taking the time to review.

Thank you for reviewing, m'dear!

Thank you for reviewing, m'dear!

Yes, it is. Thank you for your continued reviews and support!

Yes, it is. Thank you for your continued reviews and support!

You've summed up a lot there, sister. It is very sad. Thank you so much for continuing to read and review - it means the world to me.

You've summed up a lot there, sister. It is very sad. Thank you so much for continuing to read and review - it means the world to me.

Snape's "trips" are for work and private study -- they're not bad (he's not cheating, rest assured), they're just nearly as impossible for Hermione to deal with as he is at times. I appreciate your continued readership and your reviews, as well. We did go into the story knowing that Severus and Hermione didn't end up together in the past - the fact that Hermione is telling the story to Rose attests to that fact. It is difficult, it is heartbreaking, and any fulfillment would have to happen in the present. We have at least two more "past" chapters that will continue the disintegration of their relationship, so I must warn you ahead of time that, while there may be entertaining and warm moments between our couple, their relationship in the past will end.

Snape's "trips" are for work and private study -- they're not bad (he's not cheating, rest assured), they're just nearly as impossible for Hermione to deal with as he is at times. I appreciate your continued readership and your reviews, as well. We did go into the story knowing that Severus and Hermione didn't end up together in the past - the fact that Hermione is telling the story to Rose attests to that fact. It is difficult, it is heartbreaking, and any fulfillment would have to happen in the present. We have at least two more "past" chapters that will continue the disintegration of their relationship, so I must warn you ahead of time that, while there may be entertaining and warm moments between our couple, their relationship in the past will end.

The thing is, I don't think it's Severus so much building up her hopes as Hermione wanting them to be something that he's not willing to be -- Severus cares for her deeply, but he says he's not willing to commit marriage-wise (and they are practically co-habitating already). It is Hermione's desires here that are not lining up with who he is -- and he is quite impossible. I like that you mention Rhett -- he's also one of my literary favorites. We all knew going into the story that Severus and Hermione do not end up together in the past, and I have done my best to make the "why" in that statement believable. I appreciate your continued readership and your reviews - thank you.

I guess I don't understand why marriage is such a problem. I have that problem in RL as well. I don't understand how people can live together and not get married. I hear the excuse, "It's just a piece of paper", but if that were true, then why not get married, after all - it's just a piece of paper! Snape obviously would have married Lily if she'd wanted him, so it's not about him not being the marrying kind. I see it as an excuse to hold on to the past, but his actions are contrary. He wants to play the role of a commited person, live with her, share his body with her, but it has its conditions. He can be so loving and giving, but then withhold when things get too close for comfort. I think he is being very cruel and very false. I guess I don't like this Snape. Severus Snape is a one-woman man. He was devoted to Lily's memory single-mindedly for two decades. I guess I can only really see Snape as putting Lily to rest, or at least working hard at doing so in order to be with someone else.I'm still interested in seeing how this story ends. It is so sad to read, knowing they will part and it is beyond me how she would settle for Ron when she obviously feels more passion for Snape. I would rather be alone than married to someone just because it was comfortable and conveinient. I wonder if Hermione feels like she cheated herself by marrying Ron?Livvy

To your comment on not liking this Snape, I must say that I appreciate your reading the story, but if you can no longer read, I understand. All of us have different understandings of who Severus is, versions drawn from our interpretation of the canon and our personal background. Then there are our first and favorite HG/SS fics we read that affect how we see Fanon!Snape. And it can all come down to the type of story you like. I appreciate your comments, readership, and honesty.

The thing is, I don't think it's Severus so much building up her hopes as Hermione wanting them to be something that he's not willing to be -- Severus cares for her deeply, but he says he's not willing to commit marriage-wise (and they are practically co-habitating already). It is Hermione's desires here that are not lining up with who he is -- and he is quite impossible. I like that you mention Rhett -- he's also one of my literary favorites. We all knew going into the story that Severus and Hermione do not end up together in the past, and I have done my best to make the "why" in that statement believable. I appreciate your continued readership and your reviews - thank you.

I guess I don't understand why marriage is such a problem. I have that problem in RL as well. I don't understand how people can live together and not get married. I hear the excuse, "It's just a piece of paper", but if that were true, then why not get married, after all - it's just a piece of paper! Snape obviously would have married Lily if she'd wanted him, so it's not about him not being the marrying kind. I see it as an excuse to hold on to the past, but his actions are contrary. He wants to play the role of a commited person, live with her, share his body with her, but it has its conditions. He can be so loving and giving, but then withhold when things get too close for comfort. I think he is being very cruel and very false. I guess I don't like this Snape. Severus Snape is a one-woman man. He was devoted to Lily's memory single-mindedly for two decades. I guess I can only really see Snape as putting Lily to rest, or at least working hard at doing so in order to be with someone else.I'm still interested in seeing how this story ends. It is so sad to read, knowing they will part and it is beyond me how she would settle for Ron when she obviously feels more passion for Snape. I would rather be alone than married to someone just because it was comfortable and conveinient. I wonder if Hermione feels like she cheated herself by marrying Ron?Livvy

To your comment on not liking this Snape, I must say that I appreciate your reading the story, but if you can no longer read, I understand. All of us have different understandings of who Severus is, versions drawn from our interpretation of the canon and our personal background. Then there are our first and favorite HG/SS fics we read that affect how we see Fanon!Snape. And it can all come down to the type of story you like. I appreciate your comments, readership, and honesty.

Thank you, dear. Don't know how I missed this review, as I just responded to the one for chapter sixteen, but thank you for reading! *hugs*

Thank you, dear. Don't know how I missed this review, as I just responded to the one for chapter sixteen, but thank you for reading! *hugs*

Thank you! I'm so pleased that you enjoyed it, and I am immensely honored by the compliment -- spending 6 hours reading straight is certainly praise! Thank you. 

Yes, I agree. I have had similar conversations with my mother - different circumstances, obviously - but we've talked about her past and I never felt uncomfortable; I couldn't imagine Rose feeling so, either. As always, thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

Yes, she is definitely reasonable. She is her mother's daughter, after all, and this is about the acquiring of information about her mother's past. Also, I've had similar conversations with my mom, and it didn't freak me out at all (same as you). I'm very pleased you are finding the story realistic and pleasing. :-) Thank you for leaving a review, as always!

Thank you for reading and reviewing, dear! I am so glad you are still enjoying it and that you find it to be original.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, dear! I am so glad that you enjoyed the chapter. :-)

(repeat)

Okay, I am so obscenely happy right now it's not even funny. You are my Official Favorite Person right now, after my mother who just helped me figure out iTunes issues, who doesn't entirely count as she's family. You are the best. Just the best.To address things:1) Yes, a bit ominous, but as you have remembered, they are together for several years after this. They have years together. 2) Don't get yourself worked up about the breakup. That's far off in the future. I haven't even written it, therefore it doesn't exist except in the theoretical sense. *comforts you*3) Yes, their connection is visceral! It's what I'm going for, so I am so happy you used that word!4) We do occasionally come back to Rose, but I assure you that you will love the next chapter. And I am very pleased that you voted! *big smile* *overall glomp to

for being amazing*

1) Erm - thank you. :-) He had an alternately disturbing or proper upbringing as I imagine it (details later on), so it seemed natural, and he is trying his best to exhibit Good Behavior that will make Hermione go away (at least, that's his first response to her).2) Thank you very much. :-) I appreciate that you noticed!3) Yes, I do. I'd like to think everyone is prone to it, but I assume that as I develop as a writer I will (hopefully) weed Favorite and Overused Phrases out of my vocabulary. I hope it wasn't too jarring.And I just realized that I capitalized two phrases in there - ah, well. I very much appreciate your reading and reviewing.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you liked it.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, dear! I'm so pleased you're enjoying Hermione and Rose's dialogue.

P.S. And I see Hermione *was* more selective in where she stormed off this time around... rainy Paris streets are a MUCH better choice than a warehouse district in Amsterdam :)

Thank you so much for your compliments, dear. The flashback is (quite obviously) my favorite plot device, and I'm so glad that it reads well, as I know that flashbacks can be quite jarring to the flow. And yes, Rose is most definitely her own person, but she's also her mother's daughter.Aren't you quite pleased you called it - that Hermione would walk out again? *waggles eyebrows at you* And yes, walkouts on rainy Paris streets (esp. when Severus Snape follows you and snogs you senseless) are quite preferable.

Rest assured, chapter twelve is written and will be up within the week, I'd imagine, give or take TPP's queue line (I was able to write two chapters over spring break). And getting back together might be rushing it a bit. :-) This is Halloween 2001 and Hermione doesn't return until March 2005... we've still got some time to go through. I so appreciate your reading and consistent reviewing - thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I love how you say "when she storms off" - there is no "if" about it, is there? (!) Well, you certainly called the next chapter. :-) And thank you so much for the compliment - slow burns can be the most satisfying, in my personal opinion. Thank you for always reviewing; it really means a lot to me.

That is the important thing to remember: that Hermione is remembering all of this and is relaying most if not all to Rose. Not to worry, though... there will be some "details" in the next chapter. ;-) Thank you for reviewing!