somehow, you have managed to make the camping interesing to read (and I never thought I would say that!) I really like how you have focused on the horcrux, draining energy and causing those horrific dreams. And even though severus was not in this chapter at all, i could still just feel the connection between him and hermione. Excellent work!

Well, I have to say that my extreme prejudice against DH and all the camping had me not-so-looking-forward to this chapter that you had prewarned of coming. And also due to my extreme annoyance of the canon camping, I am happy to just get through this and hope it ends quickly - like within the first paragraph of the next chapter LOL. However, all this is in no way reflective of your writing. That is, as usual, spot on terrific. So I anxiously await the next chapter and hope it's filled with all things NOT camping. :) Your chapter also reminded me of another annoyance in DH - why did the trio even feel the need to wear the Horcrux? Surely they could have put it somewhere safe - even in Hermione's bag - and not actually worn it. Dunderheads! But again, this is not your writing, but my dissatisfaction with this part of canon that is my problem. I'll just go off and sulk in a corner somewhere until all this camping and wearing of an evil locket nonsense is over with. LOL

You have absolutely no need to apologize for tackling the camping section!  You have managed to make it far more interesting, complex, and dramatically compelling than JKR did!And an evil cliffie!  I will not go back to the original and try to figure out what's about to happen, I will wait (semi-)patiently until the next chapter is out.I know you have said that your original plan was to prolong the point at which they really became deeply emotionally involved, but I think you made an extraordinarily wise choice to shift that center to an earlier point in the story.  It then gives all of this section such power by allowing her to contemplate what he might have meant and doubt him while under the effect of that horrible necklace.And I am also enjoying the subtle ways you are playing with the Ron and Harry that made their appearance during this stretch of the original and how those aspects of their character interact with the Hermione who has an Enormous Secret.  Loved especially her initial attempt to introduce doubts about Snape's actions into Harry's thinking--and his resistance to applying any kind of logic where he really ought to have done so.You continue to make the original so much richer and more plausible by supplying details and explanation for many things that were left unexamined, and you continue to do it brilliantly!  This is truly a classic.  Fantastic work.

In THAT BOOK, JKR gives so much focus to Harry, at the cost of the other characters.  The reality is that Harry and Ron would have been caught the first day on the run, if not for Hermione.  They would have starved to death, if not for Hermione.  I am delighted to see the story through Hermione's eyes.I would also like to smack Ron upside his head, horcrux influence or not.  He's a spoiled brat who needs to go home to Mum.  Oh, that's right.  He does, doesn't he?An excellent, if depressing, chapter. 

Cliffhanger! Argh!   Indeed. :)

The para. that begins, "This is what they had come to." Hermione rails a bit against DD. This wouldn't happen to be a bit of Lariope's opinion as well, would it? Mine, too. Why, for Merlin's sake, couldn't the old man have said, "This is how you go about destroying Horcruxes. This is what they are." Honestly!

Thinking back to her last conversation with Snape, the "smirking camraderie" they had had. Before the Horcrux infiltrated her mind, she had it. All of those unspoken river currents moving beneath their relationship, everything that can't be said aloud. There's the truth.

But I think the Horcrux operates so effectively because it uses pieces of the truth. When she was filled with certainty that she had been duped, isn't that a way to protect herself? Distance herself from Snape and her feelings for him? Diabolical instrument.

No Snape in this one. Well, he was a dot. I'd take a dot over no Snape at all. :)

xxoo

Author's Response: Dot-Snape. hehehehe.

I think you've put your finger on what makes the Horcrux so terrible and fascinating--that it uses anything it can, anything that is already there.

And maybe... just maybe, there was a little Lariope in there. :)

xoxo

I am breathless!  You captured the horror of their situation unimagineably well.  I got the same feeling I did reading Lord of the Ring when they were tramping through the woods and the ring was wearing upon them.  That precise sense of being small and lost in a seemingly hopeless quest with an almost sentient, evil object weighing down upon them.  Brilliant!

To tell the truth, I'm very happy Hermione wore the Horcrux while thinking that Snape's attitude is nothing but a pose. What makes me worried though is your very close path along canon-DH. Your story interlocks with DH so firmly, it seems like a true parallel. It will deviate soon enough, and I sincerely hope it will be between the last chapter and the canon epilogue. You are doing such a great job with this parallel Second Life.

Wow, that was most evil! You really have to end this story soon, or else I'm running out of praise ;-)Another great chapter and since it was communication-free, I'll guess there'll be some more of that soon.I'm already looking forward to it!gab

With what serene loveliness, of body and mind, you've chosen to leave Severus (and us).

Then again, given the beauty of your story, it's not surprising. Your great strength is your characterization- the intricate plot through which you've woven the books took, I'm certain, a great deal of hard work. But it is the fact that you've taken the loyalties of these two people- really their most fundamental characteristic- and bent them so believably toward each other, that shows a talent the absence of which no amount of hard work could buttress.

Snape deserves this kind of loyalty, though he never got it in canon. Neither did Hermione. And my heart sings to see such a talented writer remedying the problem.

(Your story is, by the way, one of the few instant "Ahas!"- as soon as I see an update I drop what I'm doing to go read.)

Author's Response: There will never be enough Thank you in the world for that.

Thank you.

I'm happier than I can say that my characterizations are ringing true for you and that the story is doing what I most wanted it to do: to give two people that I love what they deserve.

*hugs you tight* Thank you for reading, and thank you for this lovely review.

Another solid chapter, making something that was horrid in canon (camping) Horrid, in a good way. (I long for more Snape interaction and can't wait to see how you manage it next!)

That's a pretty evil cliffhanger, there.  Hope to see an update soon.  Not much you can do with teh camping, but you did a good job of adding Hermione's insecurities to the mix.

There had been some unnamable quality to their exchange that had reminded her of their winter lessons--a kind of smirking camaraderie that she had missed. And it had seemed to her, too, that in their formality with one another there was an unspoken mutual promise to guard their relationship from scrutiny and scorn--it been placed in priority alongside their other duties, and in some way that she could barely articulate, its position there had given it an importance that reassured her. Exactly how I felt after their last exchanges through the portrait.  You just worded it so brilliantly here.  I love "smirking camaraderie"--such a delightful phrase.You know, as much as I know you have been dreading the long drawn-out camping parts of DH, I really enjoyed this chapter and your spin on it.  Describing their dreams while wearing the Horcrux just gives a whole new dimension to their sufferings while wandering.  It's bad enough that in canon, they (mainly Ron) got snipey and mean, but to also experience these vivid, horrific nightmares...well that just gives this part of their tale an urgency and terror that wasn't quite there in Jo's telling.   I was literally horrified during  that last bit with Hermione and the Horcrux sticking to her chest and making her feel things, all the way into her heart.  It's just too creepy for words and really demonstrates exactly how intense is the evil they're battling!Really, as much as you may not have liked putting this chapter up, you should be even more proud of it than some others for the simple fact that you took what could have been tedious and drawn out and "same old same old" and made it fresh and tense and horrifying all at the same time. Which is a major triumph, in my opinion!

I am going to take a break from reading the next chapter to let my eyes dry up for awhile. Good Chapter once again.

breathteaking! that horocrux - episode i mean. so credible.they could leave the map for her. she needs some soothing.and somebody should hang Dumbledore...s portrait elsewehre when the two turtledoves come to communicate again! *pleasehavemercy*salva

Ok I really didn't want dumbledore to die again, sad chapter, but good as always.

Snape runs hot and cold doesn't he, I guess he is under a lot of stress at the moment. Great Chapter.

Ah, Ron seems just like himself from book seven. I really did hate for him to wear that necklace, for he turned into such a twit! It was a great chapter and I am looking forward to the next! :) Congratulations on your 1000 reviews!

I really nice exploration of how the Trio lived with that necklace and how it probably got to them. I wonder how long Hermione's doubts will last about Severus real intention towards her.

I was always struck by the similarity between the locket and Sauron's ring.

This story is so brilliant! I know I have said so before, but it still holds true, so I will say it again. You are giving so much "body" to the story, it is magnificient. The aspect with the Horcrux was such a brilliant twist, you had me on the egde of the chair while reading. I am so looking forward to read more of this fantastic story!!!!

Very nice chapter.

Uh oh, I thought that might be happening.

A little angsty, but good.

Well I am glad voldemort didn't physically hurt snape again. another good chapter.

Ok, it is alright if you follow hbp and kill AD, he is starting to irritate me. Good chapter.