I considered cutting this into two chapters, but I decided I liked it better as a whole. You'll find out a bit more about Gertie before the end. (But how would she get to Ablach or have anyone visit her there?)You will need to wait until there's a RaM sequel to learn what Alroy becomes -- I had to catch myself and go back and delete it! I didn't want to create a spoiler, after all! (We knew already that if he seemed to have the aptitude for it, Minerva would teach him, so I figured the fact in itself was not too much of a spoiler.)Glad you love Robbie even when he ain't there! LOL!Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!TTFN!

Poor Quin, indeed! Severus at least felt badly about what he said and tried, in his own way, to make up for it, which is a positive thing -- but he is a bit of a messed up boy in some ways. We'll see how things progress for him and Hermione.You'll have to wait and see what Minerva left Severus puzzling about!I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I appreciate the review!

One chooses sides or stands by and allows evil to happen, so Dumbledore or no Dumbledore, there would still be choices to be made. And the sort of man who would choose Minerva -- what side would he choose to be on? But Gertrude said something similar to that last line back the first day that Minerva was at the Gamps -- in the chapter "A Startling Revelation."

So Gertie did.  And if she thought she knew it then, how many additional lessons would she have to reinforce it......And the way she was wounded....if Carson was a Gryffy-Ravenclaw, Gertie was certainly a Gryffy-Slytherin, and increasingly so as she got older....  Perhaps they do indeed sort too soon ....

Thanks!

"One could say that being an ally of Albus Dumbledore is as dangerous as dating one of the Cartwright boys."ROFL! That's a good one!Quin was a definite Muggle-lover back in RaM, wasn't he?Thanks for reviewing!

Glad you like my Hallows interpretation. (Baby is all grown up. Thea . . . your question will be answered eventually. The first part of the answer will be coming fairly soon.)Robbie bothers Severus on so many levels, it's hard to enumerate them!We will be seeing more of Albus at various points in the story, both from Severus's p.o.v. and from other perspectives. Thanks for the review!

Thanks,

. I don't know whether it will make more sense or not, but I hope it will at least make some sense. At least there is a plan of sorts, and not mere blundering ahead . . . and no camping!It (meeting Crouch & remembering his mother) is helping Severus, in a way, attain his final atonement, being able to face what he did, really confront it, rather than merely live with regrets about Lily specifically and burying the rest of what he did and was as a Death Eater. There is more to redemption and atonement than merely "paying" for what one does -- dying or what-have-you -- and trying to defeat the evil outside oneself. Severus has the opportunity to try to recognise and achieve that. Anyway, that's all probably too philosophical -- or not philosophical enough, or something. Severus does still love Minerva, and that won't change, although being more detached from her can help him to grow more himself, and to grow toward others (like Hermione!).Thanks for the review!

Oh, and the second half of the chapter....<g>  Somehow Severus hasn't had a good track record lately of his schemes working out as he hoped, so I worry about his thinking the Trio could do w/o Hermione's presence.  Cue ominous music...  Not the kind of decision he should make unilaterally, IMO.  Esp. given his clouded emotions on the matter!

I think that the reason that Severus has nightmares has to do with all that you have mentioned. But he does wallow in his guilt and also in his sense of being injured by the world, which is a terrible conversation. Because he has let no one get very close to him -- even Minerva, really, although he had begun to see her as a friend -- he never had any way of letting that all out in any healthy way or in any way that allowed him to develop that "best self" that Albus spoke of, and that he had trouble believing in. I had always planned on Malcolm and Gertrude having that kind of fate, although the specifics worked themselves out when I was writing DD last autumn. As for Hermione, in this instance, he's actually wrong about what Minerva and Robbie would think, but right about what Albus would think.  Things won't go as smoothly for them at first, but it won't be all bad. But I'm not getting into the doings of the new Trio except tangentially -- hence this being a psychological drama as opposed to an action-adventure fic! But you are right about Severus's ideas and schemes in general lately.I'm glad you're enjoying this story and all of the RaM-verse tales! Thank you for your review!

Yes, I can see that Albus "Minerva, I never meant you should be pushing papers all day, just that you wouldn't be in danger" Dumbledore might agree w/ Severus, and also understand even more of his motives than Severus does at the moment, or would admit to, anyway....And the scene of dying Albus propped on his sofa, speaking  w/ Severus--oh, Albus, oh Minerva!  The sadness of it, the pain....  Even when one is confident that death is but the next big adventure, dying itself can be awful.  Being AK'd on the Tower per canon would have definitely been preferable, even after drinking that cursed Cave potion.  Severus is spared having the killing on his conscience, but seeing how Albus died, I wonder if he had second thoughts.....no wonder he was angry at the funeral, and sort of wishing Albus had slit his own throat--he, SS, had to choose between being responsible for killing his friend and patron and savior, or, in a way, his protracted suffering.  No good option.    I do hope we get Albus's POV from that period...if I were he, once I felt I'd imparted all the wisdom and knowledge I could, a potent potion, brewed by my own hand some months earlier and swallowed down in one gulp when Minerva's back was turned briefly, might have been a more appealing exit....

We will continue to see things more-or-less from Severus's p.o.v., w/ a little bit of Hermione's p.o.v. thrown in, and then we will see it from other perspectives -- that's when the discontinuous, nonlinear narrative comes in.And yup, that's why Severus felt so much anger. The next chapter should be up in a few days.

And, of course, I meant that Severus wallowing in guilt and in his sense of being injured by the world is a terrible combination -- sometimes I don't get my brain! lol!

Severus's response kinda mirrored my own. "Children and madmen!" LOL!I'm sure that many of Snape's nightmares from which he was trying to escape are from events like that -- it's like he said to Minerva in the first chapter about why he was "fucked up." I also am sure that Robbie knew precisely who he was talking to as he sat there talking with Snape, and that Dumbledore was late to their meeting on purpose. A little "get-to-know-you" time.  (I rather doubt that Robert viewed Malcolm as a step-father, just 'cause there were only 6 years between them in age -- but it's hard to think of a better term. "His mother's second husband" makes it sound like they didn't get along, or as though she had been married more than twice . . . *puzzling puzzling*)I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks much for reviewing!

I'm glad that you are choosing pleasure before unpacking and laundry!!! Given the curse on the DADA position, I'm sure Minerva was thinking of Severus's welfare -- even if only as a member of staff and the Order of the Phoenix (and their spy) -- when she declined to keep him in the position. Who knows what have might befallen him if he had signed on for a second year . . . eep! We will see more of Snape and his feelings toward Robbie in the next couple of chapters. Thanks for reviewing! Glad you enjoyed the chapter -- and I hope you had a great weekend!

They weren't together when Malcolm was killed -- more like an assassination, really -- or they might have gone down together. Lupin and Tonks (if you'll forgive the spoiler for DD) have a different fate here, as do most of the characters, as you have likely surmised.I'm glad you liked the chapter. Thank you very much for reviewing!

So often, we love to see the reformed Severus without thinking about what he was reformed from. I knew this chapter might upset devoted RaM followers, but remember that G & M had many happy years together! And Malcolm wouldn't have been Malcolm if he had sat on the sidelines, after all. A man who laughs at dragons isn't going to shirk danger when he sees a duty before him. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for the review!

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

I am sure that Durmstrang has quite adequate course in Defence -- although that was so long ago, and his practical experience rather outweighs whatever he may have learned at school back in the 20s & 30s. I am sure that Minerva is thinking of the curse -- she doesn't want something untoward to happen to Snape by giving him the job, as would no doubt happen if he were to be appointed for another year. This is an excellent opportunity to practice patience! Close your eyes, breath softly, and listen to nothing . . . aaahhhh!It doesn't help my impatience, either, but I keep trying! LOLThanks for the review!

This was just a couple months after the end of the last chapter, and the first four chapters all proceed in chronological order. The "jumping around" hasn't begun yet. As I have mentioned, the narrative is nonlinear, but it should be easy enough to follow. I wouldn't read it at midnight after a night of drinking, of course! LOL! I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!

Thinking about it, and remembering that you've read Resolving a Misunderstanding, An Act of Love, and other fics of mine, I realised that the way the narratives proceed in those stories probably sets up a certain expectation that makes the structure here somewhat surprising -- in RaM and AAoL, sometimes three or more chapters cover the events of one day, and in RaM, although there are occasionally days skipped, it is almost a day-by-day account of events over two months, with occasional runs of chapters that go back and cover previous years; in AAoL, the story covers essentially less than a week, and is also a day-by-day account. "Death's Dominion," on the other hand, is structured differently from RaM or AAoL because the day-to-day action is much less important. It is fast-moving and will cover almost two years in a relatively short number of chapters, none of which is particularly long. It's definitely more psychological drama rather than action-adventure! I hope you continue to enjoy it!

I'm glad you liked it! We'll learn more about Snape's feelings about Robbie in the next chapter. (And your welcome for the chapter explanations!)Thanks for the review! I always enjoy them. Later!

I found many things puzzling about late canon. I will try to keep up the pace of posting, but I'm still shifting bits of it around, so if it slows down, it's because I am moving things about.I'm glad you are enjoying it! Thanks very much!

Precisely what Severus was thinking in the prologue. But she is listening to him, as you shall see. Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. The next should be up on Sunday. Till then, hope you have a great weekend!

I'm very glad that you enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next update! (BTW, in terms of AU, you might refer to the author's notes.)Thanks much for the review! I always appreciate them!

Why didn't I think of that?  Thanks!

He tends to be less bratty with McGonagall, I think, and he hasn't any particular reason that we know of to dislike Robbie, and he's only just met Melina -- top that off with the fact that he's happy to be leaving the Dursleys, and he'll behave a bit better. And, as you say, he is grieving and also trying to figure out what to do next now that both Sirus and Albus are gone AND he'll be of-age very soon. The seriousness of his situation is weighing on him, I think. And let's face it, he has a real unreasoning prejudice against Snape, hence his unpleasant behavior at the Headmaster's funeral. (I actually found his willingness at the end of Book 7 to view the memories and then have a sudden change of heart about Snape really . . . odd. Not that I don't think that he could have a change of heart about Snape, because I do, I just thought it was very sudden. But what do I know?)I'm glad you caught the grim feeling there. I was hoping it would come across as a kind of subtext.Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate reading your comments!

I'm glad you liked this version of Harry's departure from the Dursleys. I'd like to believe that the Order wasn't completely incompetent and amateurish, overcomplicating things to the point of creating a huge mess and creating a perfect opportunity for Voldy to attack and take out Order members, even if Harry manages to escape unharmed. Of course, my version isn't seat-of-the-pants exciting as hers was, and we don't have all those enchanting Death Eaters killing off characters, but I do like my version myself!Robbie is sweet here, being that thoughtful. Glad you like Alroy teaching. Of course, Quin did promise Minerva his services or those of his son or daughter, so I'm sure Alroy was pleased to hop to when Minerva called upon him -- not to mention that Minerva was his favorite teacher! (But we are getting way ahead of ourselves here! haha!)I'm glad you like the way the stories link together. I think you can read them all as separate fics if you haven't read Resolving a Misunderstanding, though. I try to write them that way, for the most part. There will obviously be things that have more meaning or resonance for people like you who've read RaM and the others, but they should still be enjoyable reads on their own.Thanks for the review! I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Thanks, Irish! She also doesn't want to die or see Dudley murdered, so that's a bit of an incentive, too.

You shall see, in time. It's not a long thing, like RaM, or even AAoL, and Severus is the focus for most of it. I'm glad you enjoyed it and are looking forward to the update!

Some of the chapters do hop back a bit, but these first few do go chronologically (although obviously the events of the Prologue occurred between chapters 2 & 3), as do the next couple, though we do learn of some of the earlier events in those chapters, as well. We'll get a bit of a peek at Alroy, yes, so you can look forward to that a ways down the road.I'm very glad you enjoyed the chapter, and the Dursleys. Thanks for the review,

! Till next time, then!

I'm glad that you are intrigued! And I won't remind you to be patient, as you already have done that! lolWe will catch some glimpses of a few of the other RaM characters. Thanks very much for the review!