I really like how you have written Harry, Dudley and Petunia in non-prat mode!  I always love Minerva in her Tabby Animagus, so that put a smile on my face (hey, I love cats, what can I say?).And the RaM-verse characters are always welcome in my book (Alroy MacAirt is a little hottie like his Dad, isn't he?).

Dreaming of dead loved ones is one of those painful, but necessary parts of growing up, I have found.  It eventually stops hurting...after many many years!  No wonder humans invented "afterlife" stuff.

Already much better than what That Other Writer gave us and many fewer casualties.  I'm looking forward to seeing Professor MacAirt and learning what the lad has made of himself.  I daresay that if Quin is still around, he will have aged well.

I found the Dursley family much more likeable, the father is still a jerk, but Perunia and Dudley were much improved.  I think the plan is an excellent one and I can't wait to see what's next.

This is very good. I am finding it excruciatingly difficult to read, but that is not a reflection on your story or writing, except in the most positive sense. I have become so very fond of your Minerva and Albus. After watching their 15-yr dance of denial in RaM finally being resolved, and so passionately, there and in Holiday, I cannot bear to see their relationship implode, as it is doing here, at least in this part of the story. Minerva's pain here is surely beyond full description--knowing from RaM how close their bond is, and how much of her self she has invested in their union, to see this level of betrayal from Albus, no matter his motives, is surely literally breaking her heart. I am surprised Severus and his quarters escaped w/o physical damage--her magical control was certainly strained to its limits.Albus and Minerva will have an incredible amount of hard work to do if they are to heal the damage in the short time he has left. I guess that's the only advantage, from the POV of their relationship, of Severus telling her--at least now there is the possibility of them working through it and coming to some degree of healing, however slight. OTOH, if he'd died w/o telling her, and she'd only learned then, there would have been no way of confronting him or mending any of the damage. But even so, the damage is severe and the time short.

How sad, I hope something works out well for him for once.  Any hope for a happy ending?

Minerva's pain and anger are heartbreaking, but I'm not sure if I was more teary-eyed over her feelings or Severus. He seems so very lost, as though he's trying very hard to be rational and logical but not really sure what to do with the feelings he's so used to suppressing. I'm thrilled you've started with this story, I've been looking forward to it since you finished AAoL.

Poor Minerva... it does not seem that she can do anything to help Albus.  But why doesn't Albus tell her himself?  I understand that he knows that he will die eventually, and before this war is over, but he is being incredibly selfish towards Minerva!  And Severus didn't know what the Unbreakable Vow was asking of him when he made it?  He is very self-destructive, then!  How could he do this to Minerva?  Anyway, great chapter, as always, and I can't wait for the next update!

DH not compliant is a reccomendation as far as I am concerned! SHUT UP Harry. I hope Snape and Minerva's friendship can be saved.

OH MY WORD I really really feel so sorry for our Minerva right now  and really feel like going over and kicking Albus's ass big time.  I can't wait to see what Albus has to say about not telling Minerva.  You have to feel sorry for Severus as hes stuck either way.  Ps I hope someone kicks Potters ass for what he said in the prologue.:-)

Oh damn, poor Severus he really caught in the middle here. And Minerva can't even begin to understand why this is happening. This will take some time to digest. I look for ward to the next part. Excellent as per usual.Truly

it speaks to the skill of the writer that you can send us down multiple paths of speculation about Albus' motivation and plans.  You aren't making things obvious, here.Except for Severus' genuine regret and willingness to die rather than fulfill the vow.  And Minerva's deep grief that after all the years, Albus has not trusted her enough to tell her the truth so that they could make decisions together.In that, she has every right to confront Albus.  We may not know the vows they took when they married, but "for better or worse" was probably in there in some form.

Agh.  It's true; how will she believe what Albus tells her again?  Forty years of trust shattered.  (I hope that it's explained to her that Severus had no real choice about the vow - refusing would have given away his position, causing dreadful erruptions....)  At least Minerva knows now, & I've a feeling that she'll have it out with Albus quickly.  Yes, no one is sleeping well this night. 

Wow.  This is extraordinary, and powerful stuff.  I can just imagine how Minerva is hurting, but I can also see how Albus and Severus are too.  Pain and grief make us do hurtful things sometimes, and the more we love, the more we can hurt the ones we love.  All of these are so true to human emotions!  Not always logical, but so very true.Glad you marked this as psychological drama...'cause, dayum.  It is.  The chapter titles are also intrigue me, and I admit that I need to be educated on their sources...?  My literature courses were a long, long, long time ago, in a galaxy far far away!Cheers,Di 

Wow! What an emotional chapter. I felt my heart breaking for Minerva as she learned of the Vow and Albus' refusal to take his potions. It still seems so surreal that Albus is gone and we're looking back on his last months through the eyes of others.It will be very interesting to see what Minerva has to say to Albus when she sees him next. I do hope you're planning on showing us the windfall from that little chat. I am very anxious to see what you have in store for us in this story. It's so emotionally charged and I feel rather anxious to get to the end to see the outcome but in no hurry to see the end of the story, if that makes any sense at all.Best go have another cup of tea so I can wake fully this morning!!Toodles,GLM

Ahh.  So Albus thinks he's going to go quietly into that good night to leave the field clear for the younger man he has always wondered might be there for Minerva.Stubborn man.  He's held onto that irrational belief a long time.  You have an interesting take on Occlumency.  Do I have this right?  Not only does it block certain memories against someone who uses Legilimency to try and access them, but it represses emotions in the Occlumens.Good story!

An interesting beginning to your story.  I am glad to see certain bits of canon being ignored.  The story will be all the better for it.Harry is going to annoy me an awful lot, isn't he?

Yes, as you said in your response to an earlier review, Albus might be feeling a bit guilty here, and deservedly so, IMHO.  Even if his planned death is the only or best solution strategically, the loss will still hurt Minerva terribly, 40 wonderful years or no.  (And while he may be very very old, forgive us for not noticing, given his energy levels when we last 'saw' him, in the  the last chapters of AAoL! They still make my monitor steamy!)  He and Minerva are joined so deeply that even if she were cheering his decision on enthusiastically, her heart would be rent in two, and hopefully he realizes that.  Good for Minerva for working so hard w/ Severus.  She really does love him, in a totally platonic way, and his loyalty to her is obvious.  I have to hope that with so much love woven into the tapestry everywhere--Minerva and Severus for each other, platonically, Albus and Minerva for each other, decidedly more than platonic <g>, and the filial love of a sort between Albus and Severus--that this fic will have a golden thread of hope and life in it despite the surface gloom.  Or maybe the optimism is just Easter rubbing off on me....Speaking of which, Happy Easter to any here who observe it.  Christos Anesti!

Why won't Albus attempt to save himself?  It's obvious that he loves Minerva (especially because of his display earlier in the chapter), so I don't really know if he STILL doesn't believe Minerva loves him and needs him as much as he loves and needs her, or for some other reason...  Anyway, this was a fantastic chapter, as always, and I can't wait for the nect update - for this story and for A Holiday with the Headmaster!

I was very happy to see an update so soon in my inbox for this story. I've been anxiously awaiting the update since the prologue. tee hee.I feel really sorry for Snape in this chapter. He's trying so hard to be nice to Minerva and to Albus, no doubt trying to make amends for the Adfectus curse and yet he's still battling his own personal demons. I'm glad Minerva is helping him with the dreams though. Wow...best not to ever question Albus' love for Minerva...note to self. That was an especially emotional and powerful burst of anger there but he regained control quickly. Snape should have known better than to pull that card out of the deck, especially since he saw first hand (literally) how much Albus loves Minerva. The last part of this chapter seems very foreboding. I have a feeling that things won't go so well for our dear Potions Master and I have to say I'm not amused with Albus for not at least trying the experimental potions. You'd think he'd at least try them for Minerva's sake. sigh.It will be very interesting to see how Minerva reacts to the news. With any luck, we won't have to wait long to find out...hint hint!!!Have a great Easter weekend!!GLM

Hmmm, I love the idea that Minerva knows what's going on.  I think it will better prepare her either way this story jumps.

Wow, this starts out on a completely different foot. I like it though, its good to see Severus' point of view more. Looking forward to the next part.Truly

I fell in love with Albus and Minerva within the first few pages of HP book #1;  Severus Snape, not so much.  JKR wrote him as a nasty git, and that's how I felt about him.  UNTIL we got to see Alan Rickman's portrayal of Snape in the first film!  The snarkiness, sarcasm, and plain ol' sexy voice got under my skin, big time.  I cannot imagine anyone else ever portraying Snape.  Ever (I mean, he made a terrorist "adorable" in Die Hard, what's not to love?)  This is starting out so very sad and poignant, since we think we know what is coming.  My mantra?  Things are not always what they appear;  things are not always what they appear;  things are not always what they appear...*sigh*  OK, I'm okay now.    Di

That quotation explains Severus' actions precisely, especially with Minerva encouraging his 'better' self to rise to the surface.  It also makes one wonder about Albus, as Minerva stated in AOL's epilogue.  Yet, I still do not understand Albus' acceptance, as he has always been so ready to look for alternatives for any difficulty; why not for this....  Perhaps we'll learn that later.  Thank you for the fast update; either this or 'Holiday' makes for a good read!  And, yes, my name is for tea alone, though it is rather like the Dragon, isn't it?  Either suits, actually, lol!

I had hoped that when you said one spell changes everything, what might be changed is that Albus didn't have to die at all. :-(  Of course who knows what twists you've got planned...nothing is certain, esp. given the poem you lead off with.Poor Minerva!  How she must be  utterly utterly heartbroken!Harry may be being a total self-centred prat, but Sev wouldn't get any extra credit in CPE if he submitted this for a verbatim, either.  When talking to Minerva he's pretty wrapped up in himself.  I'm glad she tells him to stuff it for the present.  He deserved more of a telling off than he got, at least from what we see here.

Good start, an since I adore AU ficts I'm looking forward to the read.