Lets just hope he contatcs Hermione before the end of term.

Perhaps she needs some time away to clarify her feelings? :)

I hope that Hermione is able to make a new start away from Hogwarts and become independent--I suspect that her being strong enough to stay away from Severus will help to show him just how wrong his assumptions about her have been.  While it would be fascinating to read a chapter highlighting Sev's POV, this story is called "Being Hermione Granger"!    We'll just have to worry and wonder along with her regarding what's going through his Slytherin head.

Love the description of the apartment--I wish I could have lived in one even remotely like that during my apartment days!

I know there is a lot going on in her life, but would she really forget something that important?  I guess she did.

So... His emotions are still conflicting. Well, I guess that's better that just simple disgust in her presence.

There is a line in "The Sound of Music" that comes to mind here where the Baroness is trying to convince Maria to go back to the Convent. She says, "There's nothing more irresistable to a man than a woman who is in love with him."

I hope for Hermione's sake that the saying is true.

Update pleeeeaaaassseee!

This story is more than great, it's brilliant!! and I have missed so much the "A story you have bookmarked has been updated" mail =P

Wonderful chapter =)

I really can't wait to read what happens next. :)

He really needs to be hexed. Great chapter.

You are a master of the art of angst! I'm so glad she scooped up the courage to give him the potion in person. I had thought that perhaps she would send it via another student, Flitwick, or owl. But this is much better.

Now, about that Unicorn blood...

I think now it's up to Snape to make the next move. Hopefully to thank her for the potion because it has worked! One can only hope
Great Chapter.

Ah yes, boys and girls have mismatching expectations. Who's it always the girls getting to learn it the hard way...

Snape was truly civil to Hermione, which gived me much hope. Liviconnor is right, he values her on several levels. This will be the key to an understanding.
Hermione is also right, it isn't hers to make the next move.

A very emotional chapter, well done!

At least Ginny and Herms have kissed and made up... :)

Good grief, that was so heartbreaking. Poor Hermione.

Oh, poor honey.  Hermione's got it rough... but at least Ginny's back. (I half-expected it to go femmeslash back there)
There's got to be more coming.  Ginny's right- Snape is attracted to her, but more than that, he values her.  Even without attraction, his high appraisal of her as a human won't let him let her go.

I am so thankful that Ginny and Hermione are on good terms again.  After what they have been through, they each need friend, someone they can talk to about their heartaches and disappointments.  I think Ginny has learned a painful lesson, and in the future she will not be so eager to say or do just anything when she feels the need to strike back.

I was very surprised that Harry told Ginny that he had been sleeping with other women for so long and thought it was only right he be allowed to sleep around (fuck) any woman he wants to for a few months before they get married.  The Boy-Who-Lived had really been living it up.  Poor Ginny, now I'm feeling sorry for her and not so much for Harry. 

Even though it was Ginny who got Hermione headed to Severus' rooms, I was so proud of her for not dissolving into tears when she saw him.  She was regal in her dignity and professional in her demeanor as she held out the vial to Severus.  It was evident to Hermione that he was dealing with a series of warring emotions, and sounding like he is still angry does not mean he is angry... can he have been thinking on what Ginny had said about Poppy's being the one to spill the beans?  I sincerely hope so!

For all its angst, I thought this chapter offered a lot of hope, too.  A very well written chapter!!!

Beth

I don't even know what to think now.  I never suspected Harry to be cheating on Ginny.  Part of me says that he is young and really didn't get to experience the fun that comes during the adolescent years, so I can't really blame him for wanting to live a little.  At the same time, I always think of him as a truly nice boy who would never treat a girl that way.  I hope he comes to his senses, if Ginny even wants him back.  Then there is Severus...   He has had a really rough life and not the best experiences when it comes to relationships.  I totally feel for him in that he surely feels embarrassed, betrayed, hurt, scared etc.  And he has every right to feel that way.  But...she has vastly improved his quality of life.  Why can't he be a man and either accept that she has feelings for him and let her know he returns them (even if he feels like they should wait until she is out of school), or confront her about it, thank her for helping him but tell her that he is not interested in her that way.  At least Hermione and Ginny are on the mend.  It is easier to have boy troubles with a close girlfriend on board.  I should quit typing before this reaches the mile-long mark, but your story just evokes such an emotional response from me every time.  I cannot wait to find out what happens next in this amazing story!

Oh, dear. I read this chapter too quickly. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's just that now I have to wait until the next chapter is up

You've got me hanging on every word!- The angst and suspense (will Snape get better?!) are killing me!

My heart is breaking for Hermione.  Who among us hasn't had to come to terms with intense regret at least once in their life?  I'm glad that Hermione decided to give in and allow her feelings for Severus to surface because it is the first step toward healing.  I think the most wonderful thing to come out of her vivid imaginings was her decision to approach Professor Vector about taking the final potion to the surly Potions Master, and finding her office closed, she gathered her courage about her and walked to the dungeons to give the Potion to him herself.

While I completely understand Severus' reaction to the things Ginny had said in The Three Broomsticks, I also understand Hermione's desire to see him healed whether or not she ever gets to speak to him again. 

"Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken."

It is her pure and unselfish love for him that gave her the courage to go to his private laboratory.  And wonder of wonders, she over hears Ginny calling Severus on the carpet for expecting perfection from everyone including himself.  It is an impossible goa, and always doomed to failure because no one is perfect.  I was thoroughly blown away that Ginny told him that Poppy had been the source of her knowledge of what his life had been like. 

The most riveting scene in this chapter is the one where Ginny tells Severus that he is the luckiest man alive to have the love of a woman like Hermione:

“Merlin knows I can’t see whatever it is Hermione sees in you, but you’re the luckiest man alive, Severus Snape, and you’re too damn proud and stupid to see it. But I don’t want to give you the satisfaction of walking around thinking that you can court sympathy because Hermione told me everything about you.  You can’t. Hermione expressed reservations about telling me your history, and you know what?  She didn’t have to. Madam Pomfrey did enough of that with my mum, and that’s how I know."

Well done!  I can't wait to read the next chapter.  Perhaps we'll get a peek into Severus' reaction to the things Ginny told him.
Beth

I'm glad to see Hermione and Ginny are friends again.  I feel sure Severus will get over himself before too long.  LOL.  I love this story.  Very enjoyable.

I guess the thing I don't understand is why Snape puts such a low value on feeling good and healthy.  He was at death's door and now he is virtually cured and pain-free and yet he doesn't celebrate his new lease on life.  His reaction to Hermione is tantamount to saying,"I'd rather be afflicted with crippling pain than be loved by you."  I can understand that he is embarrassed but really!  To totally discard the monumentousness of moving from death's door to health for a side issue boggles me.  Has he even said "Thank you" yet?  I can understand him not thinking clearly when he was in pain but what is his excuse now?

He either wants her or he doesn't.  If he does, then he should be happy to learn that the feeling is mutual.  If he doesn't, then at least he can be thankful for the gift of health and let his benefactress down easily.

I guess I agree with Ginny.  I can't see what Hermione sees in him.  Anyone that self-protective would make a lousy partner.

Harry's being a total immature ass, and I think his actions will end up biting him in said part of his anatomy sooner or later. 

In a way, Severus is being almost as bad... his reactions to what was happening between himself and Hermione is hardly the reactions of a sophisticated adult male. It's like inside Severus is still the teenage boy that was crushing on Lily and fighting with the Marauders. Time will tell if he can pull himself together and approach Hermione as a man who wants a woman.

It would be really great if circumstances forced Harry and Severus to become aware of just how similar their behavior has been of late. If Harry's indiscriminately sampling what's out there, it would serve him if some random girl exposed him to some highly unpleasant wizarding STD. Something that requires an unusual potion that St. Mungo's doesn't keep in stock and that only a Potions master can brew.

Anyways, great update and I'm so looking forward to the next one!

Harry was being an idiot, but basically a boy his age.  Ginny expected too much, I think.  But none of them were ever allowed to be children, so it is not unusual that childish behavior frightens them.

I hope the formula helps Snape.

I loved this story!  However, I am super sad they didn't even kiss!

i literally screamed out loud. AMAZING

Well, I've spent the last two days rereading the beginning and catching up on the end of this more than wonderful story! I remember liking it a lot the first time round and I don't know why I didn't bookmark it (something I'll do as soon as this has been sent). Great work, I'm looking forward to the next chapter!!