Thank Merlin for Remus!  With his help, perhaps all this territorial wrangling between Severus and Sirius over Harry will be put to rest.Two steps forward and one step back is still progress any way you look at it.Great chapter!Beth

I am glad they are on the right track with Remus' diet.  I wish Severus wasnt so damaged for lack of a better way to put it.

Ahhhh... Enter our Miss Granger.  She may not understand why she wants Professor Snape's approval so much... or maybe she does, but she doesn't want to admit it to anyone.I wonder, does Lupin suspect that Hermione has begun carrying a torch for Severus?  If so, he was remarkably subtle in his urging of Severus to be kind to her.In reading the HP books, I had always thought that the way Sirius treated Harry was as his friend rather than as his godson.  I had never thought of his confusing Harry with James, but it makes sense.Good for you!Beth

That would be a weird relationship to be a part of.  hehee.  Harry's best friend Hermione would be his step-step mother.  haaaa.

Severus has taken out the hurt that Lily caused him on Evangeline.  But now this demon has been exorcised.  Perhaps there will be happier days in store for the Potions Master, after all.Beth

Crap!  Severus just can't catch a break.  This really sucks, but I'm a big girl, and I can handle it.  It's all part of the story, and my optimism will only allow me to hope for better things for Severus in the future.Your write a great story, you know that?Beth

Oh, that makes so much sense.  I'm glad they've gotten over the big hurdle!

Many answers and the only person who really knows the answer to Harry's question is long dead.

Severus has not completely lost his soul.  His conscience is still strong, if sometimes reluctant.  What will become of Moira?  Will Severus begin to care for her?  Will she began to care for him?  Will anything good come from this?Hearing the news that Lupin gave him at the Hog's Head had to be disconcerting, and he rejected the werewolf's conclusions, but sooner or later he will decide to see the map for himself, I think... and who knows what will happen then?I love this story!Beth

I suppose it's only right that when two powerful forces come together there should be a storm! Good job with balancing the fluff and good, old-fashioned lust! LOL Anxious for the next bit!

So Severus and Remus have come to an understanding.  I'm glad that the werewolf was able to tell Severus, "I still know the truth. You loved her. I know you loved her with everything within you. You were honorable and kind to Lily and to Harry. I may have not have had the honor of seeing the three of you together, but Hagrid and Albus told me about how happy you were. You had a family, Severus. I cannot imagine how painful it must have been to have had that family ripped from your arms.”I'm sure having someone who was a friend of James and Lily say that he understood how devastating the circumstances of Lily's death would have been... that Severus' loss of his family was a terrible thing to have had to suffer... the acknowledgment of that loss had to go a long way to helping Severus come to terms with the return of "his son" to Hogwarts.  The "son" he could not acknowlege... yet.Merlin!  How much sadness can one wizard endure!  GREAT CHAPTER!!!Beth

It is just as I feared it would be.  Severus has always taken on the weight of the world, and now is no different.As much as it pains me to say it, I can understand his feelings.  “You want to take him from me, then take him! I can’t do this by half-measures! I’ll do your dirty work. I’ll watch over him when the time comes. But don’t tell me that I’ll be able to pick up where I left off when he returns here at eleven. He won’t know me any more than he’ll remember them.”This was a powerfully written chapter!  As sad as it is to read, I have to take my hat off to you.  It is very well written!Beth

She's really going to do it, isn't she?  I don't know if Severus will ever get over her dying... Harry is, perhaps, young enough not to remember the things she said to him, but he will still feel the loss of his mother, and he will not understand why she chose to take her own life.This is so sad.Beth

No good can come of this... for any of them.Beth

Lily's descent into chaos is becoming more evident.  She knows she made a mistake by continually slipping into Severus' bed, and she knows she has courted disaster.  She can't be blamed for still being in love with James... but her judgment has become flawed, I think.Severus' love for her is sincere, even if it is still influenced by the past, but she doesn't love him... and that cannot lead to anything good.I hate to see Severus get hurt.  Even if he is somewhat mired in his memories of them as students and obsessive about Lily and Harry, he deserves better.I really like this story!Beth

I still fear for Severus.  Lily can't be thinking straight.  I think she is so full of fear and confusion, and now that Sirius has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Peter Pettigrew, she must be totally at loose ends.  We know that Peter was the secret-keeper, so I'm wondering if one of the Death Eaters still at large (Lucius Malfoy, perhaps?) had Peter under the Imperius Curse and made him confront Sirius in front of so many Muggles.  If Peter had been made to draw his wand on Sirius, then Sirius would have had to defend himself.  Then the Death Eater(s) could have planted false memories in the Muggles' minds.....  And that way, one of surviving enemies of the Dark Lord could be nicely put away.Great chapter!Beth

I fear for Severus.  He is still so very much in love with Lily, but there is so much against their being able to overcome all the rancor that others may harbor against Severus and his involvement with the Death Eaters.  Many will still suspect him of plotting with Voldemort to kill the Potters even though he had nothing to do with it.The way Sirius feels about Severus virtually guarantees that he will do everything he can to undermine the Potions Master.  Is Sirius in love with Lily?  Humm.....I've got to find out what happen next.Beth

Severus and Lily will now have the opportunity to come to terms with the things in their shared past that caused so much hurt.  We can only hope that things will get better, not worse, as time goes by.Severus really does seem to have become enchanted with Harry.  Perhaps they will be able to forge the kind of relationship an uncle and a nephew would have.  Although I suspect that in his heart-of-hearts Severus is hoping to become more than that to Lily and Harry.  Only time will tell.Great chapter!Beth

A lot of ground work laid in this short chapter, and I'm eager to find out what happens next... so it's off to Chaper Three!!!Well done!Beth

I like this!  The new take on Lily and Harry surviving Lord Voldemort's AK leads to all kinds of interesting possibilities!!I've had my eye on this story for a while, but I was waiting for some of the WIPs I was following to complete.Now on the the next chapter!!!Beth

~swoon That was awesome.  So awesome, that I had to fix this a few times, I could not type.  Brilliant.

How wonderful!

WoooHooo! Finally! I think this really puts him on the road to fully recovering from Lily's suicide and his previous abhorrent behaviour.I agree with debjunk the word warmth repeated throughout their interaction is a great device.While the sympathetic few comprising a inner circle know of this...what will the reaction be from others I wonder?As always, loving this work of yours 'Hidden Before Voting' (*snicker*) and look forward to checking out your other stuff when the Invisibility charms are removed by the moderators.Cheers.

I liked your interjection of the word 'warmth' throughout this.  It really struck home.

Finally!!!