I was rereading some earlier reviews, and I have to comment on your reply to NoxSommnium.

"Tripping the light fantastic" may be an archaic phrase, but I think it is absolutely logical that Severus would be familiar with Milton, if not with colloquialisms. I think _Paradise Lost_ would actually be one of Severus's favorites. Its themes of light and dark, sin and redemption, and the power of true love would serve as his toehold on sanity.

Okay, I'm operating on 5 hours of sleep over the last 3 days. I'll stop now.

Author's Response: I have a later chapter that is tentatively titled "His Bad Eminence," so yes, I completely agree with you about Paradise Lost. :) I do think that the phrase is common enough (or was, before TV and radio got dumbed down so much, I guess) in popular culture that he could have picked it up there, too (I picture his dad as sitting around in front of the TV a lot), or, as you say, from reading. I gather from all the books he has at Spinner's End that we're supposed to take it that he's an avid reader. (He's also a fairly obvious spin on Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, but that's another theory-- there's a laundry list of things they have in common, as well as a list of all the ways in which he's more complicated and less of a jerk. But I digress.) :)

I'll second the reviewer a little bit below me--I'm definitely not a fan of JP/LE. I am, however, a big fan of this story! :)

Author's Response: Glad you like it, and sorry it's taking so long! It must be bleeding obvious by now that I am no fan of JP/LE myself. :)

I recently discovered this story, and if your updates are as intermittent as you claim, I will have to track you down, chain you to a desk, and force you to type until you finish, its that good. My own personal opinion about the SSLE pairing isn't so much that I like it, but in light of the DH canon, I absolutely despise JPLE. Basically, Rowling created a storyline where Potter tortured the guy for years, and Lily let him take a victory ride when it was all over. I find that absolutely repugnant. I also don't buy the argument that he "matured." I consider anyone who would take such joy in the torment of others to be irredeemably morally depraved, and the difference between Potter, and someone like Bellatrix Lestrange is only a matter of degrees. I do like your version of Mary MacDonald a lot, and also like your depiction of Lily as being anything but innocent in regards to the falling out. I do tend to feel she is more to blame, because she didn't give him any type of warning that she would sever ties with him if he didn't change his ways. I also feel that she was somewhat naive in understanding his situation in Slytherin. Ie. he has to stay on good terms with those people, because they can do nasty things to him when he sleeps.

Author's Response: Hello-- I am so glad you like it, because technically this is my first fic, although after this many chapters, it's starting to feel like I know what I'm doing. :) I completely agree with you about JP/LE-- I just don't get the appeal there. Obviously everyone grows up to some degree, but James dies about three years out of Hogwarts, and it's hard to believe that he turned from a swaggering bully to a reformed character in such a short amount of time, never mind in the one year between 6th form and 7th. This might be a surprise, but I also agree with you about SS/LE-- when I started this story, the hardest part was to figure out what it would take for me to like the two of them together, how they would have to change for me to buy them as a couple. I mean, JKR said that they could have wound up together if SS hadn't been so into the Dark Arts-- but when you look at how they behave, with each other and with other people, it's not the making of a happy relationship. And I mean both of them-- not just him. I'm glad you like the character of Mary-- I really enjoy writing her, and Davis Llewellyn, and their growing relationships with Severus. It's interesting to think of what a friendship would look like for him, since all we see in the canon is the hatred between himself and the Marauders, several decades of obsessive, guilt-ridden, unrequited love, and a pretty twisted mentorship by Dumbledore.

Update Happiness! One question. Early on when talking about the dance you had the line, "since apparently ability to trip the light fantastic was included in the mysterious selection process." Which doesn't make any sense. My roomie and I pondered it for a bit, but we couldn't figure out precisely what you meant. :) I love this story!

Author's Response: I probably should have deleted that, when one of my betas didn't get it (the other one did-- or at least, she didn't ask me about it). It's an old-school phrase that means "to dance well," the history of which you can actually find on Wikipedia. :) I think it was quite popular among my parents' or grandparents' generation, but I'm sure it's long since out of style-- it originally came from a Milton poem, and then was shortened down to a slang phrase that made its way into popular culture. Anyway, I'm glad you like the fic, and thanks for always coming back and reading it and reviewing it again. :)

I really love this series. Please post the next one soon!!

Author's Response: I'm working on it! :) Sorry it's taking so long-- I'm kind of working on several chapters at once. Hopefully I'll have some more work done on it before long. Glad you're enjoying it! :)

Glad to se that you have posted new chapters. it 9s really getting good, This is my favorite Severus story oo the fan fics. Of course Voldemort is a Wagner fan. (chuckle) The Death Eaters are so Nazi. I have been trying to anticipate how this fic will work out. Obviously, if Lily ends up with Severus instead of James, there will be no Harry Potter----so who destroys Voldemort? If Severus realizes that Mary is really the girl for him, would he join the Death Eaters and later become a double agent? Many possibilitis of dark endings here. So fascinating, Severus trying to learn to banter with Mary and learn the social skills that he has obviously never had a chance to observe during his life up to now. I wonder how Severus will be able to keep this up without getting killed by his Slytherin housemates before the year is out.

Author's Response: Believe me, I get sidetracked by all these possibilities when I'm writing it-- JKR really has created a character with so many twists and turns. :) I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much-- and sorry it has taken me so long to reply (and to post another chapter). Real life has been pretty busy lately. I'm working on ch. 11 and should have it up before long. Thank you for the review!!!

This was one of my favorite chapters so far. I had to laugh at the Elmer Fudd reference. Hitler was a fan of Wagner, so it stands to reason that Voldemort would favor him, too.

Severus should just forget about Lily and go for Mary. (I know I'm not the first reviewer to say that.) But then Harry would be in deep doo-doo, wouldn't he?

Ah, Llewellyn. An interesting character becomes much more intriguing.

I'm glad to know Severus had voiced his dilemma--that he has to live with those idiots. Too bad Lily didn't realize the significance of that comment. I think Mary might have done.

I was so happy to see an update. Good work, as usual.

Author's Response: Yay, someone picked up on the Hitler-Voldemort thing with Wagner. :) JKR leaves those sorts of parallels all over the place; it was fun to add another one. (Not to mention throwing Elmer Fudd in there also-- because Mary is a Muggleborn after all.) :) I know what you mean about how he should go for Mary. I had a lengthy episode of writer's block on this thing a while back for two reasons: 1) Quidditch, and 2) the realization that the girl he wants may not necessarily be the girl he needs. Read the scenes between himself and Lily in "The Prince's Tale" in DH and you'll see what I mean -- she has a long way to go before she would be a good match with even a reformed version of her old friend, because she cares so much about public opinion. Writing a best friend for her who understands Severus enough to take his side sort of threw a wrench in the works for me, because Mary definitely has more of a dark side than Lily, and cares a lot less what people think. Oh well-- leaves all sorts of possibilities, doesn't it? :) My beta Sandy could tell you that I had major debates with myself about this a few months back. Thank you, as always, for the review.

Can I please, please give Severus a hug? He needs so many cuddles! Not to mention a support system of some kind. I'm going to have to go back and see what the Avery incident was about; I seem to have forgotten. Nevertheless, Slytherin was being rather single minded about their revenge. I really can't see them letting their pride in terms of the schools opinion get put in second position to their desire to squish Snape under their boots.
Mary can't have a love interest, I want her with Snape now! Can I say that Lily still annoys me? I know she's only sixteen, and no one is at their brightest when they're sixteen, but still. She could at least try to get him some sort of back up. How can anyone change without help? He doesn't have a clear enough understanding of who he ought to be to make it on his own, much less the strength to pull it off. He needs to know that if he falls down there'll be someone for him to land on.

Do you see how much feeling you inspire in me :). I was all bouncy when I saw the update notice and I said, I'm so excited, about five times. Thankfully no one was in the room with me to be confused.

Author's Response: I think of Avery as being kind of quietly intimidating and yet having something of a cult of personality, especially on the Quidditch team, hence the vengeance bit-- that he's behind it, essentially. Something of a gang mentality, I suppose-- but yeah, a bit of a stretch. :) Re: Mary-- I just replied to another review with the same opinion, and the problem is, I have majorly waffled on that myself. Every time I read the few scenes we actually see of Lily -- "The Prince's Tale," basically-- I have to tie my brain in a knot thinking of how she would ever fall for Severus and admit it to herself and -- the tricky part -- admit it to the rest of the world. I mean, JKR said it was possible herself, but would a girl who cares that much about what her friends think ever actually fall for him, and if she did, how long would it last? It's only a matter of time before he ticks someone off or acts disdainful to Remus and Lily realizes she's going out with someone who lacks her social skills and alienates quite a few of her friends. She's realistic for 16, that's for certain, in the way JKR writes her-- I read Lily as so fed up with Severus by that point that she's kind of looking for a reason to get rid of him and to stop having to explain him to everyone. Mary sort of bridges the gap-- she's darker, more quirky, more independent, but bright like Lily and repelled by the Dark Arts like Lily, so she'd probably be a better fit for him, quite honestly. And yet to be true to the canon, he really has to be totally besotted with Lily. But of course, it allows for any number of possibilities, really. :)

Wow, I could never write Quidditch. Amazing. I like that Lily is doubting her own decision. Not many people would be able to look beyond to speculate that there may be more going on than meets the eye. As I said in a previous review, being a Slytherin in the 70s must have been a terrible ordeal. But no one outside the House seems to want to acknowledge that perhaps not every Slytherin WANTS to be a Death Eater. Seeing Sev getting bullied by his own Housemates is the perfect wake-up call, even if Lily is the only one smart enough to respond to it. I've always liked Remus, and I like how you portray him in this scene. The speculation about their nicknames is hilarious. Sorry for the disjointed comments, but my paragraph breaks never seem to show up, so I left them out this time. I was very happy to see an update. I hope you don't mind that I've been referring to your story to defend Severus and, oddly, Lily to other fanfic writers. Maybe I can get you some new readers.

Author's Response: Hello again-- I was stuck on this Quidditch chapter forever, so I'm glad it turned out OK! :) Lily is smart and spent seven years as Severus's friend, so I think she has to recognize his ambiguities even if she really just wants to be done with him. And yes, I think Slytherin is often seen as far too oversimplified-- you have Slytherins who are more like Slughorn than Bellatrix or Voldemort, ones who want to promote themselves somehow but who don't care about blood status or who aren't into Dark magic. In chapter 10, for example, I have Severus realizing that a Mrs. Llewellyn who "married up" could be a classic Slytherin and yet not be the least bit Dark -- if that's what she's like. Re: Remus-- I like Remus too, and the friendship he has with Lily. They've been the responsible ones and the leaders and the prefects together for a year & a half by this point-- I would imagine they'd be pretty tight. And finally, I'm really flattered that you'd refer this to other writers-- thanks so much! Everyone has their own different take on these characters, so I'm glad that mine actually works for anyone besides me. Oh, and the paragraph breaks-- same thing happens to me in replying to reviews. Annoying. :) I wish I knew how to fix it. :) Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews-- they really help me in writing it.

I made the transition to actually printing your story off a few months ago, all 78 pages of it. Perhaps this is not the most healthy of developments, but have I mentioned in passing just how very much I love it?

As Rowling has a somewhat sporadic tendency to be rather Dickensian with names (Remus Lupin, Lucius Malfoy), I went looking for Llewllyn. As a duel reference to Celtic gods of a solider and a healer (thanks wikipedia) it seems aptly ambiguous. I doubt this is just a happy coincidence. Excellent choice.

A couple of ultra low key quibbles with the slytherin placement…
- Isn’t Nott, to whom Avery is going to speak to about the game, a “rather elderly” widower, thus not in a age range with Severus? Perhaps this is another Nott relative though, its partly your universe here.
- I thought Regulus, at fourteen would be of an optimum age to be a Quidditch player, rather then an admittedly wiry, small Avery. At any rate, it would be fascinating to read even a very brief view of your take on their interaction. One can easily imagine some terrible acts of petty hatred through association on Severus’s part.

Its refreshing that you made Mulciber “almost handsome”. Slytherin needn’t be by default damned of any attractive qualities; wasn’t that a chief theme of the Deathly Hallows. As ever, I’m burning for the next instalment.

Author's Response: Sorry it has taken me so long to reply! I'm catching up on three chapters worth of reviews at once. You know, I have downloaded a few stories from other writers onto my computer, so I know what you mean about printing the story out. There are ones I don't want to lose if the author decides to move on or gets in a fight with the moderators or something. I'm honored you like this one so much. :) Re: Llewellyn-- I started with the celebrity relative angle, quite honestly, but since there are plenty of those as possibilities, I liked the Welch aspect of things. And when I looked up his name, it meant a combo of "leader" and "image," which is kind of intriguing for a rather complex OC. Anyway, glad you liked it! OK, Nott-- I read somewhere that JKR had said that about Theodore Nott, so this is just a cousin or something. It seems to be a fairly limited set of surnames, especially in Slytherin with the aversion to the fresh blood that Muggleborns bring. Re: Regulus and Avery-- I think of Regulus as tall like Sirius (not Gary Oldman) :) even at fourteen, so I was thinking of him as too lanky to be a Seeker. I've pictured Avery as never getting above about 5'4 or 5'5 or so, but being something of a dominant personality unlike, say, "little Peter Pettigrew." Good point, though-- typically you'd think Regulus would be younger and therefore smaller. I just figured he'd be tall like his brother. As for Mulciber, I pictured a guy who lived on the floor in my dorm in college-- a predatory good-looking frat boy with these dead eyes, the kind of guy who was probably the type behind those occasional newspaper stories of date-rape at fraternity parties. The kind of stories you'd overhear him telling his friends in the dorm lounge were chilling in his total lack of any kind of a conscience. Mulciber just throws in the blood-status thing there, I guess. To conclude, thanks as always for such a thoughtful and interesting review-- I hope the more recent chapters are working for you also. I'm plugging away on ch. 11.