hey there! i know it's been a long time since you wrote this, but it just recently got recommended to me and somehow, I managed to miss it in all my previous sshg binges. I am so, so glad that I found it now! This story is a true gem and I loved it so much, thank you so much for writing it! While I loved everything about it – your Severus, your Hermione, the creation of a space that felt as safe and as interesting as Hogwarts while not being Hogwarts, and therefore more fresh, their relationship, similar as it is to the teacher and student dynamic but all the while different with new elements, your Winky (the pink towel!), the way you used language (you're a really good writer), the interaction, the silver aconite(!), the greenhouse, honestly the whole layout of the house, how Snape surprised her at every turn by being nicer than anticipated (and surprised me along with her!), although he never felt out of character, how you kept his true loyalties a guessing game that felt authentic, Crookshanks!, the sharing-the-bed-trope for a wonderful believable reason, Snape's new position in wizarding society and how he was treated by Minerva and Kingsley, your Ron and Harry (so wonderfully frustratingly lovable, as they are known to be), the dramatic will, the elements of Greek mythology, the Leviathan motive!, the whole subplot with very believable the Death Eater activity, the truly in-character Gryffindor-trio-scheming, how Hermione is a bad liar but Snape is not (gosh I loved this element, and you put it so elegantly and made it work so well), the use of the mirror!, the whole way you reworked The Beauty and the Beast, not a new fairytale for this couple but done in a way in which I have never read it!, the whole idea of the curses (I loved that both Snape and Minerva and Kingsley were suffering and, in a way, cursed, but in different ways, I can't truly say why, but I feel like it kept the plot dynamic and fresh, like a false bottom in a box or something, making the plot more layered), the whole plot of the Amortentia!... honestly I feel like I could go on in this vein forever – what I truly admired the most was the way your plot kept surprising me although you kept hinting at the next plotpoints. I can't remember when I last read a story that felt so consistently and neatly plotted. There are so many examples of me going "oh god of course!", where you had mentioned something multiple times and I still did not realize the effects it could have had, and when it was mentioned in the story it felt so satisfying and organic. The Amortentia is the first example of this: every morning she brewed it, every time it was mentioned, I didn't even THINK about it more. You managed to make it such an obvious part of the shop that I spared no thought about it, and then it suddenly got pointed out which consequences it could have and I just sat there like "wait why did I not realize!". And the same with Winky putting Hermione in his bed, with the river water also being used for her parents' potion – it was just all so well done! I don't know if you did a lot of previous plotting, if you just have a great intuition or what it is, but it's just so amazing, all the little mysteries tied up so neatly but in surprising ways that still made me feel like I should have known. I feel like this is what a good mystery is supposed to do: Surprise the reader, and at the same time make them go "how did I not realize this, it's so obvious" and you did it masterfully. I'll definitely come back to this story!

Why do I suspect a certain matchmaking pink-wearing house elf?

I love your theory on how felix felices takes good luck from the future - it's now my head canon!
I also liked the line about how Severus alienated everyone on Dumbledore's side and betrayed everyone on Voldemort's.

This was so so so good. I love it. The drama, the romance, the build up, everything! Great work!

Very interesting story.

LOL Winky! Haha this had me guffawing like a buffoon :D

Argh this is fascinating! Love the way you’ve incorporated magical lore into this curse mystery! Bugging out right now! Ps, nicely done on the contract SS.. sneaky!

So good

Loved this story so much. You're a wonderful writer xx

Great story! But why is it rated M?

Aw, this is so sweet! I do hope they'll always go on trips with each other, though.

thank you! what a beautiful story, I loved every chapter!

Oops. I think Hermione should have listened to Winky. And she's very lucky indeed that her parents didn't rise up in rage at having their minds wiped without asking them or telling them the reasons for it.

She should be very frightened at this point.

This story is amazing. You've incorporated so many elements with such logic that it feels canon (for example, the theory behind Fiendfyre). I didn't make the connection to the fairy tale until Severus's shiny gift showed up. One or two such data points aside, the parallel was beautifully subtle, not in-your-face at all, with enough differences that the plot felt quite refreshing. For instance, I thought I knew what Hermione would find when she returned from Australia, but it was totally different. The reason Severus was on the floor was one of the many little twists that actually made me laugh aloud. Deep belly laughs—highly unusual for me to begin with, let alone when reading. Your fanfiction has been added unreservedly to my list of all-time favorites, culled from the thousands I have read.

Oops, yes, they have been breathing Amortentia fumes, haven't they? Good idea to test their feelings.

And Minerva is right, this may well be the first time Severus has actually been loved by someone, hope it turns out to be real.