Someone recommended this on tumblr and I will definitely share it too bc this story is so fucking good. I cried severel times and I hope you know that this story will now be one of my favorites. Thank you for writing this️

This is a beautiful story, and absolutely worth every chapter. You do such a good job keeping the characters in character, and your portrayal of Minerva and Severus' friendship is no shorter than stunning. The story is riveting and emotional, keeping me engaged in every chapter, and the ending is heart-wrenching and satisfying at the same time. Truly wonderful work.

I read a lot of fanfiction but this definitely my absolute fav! Everything fits perfectly to the canonur writing style is brilliant.

This is the first fanfic that I've read that has made me cry and feel real emotion! I loved this story. The friendship, Snape's story... all of it! This is a favourite I will be revisiting time and time again. Do you have suggestions for similar stories? I really enjoy the stories with Snape's difficulties going between the Order and the big V.
Great, great story. Thank you for writing.

What a great story, I loved it ! Thanks a lot for that !

Well, you have me crying. I'm glad there was somewhat of a happy ending... The canon story from poor Severus' perspective is haunting enough as it is you just know that year after year after year it only gets worse and more desperate), and adding Minerva's friendship (that I do believe is pretty much canon) makes his last year or two so much worse.

Here and there you messed up the timeline a bit (the break in at the Ministry was on September 2nd) and 'Rosemertta' is a few letters too many, but I'm nitpicking (probably to distract myself from the therapy I now need - think I'm gonna find myself some fics in which he lives...). Thank you for this wonderful story. Oh man... :'-(

When I saw your comment at the beginning of this chapter, I really, totally, completely, 100% expected it to be about Halloween 1981. Even looked up whether it was on a Friday (nope, Saturday). The news about Voldemort's disappearance/defeat but also Lily's death, and James's, and how he'd have fallen apart hearing that, all the mixed emotions.

I love the idea of these two having been friends (even though it makes me sad to think of the end of this friendship...).

I wish Bill Weasley really did attend Hogwarts in Severus' first year as a teacher, but alas, he only started in '82...

lol. SS's Complex PTSD was highly evident in books 3 and 5; it's no surprise that he would be so emotionally reactive when his bullies are prominent in his life...especially in the place it happened, with a look-alike trigger also roaming the halls (SS had very typical PTSD reactions, but people tend to say he should have just "grown" out of them with no support or help). Research shows chronic abuse (and being physically bullied with magic would count!) permanently changes the brain synapses; there's no outgrowing that! only learning to cope better...which no one seemed to bother teaching the man.

Lupin was my 2nd least favorite Marauder, because he was so passive aggressive. He acted like a victim and let that excuse his actions. In book 3, he was so concerned with 'saving face' with Dumbledore from his student days, he failed as a teacher at a boarding school: ensure student safety in lieu of parents. He could have said "hey, at some point Sirius became an unregistered animagus, look out for a black shaggy dog" without implicating himself, but he CHOSE not to. He could have said, "we explored this castle for 7 years and found secret passages Sirius might remember. block these areas" (without implicating the map even) but he chose not to. And he thought Sirius was a killer at the time, targeting the son of another friend! I wonder why student (especially Harry's) safety wasn't deemed as important as his own student reputation? It's not like it would have actually impacted Dumbledore's opinion of him as a man... even his willful harm didn't change that!

Rather than admit to himself that he should take his medicine/potion as needed, he let the desire to have a power play with SS in front of Harry interfere. He set aside his hand-delivered medicine and then "forgot" to take it...? He CHOSE not to, to have a power "up" position in Harry's eyes.

Neville's boggart represented a certain type of person/authority figure, not Snape himself, and that was evident when he implied it could turn into his grandmother, too (readers tend to ignore this). Lupin, as a teacher, should have asked Neville what he found humorous and guided him in implementing his humor onto his boggart. Instead, he told him what to do (what HE found funny, which also humiliated a co-worker) and then acted like he had no responsibility in the fall out. It's common sense that when a teacher is undermined by another teacher, they have to regain control of the class in some way or lose it completely... SS was already a vitriolic teacher who controlled by fear...so he ramped it up to regain the authority Lupin undercut. Plus, it was a very passive aggressive move, to put his bullying onto a student and then watch that student pay for it; that was the moment Lupin's 'character' died. I wonder what would have happened had Neville not found cross dressing funny? or was triggered worse, because two of his feared authority figures were melded together? Or was secretly a cross dresser who was humiliated by the suggestion, and outed himself that way when he wasn't ready? I mean, poor Neville, the possibilities are endless when it wasn't his own humor that was trying to banish his boggart.

Not to mention, everything Lupin put Dora through by trying to make their relationship decisions FOR her...while not sticking by the boundaries he spouted. He led her on and tossed her aside when she followed, only to pull her back in to repeat they cycle. Then he left after she was pregnant, because whether he was around or not, the baby could have struggled with being a werewolf (which was his fear). Good thing Harry called him on it, in the end, because I don't think Lupin would have returned for his wife and child if someone hadn't. Again, he played victim with this whole scenario and it was Dora who suffered for it.

Anyhow, rant over lol. Your story doesn't "make him look bad", his canon character did that on his own. You actually whitewashed him a bit, even from SS's POV...which, honestly, SS's view would probably be a lot worse!

Just wanted to say that I'm crying, with the actual sniffing and tears. I've always had it in my mind that these two were very good friends, and your fic hit just the right spot. But soooo painful

I've started this story a while ago, but then somehow forgot all about it. I am so glad to have come across it again.

It is so beautifully written, but yet so unbelievably sad at the end. After reading fanfics for years, no decades, I've gotten used to the AUs where Snape somehow gets rescued at the end. To really have to deal with his death (again) is just heart-breaking. And while there is no possible comfort for me with the finality of death and I am still crying my eyes out, it still is a beautiful story full of warmth with their friendship. So I hope a lot more people will find this jewel and read. I am putting it on my favorite-list right now.

This story is so much of everything I want. Every chapter seems to be even better than the last. I would write a few more paragraphs of compliments, but right now I just can’t stop myself from rushing onto the next chapter. Xx

This was nice, I really enjoyed it

I think you did them justice.

This was a beautiful story and I literally got tears in my eyes at the end! Thanks for writing such a great story!