*Stands up and cheers!*

Woohoo!!

Luved it!

Oh, I forgot: of course I stand and cheer and hope you'll write at least another thirty chapters before wrapping up this story. It's the best!

One more thing... I just read some of my fellow reviewers reviews and I am so glad you answered to the last one that you wouldn't make Snape all fluffy, even if he found out that the Dursleys were so very nasty. The whole sleeping in a cupboard thing doesn't really matter. I shared ar room of six feet by eight feet with two elder sisters - only possible with the aid of a collapsable bed and a bunk bed - for thirteen years. Nor are the chorer. It's the constant reminding of how unwanted Harry was and how utterly loved Dudley that's so damaging. Yet Harry doesn't appear to be damaged much. After a mere two days of being hailed as the saviour of the wizarding world he dares to cheekily backtalk to a teacher in a way he would never have dared to do against his uncle Vernon. Can you imagine Harry (pre Hogwarts) telling Vernon Dursley "Why don't you ask Dudley, he seems to know", the way Harry did in his first Potions lesson? And is Harry spoiled in the wizarding world? YES, he is. No matter that the Dursleys treat him like crap, Harry Potter is SPOILED beyond belief in the world that really matters to him as to Snape. Within a week his teacher breaks the schoolrules just for him and buys him a broom - which poor Ron could only dream about - so he can compete as a first year in Quidditch. Dumbledore lets him have a invisibility cloak - a piece of contraband if ever I saw one. And I could go on and on. But the worst is the mounting rudeness Harry displays towards Snape. 

So Snape is NOT wrong in thinking Harry is spoiled. I so hate, hate, HATE fics where Snape visits the Dursleys, finds Harry in coma (with broken bones, no less. As if Harry, after finding himself magical, would ever let himself be beaten like that. This is the Harry that blew up aunt Marge and protected Dudley from a dementor. And as if the Dursleys would ever do something so gauche as beating up Harry. They are both too subtle as too middleclass and unimaginable for that), and suddenly Snape does a "boohoo, I've been so nasty to poor widdle Harry, I'll adopt him, kiss him on his widdle head and let him do what he wants because his life has been so bad!". I sooo hate that! As if Snape's life was any better! (it was worse) As if not half of Hogwarts pupils have problems (Neville was thrown out of a window to see if he was a squib or if he would bounce like a wizard. Rather like old witchtrails reversed: if she was a witch she would float and you could burn her. If she would drown she was innocent and in heaven) As if having a less than pleasant childhood is an excuse to misbehave.  So please please please don't make that an issue!

Oh, and one last thing: Draco. I've always got the niggling suspicion that Snape might publicly favour his Slytherins and not detract points from them, but that he would discipline them for misbehaviour where no Gryffindor could gloat over them. I mean, he is obviously respected by his Snakes. They certainly don't walk all over him. There must be consequenses to their actions, even if he pretends not to notice when they misbehave in a classroom full of Gryffindors. I bet Draco has found out how hard his Head of House's hand is by now, too... :-)

well, that's funny. harry says he doesn't plot, the little liar. ha ha. he's got the whole thing planned out in his head. oh boy. Malfoy Manor's right next door. oh lord.