Thank you, it was very frustrating. How are you feeling?  Better I hope. Better enough to give us an update of SC?  Hint. Hint.

Thanks for the encouragement Kristeh. Severus has a really hard time letting his feelings for Harry to show  It's as though he thinks that he is being weak if he allows some warmth to shine through, but it's coming slowly.  He's not used to being a father nad he's had to be so careful for so long to put on a show, but he's making progress slowly.

As far as Ginny and Harry's hormones going wild, well Severus has been there, hasn't he?  After all, he was pretty young when he impregnated Lily, and things went wrong with his bad decisions.  He wants Harry to be more careful. Harry needs to think about getting well first, and he doesn't need anymore complications.  Ginny is only sixteen, and still has another year of school left, so it would be a very bad time for accidetns to happen.  Part of his hissy fit though, is just plain old fashioned ideas of propriety and decorum.  You know with that Potions Manual stuck up his arse and all ! LOL!

I wanted Dumbledore and Harry to make peace and for them both to move on.  Yes, Dumbledore has made some mistakes, but there were many reasons for him to be wary of Severus taking care of a young Harry.  Perhaps it wasn't all for the war efforts that he kept the two apart.  Can you really picture Severus dealing with a baby by himself when he's still grieving for Lily, and there was still all those doubts about whether Severus' loyalties were to Voldemort or to the light.

Yeah, I like the idea of something so pure being used to help Harry.

Aw, sorry about that. Nah, not really! Hee hee  I think that Tabitha's evilness is growing on me.

 That pool scene was fun to write, as was the scene with Ginny and Harry.  Severus is an uptight, anal old-school prude in my story.  But I  was thinking about how old-fashioned the whole Wizarding world really is.  I mean, the way they dress, that they don't use electricity etc, so I thought that allthough Snape is a half-blood like Harry, he is from a different generation, and had been living with other professors for so long, that I thought that his thinking is not exactly progressive. Also, when he was in Voldie's circle he socialized with Purebloods, so I figured that he would still have very old-fashioned values.

Well, as far as the dream goes. i'll be evil again, and say you have to wait and see. (evil cackle)   It may not be what you're thinking though.  And that's all I'll say.  (evil cackle again)

Thanks for reviewing, and sticking with the story.  I had been having a really hard time writing, when it finally broke and I wrote this chapter, so not sure if it's the greatest. I'm already quite a bit into the next one.  Writing is harder than it looks. :)

What about you?  I 'm looking forward to reading more of Suffering, and of course anything else you might write.

Oh, thank you very much. Yeah, Snape's beginning to learn what it is to be a father.

I think that part of the reason that Harry rebels when Snape disciplines him, is because now Snape is acting like a parent, not like a teacher would under the circumstances, and Harry has never had a parent correct him.  As a matter of fact, he's been allowed quite a bit of leeway during the years by Dumbledore and even McGonagall, and even when Snape had tried to discipline him as a teacher, many times either he either abused his power by being extremely cruel, or Dumbledore completely undermined his authority and ran interferene. So it's normal that now, Harry resents Snape in the role of a parent.  It's going to take time for Harry to fully accept Snape as his father, in all capacities; even though, they've come a long way. 

I do think that although Harry puts on a resentful front, he does realise that deep down, the man is only doing what he thinks best for him.  Also, Harry is seventeen, and has been taking care of himself for a long time, and whle he has to accept Snape's authority as a teacher and as Deputy Headmaster, accepting Snape's authority as a father is not so easy.  After all, the man wasn't there for Harry all these years, so it's natural that Harry would think, where does the man get off coming into my life and tellling me what to do after all these years.  There is going to be some resentment over this, but another part of Harry would like nothing more than to turn back time and have Snape as a real father.

I'll go check out your update too.  I'm really anxious to see where Snape and Harry will go from here; and as Snape's apprentice, it should be really interesting.

Thank you. Harry was getting quite frustrated looking for the wand, but come on, Severus is not going to leave that baby hanging around because he know's how impulsive Harry is already, and with this Dark Magic controlling him, well that would just be asking for trouble!

 I certainly hope that Harry will think about the consequences of his actions in the future, but this is Harry we're talking about! At least now, he has Severus' level head to rely on.  Let's face it, Harry has to realise that he's going to be held responsible as an adult now.  He's not going to be given a mere detention if he harms Malfoy, or anyone else.