I would have to agree.  It was certainly not the usual kind of thing.  As for a catalyst, you'll see what finally triggers Harry's memories.

yes, my time line is altered greatly. I've moved things around to fit my plotline.  The visions will occur, just later on.  Yes, the snake attack did happen, some things are the same, other things are different. I use canon when and where it fits with my story, but most things are explained eventually.

I really hate Umbridge and I had fun doing terrible things to her. 

Thank you!

Yes, Minerva and the rest of them do admire Albus and so does Hagrid.  Poppy has a hard time reconciling the fact that Severus is continually hurt in Albus's service, and she fears that however wellmeaning, the Headmaster is using Severus for his own ends, using the guilt he feels over Lily's death to keep him playing spy.  She knows, rationally, that Severus has agreed but it still pains her to see him hurt so badly.  She would never hurt Albus, Healer's oath and her own conscience would prevent her.

Dumbledore's early life as the son of wealthy purebloods and as a popular and brilliant child at school is known to the public in my universe and Severus believes that such an upbringing doesn't give Dumbledore the necessary empathy to understand one like himself, who had an awful childhood and once contemplated ending his own life.  DD never saw the signs Severus was giving off, granted they weren't many, but DD didn;t see them, and in that way he failed Severus, because Sev believes he SHOULD have seen them. 

A lot of the search for Harry with the other teachers takes place behind the scenes.  After Snape's initial search, where he tells Albus that Harry is hiding, he also went out a few other times, but again finds nothing.  They do know, because of Severus's torture, that the DE don;t have Harry, and since none of their locator spells have turned up anything, they have to assume that Harry is somewhere on the grounds, since his broom is still in his dorm.  Dumbledore will announce that they need to keep searching and are concerned over Harry;s disappearance at a staff dinner coming up.  Also, DD wouldn't want it to be known that he has "lost" Harry Potter and so hasn't informed the Dursleys.  Not that they would care.  At the end of the first book, when Harry is recovering in the Hospital Wing, only DD comes to visit him besides his friends, and maybe DD never told the Dursleys about that time either.  Of course he should notify them, it would be SOP in any regular school, but then when has Hogwarts ever been normal?

I always try and reply to all my reviewers, i figure it's only polite since they took the time to leave a review and I also like discussing topics with reviewers since I don't do chat rooms. 

That could be why the Slytherins didn't stand up and declare themselves, but I was waiting for some of them to just say "Down with Voldy" and go and stand up for themselves.  I was disappointed when that didn't happen. 

Part of the reason Harry sounds so human is because he's an Animagus, but also it's how the potion "translates" the hawk language for Severus to comprehend.  For instance, i would assume a bird has more vocal cues and such than a dog or a cat, who communicate more with body language, but a bird also uses posture for defense and to indicate fear and aggression and affection, and all of that is translated into human speech by magic.  But even in hawk form, Harry's personality comes out, which would fit with how an Animagus keeps his own mind while in animal form, along with the animal instincts. Plus, it's fun to have Severus and Harry banter with each other, especially since Severus doesn't know who he's really talking to.  It increases the bond between them, which will be important later on.