Excellent....

Author's Response: Thanks, Maggie!

An interesting perspective on the results of that evening. The end of the story seems a bit brusque, though. I think it would have been more effective to have shown Severus's reluctantly recounting what Voldemort did to him. That way, you could have also suggested how the others reacted to his story. As it is, one has the illusion that they all sit their blank-faced, waiting for their (whose, actually?) turn to tell him about the events at the Ministry. How did Dumbledore react to the pain his orders had caused Severus? One can pass over trivial events in narrative, but these stories and their audience reactions to them are important and you could have made them really riveting.

I'm also surprised that Severus finds Minerva's absence conspicuous. She's been in St. Mungo's as a result of Umbridge's attack on Hagrid and then her--as Severus very well knew. And Tonks was also in St. Mungo's that night, recovering from her battle injuries.

This was a clever premise, and the writing is very well done (particularly the first part). I just think you might have done a bit more with the drama of the moment.

Author's Response: I do see your point about telling Severus's story; I guess I didn't really want to because it's quite a common scene (especially in my stories!) and I think that a fill-in-the-blanks-yourself approach can sometimes be more effective. I assume that Severus is struck by Minerva's absence because, although she has been ill for a while, I imagine her as being Dumbledore's right-hand woman for many years before that, and everyone would be so used to her presence that they haven't got used to her absence yet. Thanks for reviewing; I appreciate it!

Very compelling!

I did notice that you have Tonks present--I believe she was injured during the battle. Or are you thinking she was patched up very quickly?

Author's Response: Probably in real life (canon life, however you'd like to think of it) Tonks would still be in hospital, or at least nursing injuries at home. From the way that no one really made a big deal out of it in the book, though, at least in front of Harry, I've taken the liberty of having her at Grimmauld place because I wanted to get a sense of some kind of potential relationship between her and Remus. Since Harry only saw her fall unconscious down the steps, I think it's quite possible that she was only stunned, and probably quite bruised, but able to be ok at maybe four or five in the morning the next day. Thanks for your review!

A very tense missing POV account!

I am impressed with the silence, including and especially the fact that Mrs. Black's portrait is silent. (One can only imagine the shock on her face, especially in light of how Phineas reacted at his portrait at Hogwarts)

And having Severus bear the brunt of Voldemort's anger after loosing the prophecy is a terrible touch, but it fits with the canon. I like the foreshadowing of his telling the tale - "after nights like these", the vomitting, the shakes, the mention of the curse's after-effects, and finally the story.

Well done.

Author's Response: Thanks! I imagined that Mrs Black's portrait would have been in shock, not so much from Sirius's death, as she wasn't exactly fond of him, but more from the death of the last Black. I realise that the Severus tortured by Voldemort scenario is cliche and has been done to death, but to be honest I really like it as to me it seems plausible. Thanks for reviewing!