A Most Trusted Soldier

So from time to time I will check the reviews and reply to one or two that seem to require it. Here goes:

countesszero-- Your review absolutely did NOT offend me. I love that you had such insightful thoughts and critique of the story/plot. I appreciate the time you took to offer up your take on things. I suppose I never really gave the idea of corruption much thought during the writing of this fic, but your review highlights the presence of it. You are right, Harry et al, did not really balk at using their power/connections to aid Harry. I think war scars people, and none of the primary players would remain as pure and untainted as some would like to believe. War is dirty business, just as politics. I also don't think the trio would ever go down without a fight, and they would still fight to protect Harry, at all costs.

I find often in fan fic that people try to idealize the primary characters of Canon, even JK to a degree left them too one-dimensional for my tastes. In my mind Snape is more than the curmudgeon spy, and Harry is more than the naive, lucky boy with a heart of gold. Humans are far more complex than that, and humans also change and evolve due to circumstance, thank god. One cannot expect Harry of 16 to be the same Harry of say, 35. Also, Luna (my fav.) is kind of an unknown commodity. In Canon she says these off the wall things that in the end have great import, yet, JK never takes her character anywhere. The same would be true of Snape, I think. The war over, Voldemort and Dumbledore both gone, Snape would change. Perhaps not as much as I changed him, but I think the one-trick, sniping, biting, scowling Snape gets hackneyed after a while.

I love a smart-assed, belligerent Snape as much as the next fan, but I tried to make the man evolve enough to make this fic plausible. He is still sarcastic, still strong, but by tapping into this part of himself, I think Snape found his own spirit. In a lot of ways, this story is far more about Severus' journey than Harry's. My goal was to write a fic where we see Severus undergo a self-desired change. Not a change someone forced him to make, but one he secretly had always desired.

I thank you again for your critique. It made my day! I hope you might read more of my fics. Reviewers like you (critical thinkers) are my dream.

Mya Malfoy--Well...I am at a loss as to how to thank you for your wonderful review and generous rec of my fic on your member page. Your summation of the fic is wonderfully expressed as well. I am very proud of MTS, and will be editing and cleaning it up in the coming months. I am so glad you enjoyed it. It is my first Snarry, first D/s, and first completed multi-chap story in the fandom. I feel very close to it...sort of like a first born :-) Ha ha. I do hope you will take the time to read my other fics. You might enjoy them too. Also, please catch the one-shot side story to MTS, "footsteps in the dark". It is Snape and Harry at 'play' and I am told it is worth the read. You can find it on my author page. Toodles, R.