Desperate Measures

Rated R
SS/HG pairing
Romance/Drama

Summary: A young mother employs a Dark spell in a desperate attempt to save her son, and the repercussions of her act complicate the lives of Severus Snape and Hermione Granger.

Status: Eternal WIP

In July 2004, I reluctantly decided to abandon Desperate Measures. My personal enthusiasm for the story - along with my satisfaction in my own work - had been dwindling for some time, and some changes in my personal life left me with far less time to write than I'd enjoyed previously. What had begun as a labor of love had become a source of frustration - for me, and I believe for my readers as well, who were being asked to wait a ridiculously long time between updates. Truly, it was not an easy decision to make, and I still feel a measure of regret that I will never know the satisfaction of writing "The End" to this particular tale. And yet I have come to peace with the decision, and I thank the many readers who not only supported me while I was posting the story, but responded with gracious acceptance when I made the decision to abandon it.

I am posting the story here at the request of some of these wonderful readers, who claimed that they would rather see it left on the web in its incomplete state than have me pull it entirely. If you are happening upon this story for the first time, please, please, please do not start it unless you are prepared to be content with a story fragment. You have been warned. You are welcome to e-mail me and tell me you like the story - or even to tell me you don't like it - but please do not e-mail me to ask me to finish it. I promise that if I could, I would.