that has to be one of the most beautiful pieces of writing i've read in a very long time. the economy and rhythm of your writing and the lack of overt sentiment makes the emotional impact impossibly greater. it's heart-tugging, not just in the oblique references to snape's canon heartbreak, but also aberforth's complicated uncomplicated outlook (am i even making sense??) and insular bucolic manner of existence, at odds with the messy ending of the war, and his simple (if drily self-deprecating) acceptance of the sex that snape needs. i'm totally bowled over.
too much to quote, but i wanted to mention this:
He was a sheep dog, Aberforth decided. That was the way of families like the Princes. They turned out sheep farmers and sheep dogs: the stolid and the sharp. But someone had gone and raised the boy in a town, penned up indoors with too little to do. Small wonder he had become a worrier.
which is a stunningly brilliant piece of characterisation both of snape through the prism of aberforth's point of view and of aberforth by virtue of the pin-sharp voice and perspective.
just wow. you're amazing. i'm going for a lie down.