How utterly wonderful! The lilting style of a fable, and glittering fragments of memory, and the slowly settling pace of autumn turning to winter, and slipping into retirement, and the simple pleasures of hearth and home... all conveyed with such a sure hand. I'm still enthralled. And through your hints at the true nature of the "small black cat" and Minerva's unique and yearning remembrances of Severus you led us to hope and hope that it could all work out.
Seriously, one of the best fics of the fest, and this is going straight into my all-time favorites collection!