Oh, this is just exactly what I wanted for Smutmas!

Even the introduction of Dramatis Personae was perfect (poor doomed Bess!) and the Prologue worked beautifully, not just to play into the theatrical theme, but to set the stage for just how different a character Aberforth is: everybody's dancing to somebody else's tune in this New World Order, but not him; Aberforth's directing his own one man show.

And what a rare and wonderfully executed pairing! Snape and Aberforth...where's the romance in that? No sugared words or floral tributes for these two. Unless...maybe the romance and the love can be seen in a lifetime of knowing someone (better than Albus's Legilimency could ever do, apparently) and years of taking away pain (even if sometimes that can only be done through Absinthe or sleep spells) and demonstrations of trust (...and if you know me - which I suspect you must to have written something so right for me - I don't have to say how much I loved this particular brand of LimitedVocabulary!Drunk!Snape . . . or the morning after.)

Just...yay! Thank you so much, mystery Author!