Holy crap! This is fantastic. As leianora said, this story is without peer in its originality. The details you've provided are so *vivid*, and the I love the personalities of the each snake. I admire the "Snape without his voice" element of the story, because he's not at all paled or diminished by the loss. Wonderful figurative languages - the similes were seamlessly incorporated, and Harry's youthful voice was so adorable, and I could go on forever. Absolutely bloody marvelous.