Yay, I'm so glad you liked Lily! The fic stands or falls on the reader's belief in her, and I pretty clearly struck off on my own there, because the few clues to Lily in canon just don't add up to a whole person. Also, I couldn't help pondering what sort of girl would hold Snape's interest and overcome his defensiveness. Not to mention the fact that she's much closer to Harry's age than to Snape's at this point, and I just couldn't see her as calm and wise and all-forgiving. At least, not without getting a few wake-up shocks from the world she left behind.
I'm glad you were persuaded by my use of the baby; I wasn't sure readers would let me get away with that. :)