You don't know how thrilled I am that you enjoyed the language and descriptions. It's like having my dearest wish lit up inside, a burst of warmth and gratitude. Because writing some of these scenes was a form of synesthesia - the immersion in the sensual, the attempt to make the purely visual (as described in words, such hubris!) conjure everything else the senses would normally convey. To find the emotional correlative and translate it into a vivid flare of transient glory.
My God, truly, I love this comment. Because it touches on so many of the small, intense points into which I poured the story's heart. The almost kind of beauty distilled in the ugliness - yes, that was my hope, to seduce the reader and convince her to see. To use Lily as a proxy for the reader's eyes and mind.
I'm overjoyed that the moment in the Shrieking Shack came across. Because then when that moment's reversed, and suddenly it's Harry doing the unthinkable and stroking Snape's hair, that's when the impossible becomes possible. When the future changes just enough to allow for everything Lily's foreseen.
I'm in love with Snarry again
This is the best imaginable response. Thank you so much. Your comment makes me utterly happy.