Oh, thank you, Mystery Author! What a splendidly generous gift, I'm quite taken aback. What a richly-textured glimpse of this era at Hogwarts, and so lovingly-drawn.
This is an era that just fascinates me, and I'm as charmed by our glimpses of Armando Dippet - much cannier than he appears! - as I am by the more fleshed-out (so to speak) look at Albus and Horace as fellow heads of house, and friends, and unrequited-then-requited-then-unrequited-again lovers. I have such a well-known soft spot for Horace, whom it was wonderful of you to include, and Elphias, whom I'd never paid much attention to before, is splendid here.
The interweaving of the Albus/Elphias, Albus/Horace, Elphias/Horace, and Albus/Minerva relationships, along with Albus's decades-long voluntary opt-out of sexuality, was a wonderfully complex choice for exploring those themes. And nor was it without an edge - the sad unrequited love of a third party at the core of the Elphias/Horace relationship and the thorny moral dilemma of whether a student can give consent to a teacher at the core of the Albus/Minerva relationship are difficult foundations for a relationship, complicating the chances of happiness for both couples, yet they all four of them gently find an way to sort themselves out and settle into something that works. I love the idea of Dumbledore (and in particular Dumbledore, whose sexuality has been at the center of great fan debate) questioning his sexuality late in life, and the interplay of love and friendship running through his relationships.
I'm just amazed at how incredibly tailored to me this story was, and how generous you were, writing a story containing so many facets of orientation and relationship fluidity. Thank you!