This was so incredible! I adored the liminality of the canon/AU memories. I kept trying to connect dots that you may or may not have intended (particularly characters--the Village Idiot, indeed!), but the Severus/Harry relationship unburdened by past associations was delicious!
Severus' voice, regardless of his past, was delightfully droll, and my heart swelled almost to breaking at his letting go of his safety net at the end. Harry was a beautiful collection of desirable characteristics, hero vs. naif.