I love "what if" scenarios too, they are so much fun to play around with *g*
Thank you so much for you lovely feedback. It's such a relief to know that the parts I enjoyed writing turned out to be some of the things you mentioned. I adore the Snape/Harry dynamic in canon, and here, in an alternate scenario, I was able to give them both a bit of reprieve from their mutual hatred, and I'm really glad that this more friendly depiction of their interaction worked.
And that Lucius scene was one of my favorites! Glad to know that his cameo didn't go unnoticed ;)
Thank you again, I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts!