Aw, thank you! I knew from the beginning that Lily had to be the main spirit and there was a lot of thought put into how she and Harry would interact. I decided that even though Lily is Harry's mother, she didn't raise him, doesn't have that mother/child history with him. She died at a relatively young age, but her situation, her really unique perspective, has given her wisdom too. There's a very real dichotomy at work there. Anyway, I'm just really happy that came across for you.
As for my poor drunk Severus, I did worry it might be too much so I'm really happy the underlying sadness of it came across too - he was a lot drunker than usual, but his tradition of drinking on Halloween is a very long one for him.
Thank you so very much for all the support and encouragement (and patience) and really just everything you did for me to make this happen. You are a Rock Star! *hugs*