I have so much love for this fic -- not just aesthetic delight in a story beautifully told, or pure glee in its characterization, although I was absolutely smitten on first reading -- but a huge, growing affection for the story and its mercifulness and its faith in last-minute escapes.
I also have much to say, and innumerable quotes I have to sort through, which will have to wait until tomorrow night. The more I thought about it and read it over, the more this fic came together in a coherent whole that made Snape's salvation believable, and I want to babble about that. But I must give you short shrift tonight, dear author, and simply say that the central conceit of this fic is brilliant and moving and you've managed (once again, I'm guessing) to make me adore all the characters without softening or falsifying them one whit.