*fangirling ALL over this piece*
Oh. Oh my goodness. That was absolutely adorable, sizzlingly sensual, and...uh, just plain hot. There goes my futile attempt at alliteration. There is so much about this piece that I love: I love Arthurian mythology; I love rain and fog; I love ramshackle houses in the middle of nowhere. All of that I love in almost any context, but your expert weaving brings together those aspects and others so eloquently I'm falling over myself in my delight. I was cackling through nearly every paragraph, tickled by each antic. There were brief moments when the writing lost me, and I'm still confused over certain details, but I think a story as charmingly quirky as this one should retain some of its mystery at the end.
Okay. Where do I begin? Amazing structure and good choice of length. I was pulled immediately into the opening with the image of Harry stumbling around catching rainwater in buckets. Lol! "What," I thought. "Where is he? WHY is he there? What the heck's going on?" Which is EXACTLY what every writer wants readers to be thinking as they read the first line/paragraph, so fantastic job on an intriguing hook. And then Snape promptly enters the scene, and my fascination turns to their easy, familiar bantering. "I reckon you're going to lecture me now, aren't you?" says an unbearably cute, cheeky Harry, and Snape responds, "You're earned yourself one." The rest of the story's first section goes on to flesh out their relationship and current situation, and it tickled me pink how well-adjusted they were to each other. This first part was my favorite because I love (in addition to everything else) budding, inchoate romance, but the second half is a powerful, fitting progression, where they're suspended, teetering, at the very edge of something unnamed, bodies flushed sensuously together, right before plunging over to romantic fulfillment. I liked the brevity of this fic; there's more of a punch, more of a breathless Wow.
The budding, inchoate romance scene I named my favorite because of their interactions from that first exchange of badinage onward and because of Harry's affectionate observations of Snape. Harry getting a kick out of stirring Snape's sarcastic bite is amusing and adorable, but it's Harry's understanding of Snape that really cinches the romance: "The best part was that Snape never hexed him without cause, and Harry's cheek was not a real cause, only an annoyance." (On an off-topic note, this is a clever thing to insert into an AU because canon Snape's tendency to bark much worse than he bites is something canon Harry has never recognized. It's always gratifying to see it in fanfiction, even better that AU!Harry knows it like the back of his hand.) Every bit of their interaction and dialogue gave me tingles and chuckles (ie. Harry deliberately bumping knees), but the one little bit that caught me off-guard and was all the more vivid for it was Harry's "wary step forward" when Snape snapped at him. The first thing to come to mind was naturally, "Oh, you must mean backwards," which made me think twice and realize that forward is actually a brilliant way to portray their eccentric relationship. Even when wary, when defensive, they still move forward and towards each other - that image strikes me as very much classic Snarry. I'm aware I might be pulling it out of the proportion you had intended (it is just three words!), but I liked it. :) Harry's gradual shift from affectionate amusement to petulant irritation with Snape is also very telling of this mercurial relationship.
Oops. Clearly, I'm rambled on too long. Next comment box!