This story was so very moving, and so bittersweet. I've worked in healthcare for years now, and while I no longer treat patients directly, I'm still very involved in the care provided to the geriatric population. The passages you included for the text Harry was reading were such an effective counterpoint of the clinical realities of the process to the very human consequences experienced by Harry, Severus and the rest of the clan. The struggle Harry goes through in trying to balance safety and Severus' quality of life are so real - there are no easy answers, and it can be so hard to strike a balance. Reading it brought back personal memories of my very proud, independent grandfather looking me in the eye and painfully admitting that he was having memory problems, and how my mother struggled with the decisions to take away the car, and eventually move them out of their home.
The love shared between Harry and Severus just poured off the page throughout the story - I loved the conversation of share-giver, not care-giver, and Harry's insistence at leaving Severus as much as he possibly could, even though it was more inconvenient for him and the family. The evidence of a life well lived, the building of a close family clan, was such a pleasure to imagine for this couple, and you made the texture of that rich and beautiful. I loved the touches of humor, with the toads in the modern, self-stirring cauldron, and Severus' loss of inhibitions. I loved the apparent combination of a physically strong but mentally failing Severus paired with a still sharp(at the beginning of the story) but more physically impaired Harry - it reminded me of a number of couples I've known over the years who were able to strike the balance these two did. Harry's conversation with David, desperately asking that their magic, their core selves be respected and preserved was gut wrenching. I stayed up until almost 2am finishing the story and went through many a tissue. This story will stay with me for some time, as the best stories will do - thanks so much for sharing it with us all!