*whimpers* Oh, wow! What a place to stop.

I loved your description of Snape in the coma and how you handled the passage of time and his increasing awareness. And it seemed to true to form who would visit - and how those visits progressed - after he woke up. I especially liked the idea of the Malfoys making alliances. And I can completely believe that Snape would not ever want to be indebted to the Malfoys after what he experienced with Voldemort and Dumbledore.

Snape/Regulus feels almost like canon to me, so I was thrilled to see it here. I do think Snape loved Lily, but his frank retelling of his experiences to Harry felt very genuine to me. Snape doesn't seem like the kind of man for self-delusion or for sugar-coating unpleasant truths. And his treatment of Harry seems spot-on. Snape really can be such a bastard.

I can't wait to see what's next.