Fascinating and extremely well written. Initially looking at wading through 21 chapters of backstory seemed a little daunting, but after getting into the flow a couple chapters I was captured by the uiverse of belief systems and legend, and really enjoyed it. The only thing that bugged me at all whan in the next to final chapter when Snape turned himself into a walking bomb, so to speak. Given that Dumbledore understood what was going on, seems to me he could, once he got close enough, have immobilized Snape rather than sacrificing himself. Anyway, certainly one of your finest, and thanks for a credible AU and a great read!