After Lily had dismissed him as a friend, Severus ran down to the Dungeons to sit and think. He had called her an unspeakable thing, he knew, but could she really have pushed him aside all that easily? Just to let him wander, aimlessly, without his anchor Lily Evans? She was the one that kept him from doing half the things Avery and Rosier and their lot did. She was the light to his dark so to speak, and young Severus knew this only too well. He couldn't lose her. He sprinted back up the winding staircases when he heard raised voices around the corner. He stopped, curious.
"I don't ruddy CARE if he's sorry. He chose his path, and he chose the Dark Arts over me. If that's the way he wants it, then so be it. It's his life, let him lead it."
"Lily, have a little compassion. The poor boy's been losing sleep over what he said. He's been crying and closing himself off even more. Not even James Potters awful teasing makes him this upset. You can't hate him all that much. Not over a word."
"Mary. Stop lecturing me. If I want advice about boys or make up or heels, I'll come to you. And I don't hate him. Not at all." Severus felt his heart start to beat faster, maybe, just maybe she could forgive him. There was that tiny glimmer of hope just ahead, he knew she could save him, help him, forgive him. "But it's not that simple. I've already forgiven him, Mary, but that's not enough for him, and even if he come grovelling back, I can't take him back. I can't save him, Mary. He's beyond help. If I keep trying, I'm just going to keep on being battered by abuse from him and his friends. I don't want to live being constantly hurt." Severus closed his eyes and sprinted from the spot, not wanting to hear another word. He disappeared back down into the dark dungeons. She was right of course. Every second he spent with her, the less he was trusted by the others, and the more danger he put her in. Every second he spent with her, he endangered her life. Every second he spent with her, he fell even more in love with her. And the Dark Lord wouldn't like that. So he let her go, let her waltz into the outstretched arms of James Potter, and prayed every day, that James Potter could be the man he never was, and keep Lily Evans safe.