"Potter!" The first-year jumped, startled back to awareness of where he was and what he was doing. Then a sense of dread rushed through him and all colour drained from his face. He'd been careless with remaining concealed under his invisibility cloak, and that drawling voice could belong to only one person. "What are you doing wandering about the castle at this hour?"

"I could ask the same of you," he replied as cooly as his shaky nerves would allow. He knew it was a foolish move to backtalk to a teacher, especially when he knew he was in the wrong, but it felt so satisfying to get back at Snape it would be worth the consequences.

"I'll have none of your insolence, boy," Snape snapped. "Detention. To be served in my office tomorrow. And ten points from Gryffindor for being out of bed."

Harry remained silent and made a move to leave. He gathered the cloak in a tight bundle in his arms.
Snape sneered at him, the shadows of the uneven midnight lighting dancing grotesquely over his sallow face, giving his countenance a more menacing appearance than usual. "Oh no you don't," he smirked. "I'll take that." And he snatched the cloak out of Harry's arms amidst a flurry of protest. "We can't have you sneaking about whenever you please. Now go. And don't ever let me catch you in here again."

Harry, seeing it was lost, returned to his dormitory.

Snape for the first time turned to look at what had been keeping Harry's attention. It was his turn to jump in surprise. He stepped closer, unwilling to accept what he was seeing. The object was simple enough: a full-length silvery reflective panel surrounded by a gold frame with an inscription across the top he just couldn't quite make out, but what made Severus stop in his tracks was what was reflected in the glass panel. He turned to look over his shoulder, and when he was convinced the image was only in the glass, he dropped down to his knees and cried for the first time in ten years. He extended a hand towards the image, using the other to try to wipe away the tears that were clouding up his vision of his beloved.

She appeared to stand behind him and place a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. Severus could've sworn he could feel it, but when he moved his hand to where hers would be, it was met by only the chill of the night air. He raised his head to look directly into her face. Her beautiful emerald green eyes captivated him as much now as they had in real life. Except now they were smiling kindly at him.

"Lily," he whispered.

Severus wished more than anything that he could pass through into the mirror, into the security of her embrace, into pure bliss. He rose slowly, his hand still pressed against the glass. The image of Lily raised her hand to press it against his. The tears started streaming from Severus's eyes again, but he made no movement to stop them this time. He leaned his head against the mirror and sobbed.