A/N: I'm certain that this has been done a million times before, but hey, I'm alone, and it's in the middle of the night, and I wrote it in about 10 minutes (hence the shortness). Oh, and I don't own any of the Potter books and haven't read this book in 4 months (sadly) so if I have any information wrong please tell me and I'll correct it! Reviews are, as always, lovely.
He couldn't even begin to think about how much he regretted what he had done. How could he have been so stupid to act that way? She, as his best friend, had been defending him, and his cursed pride had retaliated. His tongue lashed out before he could stop it, and then he said that fateful word.
He had never had a chance with her; of course, he already knew that. That knowledge brought a certain sting to somewhere deep inside his soul, in the small portion where he still cared. The pain was alleviated every time she told him in private that James Potter was an arrogant bloke, or ignored one of the popular boy's advances.
She had kept him clean for so long. And he tried, he really did. Only for her. But becoming a Death Eater had changed him. He was just as good, if not better, than the others. It was a place where he found that he could belong and be respected, in such an unsettling way. He had learned to numb himself from his conscience, or perhaps he simply didn't have one anymore. Subconsciously, he had to choose. He could not have both. And there was only so much that he could sacrifice for Lily.
And now here he was, in a dark corridor, wishing that she would reappear from behind the portrait. He desperately wished that he had chosen her over his beloved potions. He couldn't have her love, but he needed her friendship. He had apologised. Twice, even. But she knew him too well. She spoke sharply, but it had been the truth, and that was what hurt the most. It had been inevitable. The one friendship that had kept his heart beating had come to an end.