"Kill me then," panted Harry, who felt no fear at all, but only rage and contempt. "Kill me like you killed him, you coward—"
"DON'T—" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them—"CALL ME COWARD!"
Severus Snape shuddered in his sleep, then jerked awake. Shivering even though it was quite warm, he grasped at the bedside table for a glass of water. Frustrated when his fingers met nothing, he reached beneath his pillow and pulled out his wand. He skipped the conjuring of a cup, and merely pointed his wand into his mouth.
"Aguamenti," he whispered. A thin stream of clear water poured into his open mouth. His thirst quenched, he climbed out of bed. A sliver of sunlight was poking through the curtains of the motel room. He walked to it, then abruptly turned and waved his wand. After doing some complex flicks and muttering a string of strange words, a shadowy figure materialized in front of him. She, for it was a woman's figure, had long red hair, and sparkling green eyes. She was smiling, somewhat reprovingly, but still…smiling. It had been a while since Severus had seen someone smile at him. The Dark Lord might occaisonally twitch his lip into some type of a grimacing smile, but it was usually before he killed.
"Sev, you're so calm at times, but whenever James or Harry talks to you, you blow," said the woman.
"I can't help it, Lily. I hate them so much. H-he called me a coward! After all I've done for him, that little git called me a coward."
The woman, who was Lily, shook her head gently, "You know perfectly well that Harry has no idea of how much you help him. He thinks you're on the other side. He doesn't know of your love for me."
"Sometimes I feel that this is all for nothing. Then he'll look at me with your eyes-your eyes, Lily! He'll look at me with such pain behind them…I never want to see that in your eyes, Lily. Never. I would do anything for that to not happen," said Severus.
"I know, Sev, I know. And I love you for that, I wish that this didn't have to—oh, I have to go. Someone's coming, one of the Death Eaters that are here. Good-bye Severus, call me again when you need someone to remind you of the good Sev, the one who loves…" Lily's voice grew fainter as she slowly vanished. Severus stared at the spot where Lily's form had been, and sighed. He was never sure if Lily had really talked to him, but he always treasured the times that Lily came, even if they might just be hallucinations. His door suddenly burst open with a bang as a masked Death Eater came rushing in.
"Snape! The Dark Lord called for us. We must go!" he cried.
"I'm coming," snapped Severus in a voice that was much colder than when he had been talking to Lily. With a last look at where Lily had been, he swept out of the room, leaving behind nothing to indicate that he had been there, much less talked to his lost love.