Snape's Reward
the light left the dark eyes, and his hand fell from where it had grasped Harry's shoulder, he fell quickly and easily into a slumber, at peace, knowing all he could do had been done. He faintly heard a murmur of voices, he could smell the undergrowth on which he lay, and suddenly he felt surrounded. his eyes shifted, and he saw many pairs of feet encircling him in the white haze of what he could only presume to be an afterlife. funny, Severus thought –he'd always wondered what came after the vibrancy of life. He was at Hogwarts, down by the lake.
"Sev" a womans voice whispered softly, though every electron in his body seemd to stand on end. his dark eyes swivelled upwards swiftly, his heart beating and swelling with love. Warm hands grasped his shoulders, and after eighteen years he looked upon the face of his Lily.
"Sev" she beamed "thank you. thank you." she now pulled him into a hug, and his heart burst, his eyes wept, and he was overcome with happiness. Vaguely, somewhere behind her, he heard footsteps ,and with a glance, he saw Potter Senior, and his following Marauders behind him. Snape involuntarily tensed, expecting taunts, and retribution.
He withdrew from his Lily's embrace, and prepared to slink off into the distance, leaving the Potters, and the Marauders behind, but James's voice stopped him.
"don't" he started "don't go Severus." the use of his proper name, as opposed to degrading taunts stopped him further, and he was now wondering what was happening.
"don't want to break up the family unit" Snape mumbled, to which James replied
"nonsense, you saved him."
"I didn't do it for him," Snape mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. At these words Lily blushed, but James pressed on.
"But you did it." James then stepped forward, hand outstretched to Snape, who left a pregnant pause before taking it. "thank you."
Snape nodded, and then again tried to leave.
"Stay" Lily breathed, with both a look of compassion to Snape, and a daggered flash of her almond green eyes to her Husband, who now also shifted on his feet.
"Look, Severus," and here James licked his lips, searching for words which had long since needed to be spoken "I'm sorry all right..."Snape waved his words away
"doesn't matter"
"It does. You saved my son. Even though you hated me. You hated me for what I did to you at school, you hated me for having Lily's love. And I'm sorry for the former, but you've got to understand." Here Lily spoke also
"I love you Sev, I love you more than James, but in a different way. You're family. You were the first person to know me, the real me, with magic and everything and accept me."
Severus nodded, tears dripping off his nose.
The marauders and Lily enveloped him into an embrace, and though awkwardness lingered, love and gratitude prevailed. In death Snape found what he had been in absence of all his life, Love, and Friendship. He took the place of Peter, the marauder who lost his way, and though his heart was heavy with unrequited love, his spirit soared with the joy of companionship. Not everyone, he realised has a perfect heaven, sometimes even in death you have to settle for what you can get.
Lily didn't requite his love, but it didn't hurt. They were together, together in death, the gryffindors and the slytherin who was braver than all of them.