Summary: "Why?" She asked, her voice broken, her vivid green eyes brimming with unshed tears threatening to spill over. "I love him." "Because." He replied. Because, without Lily Evans, there was no James Potter. And she would later come to learn that without James Potter, there was no Lily Evans. JPLE, oneshot, AUish.

Without

By: slstmaraudersjple

"Why?" She asked, her voice broken, her vivid green eyes brimming with unshed tears threatening to spill over. Her body trembled with suppressed emotions and heartbreak.

He observed her, feeling his own heart wretch painfully for causing her this pain.

Finally, he replied, "Because."

And he turned around and left her all alone-

And as he left, she sank to the ground, her tears finally spilling over, her heart crying out to the one she loved, the one she couldn't have, couldn't be with. She cried and cried and cried.

-but what he didn't say was that-

She hated him. She hated him for causing her so much pain and misery, for pulling rank, for forcing her to do this. She hated him for taking her away from the one she loved, from taking her away from her family, her friends.

-without Lily Evans, there was no James Potter.

She knew her family wasn't wealthy. But they weren't poor. Her parents were respectable and they made enough money to support their children and send them to good schools. They could afford to take vacations every once in a while and spoil their daughters.

She thought herself to be in love.

They met in high school, and he asked her out in their sophomore year, and they started dating. She fell in love with him and he declared his love for her, and she thought they would get married.

Nevermind that almost everyone she knew was against her relationship – her own parents, her sister, her best friends.

Until he came into the picture.

He swept in, picked her up, carried her away, and left her in her cage, a beautiful swan in a golden prison.

In reality, her parents fell into a financial crisis and he offered to help them out of it by merging their companies together – in exchange for her hand in marriage.

Her parents tried their best to find another way, another escape out of it, but he had neatly cut off all of their ties like a master chess player and led them straight to him.

In the end, because Petunia was already married to Vernon, her parents had no option but to offer her instead.

And then she learned that not all faerie tales came true and ended with "happily-ever-after"s.

When she broke the news to him, he was furious.

"Severus-"

"I don't want to hear it, Lily! So you went and got yourself engaged to Potter, huh?"

"Severus, please-"

"You couldn't have had the decency to tell me first? I had to find out from your friends. So what was I to you? For the past 3 years? I thought you weren't that type of person."

"Sev-"

"I don't want to hear it, Lily. Whatever your reasons are, we're over."

He left her crying in the hallway.

"Who is she to you?" The words slipped from her lips, ghastly, vulnerable, as she took in the scene before her.

He looked at her coolly, ignoring the woman beside him.

He was silent for a while longer, and that was all the confirmation she needed.

She turned from him and ran, tears sliding down her cheeks, her heart broken, shattered.

He found her huddled by the fireplace, her small, huddled form almost blending into the darkness surrounding her. He would have missed her had he not heard her stifled sobs.

His heart wrenching somewhat uncomfortably, he swallowed the lump on his throat as he realized that she had finally discovered what he tried to hide from her, what he tried to protect her from.

Part of him was angry at her for defying him to go see him, but another part of him was saddened, angry at Snape for doing this to her, his mind furiously thinking that the slimy git didn't deserve her, and he looked at her again and without thinking he knelt down to gather her into his arms.

When he knelt down next to her, whispering sweet nothings, broken apologies, quiet confessions, and gathered her into his arms, holding her so gently and tenderly,

And she finally understood what he meant so long ago.

And she leant into his hold, shuddering against his tall, lean frame, relishing in the warmth his body gave off,

Without Lily Evans, there was no James Potter.

She finally understood.

And without James Potter, there was no Lily Evans.

-Fin.

A/N: Um. I hate Microsoft Word 2007 or w/e the new version is called.

A/N 2: Er… I was experimenting with a new style. Or several styles. Um. Leave a comment? Thanks! I hope there wasn't too much confusion going on, but if there is, feel free to send me a PM or leave a review with your question, and I'll get back to you as fast as I can. Thanks again!(: