I did this for the Lush Challenge by bad mum. I really enjoyed this challenge it was a lot of fun to write this believe it or not. And hey guess what! It's not rated M good for me!
A Ring of Roses
A ring of roses lay forgotten on the ground. The mound of dirt that had once stuck up from the earth shouting of recent death now lay level and covered with vibrant grass. The roses long since wilted lay wrapped around a small plastic ring and as Severus bent at the knee and fingered a lifeless petal he watched as it crumbled at his touch.
Bittersweet memories drifted in on the breeze, beautiful eyes, the color of the grass now covering her grave, piercing him with a curious stare and velvet red, the color that once stained the now brown petals of each rose, flowing like silk to the middle of her slender back. Taking a deep breath to steady his heart he breathed in the scent of lavender blooming on a nearby bush and closed his eyes. Lavender was the smell of her perfume, he used to dream of burying his face in her silky red mane and inhaling the sweet aroma of the delicate flower, hell he still dreamed of it.
Only now it was too late, much too late. Fifteen years too late. Wrapping his fingers around the plastic of the ring he lifted it and gave it a fierce toss, watching as the deteriorating roses fell apart in mid air. There was another pair of eyes just like hers, a matching set. He saw them almost every day in his potions class. Harry Potter was the spitting image of his father, save for his mothers incredible green eyes. Every time Harry walked in to the room Severus felt his heart leap and pain shoot through him.
No one really understood what his motivation for defying the dark lord was, those who knew he was defying that is. Most of the order still had lingering doubts about him, only one person knew the true reason he had formed an alliance with Dumbledore, and that was Dumbledore himself. Only he understood the true pain Severus had suffered when Voldemort had killed Lily. He was the only person Severus had ever dared to trust with such a secret.
Of course there was no need to hide it anymore. Lily was gone; no one would really care if the rumor got out that he had been in love with the beautiful red head.
He reached out and traced the fading letters on the grave stone, Lily A. Evens Potter. Tears burned the back of his eyes and he was forced to close them or let the tears fall. It had been so long since he had allowed himself to visit this god forsaken place, and memories of his childhood came flooding back to him. His life always seemed so empty before she had showed up the summer of his ninth birthday. The day he laid eyes on her, even at the young age of nine, he had known nothing was going to be the same, and it wasn't. She brought laughter and sunlight in to his dark empty life, and she had continued to shine her light until the day she had turned her back on him in fifth year.
But even from afar she had still shone so bright that his life was bearable. If he was depressed all he had to do was think about the days spent with her, think about how her smile filled his heart with love, love he was too scared to express. Love he wished she would have shared with him. Instead she had chosen Potter, because Severus had withdrawn from her, taken the dark way of life and devoted himself to the very person who would kill her. Kill the only woman Severus would ever love.
Pulling out his wand Severus opened his eyes and stared at the stone marker. He drew a circle in the dirt with the tip and whispered I'll always love you under his breath. He stood and brushed the dirt from his knees before turning and walking away leaving on the ground in front of her grave a ring of roses.