Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. Only the plot and the sadness are mine.
Warnings: The rating of this story is subject to change at my discretion. However, I do not believe it will. I only reserve the right.
-The Picture
It is so odd how an object can bring back a memory that hides itself within the heart. Severus had long though that the heartache of losing her had subsided, or at least he often told himself so. He often pretended she was the one who had lost in the game of their love, that she was the one at fault for his broken heart and for her own early demise, but in that deep dark place of his heart he still fully blamed himself for everything.
The blame and sadness all came back when he found an old photograph from his childhood. It was a plain, black and white photograph. It was without movement, as it had been taken with her camera. It was in a box with other photographs from a summer that had all but faded from his memory. The box had been stuffed away in the back of an unused closet for many years.
The photo was of a girl with a rounded, youthful face. Even though the picture had no color, he could still remember the violent shock of red hair that she had. Her hair was pulled back, away from her face, but a few strands fell across her left eye. Her eyes shone in his mind as a brilliant green, bright and full of life and laughter. Just at the edge of the photo he could see a boy, apparently trying to escape the picture being taken. The boy was himself, so many years ago. The look of disgust on the boy's face was so clearly fake, as Severus remembered how happy that day had been for him.
"I don't want to be in a picture Lily!" Severus shouted angrily, stomping away. Lily ignored him and took the picture anyway.
She looked so sad when she found out he was off to the edge of the picture, but she never said anything angrily to him about it. She had always been too good for him, but he would never have admitted that to anyone except her. She was his mudblood princess, and he was her shallow court jester, never destined to be the prince charming of her heart.
"Those stupid muggle contraptions are so out of date. The photos don't even move, do they?" Severus asked Lily. She just smiled at him, not answering right away. He squinted at her, making a face of displeasure. She made a funny face back, and they both began laughing.
Severus threw the photo down in disgust, walking away from the box with a look of mixed sadness and anger on his face.
"She chose her own fate… She would never have died if she had chosen…she wouldn't have died…" He spoke to himself, pacing the floor in front of his fireplace. The light from the fire cast a garish hue on his face, making him looked deranged.
Sighing loudly, he collapsed into his arm chair, facing the flickering flames. The visions of that summer slowly came trickling back, as though he were living them once again…