To be honest, I have no idea whether this has been done before, so I'm sorry if it has :o But I couldn't help it; I had to write a SnapexLily eventually.
Written for the "Before I Fall" Challenge. Quote 2: They say that just before you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes.
Enjoy :)
They say that just before you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes. But when you're about to die, you don't see your life.
You see hers.
It starts from when she was a child. She showed you enough pictures and explained with enough details, so you can see it as clearly as if you were there yourself.
She's on her front lawn, playing with her older sister. She is one at this time, and is already chattering about, running through the damp grass with her bare feet. Suddenly, a dog taller than her charges down the street, towards their lawn. Petunia screams.
But she laughs. She steps out to the narrow sidewalk, and opens her arms, as if to welcome the dog home. Petunia screams at her to get away, but she doesn't, and the dog keeps charging until… it stops. Right in front of her. And nuzzles her tiny little hands.
The next flash is of her on the swing. That day, when you couldn't help but introduce yourself. She was just so… pure. Her red hair, flying behind her. Her green eyes, kind and wondering, with a thirst for knowledge - a thirst that you shared.
You remember the look on her face when she got her Hogwarts letter - how she was so surprised and pleased with the fact that she'd gotten in (as if Hogwarts could look over a prodigy like her).
Something that she'd said that stuck in your mind over the years: "I'm so happy, Sev, that we can finally be with more people like us!"
When you first arrive at Hogwarts with her, her eyes are wide and unblinking. She is mesmerized by the school, and you are mesmerized by her.
(But you're eleven at the time, and don't know it yet.)
And then comes the Sorting. She is standing in the excited group of first-years.
"I wonder which House we'll be Sorted in, Sev," she says, and smiles. A nervous, beautiful smile that only she can pull off. "I hope we're in the same one."
That day, you get separated from her. She gets Sorted into Gryffindor. You get Sorted into Slytherin. But you tell yourself that it doesn't matter. It won't matter.
And then she meets that big headed Potter, and personally, you think that's where her life (as well as yours) went downhill.
You remember the first time he asked her out. It's in fourth year, and you and her are sitting in the library, laughing together. And then he shows up with his annoying group and curses you from behind, and then has the nerve to laugh in your face as he asks her to go to Hogsmeade with him.
She, of course, hexes him and angrily demands him to lift the hex he'd put on you. You remember how she calms you afterwards, with her sweet, soothing voice and comforting words. Because of her, you forget about getting revenge on Potter for that day.
But you never forget the threat he poses to your friendship.
The next thing you see is your first fight. In fifth year. She's standing outside of the Gryffindor Tower, and you're begging for her forgiveness. She's never truly been angry with you, but as she looks down at you, you see anger flaming behind those green eyes.
She's conflicted. You didn't know it at the time, but you know it now, that that was the moment her string was cut and your bond was severed.
The next series of events are ones that bring you the most pain, but would bring her the most happiness. You see her accepting Potter's invitation to Hogsmeade in seventh year. You see them laughing together as they hold hands - the perfect picture of Head Girl and Head Boy, except that James Potter is nothing, let alone perfect, while she is everything and perfect.
You see Potter getting down on one knee, asking for her hand in marriage. You see her saying yes, smiling and crying tears of joy, and you wish, oh, you wish, that you could have been the one to kiss them away, smiling and laughing yourself.
But you weren't. It had to be that stupid Potter.
You see their wedding, because even though you weren't invited (Death Eaters typically don't get invited to the weddings of Light Side leaders), you saw pictures of them in the Daily Prophet. You see her smiling in her wedding dress, and you see her green eyes sparkling.
It hurts.
You see their first child. Oh, that useless, stupid child of James Potter. You see him in her arms, and you can imagine her singing a sweet lullaby to him, her green eyes loving and motherly, her voice clear and melodious.
You see the little brat grow up, that annoying trademark Potter hair forming on the top of his head. You see her cooing as he says his first words (she's always loved children, and you've always wondered why). You see her teaching how to clap, how to smile, how to laugh.
And then you see her die.
She's standing in front of the brat's crib. She's pleading with the Dark Lord. She's begging him to spare the brat's life. You wish you could have been there, to sweep her out of the way and take the curse yourself, because she didn't deserve to die, she didn't.
But you were too late. And when you go to Godric's Hollow, her son is gone, and you are glad, because had her son still been there, you know you would have been too angry and too mindless, and you would have killed him, only to later realize how she would despise you for that.
So you just cry over her dead body and wish she had had the time to find out how much you care for her.
And now, as you're about to die, you're looking into her grown-up son's eyes, but you don't see him, in those deep green orbs of light and hope.
You see her.