Snape lay in his own pool of blood, feeling the life being sucked out of him as a cold took its place. It hurt really badly, but he had felt worse. His end was near, but his life mission was not yet complete. He had one more promise to fulfill.

He tried to stop the bleeding, but it was futile. Not yet, not yet. Please, dear god, not yet. An angel answered his prayer as a sound made him look up and Harry Potter and his two friends appeared out of nowhere.

It was now or never. Snape grabbed onto Harry's robes and pulled him close. It took a second to be able to speak but when he could it came out as a gurgle, barely coherent.

"Take… it... take… it" he managed. Snape then went deep in his mind and found the memories he had hidden deep down inside, locked up so tight that Voldemort could use occlumency on him for days and he'd never even scratch the surface. He tried to pull only a few, but they all came flowing out, uncontrolled. They slipped from his mind and poured out.

Snape relived every moment in the flash of an eye as the Potter boy scrambled to collect them. The mistakes of his past along with the reasons he lived for, all pushed together. If the life in him wasn't already leaving, it would be now, as his heart could barely take it.

Suddenly they were all gone, and there was only one thing left on Snape's mind.

"Look… at… me…" he demanded, no, pleaded in a whisper.

The green eyes met his, and Harry faded away, leaving only green eyes, gentle, concerned, green eyes. The world around him turned black, and he thought of only one thing as he passed on.

Lily.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Snape awoke in a bed. It was soft, and the sheets were bunched up around him. They were soaked with sweat. He had been in so much pain, but now he felt… normal. His hand shot up to his neck, looking for the wound that had supposedly killed him, but instead his fingers met smooth skin.

He opened his eyes, confused, and immediately saw a pair of eyes staring into his. He froze. The eyes were dark. They belonged to the face of a little girl. She looked no older then eight and had a pale complexion and soft red hair. She was in a white nightgown with frills at the neck and sleeves. She looked like…

"Are you awake?" she asked him with a smile.

"Yes." He responded softly. She looked like… Lily…

"Mummy said the pancakes are ready." She said. Snape reached out and stroked her hair once before she ran away, giggling. She paused at the door and gave him a pout. "Hurry. My tummy is rumbly." She then disappeared; her little footsteps heard echoing down a hall as she scrambled away.

Snape watched her go. He could not describe what he was feeling, for he didn't even know. Dream… this must be a dream…

He sat up in the bed and looked around. He was in a bedroom, on top of a king-sized four poster bed.

The walls were cream colored with a green vine pattern with white paneling. The furniture was mismatched, but it didn't look shabby. Each piece looked distinct in its own way. The bed was covered in a dark green blanket with light green. They were bunched up on his side, the left side, leaving the right side bare. There was an imprint on the pillow on the right, showing someone else had been sleeping in this bed.

He got out of bed and found that he was not in his black robes but in light blue pajamas. He moved forward toward the cabinet on his side, which he assumed would have clothes, but stepped on something by accident. He looked down and saw a pair of slippers laid out carefully on the floor. They were his size.

Assuming they must be for him he slipped them on. A dark blue robe hung on the back of a half-open door, leading to a small bathroom. Snape put it on, briefly glancing into the bathroom. The mirror was steamed up. Someone had taken a shower in there recently. A tiny heart was drawn on the mirror, beads of water dripping down. Dream. This was definitely a dream.

Snape stepped out into the hall and glanced both ways before heading the direction the little girl had gone. He ended up at the top of a stair case. From below he could hear the noises of a kitchen and soft voices conversing. As he slowly made his way down the stairs he looked at the pictures lining the wall. The first one was of the little girl at age four, wearing a yellow sundress, smiling at the camera, twirling back and forth, swishing her skirt back and forth. The second was of him and… and Lily. They were standing side by side, his arm around her waist. They looked young, in their early twenties. Lily's head kept resting on his shoulder, and picture him wore the biggest grin, as if he could believe his luck.

In the next picture Lily and he we were in it again. They were even younger, wearing Hogwarts robes. They must have been in their seventh year. His green and silver tie clashed with her red and gold, but their hands were intertwined. Picture Snape was once again smiling, and continuously lifted Lily's hand to his mouth, giving it a kiss.

The next picture showed Lily, him, and a baby in the middle. The baby, who must be the little girl, had a pink bow on a bald head, was making spit bubbles at the camera, and both he and Lily looked back and forth between the baby and the camera.

The last picture hit Snape the hardest. It was him and Lily, once again, but this time she was in a wedding dress, and he in wedding dress robes. Unlike the others, he looked solely at Lily, and she stared right back at him. The love in both's eyes was undeniable. Snape stared hungrily at this photo, his hand reaching out to touch it, to confirm that it was real. The cold glass protect the photo was smooth. His hand was shaking. This couldn't be true…

A voice broke his trance. A voice he hadn't heard in almost twenty years. Quickening his pace he rushed to the source of the kitchen noises and froze a soon as he rounded the door.

The little girl, no, his daughter, sat at a small four-person table. She swung her legs back and forth as she poked at a syrupy stack of pancakes in front of her. She was mindlessly chattering between bites, shoveling pancakes in with one hand and drawing with a crayon with the other.

The kitchen had a cheery yellow theme to it, with spring green cabinets and sky blue trim. A fridge hummed quietly, covered in drawings and small photos. Next to a door leading to the backyard sat two dishes, one with water and the other with dry pellets. Pet food, or something. But what drew Snape's attention the most was a woman standing at the sink, washing dishes.

Her dark red hair cascaded down her back. She was thin and delicate, humming to herself. The ribbon of a pink apron was wrapped around her waist, and her wand tucked behind her ear. And the moment she turned around, Snape knew he was not dreaming. He was in heaven.

Lily smiled at him as she pulled off rubber gloves. "Look who's finally up. You okay? You were tossing and turning a lot last night." A pout crossed her face as she closed the distance between them and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"I…" Snape trailed off, not sure what to say.

Lily's pout turned into a concerned frown. She pulled him to the table and pulled out a chair.

"Sit down and eat. I made pancakes and sausage. Maybe you'll feel better if you get something in you." Snape sat down, following her orders and watched as she walked back to the sink. As she put back on the gloves she looked back at him to notice he was still staring at her. "Oh come on," she teased at him, "Lay off. You know I like to do chores without magic. Keeps me grounded."

"I didn't say anything…" Snape quietly defended himself.

Lily gave him one of her looks she had given him many times in their childhood, the one with a raised eyebrow that she would give him when ever she caught him fumbling up words or saying something that she would usually respond with a 'really?' or and exasperated 'boys'. His heart skipped a beat. She turned back around and resumed the action of washing the dishes.

"Eat. We need to get ready if we want to get to Diagon Alley. Lucy needs new robes, she keeps outgrowing the old ones, the owl needs more food, and that new book by J. Scott is out. Oh and we also need more…" Lily continued to list of various supplies and items, but Snape tuned out. Something in him snapped and he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and swooped across the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Lily, pulling her into an embrace.

Startled, she dropped the plate she was scrubbing. Snape put his face in the crook of her neck and drew in her scent, which was sweet and intoxicating. He squeezed her tightly, not wanting to let go, not wanting to wake up, knowing that if this was fake in anyway, he'd be done. She was his. His. Finally. As it should have been. She was here, alive, well, and not only breathing but his wife. He spun her around and kissed her full on the mouth, just as he had always dreamed. It was better then he could ever imagine. Soft and warm, and even better when she got over the surprise and kissed him back.

They pulled away at the sound of a squeal.

"Ewwwww! That's disgusting." His daughter (Lucy, her name must be), exclaimed.

Snape stared at her, his eyes stinging. He had a daughter. He had married the only girl he ever loved and had a child. He was a father, and Lily, a mother. The mother of his child. This was all too much.

"Honey, are you all right? You seem a little off this morning."

Snape looked back at Lily and his hand brushed against her cheek. "I'm fine. In fact, I think I'm better then I have ever been." He spoke, with absolute conviction. He kissed her again, reveling every moment of it. Lucy moaned and complained some more, but it just made his heart swell.

When he pulled away Lily pouted again and stared into his eyes. Her hand touched his forehead, probably checking for a fever. "Okay," she said carefully, he knowing she did not fully believe him.

"I'll eat now and get ready right away, then we'll go."

He ate his breakfast quickly, finding it delicious.

As he walked out of the kitchen to go get dressed he stopped at the doorway and turned to Lily, who had just finished the dishes and was wiping syrup off of Lucy's face.

He had to say it. He had to say those four words. If he didn't and anything happened, he would never be able to live with himself. He opened his mouth and spoke the one thing he ever knew to be true in his entire life.

"I love you, Lily."

"Love you too, Sev." She responded, a smile back on her face.

That was it. The one thing he had wished his whole life to hear. He could hold back the tears no longer and a wide grin broke out on his face.

I was inspireed to write this story based on a picture I saw. I can't read the watermark, but the credit for the opening goes to them. Here are the directions to get to the picture I saw: imgur dot com slash VNfzX

I did not create this picture, nor do I own Harry Potter and it's characters.