"I never meant to hurt you"

"I know you didn't. But it still doesn't change things."

Severus cringed at his mistakes. He had lost the one thing he had ever cared about because of his hunger for power. Life had taught him not to expect any favors, and even the smallest of words and actions could change the course of time. "If I had known-"

"Known what? Known about the prophecy, about who it might have been intended for? Known how I wasn't going to stick around while you went off on your power quest? You messed up, and you know it. And what's more, you can't stand your mistakes." Lily looked at him witheringly. "You sold out Snape. You sold out for your precious Death Eater friends."

"I know. I've made a lot of mistakes, but I've changed because of them too. I treated your son abominably because I couldn't stand to be reminded of you. I made mistakes with him too."

Lily shook her head. She could hear the water from the fountain in the darkened courtyard they were in in the background. This afterlife wasn't what she expected, but she had the ability to look in on the present world, so it wasn't that bad. Too much time had past, and she wasn't sure if she could find forgiveness in her heart for her once-good friend.

Severus watched her with a small amount of trepidation as she moved to the fountain and touched the water. From the short amount of time, he knew she was looking in on her only son and his family. He didn't think forgiveness was an option, and he wasn't sure if he wanted it to be, but he at least wanted her to understand that he felt the greatest remorse.

"You told me I was good enough when I was ten years old, Snape. You told me it didn't matter if I didn't come from a magical family. And what did you turn around and do? You called me a mudblood. Those things just don't disappear."

"You didn't have to turn to Potter, either. You used him just to get back at me," accused Severus.

"No I didn't. He lost both of his parents to dragon pox, Snape. He changed a lot after that happened. His whole personality changed; he stopped pranking you, stopped being a prat, stopped chasing me in such a blatant way. I feel in love with who he was deep inside. We all know that his robust personality was just a cover-up."

"You still threw it in my face," he glared at her.

Lily didn't say another word. She watched as her youngest grandson, James, laughed and joked around with Teddy. She still thought it was amazing how the bloodlines had continued, even if the genes of everyone she knew hadn't been carried on.

"Too much has happened, I know. I just don't want you to be angry anymore. I just want you to understand," Severus sighed.

"I'm not angry. Not anymore, anyway. And I do understand. I just don't know if I can forgive it. Too much time has gone by."

Severus nodded after a time. He knew it wouldn't be the same, wasn't ever going to be the same. Slowly Lily turned around and headed for the archway to her left. But before she went, she gave him the slightest hint of a smile, and he knew that peace had finally come.

So I've been away for a loooooong while. This is my attempt at getting back the ambition. I have several new plans I'd like to kick-start this year, and this is just the beginning.

This was just something I had a thought about, and I like the idea so much I had to write it now.

Le Noir de Adhara