Photograph
The room was silent as he sat on the worn love seat. It had been so long since it had happened. A leather-bound photo album sat on the table in front of him. With trembling hands, he reached forward and picked it up. Severus opened to the front page. They'd signed it years ago. It had been the symbol of their friendship. He traced the ink marks on the inside cover, the outline of her name delicately written. He stared at his own sloppy signature, so different from hers.
"God Lily," he whispered, looking at the first picture they had taken together. It was shortly after they had started their first year at Hogwarts. They'd been so happy then, so carefree. It hadn't mattered that they had been separated by house lines, they were still close.
"I should have been there," he mumbled as he turned the page, looking at a couple photographs of them over Christmas holiday at his house in their third year. He'd been thankful his father had been too drunk to make an appearance.
Severus studied Lily's body language as she rested her hand on his arm, her mouth open in laughter. He preferred the still photos to moving ones these days. It was easier to keep her in his line of vision. As he continued to examine the pictures in the following pages of the album, he began to pick up on how happy he had been in those years leading up to the incident. He stopped for a minute to regain some composure. He couldn't help but think of that night when he had begged for her forgiveness. Severus took a shaky breath and looked away from the last image of them together. It had been the summer before their fifth year. She'd grown up so much that summer. He'd really known he'd loved her that summer.
"I would have done anything to get you back," he told the silent air. He didn't get a response. But then again, she'd been dead for sixteen years. The dead couldn't speak. His gaze travelled back to the photograph on the page. Lily smiled brightly up at him, as if telling him it was ok, that she still cared for him.
From within his robes, Severus pulled a folded piece of paper and a torn piece of photograph. He lifted the photograph up and just stared at Lily's smile. It seemed so loving and genuine. She didn't seem to notice whom she was smiling at because if she did, she would have surely frowned. Regardless, Severus gently secured the torn fragment to the bottom of the page. Just as carefully he took the piece of paper and tore of the small part that read 'Love, Lily' and secured that beneath the torn picture. He smiled to himself as he stared at it, as if she'd written it just for him. His album was finally complete. He'd found a way to redeem himself in her eyes and earn the love he had long for.