Dear Severus,
I wish I could speak to you in person. There is so much I wish you could hear. But the man you call Master wants to kill James and I, so that is out of the question for us. But I wanted to write this sooner rather than later, because despite all our precautions, no one knows what will happen in days like this.
I have known for years about the path you chose after Hogwarts. I did not hear of it immediately, I think James hid it from me, perhaps, but eventually the rumors reached me and I could not pretend to be in the dark any longer. You, despite constant warnings from me in our first five years of school, devoted yourself to the Dark Arts, becoming a servant of He Who Must Not Be Named. And I ached for you. I hated you for it—but more, I pitied you, Severus, because I have always known that deep down you are not the person you have claimed to be. You told me you did it because they were your friends, and who else would you hang around with—but you had me. Then, I was there to stop you from going too far, wasn't I, Severus? Until one day when you 'slipped up' and called me Mudblood. I ended our friendship there, but that didn't mean I didn't care anymore, Severus.
You have hated James since the moment you set eyes on him. I hated him too, at first—but look what happened, I married him. He changed, and I changed, and you changed. But I didn't write this to try and convince you to befriend my husband.
We are ten years older than we were when we first stepped into Hogwarts together. I am afraid. I don't want to die, because I want to be a mother to Harry and a wife to James for many more years, and I want to see you the way I saw you when we were kids. Please remember the way you were when I was your friend. I know you may think I have no business trying to write to you after six years of no communication. But I still believe you're better than the rest, Sev.
Remember when you told me you wished you could have a more normal name, like Harry? I never told James, but that's part of the reason why I chose that name for my son. If you ever meet him, please see a part of me when you look at him, and know that I always knew you were better than the rest.
Lily Evans Potter
Lily Potter turned the piece of paper upside down and set down her quill with a sigh. Who knew what Severus Snape was doing at that very moment? Was he in the act of murder or even now turning his back on Voldemort once and for all? Lily made a mental note to herself, reminding her to send the letter with the family owl, Puck. Then she got up and went to put Harry to bed…
A flash of green light, quicker than a bolt of lightning, shone through the windows of the Potter house in Godric's Hollow. A terrible scream, and a second flash of light burned in the air for a split second before vanishing. A cruel laugh, and a third flash of light…and a fire sparked as the Potter house seemed to crumple from the inside out…
Rubeus Hagrid fought his way through the wreckage until he found Harry Potter, crying in his cot, miraculously unscathed but for a curious scar on his forehead. Tears leaked out of the beetle-black eyes as he clumsily but gently lifted the one-year-old out into his arms. Harry was safe now…
In the devastated Potter house, flames licked at the sides of a paper, until all that remained were ashes and a corner of the page, the flames illuminating the words Dear Severus…
A letter that would never reach its intended destination.
Author's Note: I hope this one turned out all right. If you liked it, I'd love some reviews. Thanks!