A/N: A little drabble that was inspired by a picture of Snape sitting near the Mirror or Erised... with Lily on the other side. :'(
'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi' were the words that were inscripted on the golden frame of the ancient mirror.
Whatever that meant...
"It is said that it shows the deepest, most desperate desire of your heart, driving you mad in the process…"
Being the no-nonsense kind of guy, he had to see it before he actually believed it and there was only one way to find out if that was true. So far, however, the canvas was empty, clear, not showing its powerful skills just yet.
Severus Snape slowly stepped forward, so that he was in full view now. His dangerously dark eyes were fixed on the surface, waiting for something to happen... When it did, his breath hitched, because he saw her beautiful reflection in the Mirror of Erised. The only woman he'd ever cared for was smiling up at him in that special way that used to be reserved for him alone, until Potter came into the picture. She was the absolutely (painfully) stunning woman he remembered her as, and pretty much the last thing he'd expected to encounter, which was why something inside him clenched so painfully. Snape knew then that it was true what they said, but his heart still couldn't believe it.
Her fluttering, white summerdress seemed to sway at the slightest of movements she made, but this only made her look more breathtaking. This was when the man realized that he still wasn't ready to face her. Not like this. Still, his brains didn't coöperate and he found himself inching closer to the huge mirror with the golden frame.
After hesitating slightly, though, the shaken man put his hand on the smooth surface. It was cool to the touch, though not unpleasant. On the other side of the (cursed) mirror, Lily did the exact same thing and smiled at him once again. His heart fluttered like her dress, happy that she was mimicking him, reaching out to him as desperately as he did to her. Oh, how he had missed those brilliant, emerald-green eyes. They held so much love and care in them, something that he didn't deserve at all. Almost as if she didn't know...
She probably didn't.
Suddenly, he noticed how his vision got blurry from the silent tears that were threatening to fall and that was when it became simply too much for him to bear. So he turned around, a flurry of angry black cloth, and left without looking back (even though he knew deep in his heart that he would come back the next night, when the whole castle was asleep).