-1Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or the story. I do own this little bit of literature. Lol

Story: Severus Snape looks back at the love he had for Lily. All the feelings he had held up inside of him but could never say aloud. This is how he has dealt with pain all these years.

1 year after Lily and James died, Halloween…

All he could do was go to that place of finality. The place were two lovers have been laid to rest, leaving life too early. Severus looked at the entrance to the graveyard at Godric's Hallow. Small children were running up and down the streets in their costumes; witches, goblins, princesses, robots everything you can imagine. These were happy children, not knowing real pain or loss. They go door to door this night asking for candy and staying up late, getting tummy aches and cavities. But he knew, their was one child that is not happy at this moment. He had seen the people Harry Potter was left with, his aunt and uncle and that fat tub cousin of his. But this night was not to look at the new life of the chosen one but lives that he had helped to destroy. Her life.

Slowly making his way farther and farther into the graveyard, he notices a few names on the headstones. Names of people long gone. What were their stories, if any? Who did they leave behind and how did they leave? Were any other family in this same graveyard? All these headstones had their own story to tell. He was looking for two special stories.

There, near the old willow, two headstones that looked almost identical, save the different markings on the face. One read:

James Potter

Loving Husband

Caring Father

Missed By All Who

Knew Him.

The torment of his school days, the one man that made life so unbearable. Scratch that, their was one other man. A man that controlled his every move, thought, his whole world. A murderous son of a bitch, Voldemort. That man destroys everything he touches, all the lives ruined by him, Severus was standing in front of the last two. The last two people that had to die by his hands before he was finally finished. How could a mere boy finally kill the most powerful wizard that ever lived? It didn't make any sense yet, his mother was quiet the catch. Yes, Lily was a great witch as was his father, but he was only a year old! How?

He knelt, an arm still hidden in his cloak while the other brushed leaves off of the headstones. James, Lily, how can both of you be gone? "Lily, there is so much I have wanted to tell you. All these years of keeping quiet, I feel horrible admitting it this way. Dear sweet Lily, I loved you so deeply. Though, I knew, Potter was the man for you. Even if you didn't see it at first, I did, everyone did. I think, even you knew it but couldn't say it out loud just yet."

"I do want to tell you, I look in on Harry from time to time. Your sister is definitely your polar opposite. I can't believe it. But really, that's not what I'm here for. Lily, I need to tell you. A prophesy was made about Harry and I told Voldemort about it. Well, only part of it. It was enough to send him after your son, it was enough to have you killed. I begged him," Severus began to cry, tears falling down his cheeks. His life had become a meaningless existence, knowing he was the cause of the deaths of two good people. "…I begged him to spare your lives, that I could not have been your son but he would not listen. Potter, I didn't mean to kill your family. All I wanted was to keep myself alive in those dark times. Just like anyone else."

He moved his cloak to the side, revealing what he had hidden. In his arms, bundled up from the autumn cold. A small girl about seven months old was sleeping soundly in Severus' arm. "He name is Emma, I adopted her as soon as my name had been cleared. Her birth parents were nobody's, killed for fun by Death Eaters, myself not included. I felt responsible, like, this was just one way to make up for my past. I am now responsible for another life, other than mine of course. I can learn from my own mistakes. You told me years ago, 'No one can wash away the blood, but you can ignore the stains by loving someone with all your heart.' That is what I am trying to do with Emma, to do right by her. One day, I'll tell her the truth and then, she can judge me as she sees fit. Until then, I will continue to come here, I will continue to love this child of mine and pay for my past. So long as when I do see you both in that other world, you put it a good word for me. Looking at my track record, it might not be that long from now." Lily's grave shone in the darkness as a light passed by and illuminated it:

Lily Potter

Wife, Mother

We All Pray For Her

Happiness In Paradise

Looking up to the sky, he smiled at himself. "All I ask is that I can see her grow up. Marry her off and maybe see some grandkids." He laughed, him, grandkids?! "Well Potters," He got to his feet. "…till next year my friends."

He turned his back on the only two people that secretly knew him the best. His life of penance had now begun and the child, still asleep in his arms, was his salvation. All he needed now was a chance to prove himself. To prove he was still worth a damn. "Emma, I will give you the life you deserve. I promise."

"No one can wash away the blood, but you can ignore the stains by loving someone with all your heart." -luvdapanda

!!! I hope you liked it. It's a little OOCness but not that bad. My first oneshot since I could never start a fic without making it really long. Please read and review!!!