She's dead.
The thought stuck, sharp and painful to the forefront of Severus' mind. Lily's dead. Lily, his beautiful Lily, his best friend, his everything, was gone. He took one look at her broken body and fell, howling, to his knees, cradling her to his chest like a baby. Her beautiful red hair spilled out from his arms as a waterfall of crimson, and the sparkling green eyes he remembered stared dull and lifeless, never to move again.
He didn't know how long he stayed like that, the woman he loved, and would forever love clutched in his arms. What he did know was that after a while his sobs grew softer, yet the grief in his heart was still like an open wound. He wanted to die.
…
16 years later, staring once again into Lily's green eyes, he got his wish.