Severus Snape was on a swing, a sentence that had never been said truthfully in years. When most people are on swings they are often smiling with glee as the swing back and forth, Severus was doing no such thing and glee was a pleasure that he would never again experience. It was the first of November, the night after the darkest wizard who ever lived was destroyed and on that same night Lily Evans perished as well. The death of Lily was what caused Severus such dismay. He'd long ago lost hope of seeing her again and regaining their once beautiful friendship, but the knowledge that ever seeing her sparkling green eyes once more was an impossibility, broke his heart.
Severus was not sure how long he stayed there, hand outstretched where a small flower hovered slightly, its petals opening and closing as he commanded it to, just like he'd seen a small girl do many years ago. His daze was broken by the sound of fluttering wings moving towards him. He looked up to see a small tawny owl stopping to perch itself on Severus' shoulder. The man moved slightly, trying to get the owl to leave. This did not work, instead the owl seemed more determined to get Severus' attention, pecking at his neck, letting out small hoots, as if it was saying 'look at me' 'look at me.'
Finally caving in to the owls pleas for attention Severus snapped his head around to look at the small creature that had been ruining his 'wallowing in self pity' mood. Of course the bird was carrying a letter. Severus took the piece of paper from the owl in the hopes that it would go away. Of course he had no intention of reading it, most likely the letter was from an old associate of his, a Death Eater, a servant of the man responsible for Lily's death. Severus was ashamed to say that he too had once worked for the truly evil man, if that was even the correct word to use. Either it came from one of them or from Albus Dumbledore. Severus was unsure of which possibility he loathed most. If it was the former writing to him it would be awfully hard for him to refrain from hunting down the sender. However, if it were Albus Dumbledore, his reaction would be very similar. There were very few people who Severus currently loathed more than the man who was supposed to keep Lily Evans safe.
As it happened the owl would not rest till the letter had been read. Severus sent a glare at the small feathery creature before unfolding the piece of paper. To his surprise, the letter neither bore the handwriting of Albus Dumbledore or someone from Lord Voldemort's inner circle, though he easily recognised the handwriting, even though he hadn't seen it in years. The letter read:
Dear Sev,
I don't know how to start this, I haven't seen you in such a long time, you're probably a very different person from who I knew in school, you might not even read this, but I just needed to tell you that I missed you. Miss you.
A lot has changed since we last saw each other. Firstly I'm married, to James Potter. I know what you're thinking, I did hate him. I know you hated him too. I remember back in third year when we made that list of all the terrible qualities in him after he and his friends played that awful prank on you. He's changed since then, truly, he has. Now he's sweeter, kinder, if you met him now you'd like him Sev, you really would. I'm not saying that now he's perfect, he's still the same idiot that from school, but now he just shows it less. James is a good person, he loves me and I love him. We got married a few years ago, I wanted to invite you to the wedding but I didn't know where you were. I still don't know where you are, I'm just sending this out in the hopes that you find it. You might not, but it still makes me feel better knowing that there's a chance you'll find out how I feel about you. You were my best friend Sev... Actually, I still consider you as my best friend.
I have a son too, Harry James Potter. He's the cutest little baby I've ever seen. I must admit that I was a little surprised that he was the exact replica of James, but apparently he has my eyes, or so everyone says. We just celebrated his first birthday a couple of months ago. Again, I wish I could've invited you to the party. Not that there was a party anyway, no one was there. It was just me, James and Harry. But still, so many things have happened since fifth year, so many memories that I wanted to share with you and now I might never get the chance. We're in hiding, you see. But then again you probably know that. I can't tell you where we are. Literally, it is physically impossible. And even if I could, I don't think that I would. Don't get me wrong, though I consider you to be my greatest friend and I trust you more than I'd trust anyone else on the planet, there's no guarantee that you feel the same way.
So how's life for you now? I know that you're a Death Eater, just like you always wanted I suppose. I shouldn't technically be writing this letter to you, we are on opposite sides after all. You're with Voldemort, the very wizard that's fighting to enslave muggles and other witches and wizards, like myself, of their descent. I don't like to think of you like that, Sev. I don't like the idea of you torturing innocent people, using them, killing them. I know that you're not going to be the same now, but I always imagine you as the kind boy that taught me everything about the wizarding world, who I helped finish last minute homework, the Severus who stood up for me against other bullies. That's the Sev that I've always loved.
I don't know if this letter will ever find its way to you, I hope it does, I hope you read it and reminisce about the good old days, I hope that you don't laugh at the words, or think them lies, because they're true. I do miss you.
In case you don't already know, he's after us. Voldemort. I don't know why, why he's chosen to target us over so many families (not that I'd wish this on any of them). To tell the truth, I'm scared, and the fact that I have good reason to be just terrifies me even more. I wish that this were just some empty threat against the Order, but it's not. He actually means to kill us, he's hunting us, and even though Dumbledore denies it and claims that we're safe, I know that we can't stay hidden forever and that eventually he'll find us. That's why I'm sending you this letter, it's my last chance to tell you. To tell you that I love you, you're my best friend, and that's how I'll consider you. Always, Sev, always.
Love always, Lily.
"Always," Severus repeated as he read through the letter once again, memorising the words on the page, the way she'd so elegantly written 'Love always.' "Always," Severus once again said, almost as if making a promise. Always, Lily, always.
So, if you bothered to read to the end and have ultimately seen this authors note, then could you PLEASE do me a favour and review. I need to know what you think. Is it crap or semi-good?