A young boy and girl from two totally different classes, from two different worlds lie apart. The boy knows her; he's got a crush on her like no other. The girl is one of few who don't fear the boy, with his greasy hair, ratty clothes and angry demeanor. She's almost intrigued by his standoff-ish nature. No one approaches the boy…no one except her. She's the most important to him. It's one day, when the young nine year old is walking up to him, curious that his heart starts pounding, but his face falls as her sister yanks her away.
The girl gets a curious letter one day, and opens it. Reading it, she finds to her surprise, maybe she and the boy aren't so different after all. When the boy sees the all-too-familiar packaging, he approaches her. The two become fast friends, bonding over their secret. They become inseparable, with each other all the time, close as two can be. The girl even has a crush on him, but would never admit it. The sister watches from afar, envious and sad, but the girl doesn't notice. All the girl sees is Severus, and all the boy sees is Lily.
A few weeks before the beginning of school, Lily is ready to be taken into Diagon AlleyFor once, he's not the only one having to get the cheapest supplies for school, when Lily is funded by the school alone, she's not the only muggle-born. They make good time in their shopping, and the escort leaves them alone for a bit. Severus has been saving his money and he buys them icecream from Florean. Over delicious icy chocolate, they bond even closer and the moment is right and Severus is leaning in and the escort comes back to hurry them home.
Not to be discouraged by his failed earlier attempt, Severus finds them alone together, lying on their backs staring at the sky on August 31. He's holding her hand like they always do, even though they don't have an obvious romance. Both like each other. Neither wants to admit it. Lily is the first person to make Severus feel loved, and Severus is the only one who knows Lily for Lily. He turns on the grass to face her, black eyes meeting green ones. No words are said. Both lean in, kissing lightly and lay back on the grass simultaneously.
The train is set in motion. Lily and Severus board the train, smiling at each other as they walk to find a compartment. Opening the door to one, they start to go inside, only to be confronted by a group of rowdy boys who yell at them and insult them. Severus stands up for his Lily and protects her. They walk off to a new compartment, Severus burdened with a horrible nickname for years to come. In their little compartment together, they kiss once more, secretly and bond closer and closer. Black hair and red, opposites but still the same.
Gryffindor and Slytherin. Separated for the first time, Lily and Severus were apart, but found some time to meet and hang out. Even so, they slowly began to drift apart. Lily's brave heart and strong head kept her busy with studies, and Severus' aggressive nature kept many people away from him. It's not like they grew apart on purpose, and it's not like they didn't try to remain friends, but as the years of school went by, it was just too hard. And they didn't hate each other, but Severus became sort of that embarrassing friend you try to hide.
Severus sank in popularity quickly as he became less important. No one really cared about the sad, greasy haired-boy with the hand me down clothes again. Why should they? Lily was the only one who had and it seemed like she barely cared anymore. Severus excelled in his potion-making, it was one of few things he actually did good at. It was potions he poured himself into when the pain of losing his Lily grew too great to bear. A potion couldn't break his heart. He thought about making a love potion but decided he wanted real love or none.
And then, he saw them kissing. Sure, the ridicule, the mockery, the embarrassment was tough, the scorn he got was bad and the cold shoulder from Lily was depressing. Worse than that was the heart wrenching pain he felt stab into his chest when he stumbled upon them in the secret spot outside the common room that night, seventh year. That broke his heart in half. To see his deepest enemy kissing his one true love made his hands grow cold with anger. He almost hexed James Potter then and there, but seeing her eyes, nearly catching him, stopped him.
No matter how many times he tried to win her back, all he got was rejection. Each one from his Lily was like a slap in the face. But she was with James now, she assured him, as they graduated from school, and very happy. Severus stayed at the school, he was less odd here, and it reminded him of Lily. He applied for a job and was given an internship with the potions master. Every day, he grew more and more distant, as the image of Lily grew more and more faded in his mind. He hated losing her.
One day, a letter came in the mail for him, by owl. A wedding invitation. That day, he missed work. He sat in his office and cried for hours. This was it. Final goodbye. His heart left him that night. He grew cold with anger and sadness and hatred. Never would he love another. Never would he forget her. He went to the wedding. No one saw him, he knew his own invisibility charms. He saw her face. That was enough, and he left moments after arriving. He couldn't bear to see James with his hands on his beautiful Lily.
Severus began working for Voldemort in order to protect her. Between Dumbledore and Voldemort, he aged with the work, getting better and better at magic and the magic of lies. He never forgot her, never. He tried to save her from the Dark Lord. When Harry came to school, it was his duty to protect him, and he did, grudgingly. Lily's face was in his, but James was too. It hurt with the double-edge of a sword to look at the boy, from the loss of Lily and the hate for James. But still, for Lily, he would do anything.
And then the moment came, the final moment. What he'd prepared for since the very beginning. It was time for him to die. He'd killed Dumbledore, his only confidant. He'd gotten everything ready. Harry was in place. And Voldemort did the deed, calling for Nagini. It was one bite, and all over. The black eyes met new green eyes for one moment as the light faded in the black, and it was like that first moment of black and green once more. Severus Snape died with the image of Lily, preserved in Harry's face, and died with a sad smile.
Severus Snape. /Always/.