Anger and Regret
By: TheFifthCharmedOne
Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd be JKR. I'm not, so I don't.
Summary: Snape visits Lily the night before her wedding and is left alone, once again. One-sided Severus/Lily; James/Lily.
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The resounding pop of apparition echoed in the starry night. Severus Snape walked briskly down a leaf-strewn road, cursing and spurning James Potter, as he had so many times before. He hated that man with every fiber of his being, and had ever since they were in school. The cocky bastard had taken Lily from him, he deserved to die.
The wedding announcement seemed to burn a hole in his pocket. He stopped once the house at the end of the row came into view. His hand seemed to move on its own accord as he took the dreaded piece of paper from his trousers.
LILY EVANS AND JAMES POTTER
The date for the long awaited wedding of these two has been set! While Lily has insisted on a small wedding, James wants a big one to celebrate finally winning the heart of the girl he's loved since he was in school...
Severus refused to read anymore after that, the words simply made him sick. He loathed that statement, and the person from the Daily Prophet that had written it. Potter had not loved Lily for nearly as long as Severus had. From the day they met until this very moment, he had loved her. That was over seven years; Potter had only known her for that long, and 'loved' her for even less time.
Crumpling the announcement, he threw it to the ground and stepped on it, wishing it would disappear.
He continued walking down the road, toward that house. The home of Lily Evans and James Potter, and by tomorrow, Lily would share that name. Potter. It sounded like a common, Muggle name.
His lip curled.
As he walked up the path, he saw that the lights were on in the house. Lily was sitting in the living room, reading a Muggle novel. She looked beautiful, as always, in the firelight. Her auburn hair was longer than he remembered, her emerald eyes scanning her book with such fervor he almost didn't want to interrupt. But then he remembered Potter, and his anger.
He walked forward and knocked on the door.
He imagined Lily startling at the noise and removing her blanket with annoyance at whoever had bothered her. She was walking toward the door, wearing her bedclothes...
The door opened.
"Lily." Severus said hoarsely. Her eyes became wide.
"Severus," Hearing his name on her lips almost weakened him to tears, but not quite. "What are you doing here?" Then he remembered his reasons again.
"I could ask you the same question." Severus spat. "What are you doing with him?"
"You mean James?" Lily asked. Severus gave her a short nod. "I'm living with him. He is my fiance."
The word nearly made Severus cringe, but he remained as composed as he could. "What are you doing here?" she repeated her question with a slightly saddened tone. Severus hoped it was because she missed him.
"You can't marry him Lily. He'll hurt you." Severus said, pleadingly. Lily's eyes narrowed.
"James would never hurt me." She put a hand to her stomach, which was a little bit distended. Snape's eyes widened.
"You're pregnant?" he whispered, his voice weak. Lily nodded once, a smile lighting her gorgeous features. "With his child?"
"Of course the baby is James's." Lily said, glaring now, a frown replacing that smile. "You still haven't answered my question."
"I'm here to stop you from marrying him. He's only going to get you into trouble."
"I would say I appreciate your concern, but I don't because there's probably something in it for you, or for Voldemort."
Snape winced at the mention of Voldemort.
"This has nothing to do with the Dark Lord," Snape said harshly. He met her eyes for the first time. "Lily, you know I love you. You have to know, after all these years."
She was quiet for a few moments, considering. Snape watched her. He wanted to memorize every part of her body, her heart, her soul. He had watched her change from a young girl to an adult and had loved her every day he had the privilege of being her friend.
"I know you do. I was never interested in you in that way." Lily informed him. Snape knew this as well, though it still hurt to hear. "And you have to understand that I love James. And I know that it infuriates you, because you don't understand how I could love him after years of hating him in school." Severus opened his mouth to speak, but Lily continued. "Things change. He changed. He saved your life in sixth year; I'm sure you remember." Severus did remember; and he hated that, too. "I fell in love with him not because I wanted revenge for what you said to me," Severus winced again, remembering that horrible day. "But because he's an entirely different man than he was in fifth year. I fell in love with him because he's kind, gentle, compassionate, sweet, and everything I want." she walked up to him and briefly touched his face. His skin was cold, and her hands were warm. His heart ached at the contact. He wanted to touch her, but feared she would pull away if he did. "You were my best friend, you taught me how to be a witch, and for that I'll always be grateful, but you have to understand." She begged. Her hand went back to her side far too quickly and he missed the contact. "I want to marry him, not just because I love him, but because of the baby."
Severus was once again reminded that she was pregnant, and he decided that the unborn child was an object of his hatred as well. He didn't hate Lily though, he could never hate her.
"Snape?" A new voice came from behind, and Severus loathed that voice. "What are you doing here? Why are you talking to Lily?" James Potter walked past him and stood next to Lily. Snape watched Lily, gauging her reaction. "Answer me, slime."
"Don't call me slime, Potter." Severus spat. His hand itched to reach for his wand, but he didn't want to duel, not in front of Lily.
"Answer my question, then." James said, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "What makes you think you have the right to talk to my wife?"
"She's not your wife yet." Severus ground out.
"As of tomorrow, she will be." Severus detected the slightest bit of smugness in James's voice, and he despised the wizard before him even more than he thought possible.
The tension in the air was toxically thick. It was almost like a poison, the hatred between the two wizards. James and Severus stared at each other, both wanting to duel but refusing too because of Lily's presence.
"James." Lily said softly. Both males looked at her. "Go inside, I'll finish this."
"Flower..." James started to protest, but Lily fixed him with a glare. "I'll be right inside." He said, and Lily nodded. With one final glare at Snape, James went inside the house.
"Sev, please." Lily said quietly. "Understand." she implored. "I love him. I am going to marry him. Please, tell me you understand that." She looked at him, and he saw tears building in her eyes. But they weren't for his sake, no, they were for Potter's. And that angered him beyond words.
"I'll never understand." Snape said coldly. Lily looked at the ground, clenching her fists.
"Then go away." She said. Severus looked at her, his eyes wide again. She stomped her foot, clearly for emphasis. "Leave! And never come back!" Sobs choked her words. Snape's chest hurt knowing that he was the source of her tears, when he wanted nothing more than to be the reason she smiled.
But Potter had stolen that right from him. "Leave!" she said, and he saw that she was crying now. He was surprised Potter had not come out to hex him for making Lily cry. He should have; he would have deserved it. "GO!" she yelled. Severus finally turned away from the woman he loved.
"I'll always love you, Lily Evans." He said. "Always."
"Shut up, and GO!" she demanded. "My name is Lily Potter!"
Snape squeezed his eyes shut and kept himself from saying another word. He apparated away, leaving Lily to enter her home with James and cry in his arms.
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A/N: Inspired by a fanfic by a fanfic called 'Betrayal'. My word processor won't let me write the author's name, so PM/review if you want to know. X'D
Anyway, hope you guys liked it, even though it's sad!
Please review!
-Charmy
P.S. I usually try to make my stories at least seven pages long, but there's really nothing more I can add to this. So please forgive the shortness. :)