Okay, so, it's been a reeeeallly long time since I posted anything on here, mainly because I've been so busy this past year with extracurricular stuff. (My high school did Phantom of the Opera for the musical *dies of happiness* and I was the understudy to Christine!) But now that summer's here I am FREE! (mostly)

I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at midnight the night it came out *omg!* and, let me tell you, I fell in love with Snape after watching that movie :D I also seem to have caught the Snape/Lily fever that many fans have also, I am sure. This is just a oneshot/drabble dedicated to my new favorite OTP

Disclaimer: JK owns everything. I am just a lowly peon in love with the story.

Mistake

It wasn't as if he had never expected to die at the hands of his "master" – indeed, it crossed his mind daily. It was just he expected to be Avada Kedavra'd and have the whole affair over with, not the drawn out mess it actually was.

As Snape lay on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, blood pouring from his neck and the world growing dim in a haze of pain, only one thought crossed his mind at that moment: he had failed to protect Lily Potter's son. He imagined his beloved's piercing stare, and regret and longing washed through him almost alleviating the pain. He was even hallucinating her bright green eyes boring into his through the haze.

But no… the image sharpened briefly, and Snape realized what he was actually seeing was the Potter boy himself standing over him, his face contorted with horror and, could it be… grief?

Snape knew his time was limited, so he grabbed the front of the boy's shirt and pulled him close as his most treasured memories poured from his mouth and eyes. He urged the boy to take them, to which Harry complied, not yet knowing that what the memories contained would flip his whole world around for the umpteenth time. But Snape no longer cared. He had not failed. He had protected Potter to the best of his abilities, and he doubted the boy would give his death a second thought afterwards. But Snape had one last request. Once again, he pulled Harry close.

"Look…at…me," he pleaded, and for the last time, Lily Evans' brilliant eyes locked with his. And then, they were gone.

The white mist suddenly appeared around him, or he appeared inside the mist; neither option mattered, he was just suddenly there.

But where there was, Snape could only guess. He looked about him for a bit before venturing to make a sound.

"Hello?" he called.

"Sev," an awfully familiar voice answered to his right. He whirled around and his eyes widened as Lily Potter materialized from the mist, eyes warm and red hair floating around her shoulders.

"L-Lily?" he spluttered. She smiled and nodded. For a moment they only stared at each other, and then Snape looked away sheepishly.

"Lily," he began quietly. "Before whatever happens next, I need you to know-"

"Sev," she interrupted. "You don't need to apologize."

"But I do! You don't understand how much-"

"-you regret what happened?" she interrupted again, this time her gaze locking onto his pointedly.

"You think I don't know how it feels to carry around the biggest mistake you ever made in your mind and feel it weigh you down? To wish that you could go back in time and save yourself all this regret? Or believe that even if you did, they wouldn't forgive you anyway? Well, I do, Sev." She frowned and crossed her arms defensively.

His eyebrow shot up and he stepped towards her angrily.

"Oh, yes?" he said, though it came out more as a sneer. "And what is this big regret of yours that could possibly compete with my own mistake?"

She was silent for a moment, staring at her feet, then she lifted her eyes to his scowling face.

"Letting you go," she said softly. Snape reeled at those three words uttered so softly, yet filled with remorse. He gazed down at Lily, who once again was staring at the floor. He stepped closer to her until they were almost touching, then tilted Lily's face up with his finger. Her eyes were misty.

"So, does this mean I'm forgiven?" he asked, a nervous smile on his lips. Her eyes lit up as she smiled.

"I forgave you a long time ago, Sev," she said.

And, to his utter surprise and delight, she threw her arms around him and embraced him so tightly he thought his heart could fly. He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her back, his face buried in her hair.

"You missed me, too? After all that time?" he mumbled into the mass of red.

"Always," she replied, and hugged him even tighter.

They stood there in each others' arms, for a second or eternity – he couldn't tell, he didn't know how time worked here – before Lily took him by the hand and led him through the mist, on.

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