As he turned the corner, Severus' breath caught. A group of Gryffindor girls was approaching from the other end of the corridor. Among them, laughing and chatting, without a care in the world, was Lily Potter. Her red hair shone in the sunlight that poured through the high windows, and he thought that she had never looked more beautiful.
In that moment, all his options flashed through his mind. Should he try to talk to her again, to apologise for the cruellest, stupidest thing he'd ever done? Should he greet her like nothing was wrong? A smile? A nod of acknowledgement? What could he do that would make her speak to him again?
Even as he opened his mouth to speak, the girls swept past him, Lily at their head. She didn't seem to see him; her eyes brushed over him like he wasn't even there. He turned and watched her walk away, her bubbling laughter ringing through the hallway, the pain of loss and self-hatred coiling in him like a snake.
.o.
Lily's friends were trying to cheer her up again. She appreciated the thought - she knew she hadn't been very good company since her fight with Sev - but it was hard to feel very enthusiastic when all she wanted to do was curl up under a blanket and wish the world away. Still, she did her best to keep up the conversation and laugh at the jokes; they were only trying to help, after all.
When she caught sight of Sev coming down the corridor, her heart skipped a beat. She was still so confused, so torn. She missed their friendship, missed him, but the thought of what he had called her still filled her with a wild fury that she wasn't sure she could ever let go.
So she said nothing as she passed him, trying once again to pretend to herself that he wasn't even there. She stared off into the distance, not wanting to see the expression on his face. She couldn't bear to see that she was hurting him.
One of her friends muttered something. She couldn't hear what it was and she didn't care, but the others laughed so she joined in, trying her best to seem like she was fine while inside, her hurt and anger roared.