Lily sat at the Gryffindor table the next morning, compensating how to break the news to Snape. She knew more or less what to say, but she was still nervous. Finally, he came over to her from his own table. She stood to join him. Alice, who was sitting next to her, gave her and encouraging smile.
"Severus, I want to talk to you about something. Can we take a walk before class?" He nodded in answer. They went outside and began to walk across the grounds, Snape wondering what she wanted to say. As they walked, Lily began, "We need to talk about this engagement." She paused, and Snape was afraid of what she might say.
"I can't marry you. I don't love you, and it wouldn't be fair of me to marry you, especially if I didn't want to. I am sorry, but that is just the way I feel, so-the engagement is off." She didn't even look at him as she removed the ring from her finger and held it out for him to take. "You can't mean that." He said, shocked at this unfortunate turn of events. "Please, just take the ring; this is hard enough as it is." It broke her heart to break his, but she knew she had to, and there was nothing else to be said about it.
"Can I just ask you one question?" Snape asked. She nodded. "Why did you change your mind?" He looked strait into her eyes for an answer. "I'm in love with someone else." She answered, as tears came into her eyes. Then, before another word could be said, she turned and ran back up to the castle, were she ran into James. "What's wrong?" He asked, immediately seeing the tears. "I just broke up with Severus." She gasped, whipping her face. "Because you wanted to?" He asked firmly. "Not because of what other people were saying?" Lily nodded. "I broke up with him- because I'm- I'm in love with- you." James' face broke out into a smile. He threw his arms around her and she hugged him back. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses, because I love you too." He whispered in her ear. Then they took hands, and headed into the castle together, just as Snape came slowly up the path, to see them standing there.
A spurge of hatred toward the man in front of him shot through his whole self, egging on a hatred for the whole world. He stood there, seeing the confirmation of what he had been almost sure of when Lily Evans had given him back the ring, and told him she was in love with someone else. That 'someone else' had been none other that James Potter, and Snape hated him all the more for it. He slowly entered the castle, but instead of heading to his charms class, to which he was already running late for, he made his way down to the dungeons, to the slytherin common room, were he sat down, in total darkness, thinking hard.
Severus Snape would never be the same again.
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