A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters

Word count: 356

He never thought he'd fell that way, never thought he'd feel love. He knew what he'd had with Lily had been close, but it was a crush, a hint of what could have been. Love, true love, like what he felt now, enveloped him like the warmth of a fire. It was a feeling he had never known, had only heard others describe. He'd never dreamed of a time he'd feel it, experience it for himself. It was so pure, so complicated at the same time.

Every little thing she did was a type of magic he couldn't describe. He thought he'd have to live with the hurt, the pain, the loneliness, but she'd changed that, she'd made his life a part of hers. While he'd been part of others lives before, never had he felt as though he belonged, he'd always felt used, felt like he was simply playing a role. He'd held his titles as if they defined him; spy, potioneer, Death Eater. Never before had he simply been allowed to Severus, to discover exactly what that meant with no expectations.

In her world, he was a main character, the way she looked at him, the way she involved him in even the most mundane things. He'd never dreamed of finding a way to continue after the world had nearly ended, after all his roles, his parts, had come to a crashing ending. No longer did he have a master to serve, no longer was there someone standing in the shadows using him as a pawn in some greater plan. Without these parts, he felt lost, felt overwhelmed by the fact he now was free to choose his own path.

She had understood completely, could see it in his dark eyes when she offered him something more, something new and while he was terrified of ruining it, of chasing her from his side, he had accepted her in his life as she had welcomed him in hers. There was a chance it would all fall apart, a chance it would all break, but it was a risk he'd discovered he was willing to take.