PROLOGUE

"Twelve years...mark this day."

The bottle shattered as it hit the ground. Muttering to himself, he wondered exactly how many drinks he'd had. "Twelve years since I last saw him; twelve years I've cursed this day; twelve years I've wondered..."

"Severus, I can't help but notice you're drinking yourself away again?"

"Twelve years since I pushed him out the door..."

"Still dwelling on it, I see."

"Damnit, Albus!" he cried, turning his back toward the elder man. "Why did I push him away? One could only dream of that kind of love, yet I threw it away! Why, Albus?"

"One cannot say why we do these things."

"You know! You always know everything!"

"You were afraid, Severus. You didn't want to love him because you were afraid of losing him."

"How could I have been so foolish?"

"Everyone makes their own mistakes. The importance in it all is that you correct these mistakes."

"How? Nobody has seen him in twelve years, not even those friends of his. Chances are, nobody will!"

"I assure you my boy, you will get your chance."

Turning to leave, the elder man added in a soft murmur, "Sooner than you think."

AN: So everyone knows, this is the first fanfic that I'm really taking seriously. This is not randomly typed out of boredom, this is all written out in a notebook of mine. I have already written a fair amount, and am typing that fair amount up now before it becomes too much do do at once. There may be gaps of a few days and possibly a week before any updates from what I manage to type today, as I plan to write more before I type any more of it. Please enjoy this story, thank you.