Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, neither am I the owner of Harry Potter or its characters. I make no money from this...or any other thing, really. Thanks for reading; I do hope you like it.

Severus Snape was standing right in front of the woman who he had pledged to love for his whole life.

Once upon a time, when he was young and naïve, he had promised to love the red-haired witch. He had devoted his life to mend the mistakes that had led to her death. He had mourned two decades for the love of a woman that, were she alive, would never have loved him as a man.

And she was standing in front of him, in all her red-haired, pink-cheeked, green-eyed glory, looking at him oddly.

"Hello, Severus" Her voice sounded a bit cold but Severus was too busy staring at her to pay attention to her actual words, let alone her tone.

"Lily? Wha-what are you doing here?" He staggered a bit, surprise clear in his voice.

"Why, I have come to visit you, you seem to be forgetting about me" Now he could hear the coldness in her voice.

"I—am not. I mean, I remember you...you were my friend, even if you wouldn't forgive me...I—"

"See, that's where you are wrong, Severus." Lily's eyes were suddenly cold. Where once there was warmth, Severus could only feel coldness oozing from her now. "I am not only your friend, I never was, and now, you are trying to replace me. How dare you?! Do you really think that slip of a girl is enough to fill the gap I left?" Each word was colder than the last and Severus couldn't help but flinch. This was not Lily, this thing with her face and her features, her voice. This was not his childhood best friend.

"What the fucking hell?! Just who do you think you are?!" His tone was harsh and there was no denying to the fury that was showing on his face. He scowled and glared at her, slowly palming his wand.

"I am your keeper Severus. It is time you acknowledge the fact that nobody is good enough to fill in my place. Wake up Severus, you are mine." It was so surreal. This could not be happening. His chest was hurting and somehow he felt freezing cold, but he could feel the fire burning behind him, roaring and crackling.

"You are not. You may have kept some hold on me while I was young, Merlin, even when I was trying to protect your son but no more. I am free; you hold no power over me. I am not anyone's pawn anymore."

A cold laugh echoed in the room. Lily was looking at him with pity. He despised pity.

"Oh but you are not. You have never been, dear Sev—"

"Don't call me that!"

"But you used to love that nickname"

"Well, I was stupid then. For believing in you and your friendship. You couldn't forgive one slip. You wanted to get rid of me. Well, you did. Now leave me be." He was so angry now. He wanted to strangle someone. He couldn't control his feelings, it aggravated him.

"You don't want me to leave you, Severus. You want me to stay with you. I will help you. You can get rid of that stupid little girl. You don't need her, my love. Not when I am with you." She said with a glint in her eyes. Her sweet tone sickened him. How many times had he wanted to hear those words before? And now, now they were revolting, they just angered him further.

"I don't. I don't want you. And don't you dare speak of her. You don't know her. She is more of a friend and a woman than you could ever be. How can you insult the one person that stayed by your son's side, even at the cost of her own life? You disgust me. GET. OUT."

"Now, see here Severus." Lily said. She was getting close to him, and with each step she took further, Severus grasped his wand tighter, he was getting tired of this.

"No. You see here. I do not know what you came here for, or why you are acting this way. I have had enough of you. You will leave this instant. I do not want you anymore, I do not love you. That was a long time ago. Leave me alone. Stay away from me and from my wife." Wife?! Where the hell did that come from? Oh well, if he was going to do this, may as well do it fine.

"You have no idea what you are doing, Severus Snape." Her eyes were hard now. She had her hands balled up in fists and was shaking with contained rage.

"But I do, my dear, I do" Snape purred, though he spat the endearment. "I am freeing myself. You have been a shadow in my life, and I find myself wanting more light in it. And she is the only one who can light me up. You lost that power the day you chose that bully over me. I am a free man. You have no power over me anymore."

As the last words were said, Lily was slowly drifting away. In an instant a soft breeze filled the room, instead of the dark walls surrounding him; light blue ones were around him. A window appeared to his left and Lily suddenly evaporated. He could smell roses and peonies, and as the scent hit his nose he smiled. He knew that scent. He loved that scent.

Something deep within his chest stopped hurting. He was free. Nothing was holding him back now.

And as he came to that realisation a stirring within him made him feel weird.

"Severus" He heard a soft whisper "Severus, wake up" Soft hands caressed his cheeks and forehead.

"Hmmm" He couldn't help but smile. He knew that voice. "What time is it?"

"Nearly seven, dear. You have a busy morning." Her voice was sleepy too, and her hands were still caressing him. He opened his eyes and took her hands in his, kissing them softly, she hummed with delight and smiled at him. "You have to get up, Severus." She said laughing.

He looked at her. She was so beautiful to him. The way her eyes lit up when she was happy, the way her hair cascaded down her back, the way she said his name most adoringly. The fact that, despite every unkind word he had said to her before, she loved him. She never ceased to amaze him.

He looked into her eyes. Those brown eyes, so mesmerizing they were.

"Marry me" The words tumbled from his mouth like a well practised prayer. He surprised himself.

She looked so beautiful there; he never wanted to forget that moment. Her eyes were welling up and her lower lip was trembling.

"S—Severus? Are you s—sure?"

"Yes. I find I cannot wait another moment to be yours. Of course, if—if you would rather wait or—or" He felt so stupid. What if she didn't want to marry him? ...But she had told him about his daydreams as a little girl, hadn't she? Well, she had also said she was no small girl anymore.

Before Severus could think more, the young woman in question made a soft noise and launched herself to him, nodding with such vigour he couldn't help but start laughing. He was so damned happy.

She started kissing him all over his face. Small, soft, little kisses. And they were the best thing ever. Her lips touched his and suddenly they were lost to the world, her lips were so soft, the little noises she made of approval were making it hard for him to let her go, but he had something to tell her. He had only said it to her a couple of times, he was not good at expressing his feelings, but she assured him she knew. Well, now he felt like shouting it from the rooftops.

"I love you, Hermione. I love you so much. My heart aches when you are away...I love you."

"Hush, dearest. I know. I also know that it is hard for you. I love you too. I always will." Tenderly, she touched his temples and stretched to kiss him once more. "I love you, Severus Snape. You remember that." The smile she was giving him could easily light up the whole Hogwarts castle for years. They stayed in bed a few minutes more, cuddling and kissing a bit, revelling in the new feeling of happiness that filled them.

"Now, come on. I don't want to break this moment but we do have work to do." He kissed her knuckles and got up from bed.

"Well, lead the way, dear husband-to-be."

And they both started a new day. The first of many they would spend together.

Oh God. This is the largest one I have written. My dear friend Word says I wrote 1,471 words.

I really, really hope you liked this. It was quite a challenge to write a happy ending...and so many words! I am sorry if somebody was OoC. I quite love a loving Severus. And if Lily was OoC too...well, I needed some drama ;p

I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read. And also to those that leave a review for me in my stories. Especially to my guest "A", you always lit up my mood! Thank you!

Thank you for reading.

Once again, if you find any mistakes, in grammar or orthography, please, tell me; I have no Beta and Word says I'm fine, so hopefully he's right.

I hope you have nice holidays, as mine are coming to an end. Happy New Year, by the way. Best wishes for everyone!

Lots of love!