Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter, the characters, the settings, and the details are not my own. J.K Rowling holds the rights to these wonderful things, and I am in awe of her talent. I own only my original characters, and of those there are not many.

Prologue:

"Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not/ Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither/ Living nor dead, and I knew nothing,/ Looking into the heart of light, the silence./ Öd' und leer das Meer." T.S. Eliot "The Wasteland"

Severus Snape was not a praying man. That being said as he stepped through the door to the Shrieking Shack he did appeal to a higher authority. Just not the higher authority most would appeal to. In a moment the Dark lord would arrive, and Severus was fairly sure that this would be the last time he would have to feign loyalty.

He scanned the empty room. He would have liked to see Harry Potter one last time. He would have liked to finish what he started. Instead he would die in this place. He couldn't help but notice the universe's dark sense of humor. If he had died here all those years ago when the Marauders were planning their little prank Lily may still be alive.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the ceiling. If she could hear him he hoped it would be a welcome message. "I am truly sorry Lily. I tried to save him, but I am afraid I could not. If I die here I know I will never see you again, but I hope that I made a little progress towards obtaining your forgiveness." He opened his eyes. Lily was standing across the room.

Severus blinked several times and the woman became someone else, a stranger standing across the room staring at him curiously. She was pretty, and she did have a slight resemblance to the late Lily Evans. Her eyes were blue instead of that remarkable green, and her hair was shorter, but the same lovely light red. He stepped towards her. "Madam you must leave. This is not a safe place."

She raised an eyebrow, and then pulled a cigarette out of a case she was holding and lit it cautiously. She stepped towards him. Once she was close enough he realized her eyes were not a perfect blue. There was green there. A wave of intense grief threatened him, and he tightened his hold on his emotions as she came much closer than he would have expected and tilted her head. "You're Severus Snape."

It was not a question. He felt his wand inside his robe's sleeve. "Yes."

She looked around the room, and took a deep drag on her cigarette. "Is Voldemort coming here?"

Severus gripped his wand tighter. "Madam you must leave."

She looked at him carefully again, and tapped ashes from the end of her cigarette. "It's never the things we regret most that do the most damage to those around us. Did you know that?"

Severus was beginning to worry for the woman's sanity. He had to get the woman out before the Dark Lord arrived. He couldn't handle another death on his hands, and he could see the woman was not a Death Eater. He reached out and gripped the arm that didn't hold a cigarette. "I have no idea what you are talking about. You need to leave."

She looked at his hand, and then dropped the cigarette to the floor and stepped on it carefully. "It's what we regret the least that does the most damage to those around us Severus Snape." She looked up, and Severus felt his hand lose its grip. He was drowning. How had he thought her eyes were even remotely blue? They were green. That overwhelming green that always took his breath away when he looked at the old pictures of Lily. The green in Potter's eyes that drove him to grief and madness. That damn green.

She took his chin in her hand and tilted his face down to look into her green eyes. Severus Snape hadn't known the touch of a loving hand since before he murdered his last real friend. Even that fell short of the comfort and joy he felt at this touch. Unconsciously he tilted his face down into her hand. "I have always admired you. I'd like to give you a gift. To receive it you must only close your eyes and hold still."

Severus closed his eyes.

"Can I ask you a question Severus?"

He could only nod. She put both of her warm little hands on either side of his face. "Could we be together forever?"

He felt the floor fall away from his feet.