A/N: Alright, I don't want to see flames telling me you don't like the pairing. Flames are for constructive criticism, which I am all for.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or Band of Brothers, which is where Harry's speech is from.

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A picture, Severus Snape thought, was not worth a thousand words. How could words, little scribbles at best, describe memories? The feeling that welled up inside of him at the sight of a picture? A picture of them?

He didn't know what the feelings were anymore. They had lain dormant inside of him for so long, buried so deep in him, he had never expected to feel them again.

But he had.

He still does.

And it scared him. More than kissing the Dark Lords' robes. More than the resemblance between James Potter and his son. More than the death of Black two years ago, when he had realized the people he had counted on always being there, could die.

She scared him more than the war.

The war, the bloody battle between good and evil, the petty fighting over a world that wasn't worth saving or conquering, was the only reason he clung to sanity.

Sanity dictated that he stay at Hogwarts. Sanity demanded that he go through the days until the final battle the way he had planned to do.

And Insanity mocked him.

Mocked him with photos. With memories. Of things that had been, and should have always been.

The photograph in his hands was taken in the fall. He knew because she had leaves in her hair. They were laughing, and occasionally she would lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek.

And he blushed. And smiled. Two things he hadn't done since his own school days, if ever.

They had been so happy then.

Now, as he prepared to leave for the last battle, he thought only of her. How she had left him. Left him all alone, to succumb to depression and bouts of extreme hatred of the world. Left him in a way where it was impossible to get her back.

He gently placed the haunting photo back on the mantle, next to a letter.

It was the last letter he had ever received from her. Her last words had been 'I can't wait to see you.' There had been no warning in them, no cryptic message foretelling her departure, and it made him bitter.

He walked from the room quickly, refusing to look back at her smile. Refusing to remember.

Instead he thought of the fight.

As he neared the Entrance Hall, he caught the last words of Potters' speech:

"From this day until the ending of the earth, we shall be remembered. We lucky few. We band of brothers. For he who today sheds his blood with me shall be my brother."

A cry rose up, echoing off the cold stone walls of the school. Snape smiled slightly, Potter had done it again.

The doors swung open, showing the dark forces marching up through the grounds toward them. The lake was calm, and the trees unmoved. Behind them rose a red dawn.

And again, Snape smiled.

The battle was bloody. Spells flew in every direction, the only way to tell friend from foe was by the colors of the robes.

Potter was moving through the lines, angrily firing off spells at the Death Eaters who had taken so much from him already. He was surrounded by red headed man and women, his friends, his family.

But one was missing.

Her.

She should have been here. It was her right. Her destiny.

And instead, he thought savagely, it was he who watched the chaos.

He who watched the red heads fall.

One by one, they lost another. Until only Potter was left standing.

Just like him.

In that moment, when he saw Lucius raise his wand, he knew. This was his chance. His chance for freedom.

He launched himself in front of Harry Potter as a jet of green arched toward the distracted man.

And as he fell, he smiled.

She was waiting.

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"Father, can't we leave yet?" Asked a black-haired little boy hopefully.

"No Josh, we have one more stop to make, and then we'll go. I promise." Harry Potter smiled as he watched his son skip over the graves.

"Can we get ice cream?'

"Just don't tell your mother."

The boy giggled, but fell silent as he watched his father kneel down next to two graves.

Harry brushed dirt off the engravings, although he had already memorized them. He tenderly arranged the flowers he had brought in the holder between the two.

'Severus S. Snape

Potions Master

"Brother"

And beloved of……' Here the writing was blurred and difficult to read, but the next marker clearly showed who it was.

'Hermione J. Granger

Friend

And beloved fiancée'

Harry brushed his fingers lightly over the names, almost as if caught in memories, and wondered briefly how words could describe these two people. Getting up, he smiled.

"Alright Josh, let's see about that ice cream."

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A/N: Good, bad, too many commas? I would love to hear what you think!

(Yes, this is a ONE-SHOT, because, frankly, how would I continue it?)

REVIEW. OR AT LEAST REVIEW SOMEONE ELSE'S STORY!