Lily's Letter
[OOC: After attempting escape, then this thread with T'Pol and this thread with Martha, as well as this correspondence with Toshiko, Snape finally read Lily's letter, which is here. He made it visible to those most involved in the whole debacle.
In other words, Snape read the letter, went a little nuts, and made it so the three of them could read it, also. Pretty much as if to say, "THANKS A LOT. 'Read the letter.' PFT. GREAT SUGGESTION, ASSHOLES." Only, not to Tosh.
Bernard would have been privy, too, but he buggered off.]
[Private to Snape. Also viewable to T'Pol, Martha, and Toshiko.]
Severus,
It’s taken me a long time to put down to paper everything I want to say to you - to you, the boy who was my friend, as well as to the person you’ve become. I know you won’t read this straight away, and so I hope that when you do, you’ll realize that I write it not because I was asked to do it, but because you were my friend.
You made decisions that led you down a path I couldn’t follow. I won’t judge you for those choices, but I won’t condone them, either. You made a lot of mistakes, but you spent much of your life trying to make up for them. What I can say is this: you’ve become a bitter and hard, and a part of you seems to think you deserve something more than your life has given you. Maybe so; maybe life never gave you much of a fair shake - but you can only have what you’re willing to give to yourself. You can’t correct the mistakes of the past if you continue to make new ones, and all your good intentions won’t change that.
I know your heart. I know that you were in love with me, and maybe - probably - even idealized me from the beginning. I don’t write this now to be cruel or do you more harm, but you must understand that, even if there never was a James Potter, I would never have chosen you. I was never yours to lose.
Maybe it’s something you would have discovered on your own in time, had our lives not taken the courses they did.
I won’t try to justify James to you; I don’t owe it to you. Our friendship was long over before I began to see James Potter through the eyes of an adult.
It’s far past time to forgive yourself and let go of the ghosts of the past. You have a life with people who care for you, and where you have a chance to redeem yourself, to become the person you might have been. All you can do now is make the most of it. Allow yourself to accept forgiveness and love.
I guess there’s nothing else I can say; wherever you go from here, you have to go without me. The only thing left now is to say something more important than anything else I’ve written: There is no hatred, anger, or blame in my heart. I died your friend.
- Lily
In other words, Snape read the letter, went a little nuts, and made it so the three of them could read it, also. Pretty much as if to say, "THANKS A LOT. 'Read the letter.' PFT. GREAT SUGGESTION, ASSHOLES." Only, not to Tosh.
Bernard would have been privy, too, but he buggered off.]
[Private to Snape. Also viewable to T'Pol, Martha, and Toshiko.]
Severus,
It’s taken me a long time to put down to paper everything I want to say to you - to you, the boy who was my friend, as well as to the person you’ve become. I know you won’t read this straight away, and so I hope that when you do, you’ll realize that I write it not because I was asked to do it, but because you were my friend.
You made decisions that led you down a path I couldn’t follow. I won’t judge you for those choices, but I won’t condone them, either. You made a lot of mistakes, but you spent much of your life trying to make up for them. What I can say is this: you’ve become a bitter and hard, and a part of you seems to think you deserve something more than your life has given you. Maybe so; maybe life never gave you much of a fair shake - but you can only have what you’re willing to give to yourself. You can’t correct the mistakes of the past if you continue to make new ones, and all your good intentions won’t change that.
I know your heart. I know that you were in love with me, and maybe - probably - even idealized me from the beginning. I don’t write this now to be cruel or do you more harm, but you must understand that, even if there never was a James Potter, I would never have chosen you. I was never yours to lose.
Maybe it’s something you would have discovered on your own in time, had our lives not taken the courses they did.
I won’t try to justify James to you; I don’t owe it to you. Our friendship was long over before I began to see James Potter through the eyes of an adult.
It’s far past time to forgive yourself and let go of the ghosts of the past. You have a life with people who care for you, and where you have a chance to redeem yourself, to become the person you might have been. All you can do now is make the most of it. Allow yourself to accept forgiveness and love.
I guess there’s nothing else I can say; wherever you go from here, you have to go without me. The only thing left now is to say something more important than anything else I’ve written: There is no hatred, anger, or blame in my heart. I died your friend.
- Lily