"DON'T-" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them- "CALL ME COWARD!"

How could he contain himself? The word had him shaking with anger- no, not only anger but guilt… He screamed as he mustered as much hatred for himself as humanely possible and took one last look at the boy. He hissed under his breath as he glanced at his bloody face, those features… James Potter. How could he forget? How could he stow his wand away when James was staring back at him with that fierce expression? How could he leave without cursing him? Then those piercing green eyes glared back at Snape, glaring into the depths of his tortured soul, that fierce expression he could only associate with Lily and now the boy was a reminder of Lily… lovely Lily. Snape wanted to sink to his knees and scream as hard and as loud as he could, he wanted to scream for forgiveness, he wanted his heart to heal, to mend and he wanted to live. But not like this.

His heart pained him as he couldn't help but cast his mind back to that very night. Snape remembered holding Lily's warm but lifeless body, those eyes fixed blankly at the ceiling as Snape continued to hold her, buried his face into her neck as he pulled her against his chest and he cried. Harry was an infant then, stood up in his cot, eyes wide with nothing but fear and pain… His eyes reciprocated the pain as he stood before Snape, breathing heavily and looking utterly beaten. He turned swiftly away from Harry, resuming his superior stature and giving him one final, loathing look as he walked away. It wasn't just the memory of James and his friends that provoked such strong emotions for Snape, the word 'coward' reminded him of his father. And of himself. Cowardly it was, to be unable to protect his mother from the fists of his father, it was also cowardly to allow it to happen time and time again, but not only to his mother but to himself.

The murder of Dumbledore was lying heavily on his conscience. First Lily, now Albus... he wondered how many more before he could finally stop playing the bad guy. He wanted to let Harry know what was really happening, how he was sacrificing his life for the son of the woman whom he had loved all his life. That time will come, he thought miserably before he took one last fleeting look at the castle he considered home before disapparating into the darkness.

This is a very short, one shot but I just wanted to show how Snape would be feeling after hearing the word 'coward' from Harry. It's one of my favourite chapters in the series! :3 Please give me your opinions!