Chapter Text
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Severus was dying.
Laying on the floor of the Shrieking Shack was a shameful way to go, and yet, ironic as it was, Severus could not bring himself to feel ashamed.
The Dark Lord’s summons was unexpected. When he had first been called to the place, he thought he would be giving a routine report on his progress in undertaking Hogwarts. Dumbledore’s death had left the school in shambles. Severus was doing what he could to protect the few students who were brave, or stupid, enough to return to the school, but there were only so many muggleborn students he could allow to slip through the Carrow’s grasp before his motives started incurring suspicion.
Things would have been easier if Hogwarts had kept him out of Dumbledore's office, as she had done with Dolores. Being accepting as Headmaster meant that not only were the wards under his control, but so was he channeling her magic itself. The bond was not as strong as it could be, his mark siphoned directly from his core, and The Dark Lord did not seem to spare him from his greed for power these days- but with acknowledgement from Hogwarts herself the Dark was convinced now more than ever that The Dark Lord’s way was the only way.
Hogwarts was doomed. He had prepared reports like this a thousand times thereafter. To be a spy, lies had to be based on truth. Information, knowledge in its purest form, was authority. If he were to explain the uprising as it was, Severus concluded that The Dark Lord should be satisfied enough not to investigate his musings any deeper.
Severus held no want for The Dark Lord’s praise. The Dark Lord had a cause, once. Severus attributed his decent into madness to the Dark’s increasing desperation for the old ways’ return. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Not even Dumbledore was safe from powerful magics call. He had kept something from the potions' master, the ring; it was his downfall and his greatest treasure. Dumbledore wore it until the day he died.
Could what have tempted Dumbledore be something even Severus, researcher that he was, have no knowledge about? Severus could not determine what both The Dark Lord and Dumbledore would want to possess so strongly.
He had no time to prepare. He had no information on what The Dark Lord wanted with him. He would have to improvise, rely on himself, as he always had.
The Dark Lord had stood at the apex of the room, decaying wood boards allowing cold air to chill each occupant to the bone. The Dark Lord’s nose-less face twisted into an ugly sneer, Dumbledore's wand twirling between two unnaturally long fingers. The whispers of his once handsome face taunted the younger man bowed at his feet.
Nagini slithered behind him lazily. Her uncaring length was curled around The Dark Lord’s legs, his robes crinkling against her scales.
The Dark Lord did not initiate the meeting, as he usually would do. On further inspection, it seemed he was waving Dumbledore’s wand from side to side rather obnoxiously, bringing attention to it, as if he was waiting for Severus to comment on it.
Severus’ eyes turned dark and blank, steeling himself for The Dark Lord’s wrath. He was now in the mindset of a loyal Death Eater, same as the rest of the scum. “You have performed extraordinary magic with this wand, My Lord, in the last few hours alone.”
The Dark Lord drew closer, his snake winding around his arm, coils tight as she glided alongside their mutual master.
“No! No. I am extraordinary, but the wand resists me.” Severus could feel the air grow heavier as The Dark Lord’s stolen magic permeated throughout the shack. He could feel prickles alongside his neck, the sign he was being watched, but his senses mixed together under his Lord’s scrutiny.
“There is no wand more powerful. Ollivander himself has said it. Tonight, when the boy comes, it will not fail you, I am sure. It answers to you, and you only.”
The Dark Lord’s face turned impassive. Severus could sense he had made a fatal mistake. He bowed his head, deeper, apologetically, but it was too late. The Dark Lord’s monologue became spiteful, full of jealous hatred.
He stepped ever closer. His snake followed. His red eyes gleamed with the confidence of a decision set in stone.
“...While you live, the Elder Wand cannot truly be mine.” The Elder Wand? “You’ve been a good and faithful servant, Severus, but only I can live forever.” He waved the wand in a familiar motion, Sectumsempra, and soon enough, Severus was laying a puddle of his own blood. “Nagini, kill.”
The snake lunged for his throat; the bleeding wound being tainted with deadly poison. His eyesight grew blurry, and he could feel his conscious slipping from his physical body.
Death Is...
“Snape!” Teary-filled green eyes bore into his soul, the visages of Lily Evans and Harry Potter melting into one being to his delusional mind.
“Look at me.”
He could hear her, Lily, her honey-soaked voice calling for him, telling him it would all be all right.
He could hear him, Harry, his parched, growling voice pleading for him, begging him to stay alive.
His childhood friend, and his hated student, for one agonizing moment, becoming the same sort of kind that had once saved him from his miserable state of being.
He would not die alone, after all.
Death Is... Peaceful
Harry Potter, he contemplated. Did he deserve his woes? His pain would be better spent on someone better, better than he had been, at least. It was like he was truly seeing the boy, no, the man, for the first time.
How many times had he reminded himself of his arrogant father, when looking at the boys raggedy clothes in his classroom, when ignoring his flinches at raised voices, when reprimanding him for mistakes he hadn’t made?
He had been the reason a young babe was left alone in the world. It was his fault that a baby had no parents, and it was his fault that a boy could not trust his teachers to help him.
Death Is... Deserved
Everything felt so good, and so terrible at the same time.
No longer would he be locked up in a school that had ruined him as a child. No longer would he live life with a mask affixed to his deplorable face.
No longer would he see the colleagues who had taken him in. No longer would he get to revel in the wonder of magic.
Merlin, he would be free. It didn’t matter what the afterlife looked like to him. Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, even nothing at all; he would be set free from the masters who had controlled him.
Death Is... Bliss
Death meant his sins would be forgiven.
He had done his duty, protected Lily’s son, and made sure he would see to the end of the war.
He had made up for the devotion he had wrongly placed on a mad man in his youth.
Death Is... Redemption.
And with that, Severus Tobias Snape was dead.
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“Cowardice.” An unknown entity spoke with palpable unkindness; dirty-white jawbones clenching as perfect teeth ground against one another. The entity waved their hand, her bridal veil obscuring his face. The entity had no eyes to see, nor breath to hold, and yet, they knew life better than any mortal ever would.
The entity was sitting at a dining table, mahogany wood gleaming against the void that was the entity’s surroundings. Served to her as a mid-morning meal, was a shining purple orb, encrusted with a crown symbol. The orb contained swirling magic, blacks intertwining with shades of blues, purples, and greens, almost as if the entity were watching a nebula.
The entity picked up a silver knife, positioned to his left, poking at the meal on their plate. Her appetite had been ruined by her meals' disposition. He could not comprehend why such a formidable human would allow themself to be manipulated in such a pitiful way. They frowned, continuing to roll the larger-than-average orb across the porcelain.
The human had not been blessed with a good life. The entity could admit that they could realize how the human’s story would lead to such an ending, but to give up on life’s gifts entirely? It was blatant disrespect towards the entity’s sister. Life loved her humans so, and here they were constantly undermining her.
Still...
The entity picked up the orb, rolling the humans soul between her thumb and index finger.
“So much potential, and yet, what you need is whimsy.”
The entity let himself smile, or at least, let the bones of their face twist into something that could resemble a smile. She brought the orb to his mandible, parting their teeth to give the human’s life a final taste.
Images of Tobias Snape beating his son flashed through her frontal lobe, of the cruel marauders turning what was supposed to be a safe space into the human’s worst nightmare, of two masters grounding the humans spirt to dust.
“Hardship,” The entity spoke plainly. His voice held no sympathy, but it was not belittling either.
Next, the entity saw visions of friendship. Of a girl named Lily Jane Evans, who eventually grew into Lily J. Potter. Of fellow Hogwarts staff, who eventually turned into mortal enemies. McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Poppy, and once upon a time, Quirrell.
The entity hummed in satisfaction. “Comradery.”
Finally, the entity saw a martyr. A woman who did not exist. A concept twisted by doses of Amortentia. A wilted Lily flower.
The entity laughed. “’Love.’”
The entity had no more to see. All that was left was to find a place their new most interesting human could heal, while causing a heap load of chaos, of course. So many universes to choose from, though none whimsical enough to satisy her. Humans are not good at being entertaining.
“Through...” The entity tsked, leaning back in his chair. The object wobbled under the full weight of a being that didn’t exist.
Scrolling through the timelines, the entity found only one universe parallel to the humans original world worthy enough to place the human in without distroying Fates’ plans. The universe was full of dancing, singing, and...
“Music?” The entity commented. “Hmm...!” The entity opened their mouth, excitement souring through her bones. He, once again, lifted the orb to their face, pushing the viel back in its entierty from her mouth. He had to be careful not to destory the orb with their teeth. She would not chew, he reminded themself. Do not chew.
The orb grazed her maxila. The pristine teeth in his mouth immeaditly started rotting. “How very interesting!” The orb was easily swallowed.
Congratulations, Severus. Now, you've got Death on your side.