One Last Chance

Severus opened his eyes once more and was relieved when he saw no one. Even in the dead, he was embarassed about his little breakdown from earlier. He tried to sit up, but found that he had trouble doing so. He began to look around the room and he wondered if maybe he was in the hospital wing, but how? Nagini had bit him. He had died. Hadn't he? "Oh good your awake again." He heard a voice to his left and saw Madam Pomfrey standing in the doorway to her office, watching him. He wanted to ask if he was dead, but he didn't want to sound like a blundering idiot in case he really wasn't. "What happened?" He finally allowed himself to ask. She looked troubled at these words. She turned away from his and began shuffling through a cabinet, coming out with a small vile. "Drink the whole thing." She said, handing it to him. He drank the potion without complaint. He really wished he knew if he was dead or not. "Poppy." He said after he had swallowed the entire potion. "Tell me." "I had better get someone else to explain to you." She told him, scurrying off into the corridor.

It was ten minutes before she finally came back into the room, Potter in tow. He again felt sorry for what had happened. If it had happened. He had absolutely no idea what was going on. This troubled him greatly. He always knew everything that was going on in the wizarding world. "Nice to see you more calm this time around Professor." He told him as he sat down in a chair next to the hospital bed, pulling it close to him. He was momentarily shocked at the boys kindness toward him. Last time they'd met, Potter had been screaming at him over Albus Dumbledore's death. "Just tell me what's going on Potter" He barked, not wanting to be too nice in case he somehow wasn't actually dead. "What's the last thing you remember?" Harry asked. "The Dark Lord ordered Nagini to kill me. She attacked me. I was bleeding. That's it." It really was all he could remember. Potter looked troubled and Severus realized that he had been hoping he remembered so he wouldn't have to repeat the story. "Okay well I saw the entire thing happen."

He saw? He saw and did nothing?! The boy was just like his father. Lazy, arrogant, and didn't give a damn about anyone except himself and his precious little friends! He opened his mouth to tell the little bastard off, but he was cut off before he could say anything. "Before you ask why I didn't try to intervene I will tell you myself. Voldemort was still in the room as the snake attacked you. I was under my invisibility cloak as were Ron and Hermione. If we would have made any movement at all, he would have seen us and killed us all on the spot. I couldn't let that happen. After Voldemort left, I ran over to you immediately." Potter stopped and looked away, a troubled expression on his face. "Well?" Severus demanded, getting highly impatient. "Um. Id rather not repeat what happened after that so would you like to see the memory?" Harry asked him rather nervous like. What an idiot child! He didn't even have the strength to sit up, let alone go into the pensieve and he made sure to tell him so. "I didn't mean that way. I meant that you could use Legilimency on me if you wished to do so." The boy actually trusted him to do Legilimency on him? That was new.

Severus nodded before casting a non verbal, wandless, Legilimens on him and diving into his mind. He was surprised to see that Potters shields were stronger than they used to be and wondered when he had been practicing He was having trouble getting past them The boy must have sensed this because he cleared the shields away and granted him access to his mind, pushing the memories forward that he wanted him to see.

He expected it to start with Nagini's attack, but he soon realized that it was quite some time before that. He realized it was the summer before his fifth year as he watched the Dementor attack against Potter and his lump of a cousin, the trial, the vision of Arthur Weasley's attack, and the visions of the corridor in the Department of Ministries that had haunted his dreams that year.

At first, he didn't understand what the next memory had to do with anything. Potter was in that toad Umbridge's office for what he assumed was a detention. Umbridge had just told him that he would be writing lines. "How horrible of a punishment." He thought sarcastically. He became suddenly intrigued when Umbridge made him use a different quill and didn't give him a drop of ink. Severus had to try not to gasp out loud as he saw "I must not tell lies" being carved into his hand. He felt anger boiling inside of him. How dare that bitch use a Blood Quill! Sure, he terrified half of the student body and was known for giving detentions for stupid reasons, but this was just cruel. He made a mental note to do something, anything, about her after he was well again. If he was even alive. He still didn't know. He felt helpless.

The memories continued and he saw the vision of Black being tortured by the Dark Lord, heard Umbridge admit to sending the Dementors after Potter, and watched the fight at the Department of Ministries. He saw the prophecy smash. He then felt a sudden tug as if the boy was trying to throw him out. Severus was too weak to pass the memory on and Potter obviously didn't know how to do it himself. With a pit of dread in his stomach he realized what this memory was.

He watched Black slide through the barrier, Lupin struggling to hold him back, heard him screaming over and over "She killed Sirius! I'll kill her! That fucking bitch!" and finally, with a great amount of surprise, watched as Potter used the Crutiatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange. He finally felt the boy stop trying to throw him out as the Dark Lord appeared and possessed him. Severus felt his stomach lurch at the thought. Even he had never had to experience that.

Much to his annoyance, he felt another tug as Potter tried to prevent him from seeing another memory. This was set in Dumbledore's office and he was almost sure it was after they returned from the Department of Ministries. He appeared to be arguing with Dumbledore.

Severus made no move to get any closer, respecting the boy's privacy. He soon discovered that he didn't need to move any closer to hear the argument. "THEN I DON'T WANT TO BE HUMAN!" Potter screamed and began throwing objects around the room.

He listened to the argument with a new revelation. Potter didn't like being in the spotlight as he had once thought. He wasn't full of himself and didn't expect to be treated like a king. He was just a normal teenager who wanted a normal life. The shouting stopped as well as the resistance. He watched as Dumbledore told Potter of the connection between himself and the Dark Lord, of the blood protections Lily had left, and finally, as he learned exactly what the prophecy said and that it was him who had to take down the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen.

The scene changed as Potter and Dumbledore persuaded Slughorn to come back to Hogwarts for some reason he assumed would later be revealed. He watched the memories from the lessons with Dumbledore with intensity. He found out many things he didn't know about the Dark Lord. Things he didn't really want to find out. They were horrible. He may have been shallow, expressionless, and mean, but even he had a heart underneath it all. The Dark Lord had obviously not even had one from a very young age. It sickened him.

He saw Potter take the Felix Felicis, get Slughorn incredibly drunk and get the memory out of him. As he watched the memory about the Horcrux's, he had a horrible realization. The Dark Lord had indeed split his soul into seven pieces. He thought harder, ignoring the conversation that was unfolding in the memory. He thought back to Dumbledore's previous conversations with him. The snake! It was one. Upon paying attention to the memory, he learned that he diary and ring were also Horcrux's as well. He then realized with horror that Potter was indeed a Horcrux as he remembered the conversation he had with Dumbledore last year.

The memory switched and they were in a cave. Dumbledore had actually had the nerve to take the boy with him to retrieve the Horcrux! He felt a deep pang inside his chest as he watched the after effects of the potion on Dumbledore, knowing exactly what the man was seeing. He shut his eyes at the next memory as he tried not to picture himself killing his mentor. Next was Dumbledore's funeral which he obviously hadn't been able to attend considering the circumstances. He learned that Potter now felt obligated to destroy the Horcrux's and wasn't returning to Hogwarts for his seventh year.

He watched as the Death Eaters attacked at Bill and Fleur's wedding as well as in the coffee shop. He again felt that familiar tug as Potter tried to push him out of his mind. They were at Godric's Hollow. Where it had happened. Where he'd lay on the Potter's floor and held his lost love, sobbing his heart out. Where they'd been laid to rest. He closed his eyes again as he saw Potter standing over his parent's graves, crying silently on Granger's shoulder. It pained him greatly to see it, as he was as good as responsible for his parent's death.

The memories continued on. They narrowly escaped the Dark Lord in Godric's Hollow, destroyed the Horcrux, and were once again captured and taken to Malfoy Manor. He had heard of their narrow escape, but he hadn't known all the details until now. He wanted to find Bellatrix and snap her body in half as he saw what she had carved into Granger's arm. He watched them escape Gringotts, meet Aberforth, and enter Hogwarts through the Room of Requirement.

He felt anger surge through his body as one of the Carrows spat in Minerva's face. A smile actually tugged on the corners of his mouth as Potter stepped from underneath his invisibility cloak and used the Crutiatus Curse on him, sending him flying about the room. He watched as Potter marched into the Great Hall, screaming at him. He watched his own flight and found it amusing that the students cheered at his leave.

He watched as Potter ran throughout the castle, talking to the Grey Lady, getting the diadem from the Room of Requirement and saving Draco Malfoy's life. He watched as Granger and Weasley told Potter that they had destroyed another Horcrux. "What now!" He almost yelled as he felt the tugging sensation. They were in the middle of a fucking war! Surely there was nothing that private that had to be blocked out! He soon understood that Potter was just trying to keep his friends privacy as he watched the two kiss. "About time. The two have been denying it for years." He caught himself thinking.

And then...it was the Dark Lord and himself. He was about to watch his attack and possibly even his own death.

He knew he shouldn't watch. Knew he should close his eyes and block it out, but he just couldn't. He watched as the snake attacked him. Watched as the Dark Lord said in his cold, uncaring voice "I regret it." Watched in horror as he let his defenses fall. As he clung to Potter's hand. As he gave up his most precious memories. As he cried. Actually cried.

He was shocked at how upset his impending death was to Potter. He had never given him any reason to like him. He had gone out of his way to single him out throughout the years. Yet, here the boy stood, screaming for someone to help him. He almost winced as he saw Potter send out a round of curse words before punching a hole through the wall. He told the boy that he had Lily's eyes as he passed out. It was true, he did have her eyes.

"Professor?" He watched as the boy frantically screamed and shook him, trying to get some sort of life from him. He got no response and finally ceased in shaking him to death. He stood up and paced around for a few seconds, as if trying to remember something. "Somebody get me a knife!" He frantically yelled as Weasley and Granger gave each other a look. "Don't fucking stand there giving each other looks like I've gone bat shit! Just give me a fucking knife!" He roared at them. Severus wondered what the hell he was going to do to him with it. He doubted the boy was going to harm him, though.

He gasped as Potter ran over to him and began cutting around the bite marks. What the fuck was he doing. He watched as Potter dropped the knife to the floor with a clatter and began sucking at the wounds. Severus immediately understood. He was using the Muggle way of getting the poison out by cutting open the wound and sucking it out. He watched as Harry sucked and spat time after time. How much poison did that snake have in her? He finally stopped and turned to Hermione. "Run a spell to check his pulse." Hermione looked as if she wanted to say something, but seemed to think better of it. She cast the spell and there was a very faint heartbeat.

As the memory switched, Severus let out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Pot-Harry had saved his life. The son of his sworn enemy had sucked the poison out of his veins. He felt his heart beat faster and faster as Harry walked toward The Dark Lord himself. He watched as the boy was hit with the killing curse. His heart sank in his chest. Not even Potter could survive the killing curse the second time around. He had to be dead then. He was in Heaven with Potter. Everything they had both done had been for nothing. He expected the memories to end there, but they continued.

They were carrying his body back up to the castle. The Dark Lord was trying to make him sound like a selfish fool. Trying to get people to join him. Longbottom choose that instant to charge at The Dark Lord. What an idiot. He proved useful in the end, killing the very animal that had attacked him. Severus looked at the ground and realized that Potter was no longer there. How was it possible that he was still alive? That the killing curse hadn't had any effect on him once again?

He watched as fights began breaking out everywhere and the Death Eaters were being taken down. He heard somebody scream "NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH" and was very surprised to see Molly Weasley of all people sprinting through the crowd to get to Bellatrix. Finally, the bitch was dead. All that was left now was the Dark Lord. He saw Potter step out from underneath his invisibility cloak and call out to the Dark Lord.

He watched as they began circling each other. As Potter taunted the Dark Lord. He heard Potter tell the dark lord "Severus Snape was never yours." Good. He wanted the man to know how he had deceived him. Jets of light shot from both of their wands, connecting in the middle. Finally, the Elder Wand failed the Dark Lord. He was dead at last.

Coming out of Potter's memories, he had never felt such a great relief in his entire life.