Bird Song
Severus Snape's POV
Draco Malfoy stood, arm outstretched, wand ready. Albus Dumbledore stood at the end of the wand, arms raised in a sign of peace and defeat.
"You are not a killer, Draco." Dumbledore stated, his voice fading out, like those were the last words he would ever speak.
I watched from below as Draco replied, his arm shaking from the nerves. The boy looked close to tears, and he probably would've cried if he didn't know that the others were close, so close, behind him.
I readied myself as the others came, slithering out of the shadows of the tower. Potter stood, invisible behind me; his breathing getting louder and faster every second. I placed my finger to my lips, trying to silence him. Keeping his gaze, taking in his mother's gorgeous green eyes; I walked backwards, towards the stairs, towards my duty. With my signature cape swish, I was up the stairs, wand pointed at one of the greatest wizards ever.
"Please, Severus...please." He begged. I took in his frail form, the blackened hand, the crystal blue eyes that seemed almost glazed over; and I felt nothing. I felt nothing for the man or the mission. All I felt was an anger that started like a lit candle, small but growing until it consumed my being. All the pain he put me through, all the lies, the betrayals; it all came to me in that moment.
My eyes locked with his, though I ignored the glazed look. His eyes were filled with pain, knowing, pleading, and when I thought that he couldn't get any crazier, I saw that damned gleam in his eye. Only for a second.
Fawkes flew by, just to the right of Albus' head. I watched his orange-red feathers, the sunset glow making him look like an illusion. He mesmerized me, taking my fear (and guilt) with him as he flew over the mountain range surrounding the castle.
Without any regret, guilt, or fear; I took the life of the greatest wizard in history in the darkness of the tower.
"Avada Kedavra!"
We slipped through the darkness of the castle as Dumbledore's body fell to the ground. The others decided to make some mischief while I took guard. I watched as Bellatrix destroyed the Great Hall, destroyed what had become my home for the last few years of my life. The feeling of it left a sensation that pushed down on my chest and left an nasty taste in my mouth.
Soon we were on the grounds, yards from the Forbidden Forest; our escape.
"Fight back you coward! Fight back!" Potter's voice echoed through the grounds. I turned on him, planning to do away with him myself, save the Dark Lord the trouble of hunting him down.
Something stopped me. I won't say I don't know what it was: because I do. It was his eyes. Her eyes. Those bright green eyes that seemed to shine even in the dark, the eyes that I had once fell in love with as a boy.
I knew I couldn't kill him then; what would she have said? I wouldn't live with the guilt of killing those eyes, her eyes for the rest of my life.
So when he came near, tears in his eyes, wand pointed at me; I threw him to the ground, gave him a look that could kill and went off into the forest, trying to ignore his pathetic sobbing.
That was a week ago. That night, the group of us went back to Headquarters to tell the Dark Lord that the deed was done: Albus Dumbledore was dead. He praised us (as much as the Dark Lord could praise someone) and then banished us from his presence. From that point on, I was in my room which was actually a potion's room.
I was brewing a potion, Draught of Living Death actually, when an orange flame burst in front of me. I recoiled and flew back, landing on the floor.
The flame grew, growing into an enormous size until it burst, revealing Fawkes. He sat on the table, staring down a me. I got up and moved towards him, slowly, like one would towards something dangerous. He cocked his head, looked at me a moment more, then screeched.
He started cawing at an ear-shattering volume.
"Murderer! Dumbledore! Murderer!"
I flinched back as the cawing got impossibly louder and Fawkes stalked toward me, a predatory look in his black eyes.
I panicked as he got closer. Without thought, I grabbed his scrawny neck and held tight; flinching in pain every time his peak connected with my flesh, though ignoring the blood.
"Bloody bird!" I screamed as I snapped his neck. His body went limp in my hands. His weight dragged me down as I threw his body into the Draught of Living Death. The body set on fire, then disintegrated until all the was left was one bright red feather.
Confused, I used my want to retrieve the feather. It floated in midair for a few seconds, then disappeared with a small pop.
I shook my head and covered all the potions. The silence was a comfort that helped me fall into a deep slumber.
A good night's sleep has always been a rarity to me: this night was no exception. My dreams were haunted with the corpses of Dumbledore and Fawkes.
The tower stood before me, looking grotesquely in its appearance. The moon could be seen through the window, lighting up the figure that stood at the top: Albus Dumbledore. He stood there, a corpse, reaching down to me.
"Please Severus ,please." He begged, though his mouth did not move. A flash of light, and he was gone.
"Please Severus." He whispered, his cold breath running across my neck. The stench was horrible, proving that he really was dead. His bony hands came around my neck from behind, the skin falling off. His hands got tighter and tighter, making it harder to breath.
"Say it, Severus. Say what you did." Dumbledore, or what was left of him hissed. With all my strength, I pushed him off me and ran. I ran until my legs gave out and I fell to the ground in a heap. I looked around, I was at the top of the tower.
"You are not a killer, Draco." Dumbledore said, this one not a corpse, but alive.
"How do you know what I am?" Draco screamed. "I could kill you, I could kill you right now!" Draco's whole body was shaking; he knew he couldn't kill Dumbledore.
My body seemed to act on its own as I stood up and pointed my wand.
"Please, Severus...please." The live Dumbledore begged.
"Yes, Severus, please." The corpse hissed from behind me. "Do it, kill him."
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" I screamed.
The whole world shook. I was spinning.
"MURDERER!" Fawkes screamed.
"Please, Severus."
"I'll kill you."
"Do it, kill him!"
The corpses hands were around my throat again, the hands an unyielding force.
"You killed him." It hissed, it hands squeezing tighter. "You killed him!" It hissed louder.
My head was spinning, I couldn't breathe. The corpse held me, by the neck, over the side of the tower.
"You killed him!" It screamed, his voice shaking the tower. He squeezed tighter, till I thought he would choke me to death, then let his hands go.
I screamed as I fell to the ground.
"I KILLED ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!" I woke up, screaming and flailing. The sound of my scream echoed off the stone walls, causing the air feel energized.
I tried to scream again, but the sound wouldn't come out. It was like my throat was closed off completely, silencing me.
The flailing got worse as I kept seeing Dumbledore's corpse. He kept coming closer, his hiss causing chills to run up my spine. I had never felt this much fear.
For the first time, I felt guilt. Pure, unadulterated guilt. The feeling pushed up my body, up my throat and threatened to suffocate me. I screamed out.
"I KILLED ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! I KILLED HIM!"
I broke down, crying. It wasn't bawling, just tears running down my face and silent sobs as I pushed the feeling out my body. I couldn't make a sound, the guilt was consuming me. I thought back to the deals Dumbledore had made with me, how he had taken me in, saw the good in me.
"I killed Albus Dumbledore." I said again, this time a whisper that could barely be heard. My voice was raspy, from screaming and crying. I sounded like Fawkes, cawing away at what I had done. It was like Fawkes' song and it was coming from me.
The song was coming from my mouth.