Prologue
Severus Snape was lying on his side in the Shrieking Shack, his hands desperately trying to stop the blood gushing from the wounds on his neck. His body was shaking; he knew it was only a matter of time before his life was over.
Snape felt a presence in the room with him. Harry Potter appeared out of nothingness, no doubt from beneath his Invisibility Cloak. Harry bent over him. Snape tried to speak. He needed Harry to know what had to be done. He needed him to know everything. Harry crouched closer. Snape brought forth all the memories he could, and let them flow freely from his body.
Snape grabbed Harry's robes, "Take...it...Take...it."
Snape watched helplessly as Harry and Hermione Granger gathered up his memories, his entire life. Snape was losing the ability to hear anything. Harry looked up across the room for a moment. He was speaking, but everything sounded muffled to Snape. Harry looked frightened, and then nodded vaguely as he continued collecting the silver liquid that flowed from the man on the floor. Snape felt hands on his neck, and a cold liquid oozing in his wounds. The silver memories stopped. Cold rushed through his veins, and he knew these were his last moments.
He was weakened, and let his grip on Harry's robes slack. "Look...at...me..." he whispered to Harry. Snape searched Harry's green eyes for something familiar. Then, blackness slowly clouded his vision until he could see nothing. He let his body go.