Hello my dear readers

I have been planning to write an HP fanfiction for some time now. I even had the plot completely developed in my mind and discussed it with a dear friend. But when at last I put my pen to paper (or my fingers on the keyboard) an altogether different story poured out. This is that story. Half of it has been written in a gloomy week when I was feeling really low spirited and I am waiting for another week like that to complete the story :)

I wanted to edit and rewrite it at leisure and then publish it, but realized that it would never see the light of day in that case.

So here you are. It's my first attempt at a semi-long story and is very introspective. Most of it passes in the protagonists minds. Forgive my inexperience. And also, English is my secondary language. So ignore (or better! notify me of) any error you see. Thank you.

Chapter 1

Severus Snape, the potions master of Hogwarts, the ex Death Eater, the spy of the light and the murderer of Albus Dumbledore, was a man that fates liked to screw over.

He had never particularly wished to die, but then he had never particularly wished to live either. When the end was coming near he had been scared to die, because he hadn't had a chance to convey the most vital information to Potter and so he had done everything in his power to live as long as possible. And now, lying ill and weak in a dingy dark cold cell in Azkaban, with an oozing neck wound that didn't seem to want to heal anytime soon and without the hope of ever seeing the outside world again, he was anxious to meet death as soon as possible.

There was nothing left for him to live for in this world and now that all his most private memories and feelings had been dragged through the mud of public eye thanks to the never ending endeavors of their esteemed idiotic Gryffindor heroes, trying to save him from being incarcerated, he didn't wish to live another day.

He didn't have to wait that long though. Nagini had undergone many changes since when she had stung Arthur Weasley, and so the antivenin that St Mango administered was not working as it should and despite the initial treatments, if he didn't get a weekly dose he would die soon enough, the estimation was in about a year. And it didn't seem likely that the authorities would be kind enough to go to the trouble of acquiring it every week for a murderer, So all he had to do was wait a little longer and his suffering would end.

So he lay in his lumpy stiff bed and decided to sleep as much as he could to pass the time more quickly. When death arrived, he would be ready to welcome it with open arms.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Hermione Granger, The princess of Gryffindor, The most famous female in the whole wizarding Britain and the girlfriend of Ron Weasley was a disillusioned woman.

When Voldemort had died, she had been filled with the happy thought that everything was good, That now all would be well. But after a few weeks she had come to the conclusion that nothing had changed. The Ministry was the same, the Press was the same, the people were the same, and even Ron was the same. Just defeating the most evil incarnation in the world didn't mean that the usual little evils were going to vanish as well.

Now after weeks of trying in vain to save the biggest hero of their world from getting life sentence, she and Harry were on a boat on their way to visit the aforementioned hero to apologize. And to give him his weekly dose of antivenin. It was the least they could do now.

They had done everything they could think of, displaying his memories in the court, recounting all the times he had saved them from danger, bringing Order members like McGonagall to recount all his contributions to the war effort, even bringing Dumbledore's portrait to witness. But in the end though no one had been able to find him guilty of treason and being a Death Eater, those misbegotten bigots had declared that murder was murder and euthanasia was punishable by life imprisonment and that was that. They had dragged a dying man through all proceedings without a single regard for his well being and in the end didn't even give him enough time in hospital to be healed, because the effort it would take to develop a complete cure for a life prisoner was simply not worth it, and had him delivered to the prison in a wheelchair.

She didn't know what she was going to tell him when they arrived. And she was sure that he would not receive them with open arms.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

After going through the inspection, they were guided to a cell in the second floor. The guard ushered them in and shut the door behind them with a bang.

The cell was dismal. Dark and dingy with a dirt floor. The only furniture in it were a bucket in one corner and a grey mattress in the other. It was practically medieval. Severus Snape was lying on the mattress and seemed asleep. But when the door was closed, he opened his eyes and his expression grew thunderous upon seeing them.

"Have you not humiliated me enough already? Are you here to see me further debased?" He rasped with difficulty, thanks to his damaged throat.

They both froze upon hearing his words and stared at him uncomprehendingly. "What are you talking about? How did we humiliate you?" Asked Harry with a frown.

"How? … How?…" Snape sputtered. "I gave you those memories in trust. Because I thought I was going to die, and because I knew you wouldn't believe me otherwise." He wheezes furiously. "And you went and broadcasted them for the amusement of the whole world."

"But.. But we were trying to save you!" Cried Hermione.

"And what a wonderful job you did! Thank you so much." Snape snarled sarcastically. "Did you really think for a moment that it was going to make a difference?"

"Of course we did." Said Harry. "They proved your innocence."

"And such a great help that was!" Rasped Snape with an ugly sneer. "But forgive me. For a second there I forgot that you are just a pair of naïve stupid Gryffindors. You think the world is full of flowers and rainbows and we can all go prancing about merrily hand in hand."He sneered with a sad gleam in his eyes.

"Are you saying that you knew from the start it would end like this?" Asked Hermione with surprise.

"Of course I did. And you should have known too. When have ever innocence or guilt meant anything in our courts? Open your eyes! It's all about power, money and grudges. They were never going to find me innocent." He answered angrily. "That's why you shouldn't have shared my memories with anyone!"

"But there was nothing bad or shameful in those memories!" Harry protested weakly.

"But those were my memories, my life!" Snaped cried hoarsely. "You had no right to exhibit them for all to see!"

Snape was breathing heavily and difficultly by this point, and his face had developed an ugly flush that was clashing horribly with his sickly pallor. Harry and Hermione stood staring at him speechless. They had anticipated his anger, but not for this particular reason. They didn't know how to react.

Hermione gathered himself faster than Harry and replied sheepishly "We came here to apologize for not being able to save you, but it seems we have more apologies to make. We are sorry. We didn't think…"

"That's exactly your problem! You never think. I tried for six years to teach you how to think, and I never succeeded." Snape snapped. "I don't want your apologies, and I don't need them. Get out." He wheezed breathlessly.

They glanced at each other uncertainly. Harry cleared his throat and said. "Well.. We're also here to give you your potion. We couldn't arrange for it to be delivered by authorities, so we will have to come here weekly and give it to you ourselves."

"you don't need to bother" Snape sneered weakly.

"But you need th…."

"Whatever for?" Snape snapped. "I'm going to die here anyway. What is the point of a few more years?"

"you can't be serious!" Hermione exclaimed. And Harry asked silently "Do you really want to die?"

"Not particularly." Snape rasped tiredly. "But when have my feelings ever mattered?" It seemed as if all the fight had gone out of him. He was too pale and his voice was becoming weaker by the second.

"you can't give up this easily!" Hermione said earnestly. "We are not going to leave you here. We will get you out of here eventually."

"When exactly? Ten years from now? Twenty years?" Snape sneered listlessly.

"It will surely be sooner." Harry replied without conviction.

"See. Even an optimist gullible Gryffindor like you doesn't believe it." Snape smirked faintly. "And for your information, even with the potion, anything longer than five years is not going to do me any good."

"What do you mean?" Asked Hermione worriedly.

"I mean that this potion will only postpone my death. Unless some new development is made, my condition is going to deteriorate until I die a painful death." Snape replied wearily.

"But the healers didn't say anything about this. How can you know this?" Hermione said indignantly.

"Of course they didn't. Because they didn't know. They didn't even try to find out. They just did what they had done in Arthur Weasley's case and when that didn't heal me completely, they just botched it up. And I know because I have been studying that snake's venom for years."

"But why didn't they do their job?" Asked Harry confused.

"Because I'm a murderer." Snarled Snape. "That's why."

"But you're not!" Exclaimed Hermione.

"Oh, but I am." Whispered Snape forlornly. "Didn't you hear the verdict? In the eyes of the public, I will always be Dumbledore's murderer."

Hearing the hopelessness in his voice, Hermione felt her throat constrict. "Please don't give up." She said thickly. "We will fix this. I promise you personally that I will do everything in my power to save you."

"Why should I believe you?" Snape whispered hoarsely.

"Because we are naïve stupid Gryffindors. And we don't know when to give up." Replied Harry with a grin. "You just take your potion weekly and leave the rest to us."

Snape looked at them quizzically, as if he couldn't understand why they bothered. He stared at them for a long time without saying anything. When they were starting to fidget, he finally rasped "I don't believe that you can change anything,"

Before Hermione could voice her objections, he continued "But I guess living a little more is not going to hurt. Well, not more than now at least."

Hermione smiled tentatively and moved forward to hand him the potion. Snape didn't acknowledge her smile, but accepted the potion and swallowed it in one go.

"Now get out." He wheezed at them with a sneer.

Harry gave a weak laugh, walked to the door and knocked on it. "Goodbye" He said over his shoulder.

"Till the next week." Said Hermione and followed Harry out the door.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Author's Note:

I will be updating this story about one time a week. Sorry but I cannot manage to go any faster. But don't worry. I will finish it. There are about 6 chapters already written and the next half is already defined in my mind; And will be written as soon as possible.