The Last Redemption
The pain.
It rammed into his tired brain, pounding it like a living thing, sending needles through his body. He would writhe in agony if he had enough strength to do more than try in vain to staunch the horrible wound, to dull the pain and terror.
And now guilt was burning through the agony. Lily. Snape had done all he could, but he would never be able to help her. He had failed her again. There was no hope, she would never be avenged. At that moment, the fate of the world was in Snape's hands, and he was dying on the floor of the Shrieking Shack.
Snape wished the pain would come back to white out the exquisite anguish that was remorse. If only he could see the boy, Potter, he could make an effort, but what could he do? Snape knew he had moments left before the last hope of ever being a good person died… along with Snape himself.
A hazy shape moved in Snape's filmed eyes. A flash of green- it was Potter. Was it? Could he be hallucinating? Snape wanted to apologize, to say that he was sorry, he was a good person, he had tried his best, but he had almost no breath in his body.
"Take…it…take…it…" Snapes voice sounded like sandpaper against rock. He could not force more sound out of his snapped neck, but he gathered his will power and sent something else towards Potter.
Memories.
Snape would have closed his eyes had he not been afraid they would never open again. This was excruciating, thinking of Lily when he had failed her again. But perhaps this was the only way to make it up to her…
So Snape fought the agony threatening to overwhelm him and made the last effort of his life. He pulled the memories out of his tortured mind, siphoning them out of his head. When he had pushed it all out of his mind, he was ready to die. He had done everything he could, and the pain and guilt were too horrible to bear. Snape grabbed the Potter boy by the shirt, barely aware of the presence of Weasley and Granger.
"Look…at…me…"
It was almost possible to believe he was looking at Lily, not Potter. He thought he saw concern in those bright green eyes.
"Lily," he tried to say. Perhaps he achieved it. Maybe he didn't. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore.
"Lily," he tried again. And then Snape was gone.