Avada Kedavra!
Two words and I became a killer.
I watched Dumbledore's eyes, those brilliant blue eyes that used to be so piercing, turn blank. His body landed on the ground with a dull thump. The end of a great wizard and a great man, the end of over a century's worth of knowledge and wisdom, was so insignificant.
I could feel Potter's shocked stare boring into my back. He might have despised me, but he had, unwilling, trusted me. Now he thought me a traitor.
I could feel Draco's fear. It was one thing to imagine killing and another to do the deed. I was glad that I saved at least him from experiencing that.
I could hear Bellatrix's wild, cackling laugh. How sick, how disgusting, to revel in deaths.
I thought myself numb to deaths; I had seen many die, even Lily, the one and only one I loved. Yet I struggled to calm my heart and mind. My face was smooth, bored even, but my stomach clenched and churned. Thank goodness Bellatrix was so wild with joy that she could not hear the ever so slight tremor in my voice.
I can imagine what the Hogwarts teachers and students, indeed the whole of the wizarding world, will say: Severus Snape, the traitor. Severus Snape, the one Dumbledore trusted, who stopped not at betrayal but murder. They would not know the truth. They would not know that it was Dumbledore's command. Perhaps they will never know. I chuckled darkly to myself. Who could guess that the heartless, cold Severus Snape would be so concerned about the judgement of others?
For all his wisdom, Dumbledore dictated the happily ever after of the world, but neglected to include me. Even if I survived the fall of the Dark Lord, I will be still be besmirched with the stain of killing. I would still be trapped in the dark side, for who would believe that it was on Dumbledore's orders that I killed him?
Still, in the end, it matters not. It is fate I deserve. I could not save Lily, but I would accept anything if I could only save Lily's son. I would willingly be the unsung hero.