"My Lord, you must understand," she began, "Severus never obtained that wand. Well, he did, but in my part as posing for the Order, I had to defeat him, which means I am the true wand master."
"Taking the fall for him, Cynthia? That's sweet." I watched in horror as the Dark Lord advanced up to her. "But how am I to know you are not deceiving me?"
"Doesn't my Lord have a mastery in Occlemency? Surely you can see that I am not lying," she said in bewilderment.
"Indeed I do," he replied silkily, caressing her cheek. "Therefore…Nagini…dinner."
"No!" I shouted, but it was too late.
The giant snake was at her neck in a flash, its fangs sinking deeper and deeper. Cynthia's expression changed from that of bewilderment to pain very quickly. Blood poured from the wound as Nagini rolled off of her and she fell to her knees. As she began to try and staunch the wound, I ran forward to assist, kneeling and slipping my fingers over hers.
"I regret it," the Dark Lord said coldly, turning and leaving the shack.
Blood streamed down form the puncture and steadily began to form a puddle. The life in those beautiful violet eyes were beginning to fade. Little by little.
"You…stupid girl…" I raged at her when I found my voice. "Why in the bloody hell did you do that for!?"
"H-ha…haha…ha…ven't…heard…you call…me…that in a…while…" she wheezed, a small stream of blood pouring from her mouth.
"Don't talk," I told her, "I'll find a way to stop the poison."
"Th…ere…s no…way you…can…" Cynthia coughed. "B-but…li…sten…Harry…he's here…"
"What? Potter?" I asked, alarmed.
"…yes…yo-you must…you must tell…him every…thing…"
"I-I know…I know…!"
"…a-and…help…him achieve…what Albus…wanted…"
"Help him? I-I don't know…i-if…"
"Y-yes you…can…h-how…else did…you man…age? D-do…it…for Lily…" I looked at her in the eye, trying to work out the mass of swirling feelings inside.
Can I do this? Like I always had for Lily? I asked myself. Then I finally told the girl, "I-I'll try." She smiled at me with a bloody smile.
"Th-thank…you…Severus…for…this…and every…thing…p-please…listen…to me…I…don't have…much…time…th-the…posse…sions…that I…that I…own…do as…you…please…with-with them…a-and…pass…this message…to…everyone…that…that I…be…came…a…Death…Eater…for…them…that…I…lo…ve…the…m…and…you…all…"
As she said those words, the light from her eyes faded completely. Her hand slipped from mine and fell to the floor with a soft thud, rising dust into the air. I stared at her, half-hoping Cynthia was just playing another one of her tricks. That she would suddenly smile and say, "Fooled ya!" But I already knew. How many times have I seen the light go out in other people's eyes? There was no mistaking it. No matter how strong and resilient this girl was, she was gone. Never to see the end of this mad war. Never to see the light of the new generation. I drew a shuddering breath and, as I'm trying to hold my tears in, I laid her out on the dusty floor in a more comfortable position. I closed her eyes and kissed her on the forehead. Then there was a sudden sound of soft footsteps. Potter circled around me and sat on the opposite side of the body, taking in the bloody sight. After a small silence, he spoke.
"What do you need to tell me?"
"What you really need to do," I replied quietly. "Stay silent until I have finished."
"C-can we at least bury Cynthia before that?" Granger asked weakly from behind.
"Yeah, let's do that," Potter assented, getting up.
"You are to stay where you are!" I half-snapped. "The Dark Lord will kill you the instant you are seen and that will be the end of the wizarding world. What you need to know is much more important than to bury a Death Eater, so shut up and listen!"
Potter looked at me critically, but said nothing else and sat down. I heard Granger and who I guessed as Weasley do the same behind me.
This is the way it should be done. I told myself. This is the way she would want me to do things. Cynthia, I promise, this will be over soon. The Dark Lord will be no more. The future you have longed for is here. If only you weren't so foolish as to give up your life for mine. You would have seen that beautiful future. But no, I will not blame you. So thank you. If I had never met you, I would have been in bitter resentment for the rest of my life. I would have died here and I would have never had the chance to start anew. So thank you. You can guarantee that life would be better than it was. I promise it.
A one shot for good old Severus! I love him so much, he's my favorite character next to Sirius. It makes me sad that he and Sirius died…but, uh, I hope this turned out well, because this is the first time I've written a Harry Potter fanfic. Sev was a little OC, I know, so many apologies. It would be very nice if you would review, but if not, ah, well, at least I know someone at least read it! Cheers for that!
Peace
Shikenkino Shio