The darkness had fully encaptured Severus' vision now as he felt himself slipping away from the world. His final mission had been completed - Potter had been given all the tools he would need to defeat the Dark Lord. It would now be up to the boy to fulfill the destiny so many had given their lives for. Despite his reservations, Severus knew the boy was capable of the great task before him. The brat had proven to be nothing but resilient in the face of impossible odds.
Lily's eyes were all Severus could focus on in his final breaths. Those emerald orbs held in them a sense of calm that he had all but forgotten in his years of bitter service to his two masters. He hoped she had seen the effort he had taken to protect her child. That it had been enough to grant him some modicum of forgiveness in her heart. He had been a foolish child; Too blindsided by the allure of power and greed to realize that it would cost him the very thing he sought to earn right to. He had learned, but he had been too slow and now in his final moments he could only pray that his metamorphosis had been enough.
'Lily.' He thought before it all slipped away.
The darkness parted and Severus' was surprised to be greeted by a warm, brilliant light. He had never been a religious man, but he had expected his soul would be damned to some dark, eternal doom for his actions. This comfort was not at all what he had come to think of his final resting place.
"Nor do we think it suits you." A voice called out and Severus' struggled to make out the source. From the light he could make out a tall imposing looking figure looming. Was he finally to meet his maker?
"All souls face judgement." The voice spoke again. "Yours is no different, Severus Snape."
The creature stepped forward and Severus' sense of calm shattered. It was a large centaur that seemed to be made of a dark obsidian stone. Its' eyes were set deep into its' skull and the light of the room seemed to pour out from them.
'Judge me, then.' Severus thought and the creature seemed to regard him carefully.
"You have already been judged." It said, "Those who are deemed unworthy are greeted by him."
A large cerberus stepped forward from the mist. It was growling and drooling and all three heads seemed to focus on Severus. He could feel himself shudder from a sudden sense of cold.
"Those who are deemed worthy are greeted by her."
A small white house elf popped into existence then. Her eyes were bright blue and instead of the uncertainty that most house elves held this one seemed to radiate confidence.
'Which one am I?' Severus questioned. All three creatures stood before him and seemed to evaluate him. The silence continued and Severus began to grow impatient. It reminded him of his all too often meetings with Albus. The man's periwinkle eyes always seemed to stare directly into his soul to measure his value to the cause. He missed the foolish old man now. He would have some insight to this ridiculous situation Severus had no doubt. After seemingly an eternity, the centaur spoke again.
"You are neither." It declared and Severus felt his heart drop. If he was neither worthy or unworthy what was to happen to him? The house elf and the cerberus slipped back into the light until they were no longer visible. Was he just damned to stare at this insufferable judge for all of time then?
"You could." It said simply, "However, Severus Snape I believe your destiny is greater than that. Saturn shines favorably on you."
Severus could have pinched his nose in frustration at that moment - if he still had one. Flashbacks to dinners next to the insufferable Trewlany came to mind. She had always been prone to drink too much sherry at the feasts and would mumble to him endlessly about how those born under Saturn had a great responsibility and that he would face difficult times ahead.
"Your seeress was right." The centaur's voice rang clearly, "As a child of Saturn, you must face your past to move forward."
'I've already done that, you bumbling horse. I've faced my past everyday of the past twenty years and I've lived every day to take responsibility for the idiotic decisions I made. I lost everything and protected the very memory of everything I had lost. I gave my life to protect the child of my greatest enemy despite every misstep the intolerable golden boy took.' Severus roared internally in protest. 'Is that not enough to finally earn me some peace?'
"It remains to be seen." The centaur said and began to walk away.
'Wait!' Severus called out, but the creature took no notice. Instead, he was left alone in the silence. Severus felt the sense of peace he had known for a moment slip away entirely and darkness took over once more.