Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Just copies of the books.

Chapter 2: When His Flame Extinguished
Severus felt satisfied to have reported the prophecy to the Dark Lord. This would ensure his position and the well being of the Dark Lord. He had secured himself a position at Hogwarts as a spy. What could go wrong? Then he thought about the prophecy. It had said something about a child born on the seventh month whose parents thwarted the Dark Lord thrice. He froze in his tracks. His heart sank and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

He realized he had done something he never imagined he could ever do. Severus fell to his knees, shivering as fear took control of his thoughts. The prophecy pointed to none other than the son of James Potter and Lily Evans. Well, Lilly Potter now. They had thwarted the Dark Lord thrice thanks to his invisible helping hand each of those times. That was a well guarded secret. However, last July, the wizard world knew of the birth of Harry James Potter. Stupid James and his love to flash himself everywhere he went and about every achievement in his life. James was the proudest (and most arrogant) when Harry was born.

Lily had contacted Severus about the birth of their newborn son which Severus was grateful and congratulated her. That was their most recent conversation. Contact had become scarce between the two friends. The main reason is James Potter. He resented James for winning and wanted not to speak to James as much as he could. Just talking to him made him angry. The other reason, probably even more important (in the logical sense), was James and Lily Potter were his enemies. He is now a Death Eater and no longer the harmless potions boy of Hogwarts. The mark on his left arm proved it.

Severus stood up and stalked out of the Dark Lords castle. He knew what he had to do. He knew who he had to see. He had to do this, even if he hated it. At least he would not regret it.

First, he went to the Potter's home. It was abandoned. Seems like Albus Dumbledore had an idea of who was being targeted. However, Severus had given the Dark Lord exactly who they were. He had let onto the Dark Lord he hated James Potter. He convinced the Dark Lord this hatred was pure, even though it was not. Sure he resented James, but that was because he was bitter. He also conveniently left out Lily.

Although the Dark Lord may know something, the Dark Lord could not deny the simple truth that Severus hated Muggles. The Dark Lord had seen the memories of what who Tobias Snape is. It seemed that was enough. And so Severus joined the ranks of the Death Eaters. He started at the bottom, like everyone else did. And he climbed. He climbed as high as he could. Now, he was the spy inside of Hogwarts.

The next Severus did was search for Remus, Peter and Sirius; in that particular order. He did not find any of them and an ounce of fear was relieved from him. The Dark Lord knew how to use find people. Friends and family were the first places searched. Most of them would die, and honestly, he did not care if Sirius died. He still hated Sirius for the Shrieking Shack incident.

After covering the basics, Severus searched the usual spots any of the five would normally visit. He had to make sure that the Dark Lord could not get to Lily. Or Harry. As for James, he had better protect them with his life. If not, Severus would be sure to keep his promise of bring James back to life and killing him again.

At the end of the day, Severus was sure he could safely conclude Albus knew what he was doing. He returned to Hogwarts, but not before stopping by the Shrieking Shack first. It was the only place he had not checked. And he did not want to. It brought back bad memories.

When he walked into the shack, he found someone searching through a pile of hidden books. "Hello, Severus," the man greeted, but did not turn. "I figured you would search for us. Minerva had the feeling that someone was following our every step. Lily and I had a feeling it was you. I was just wondering what took you so long to get here."

"Is she safe?"

"Yes."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm searching for something."

"I can see that. Who's protecting Lily?"

"I haven't forgotten the promise, Severus. Shouldn't you be not talking to me?"

"Why? I have something to discuss with you."

"Lily would be sad if he killed you because of this." Severus took a step back in shock. No one knew about his relation to the Dark Lord. Not even Albus. "Lily sensed it when the two of you last met. Don't worry, only the two of us know. Albus is still clueless."

Wait, when did they switch roles? "You should return home, James. If you're not there, she's not safe."

"Albus is with her at the moment. They are the safest they can be at the moment. However, Albus cannot watch over us forever. There will be a time when we will be face to face with You-Know-Who when Albus is not around."

"Then don't tell your friends where you go, James. Take Lily and Harry and run. Run and disappear. I can warn you of any attempts on your life."

"I only wish it were that simple, Severus. That's a surprisingly dumb idea coming from a Slytherin. Then again, I suppose love will do that to you."

Severus stalked forward, grabbed James by the shoulder and turned him around. He started to speak when he saw tears rolling out of his hazel eyes. A chill ran through his entire body. James knew more than he was letting on. Severus let go of James and asked, "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help."

"I'm looking for 'that' spell." Again, Severus was taken back. He should be use to this. After all, he had been friends with this Gryffindor idiot for years now. Severus just nodded in response. He could tell James did not want him to question so he let it go.

After a few hours, they found the book containing a spell they developed together. "You know the dangers of this spell, don't you?" Severus asked as he held the book tightly in his grasp. He had to be sure James knew the risks before handing it over.

"How can I forget?" James responded. Severus handed over the book, but slowly. "Thank you, Severus."

"Take care of them and don't let them die. You remember the promise."

"Yes, I do remember the promise."

As James walked out of the Shrieking Shack, Severus called out, "Good luck! I hope we will meet again, James Potter!"

James waved his hand and answered cheerfully, "So do I, old buddy!"

Months passed after that incident. More deaths of wizards and muggles alike were reported all across England, but he only cared about three names. Severus closed his booklet of teaching notes that evening when he felt the Dark Mark burn. The Dark Lord was on the move. He waited a few minutes before leaving Hogwarts and apparating to the Dark Lord's castle. When he walked in, he saw a familiar face. He immediately knew where the Dark Lord was headed.

When he arrived, he found the house demolished. James lay not far from where he stood. Severus ran over and knelt down beside his friend. James was dead. Then he scanned the area for Lily. He found her buried under some debris. He lifted his wand and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" he was not aware of how much force he put until he saw the block fly off of Lily. "No!" he cried softly as he ran over. "Lily!" he cried as he knelt beside her.

Her emerald green eyes no longer sparkled. Her dark red hair no longer burned. Her usual rosy cheeks were pale. The Dark Lord had taken away the one person he cared for in this world. The Dark Lord had extinguished his flame. Pain, anguish and hatred flowed throughout his body as he cried with the utmost sorrow. Then he realized the Dark Lord was not here. He lifted his head and looked around. No one was around. The Dark Mark was not in the sky. What had happened?

His answer came when he heard a baby's cry. He looked over and found a small baby laying on the ground, crying. There was a lightning shaped scar on its forehead. Severus wondered if it cried in pain or sadness. "I'm sorry, Harry," he whispered to the child. Then the baby looked into him with the same emerald green eyes of Lily. "Forgive me!" Severus sobbed, but his time with Harry was cut short as he heard the sound of Sirius's motorcycle. "Goodbye, Harry. I hope you can forgive me one day." With those words, he apparated away from the ruins.

Severus woke up once more in his chair. Tears steamed down his cheeks. That had been the day he lost his smile, his laugher, and his heart. After that day, he truly became a person of the Slytherin House. That had also been the day he started blaming and hating James Potter. Why couldn't I remember all this before? He asked himself.

Then he thought back on his life after the first death of Voldemort. Severus had become cold and harsh towards his students. He was even harsher towards those from Gryffindor. He realized now that he had been taking his anger out on the students. They never deserved that kind of treatment. Then again, it was one of the reasons why some of them became such great potion brewers.

So not everything he did was as bad as it seemed. Nor was it all that good. Severus then remembered when he heard news that Harry was entering Hogwarts. It filled him with joy. Then pain and the memories of his failure haunted him. He could not bring himself to greet Harry. Nor had he ever visited Harry when he lived with his relatives those ten years. Severus was told how horribly Harry was treated, but every time he wanted to go and help the boy, he was discouraged by his failure.

When he saw Harry the day of the sorting, Severus could do nothing but glare at the boy. He looked so much like James. Harry looked too much like the man Severus blamed for the death of Lily. It pained him to look at Harry, but his emerald green eyes were just as beautiful as his mothers. How he missed Lily.

That night, Severus paced his room for hours thought about changing his ways and accept Harry. But Harry had not known the full truth of what happened all those years ago. Harry did not know it was his fault Lily and James were killed. So he decided to be as cruel as he could to Harry. This would infuse Harry with a deep hatred of Severus. This was what he wanted. He wanted Harry to hate him. He wanted Harry to blame him.

Finally, at the end of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, Severus succeeded in peaking Harry's hatred of him. Harry had found out Severus was the one who told Voldemort of the prophecy. Harry also watched as Severus cast the killing curse on Albus. Severus thought it would make him happy that Harry hated him so, but it did not. It just made him even depressed and miserable.

It was then that Severus knew that all he ever wanted was for Harry to forgive him of his crime against James and Lily. Severus never wanted either to die, but they did because of his mistake. He had asked Harry for his forgiveness once, but Harry had not been more than a year old. Severus wanted, on multiple occasions, tell Harry the full truth, but Dumbledore refused. Harry almost learned it during his Occlumency lessons. However, that year, Sirius died. It was then Dumbledore decided to tell Harry the truth.

But even then, Dumbledore never told Harry the truth about Severus. Severus wished Dumbledore had. Then Harry could take his revenge before he caused Harry even more pain. Now, Severus doubted that Harry will ever have the heart to forgive him.

The front door behind him blasted open and a familiar voice shouted out, "SNAPE!"

Severus smiled and dried his tears. He had been expecting this particular guess. He even was wondering which spell he would use to blow open the door. "It took you long enough to get here, Potter. Have you any idea how long I have been waiting?" he said with his usual cold voice.

That statement surprised Harry. Harry had been searching for Severus every moment he was not searching for the Horcrux. Both of which he had little success, until now. "Well, if you were waiting for me, why didn't you just stay that day instead of running off like a coward?"

Severus thought about countering the last remark about cowardice, but decided he had caused Harry enough pain. He would cause Harry some more, but none that would come from insults. "I still had some unfinished business to take care of. After that, I was here, waiting for you."

Harry stood at the doorway with his wand pointed at Severus. He had no idea how to respond. Snape had waited for him? "Here waiting for me?" he finally asked.

"Yes. I came here right after I killed Dumbledore." Severus stood from his seat and turned to face Harry. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Harry asked softly, confused and angry. "YOU'RE SORRY!" he asked again, this time shouting it out.

"Yes, Harry. I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? Killing my parent? Oh wait, Voldemort killed them, but was it not YOU who told him the prophecy condemning them to DEATH? Or killing Dumbledore? He never stood a chance. You killed him at his weakest state you COWARD!"

"For that I am truly sorry."

"STOP apologizing and give me ONE good reason NOT to kill you where you stand!"

"Why must you be so much like your father, Harry? Rash. Arrogant. Prideful. Brave. And a stupid bloody showoff."

"CRUCIO!" Harry shouted as he stabbed his wand at Severus. Severus did not dodge an inch and took the curse straight without hesitation. He collapsed to the ground and screamed. Pain surged through every part of his body, but it was soon over. "Take your wand, Snape!"

Severus stood up and tossed his wand over to Harry's feet. "Don't bother throwing it back. I won't pick it up. And I won't take back what I said about James."

"Shut up and take your wand!" Harry commanded as he tossed back Severus's wand. "There's nothing left to say between us."

"That's where you're wrong, Harry. There's still much to say and I do not doubt that you will listen. Again, that's your father's side that's talking. I wish you were more like you mother, Lily. She was the most beautiful person in the world. She knew when to step back. When to listen. When to talk or advise. And best of all, she knew when to smile." Severus pushed himself off the ground to stand up. He turned to face Harry once more before continuing, "As for your father, he was all those things, but he was far from stupid. He was a genius, no, prodigy, a good and decent man, a loving and caring husband, and a friend better than anyone in this world. I wish i had not denied him his fatherhood."

Severus could see his words shocked Harry, but it was having the effect he wished for. "Yes, Harry, I was a friend of James. We did not hate each other as much as I or the others led you to believe, but it is true that we did not get along well. Why? It was because of one simple reason. No. Because of one person. Lily Evans. We both loved Lily. No one knew about our secret rivalry for her heart. In the end, your mother chose James, not me."

"That's a lie," Harry scoffed in disbelief, but Severus could hear the doubt in his voice. So, Severus decided to force his memories into Harry. Harry writhed like he was in pain. He tried frantically to break the connection, but he had not practiced Occlumency well enough. Then, he chose the only other option left. He lifted his wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" The spell hit Severus square in the chest and flung him into the bookshelf behind him. The connection was broken, but Severus had given Harry the memories.

"You are probably wondering why I did what I did when I loved Lily and valued my friendship with James. Well, I will tell you. Aside from those two, I had no friends. As a Slytherin, I lusted for power, so I choose the one path that would help me fulfill my aspirations. I sided with Voldemort knowing full well I would be pitted against James and Lily. However, it did not mean I wished them harm. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I wished they could have not involved themselves in this war. But, since they did, I tried to help them at every turn.

"But I made one mistake. I told Voldemort the prophecy. I led Voldemort straight to you. To fix this mistake, I searched for James, but apparently James already knew he would die with Lily to save your life. He had forced me to not interfere because he knew Lily would be sad if I did. They were my best friends, my only friends, and I let them die. I was there in the ruins of your home before Sirius came. For a moment, I thought I could atone for my sins if I raised you. I wanted to raise you as my own son, but the guilt I held for you parents death haunted me. It lingers in my heart to this very day.

"When I heard you were coming to Hogwarts, I was filled with joy. It was the happiest day of my life since the passing of my friends. However, the guilt was there. So, I decided to make you hate me, but not before I passed my knowledge and expertise to you. Again, you proved yourself to be like your father. He was one of the worst potion makers. Lily, on the other hand, had the skill to rival my own. It seems like the only thing you inherited from you mother was her beautiful emerald eyes."

Harry had not realized he was crying and quickly wiped his tears away. He still held his wand up and never took his eyes off of Severus. "And what of Dumbledore?" He tried to hide his confusion, but was doing poorly. "He trusted you with his life and you betrayed him!" Fear and anxiety gripped his body and tied it down. He was shaking uncontrollably. This was not the Severus Snape he knew. The man before him was not composed, emotionless and downright terrifying. The man before him was a weak broken man who had suffered because of his mistakes. This man was not Snape.

"Albus? He was my mentor and my colleague. We never had the chance to become friends; however, he trusted me because he knew that I could love. Love is the only thing that set me apart from the Death Eaters. The two of us disagreed too much on how to tell you the truth. Hagrid must have told you we fought in your sixth year." He could see the surprise in Harry's eyes. He smiled and continued, "Hagrid was never one to keep secrets. He succumbs to pressure far too much for his own good. As for the reason we fought, it because I disagreed to be the hand who executes the beloved headmaster of Hogwarts. I still did not agree when I left his office, but when it was time to choose, I could not let Dumbledore die in the hands of the enemy or that of Draco. He chose me to take his life. That was the way he wished to go. You probably did not see it, since his back was turned, but Dumbledore was smiling when he died. He smiled. He would have laughed if he could. Sure he had regrets, but it seemed Dumbledore was content with dying that day."

Severus looked at Harry and then laughed. Tears still rolled down his cheeks, but Severus was laughing. "You know, I thought this exchange would be more along the lines of you screaming your hatred at me and not listening to a word I say. Instead, it turned out to be me giving a long monologue of the past. Perhaps your eyes are not the only thing you inherited from Lily. Now, Harry James Potter, will you forgive this sorry excuse for a man for his foolish mistakes?"

Harry stared at Severus. He hated Severus, but, at the same time, did not hate him at all. He felt pity for the former Potion master. Harry had stopped wiping his tears and let them fall. Moments passed, and not a word was spoken. The only sound that resonated through the room was the crackling of fire.

"Lily was a flame, like this fire." Severus was staring at the fire as he spoke. "She burned brightly wherever she went. But now that fire has gone. It has left me empty. Perhaps I do not deserve your forgiveness. Perhaps I have fallen too far. However, the decision is yours, Harry." Severus turned back to look Harry in his emerald green eyes. "Don't worry, no one will interfere."

Harry looked up and saw a shadow on the second floor. Maybe he had another battle after this. But the shadow turned away and disappeared into the darkness. He walked over to Severus and picked up Severus's wand. Harry looked at Severus in the eyes once more. Severus had a calm expression across his wrinkly face. His hair dangled loosely as dry streaks of blood held it to his face. His tears were gone and only the look of serenity remained. This was the look of a man who knew he was going to die. And he would die without regret. Then, Harry lifted his wand and spoke the words, "Avada Kedavra."

Harry walked out of the old mansion and met Ron and Hermione's gaze. "Severus Snape is dead," he said as he snapped a wand in half. Suddenly, the mansion burst into flame. It startled Ron and Hermione, but Harry remained calm. He tossed the broken pieces of the wand over his shoulder and into the fire.

Ron and Hermione watched the flame burn larger and hotter. Harry just walked away. Suddenly, he heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. He looked up and saw the person the shadow on the second floor belonged to. "Take it. Severus would want you to have it, even if you killed him."

Harry looked at the person before him. He was far too tired to be surprised at this point. "What is it?" he asked bluntly.

"The locations of the remaining Horcruxes. I do hope you can put it into better use than Severus and I did."

"Thank you, Draco," Harry said as he took the bag. He turned and walked back towards Ron and Hermione so they would not know Draco was here. Draco is a Death Eater.

"Take care," Draco responded. He stared at Harry as Harry walked away with the bag Severus left for Harry. He smiled and wondered if Harry truly had that cold of a heart to kill Severus in cold blood. No, he thought. Harry, like his father, is a good man.