Hey all, thanks for your interest! I'm a long-time Snarry reader, but haven't tried my hand at writing until now. This first chapter is very short, just to get started, but I'm going to try to update fairly often. This story is canon with the exception of the DH epilogue, and I guess technically the end of DH, although I'm trying to write it in a way that it could have been canon without Harry knowing.
No beta, so apologies in advance for any mistakes or confusing parts.
Of course, all characters and Harry Potter world belong to the wonderful JKR, as well as the scenes referenced in this chapter.
Severus Snape had failed. This was the lone thought circling through his head, which was odd considering the circumstances. He should have been looking back on his life, reliving the highs, the lows, the regrets and the moments of triumph. Instead, as he slumped against the wall of the Shrieking Shack, Nagini's venom sluggishly coursing through his veins, he could only focus on the most important task of them all, the final request Dumbledore had made of him a year prior.
The boy must die. He remembered clearly that fateful day in Dumbledore's office when he learned the true role of Harry Potter in this godforsaken war. He remembered the deflated feeling that had overcome him as he realized his protection had all been for naught. And now, he had run out of time to even pass along the vital information to Potter himself.
Shuffling footsteps pulled Severus back to the present, his charcoal eyes sliding open to take in the one person he needed to see, along with his friends. He gestured as well as he could for the boy to take the memories now sliding down his cheek in the form of tears. After everything that had transpired over the past year, somehow Potter managed to be in the right place at the right time, and Severus would be damned if he didn't make sure to finish his task.
The memories safely stored in a tiny flask by Granger, Severus felt himself weakening again. Just this one time. The thought flitted across his mind, and before he even realized what had happened, he heard himself ask, no beg, Potter to look at him. He just had to see those green eyes one more time, already resigned to the fact that he stood no chance of ending up in the same afterlife as Lily Potter.
The emerald irises snapped up to his face, a look of indecision and – could it be? - regret marring their usual shine. His vision began to blur and his eyes closed of their own accord as he sighed deeply and slumped further against the wall, feeling the end come near. He heard the trio retrace their steps and leave the cottage, relieved he would be allowed to meet his end in peace.
As he lay waiting for his inevitable death for what felt like hours, Severus was struck by a flash of inspiration. His Animagus form. Could it save me? Could I even transform? The questions buzzed through his mind in quick succession and he reached for his wand. As he did so, he grinned bitterly, wondering if the fool Dark Lord had yet realized it was the young Malfoy who had owned the Elder Wand, not him.
Pushing aside the irony of his current situation, Severus silently mouthed the incantation to transform, focusing all of his energy on his winged form. Miraculously, he felt the shift within his body as he shrunk down to a foot tall. Almost immediately, he felt a smoldering begin by his feet. It quickly spread up as his entire body was enveloped in flames that licked at his wings. He felt nonexistent momentarily, the strangest feeling he'd ever experienced. It was quickly replaced by a damp chill as he stood up out of the pile of ashes left behind by his previous body, and he spread the naked wings of his newborn phoenix body.