Severus felt a warm liquid running down his cheek. His wounds from Naigini's snakebite were slowly healing and the pain had ceased. Relief washed over him as he presumed he was finally dead. As the warm liquid kept running down his face, he felt what seemed to be feathers on his cheek. As Severus became increasingly conscious, he realized that there were talons wrapped around his shoulder.
Confused, he slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry at first. To his disappointment, he was still in the Shrieking Shack. on his shoulder sat a swan-sized, crimson bird. A Phoenix, likely Dumbledore's. A burst of rage washed over him as he realized Dumbledore must've set this up. Otherwise, Fawkes would've simply flown off into the distance to never return after the battle of Astronomy Tower.
Despite still feeling ill, Snape flashed a look of contempt at Fawkes. "Go away, you silly bird! Let me die!" he shouted. Fawkes cocked his head in confusion but otherwise did not react. "Why did Dumbledore send you to me? Didn't he realize I'd have nothing left to live for once Lily's son was gone?!" Again, Fawkes did not react and continued shedding his healing tears. Severus began sobbing softly in anguish. "I'm helpless, Fawkes! No good to anyone, anymore. I couldn't save my mother and then I couldn't save Lily and now I'm unable to save Harry."
His sobbing grew louder. "How on earth can I deserve your care? I'm not worthy of you, Fawkes! I don't deserve your rescue!" Fawkes hopped off Severus' shoulder. For a moment, Severus thought he had listened, but the Phoenix simply switched shoulders to tend to the other side of his bleeding neck.
Fawkes looked tenderly into Snape's eyes, causing his anger to soften. Snape could not tell if he was grateful or infuriated that he was alive.
"Thank you, " muttered Severus under his breath.
Fawkes then sang a soft, eerie, melody as he flew off through the window and into the distance. Presumably gone for good this time. Snape felt a pang of sadness at being reminded that Dumbledore had passed. Fawkes was the last piece of his only true friend besides Lily.
Snape rose to his feet, dizzy at first, but soon able to walk out as though nothing had happened. He quietly departed the Shrieking Shack. The Dark Lord could never be allowed to realize he survived. Remembering a Disapparation jinx was placed over Hogsmeade, he silently made his way out of the village. Nervously, he looked aroundto make sure no one could've seen him. He then Apparated to a remote part of the Forbidden Forest, far away from where Voldemort would ever go. He'd spent enough time there over the years to know places deep within the forest.
He needed to be away from everything but his thoughts. Part of him wanted to brew a poisonous potion and just end it all, but guilt washed over him after realizing Dumbledore had spared his life even though he was nothing but a useless and vile human being. The past seven years of protecting Harry did little to soothe his lifelong self-hatred as he'd hoped it would. Especially considering the boy was destined to die. Even the very last piece of Lily that he'd so fiercely defended for her would simply die too.
"What was the point?" Snape asked himself. Briefly, Snape considered trying to rescue Harry. Though he knew if he did, that the rest of the world would forever suffer at Voldemort's hand.
Severus didn't even fully know why he retreated into the forest. He could've simply gone tocrawled into his home on Spinner's Eend, after all. But he instead, he sat alone in the Forbidden Fforest. Collapsing to the ground, he drew his knees to his chest and dropped his head between his knees. His cloak rippled through the brisk wind as Severus tried to find comfortfirmly clutched his knees for comfort.
He would continue to sit in this exact position for the next few hours as part of him hoped for some formidable creature to tear him to shreds. Finally, heHe finally heard hoofsteps and his heart began pounding and it felt as though his stomach ahd dropped 200 feet into the ground. As he braced himself for impact, he felt a soft nose breathing warm air through his long greasy hair and heard a soft subtle nicker. Severus was still unresponsive to it and the soft nicker crescendoed to an urgent whinny. Finally, Severus cautiously looked up to find a beautiful silvery-grey mare standing before him.
"What do you want?" The horse began pawing at the ground and gesturing at her back. Severus' eyes narrowed at her and she began squealing loudly and swishing her tail as the whites of her black eyes began showing. "I don't speak horse," sneered Severus. "Leave me alone." But the horse wouldn't go away. After the urgent pawing went ignored, she calmed down and quit. Still, however, it was obvious that she was not going anywhere.
Severus looked back up at her after several minutes, a pleading look on his face. Pleading for what? He did not know. The mare nickered softly in his ear and nuzzled his cheek. He sat there like a complete statue while the horse tried to offer her affection.
Eventually, the equine let out a snort of frustration and began to graze nearby as though hoping the man she found would respond eventually.
Severus just sat there replaying all of his mistakes as a tear rolled down his cheek. The horse took notice and aborted her silent treatment and began trying to nuzzle the man once more. This time he looked up and into the mare's eyes. "Help me," he gasped". He rose to his feet and held her nose to his chest;, the creature did offer some comfort. Though, he was deeply ashamed of needing it's comfort. He was also still deeply ashamed of his emotional outburst with Fawkes.
Severus Snape wasis never like this, he never lets his emotions get the better of him.
"what have I become?" He asked himself. He began to sob into his new friend's mane softly at first but soon it was uncontrollable. The mare patiently wrapped her neck around him as she waiting for him to cry it out. Once Severus had finally run out of tears, he wiped his eyes. "Perhaps I've been strong too long," he whispered." He looked into the horse's eyes once more., "Thank you." He sighed. "What are you doing here? Are you lost?" He noticed a large bruise on her chest and left shoulder. "What happened to you?"
The silver mare lowered herself to the ground and kept her swaying her head between him and her back. "What? You want to take me for a ride? What on earth..." Severus cautiously climbed on the horse's back. Still, he was baffled as to why a horse would insist upon carrying a stranger anywhere. Normally he would've walked away, but he recalled her warmth towards him and he didn't want to continue to be alone. His mount let out a loud whinny that reverberated all around the forest before picking up a walk. "I think I shall call you Echo, at least for now," Severus said.
Echo, ensuring Severus was balanced, began topicked up a trot. Which then transitioned into a canter and finally a full- on gallop. "What on Earth, you silly horse! Slow down!" hollered Severus. Echo has no intention of listening, however. She also seemed to know knoew full well he could keep his balance.
They kept galloping through the woods for quite some time, Echo could run almost tirelessly. How? Severus had no clue. The clouds began to look darker and darker among the night sky. Rain began to drizzle down on them. It was a full on shower in no time and Echo finally began to slow down in what seemed like a clearing. She stood still for a moment and let out a whinny, this time he could hear a response. There were more horses. She began walking towards the other whinnies. Before them stood a large snow white stallion with golden hooves and a unicorn horn. He seemed very nervous, but after a few moments he stood aside and let Echo and Severus through. More unicorns appeared along with other grey equines without a horn. Severus finally realized that Echo was a juvenile unicorn! She actually trusted him! So it would seem the rest of the herd trusted him too. Severus was bewildered at the acceptance these pure creatures granted him. Nor did he know why he was brought to be among them at all.
Echo walked up to a small niche and nuzzled something inside it and a small human cry burst out. Something like the cry of a newborn baby. Severus dismounted to investigate. What he saw was in fact a human baby. A baby girl with big dark eyes and curly dark hair. His heart melted as soon as he laid eyes on her. She was wearing a onesie that read, "die slowly you filthy half-blood.".
Severus was horrified., "Who did this?" He turned to Echo and the young unicorn lowered her head and dropped her ears in sadness. She gestured towards her stomach, Severus looked down and saw deep scratch marks all over her underbelly he had not noticed before. This was in addition to the bruising. 'Death Eaters? A troll? Centaurs? What happened to this mare and where did this baby come from?'* he thought. 'F*furthermore, what do I do?'*
Someone must've abandoned this child for dead and Echo must've rescuedrecused her from some sort of attack. That's why she came looking for him., Even thoughalthough she and her herd had been looking after the baby, it was a human baby and needed a human to care for it. Severus' mind began to spin. '*imI'm not the human for this. I'd make a terrible dad, even as a foster father. I would ruin this child. Perhaps a muggle orphanage...:. No. I couldn't do that to her. But what do I do?' * He stood before the child in a state of shock as the rain drenched his dark cloak. Echo stood patiently at his sidebeside, although nervously swishing her tail and pawing the ground. The other unicorns had fled for cover.
Water began to seep through the thicket that sheltered the baby. Severus reached in, picked her up, and wrapped his cloak around her. The inside was still dry. Satisfied that he'd collected the baby, Echo let out a snort and cantered off to find shelter. Severus followed behind with the baby in his arms. There was a corner of tall trees all reaching out to one another to form a canopy of sorts. They still got wet, but now they only felt a drizzle instead of a downpour.
Severus fell asleep with the baby in his lap and the unicorns looking over them. When he awoke, the sun had barely begunbegan to peek over the horizon. "What am I going to do with you?" asked Severus sleepily. He gazed into the child's black eyes, they reminded him of his own, as As did the black hair. Still, there was no chance he ever fathered a child. Still, this one almost felt like his own. She playfully grabbed at his hair, giggling and cooing. Severus glanced at the onesie reading "filthy half blood." A look of disgust washed over his face. He took out his wand and replaced the wording with "Half Blood Princess." Hesitating, still with his wand raised, he cast another charm. Her onesie now read "My Half Blood Princess."