Author's note:
The end of year 6 is here, which means there's only one more year left!😢 You may or may not want a tissue nearby🤧 I hope you enjoy!
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Word count: 2.5k
Warning: Death, fire and suicidal thoughts

Severus paces around in his private chambers, thinking so hard he's getting a headache from it.

Today is the day he has dreaded the most - today is the day he has to kill Albus Dumbledore.

In a moment, Death Eaters will show up at Hogwarts thanks to Draco's cabinet that allows people to show up from one place to another. They will be able to show up undetected at Hogwarts.

Sighing deeply, Severus slowly walks towards the Astronomy Tower. Just as he arrives, he notices someone hiding - Potter.

The Boy Who Lived is here. He isn't supposed to be here! Great, now everyone will know what Severus is about to do...

He will be the most hated man in history.

When the boy finally notices the Head of Slytherin, he widens his eyes. Severus puts a finger to his lips, signalling the boy to stay quiet.

He's going to hate Severus even more than he already does...

"Go on, Draco... NOW!!" Bellatrix yells, urging Draco to kill the Headmaster.

"No" Severus says, stepping towards the Death Eaters.

Draco widens his tear-filled eyes.

Severus slowly steps closer, desperately thinking of how to avoid this. However, there is no other way. He has to do this.

"Severus..." Albus says, gaining his attention.

Severus tries his best not to show any emotions. He tries his best not to cry.

"Please" Albus pleads after a moment of silence.

To everyone else in the room, it sounds like the Headmaster is begging the professor not to kill him.

However, Severus knows the true meaning behind the word - mercy kill. The man is dying anyway from the curse.

"Avada Kedavra" Severus manages to say with a cracking voice, throwing the killing curse at the Headmaster.

The curse hits Albus in his chest, making the limp man fall out the window, down the Astronomy Tower.

Severus' brain slowly registers what just happened. He killed someone. And not just anyone - he killed Albus.

He begs Merlin that nobody notices his facial expression. Draco looks just as sad as Severus is feeling.

Bellatrix suddenly grabs Draco by the shoulder, motioning for everyone to leave. Before they do so, she casts the Dark Mark symbol in the air.

They all run out the Astronomy Tower. Severus, Draco, Bellatrix and the rest of the Death Eaters stroll through the halls.

When they enter the Great Hall, Bellatrix is having too much fun breaking glass and destroying everything. She breaks the entire window by the staff table, creating a sound of explosion.

As they leave outside, walking through the Forbidden Forest towards Rubeus' hut, Bellatrix is definitely not hiding her excitement - she's laughing like a maniac, almost dancing. She has clearly been waiting to do this.

"Snape!" somebody suddenly yells.

Severus immediately spins on his heels. Potter. He must have followed them.

"He trusted you!" the boy yells, not hiding his anger.

Just then, Bellatrix sets Rubeus' hut on fire, laughing like a psychopath.

Severus sighs in frustration, feeling incredibly stressed. When is this nightmare going to end? If only it truly was a nightmare and not reality...

As the hut is on fire, burning down, Bellatrix jumps up and down in excitement. That blasted woman is having way too much fun...

Severus notices that Rubeus got out, his dog in his arms. Thank Merlin for that.

"Go on!" Severus tells Draco, signalling him to run. The boy immediately does so, looking scared.

Severus then faces Potter just as the boy throws a hex at him. He immediately dodges it.

"Fight back, you coward! Fight back!" Potter yells, looking extremely angry.

Bellatrix approaches them, her wand pointing at the boy as she fires a hex at him so he falls onto the ground. Potter groans in pain.

As she's about to hex him again, Severus stops her.

"No! He belongs to the Dark Lord!" Severus reminds her, stopping her from harming him.

Bellatrix looks at him, her excitement immediately gone. Huffing, she leaves to set something on fire.

Severus looks at Potter before turning his back to him, leaving. However, the boy gets up and fires another spell at him.

"Sectumsempra!" he exclaims.

Severus immediately dodges it before making Potter fall back onto the ground with a wave of his hand. As the boy is on the ground while panting heavily, Severus slowly approaches him.

"You dare use my own spells against me, Potter?" Severus questions, raising an eyebrow.

Potter widens his eyes at that, confusion written on his face.

"Yes... I'm the Half-Blood Prince" Severus reveals.

He uses that title as he knows that Potter has had one of his old Potions books in his possession. He then leaves the boy on the ground.

As everyone at Hogwarts is gathered around the dead Headmaster, Severus strolls towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. He figured he should probably gather his items as he won't be welcome here anymore...

He barely enters before sitting down on his chair, burying his face in his hands. He killed Albus. It's his fault that the Headmaster is currently on the cold ground, completely limp. It's all his fault...

Trying not to let his tears fall, he looks around in the classroom. This will be the last time he will be here.

He won't ever teach again, won't ever sit in the Great Hall listening to his colleagues' gossip...

He won't ever see Y/N again. If he does, he knows she won't talk to him. She probably won't even look at him.

Everybody hates him, but he's sure that she hates him the most.

He takes a few steady breaths, trying not to panic. Being a spy was extremely exhausting and stressful, but this... This is worse.

He has never felt so tired, so stressed out, so hated, so scared and so alone in his entire life.

He has truly no idea what to do now that Albus is dead. Nobody knows of their plan - their idiotic plan. Even if he told someone, they wouldn't believe him.

Nobody would.

How in Merlin's name could Albus ask Severus to kill him?! Did he truly not think of the consequences for him?!

Severus wishes deeply for the ground to swallow him whole... He's so angry! Angry with Albus! But most of all - angry with himself!

And something he would never admit to anyone, not even himself - he's scared, he's really scared.

If only he could just die right now.

His state of self-pity and self-hatred is interrupted as he feels a hand on his shoulder.

He slightly jumps in his seat, waiting for the person to yell at him, to attack him. Perhaps he can beg them to kill him.

However, the emotion he's feeling right now is... confusion. The hand feels rather comforting.

Severus doesn't dare to turn around. He's sure that he's just hallucinating right now. If there truly was a person behind him right now, they would obviously avenge Albus Dumbledore's death.

"Severus?" the voice gently asks.

Wait a minute, gently? That can't be right. And that voice...

Taking a great risk, Severus slowly turns around. He's looking into his favourite student's eyes.

"Y/N?" he whispers, not believing his own eyes.

Is this real? It can't be. Doesn't she know what he did? Maybe she doesn't know. Dear Merlin, he can't tell her...

"Severus, it's okay. It's all going to be okay, I promise" Y/N says, giving him a reassuring smile.

Severus feels a few tears leaving his eyes. Why must his eyes betray him?

"Don't you know what I just did?" he whispers, voice cracking.

Giving him a sympathetic look, Y/N slowly nods. "I know, I heard it. Everybody knows" she tells him.

Severus blinks the tears away, looking confused.

"If you know, then... Why aren't you yelling at me? Telling me how much you hate me?" he questions, looking uncertain.

"I know you wouldn't kill anyone by your own free will... I know there must be a logical explanation to this. Besides, I could never hate you" she says.

She then retrieves something from her pocket - it's the green handkerchief he gave her in her third year with his initials on.

Severus looks surprised as she gently wipes away his tears with the handkerchief.

"You... You still have that?" he whispers, looking shocked.

Y/N nods, smiling at him. "Of course. I told you I would keep it close" she shyly says, her cheeks turning a bit red.

Severus can't take it anymore. Her kindness is too much for him.

He falls down to his knees. He's doing something he thought he would never do - he breaks down into tears in front of another person.

He's sobbing loudly as he unconsciously hugs her, accidentally taking her down to the floor with him.

Once he finally realises what he's doing, he's too exhausted and too depressed to pull away - he desperately needs a hug right now.

At this point, he doesn't even care if his actions disgust her - he's too stressed out to think straight.

Crying as well, Y/N hugs him tightly, shushing him.

He cherishes the hug. He always feels respected and appreciated in her presence. Her hugs are the only ones he could ever wish for.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" he says over and over, not even sure anymore what he's apologising for. That makes her hug him tighter.

"You have nothing to apologise for, Severus. Like I said, I know there is a logical explanation to this" she tells him, stopping hugging him as she wipes away his fresh tears with the handkerchief once more.

Severus takes a few deep breaths, sighing. He has to tell her. He has to tell someone.

Taking another deep breath, Severus looks into Y/N's eyes. He sees nothing but concern and understanding.

"Before I show you something... Do know that everything I did was a part of Headmaster Dumbledore's plan" he says before bringing a shaky hand towards his left arm, pulling up the sleeve.

He shows her the Dark Mark.

"Dumbledore asked me to kill him. He was cursed when he destroyed a Horcrux - the Dark Lord's Horcrux. I have been a spy for him, telling him about the Dark Lord's plan. There's something else you need to know... Draco and his family are Death Eaters as well. The real reason behind your arranged marriage... is the Dark Lord's doing. He made your parents agree to it in order to punish them. They only agreed so he wouldn't harm you... It punished you two as well. And Draco... He was forced to take his mark. He was given the mission to kill Dumbledore - I made an Unbreakable Vow to do it for him, protecting him" he confesses, shaking as he explains.

He dares to look into her eyes - she looks sad and scared. She however doesn't look betrayed nor angry.

"And your father-" he says, trying to calm down his breathing.

However, Y/N stops him.

"Is a Death Eater as well. I know" she suddenly says.

Severus blinks a few times, looking dumbfounded. What did she just say?

"How?" he merely asks, no idea what else to say. How in Merlin's name does she know?

Y/N sighs, looking sad.

"Since the summer, the day after we agreed to meet in the Leaky Cauldron. My father came home late, sounding angry and scared. He kept talking to himself about 'the Dark Lord'. I was supposed to be asleep, but I wasn't. I made sure he didn't see me. When he went to grab a bottle of firewhiskey, his sleeve was rolled up, revealing his Dark Mark. As realisation hit me, I got up to my room. I cried that night. I really wanted to tell someone, but I was afraid of what would happen - maybe people would think I was a Death Eater, too" she says, her lips trembling.

Severus shushes her, having calmed down himself a bit. "I guess we have both hidden secrets from each other, huh?" he says, chuckling. It's however a sad chuckle.

Y/N nods. "You have no idea" she mutters, so quietly that Severus almost doesn't hear her.

Raising an eyebrow, he chooses to ignore it. For now.

"There's something else" he suddenly says. Y/N looks at him, preparing herself.

"Your mother... The Dark Lord killed her, it wasn't an accident. Your father wanted to leave him because he was going to kill a child - Harry Potter. He punished him by killing your mother" he confesses.

Tears fall down Y/N's cheeks. Severus immediately wipes them away with his thumb.

"Thank you for telling me. For telling me everything" she whispers, resting her head on his shoulder. Severus gently rubs her back.

He then pulls her back by her shoulders, looking into her eyes.

"I must leave now. The future is uncertain, however, I will promise you one thing - I will never let anything happen to you. All these years, you have shown me something I never expected from anyone - kindness, respect, appreciation. I truly thank you for that. You have made my days here more than tolerable - you have made them enjoyable. Our friendship means a great deal to me" he admits.

Y/N smiles at that, sniffling.

"Our friendship means a great deal to me as well. Hogwarts has been amazing - because of you. Thank you for that, Severus. And I promise not to tell anyone about anything you told me tonight. If you see Draco, please tell him I'm here for him. I'm here for both of you. I can only imagine how scared he must be. Both of you have my support, and you both always will" she tells him, grabbing his hand as she squeezes it.

Severus hugs her tightly, a strangled sob leaving his lips.

He has no idea what makes him do it - but he finds himself kissing her forehead.

As he lets go of her, the girl is blushing more than he has ever seen her do before. He tells himself it's from crying so much - he really doesn't want her to be disgusted with him right now.

He has no idea why he kissed her forehead... It's like his body had a mind of its own.

He clears his throat. "I will leave now... Hopefully, we will see each other again. And don't worry, I will let Draco know that you are worried about him" he tells her. Y/N gives him a sad smile.

As he's about to leave, he notices that she seems to want to tell him something.

"Is there something you wish to tell me?" he asks, looking curious.

Y/N opens her mouth before closing it again. She then clears her throat. "Please be careful" she pleads.

Severus nods. "Don't worry, I will" he assures her.

He strolls out of the classroom without looking back. He's afraid that he will stay if he does.

As he's outside the grounds of Hogwarts, he takes one last look at the castle before disapparating.

He truly has no idea how all of this will end.