Severus Snape A Soul Undiminished

Chapter 46 - Lilly's Gift

Severus and Albus stepped away while Sirana and her grandfather spoke.
Albus poured Severus a drink.
"Severus," Albus spoke solemnly. "I wish for you to be the one to see the memory if Sirana is able to provide it. I believe it to hold something that you are looking for."
Severus looked at him for a moment. "I will if you wish it of me."
Severus knew why he was hesitant to see what happened that night. It was the night Lily died. He did not want such a vivid reminder of the worst day of his life. He had loved Lily, and even though he loved Sirana as deeply as he could ever love anyone, his love for Lily was not diminished by this.
Sirana said just loud enough for them to hear, "I'm ready."
Severus and Albus returned to her side. Severus held the vial for her as she drew out the memory. He held her hand steady as she deposited it into the vial. He looked into her eyes and squeezed her hand reassuringly before striding to the Pensieve. Severus poured the vial into it, and lowered his
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A Soul Undiminished—Severus Snape
head slowly, feeling the cool liquid on his face. The scene he recognized from Sirana's mind appeared before him now. Sirana's grandfather was running towards the house where Lily and her family were living. Flashes of light were coming from the window. Her grandfather was raising his wand. He was struck by a flash of light and he fell. Sirana dropped down beside him. She heard a scream. She got up to run towards the house. A flash of light hit her. She dropped to her knees. She felt herself dying. She saw a bluish light approach slowly. It was a doe. It walked up to her. She reached out. She saw Lily's face emerge, as if from the doe.
Lily didn't speak, but Sirana saw through Lily's mind's eye. "...Severus was holding her...crying...she knew she was dying... she was at peace that her sacrifice had spared the life of her son... Harry, she will always love you...James, not enough time for them...Severus, friendship lost, but never gone...regret for the past...love...always...she could not leave him to meet his fate alone...she must hold on to perform one last piece of magic...a gift..." The Patronus, which Lily had cast to protect them from Voldemort, was dying too, as a Patronus cannot continue when the one who casts them dies. Lily sent her Patronus to Sirana, her dear friend, who was dying. "Sirana...too soon...Sirana could be for Severus what she could not..." Sirana heard the unspoken request. "A new chance at life...a gift..." Sirana accepted the gift as she fell, dying. The doe lay beside her, and they both vanished into the night.
Severus rose from the Pensieve and fell to his knees,his hands covering his face. He hadn't really cried since he was a child, except for when Lily died, and yet, his body was now wracked
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Lily's Gift
with his sobs. He felt an arm around his shoulder, and another. His mind finally started to clear, and he was able to suppress his sobs, although his tears continued to fall.
Severus removed his hands from his face and placed them on his thighs, as if to hold himself up. He took a deep, ragged breath, then wiped his face with his hand. He moved to stand, and he felt the arms helping him up. They led him to a chair.
"Please, I'm alright. Thank you," he managed to say. He couldn't meet anyone's eyes yet. The images were still so vivid and the emotions so raw.
He felt a glass being placed in his hand and he took a long drink. Finally, he opened his eyes. Sirana was kneeling next to his chair, her hand on his, and Albus was standing on the other side in front of him, his hand on his shoulder.
"Severus," Albus was the first to speak. "Are you alright?"
Severus nodded, handing his glass back to him. He then turned to look at Sirana, taking her face in his hands, letting his mind enter hers. He wanted to share the memory with her before it had the chance to fade. She leaned in and their foreheads touched.
When he finally pulled away, her eyes were filled with tears, and they ran freely down her cheeks.
"It seems as if we have finally solved your mystery, Sirana," Severus said, his voice deep with emotion. He turned to address Albus and Kane, "In her final hour, Lily cast her Patronus, a doe, as defense against the Dark Lord. In one last act of extraordinary
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magic, Lily sent her Patronus to Sirana, who was dying. Lily's Patronus merged with Sirana, not only saving her life, but sending her into another realm, awaiting the proper time for Sirana to reemerge. Sirana was made whole, renewed. I now know from the feelings of...familiarity...that Lily's magic lives on in Sirana as well, as if her Patronus coalesced with Sirana into a singular entity."
"She loved you, Severus," Sirana said through her tears. "She didn't want me to die because of her. She wanted me to be there for you when she couldn't, and you for me. She wanted something more for each of us, and she gave us each a gift." Sirana broke down into sobs, and Severus pulled her to him as they shared their tears and their love for each other.