The following may well be deemed as the Last Will and Testament of Professor Severus Snape. If this has found the way into the hands of the Ministry, then I am long since dead and therefore only this written confession can be the saving grace for my family�s name. Let it be clearly known that I, the only son born to Tobias and Eileen Snape, in my arrogant youth, became a follower of the Dark Lord Voldemort. I hope, however, that those reading this message come to understand that my final mission was for the benefit of the Order of Merlin; the Order of the Light.

As I have no heirs, I leave whatever worldly possessions I own to Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. She will know what to do with them. That said, the only thing I have left is to perhaps clear the air about my true intentions for the past twenty years.

There is only one reason, and one alone, that I succumbed to the black folds of Voldemort�s propaganda: hatred. Like the Dark Lord, I too was born a Mudblood, and I too despised my Muggle father to no end. My hatred towards my father�s abuse to myself and my mother spurred me to seek out Dark Magic in order to learn curses that could help a small boy stand up to a grown man. The allure of the Dark Side had taken hold of me long before Voldemort ever came to power, so it is no wonder that I was so easily entranced by His greatness.

For many years I killed in His name, inanely thinking that his promises would be kept and that our work would not be in vain. I, too, believed that the Wizarding World would exterminate all whose blood tainted it, never once considering that I myself�or my �great Lord� �were a part of that tainted bloodline.

It took the murder of James and Lily Potter for the realization of our work to dawn upon me. Before those two murders, I had been killing witches and wizards I had no personal acquaintance with�and though I hated James for his arrogance and childish demeanor, I had never wished him�or Lily�dead.

By this time, it was too late for me, in more ways than one. The Dark Mark had stained my skin long ago and there was nothing that could be done. If I rebelled, I would have been brutally beaten and killed. If I had turned myself over to the Ministry, I would have spent a lifetime at the mercy of the Dementors in Azkaban. As a young Wizard, I feared both consequences; so in a final, cowardly endeavor, I ran.

There was only one place I knew to go. Hogwarts. I knew that Headmaster Dumbledore would help me find someway out of the hell I created for myself; and with his oath to my name, the Ministry cleared me, but my freedom came at a price. Dumbledore retained my service as a spy for the Order. My duel existence went unseen by Voldemort, and I faithfully reported to the Headmaster what I knew. In exchange, Dumbledore granted me a position on his staff teaching Potions, where I have remained for the past 15 years.

Headmaster Dumbledore trusted me with his life, and ironically, he was not wrong to do so. My loyalty to him, and the Order, has never wavered, despite current circumstances which point to the contrary. As I am sure to be dead by the time this is seen, allow me say this: I am not in league with Voldemort. All that I have done, including the murder of Albus Dumbledore, is by the order of the Headmaster himself. I hope that one day, those who knew me will understand the magnitude of my final mission. I have done far too great of damage to expect forgiveness, but is that not why the Headmaster has sent me on this last crusade? I did not expect to return, nor did he. The only thing I hope for is that in my final hour I will face the fate I escaped some 20 years ago with honour; and that my death, though perhaps not heroic�nor mourned�will not be in vain.