A messy-haired gentleman with hair as black as the robes he was wearing somberly walked up the aisle of the sanctuary. The gentleman was Harry James Potter, the Boy-who-Lived-to-Defeat-Voldemort. At the front of the sanctuary, he gave the obligatory bow to the alter and tabernacle before walking over to the ambo.

The quiet whispering and shifting of positions ceased upon his arrival at the ambo. Harry laid his notes on the ambo and he cleared his throat. “Thank you for coming today, everyone. We are here today, not only to mourn the loss of Severus Snape, but to commemorate a war hero, and to celebrate his life. I know what you are thinking… ‘Why would we want to celebrate the Greasy Git of the Dungeons?’” At this, the crowd chuckled.

“I do mean celebrate his life. I know he was a tough professor, as do most of you. He could even have been called unfair, biased, and a right bastard at times. However, considering the position he was put in throughout the war, to call him anything but a hero would be wrong. Severus Octavian Snape was a hero. Throughout the First and Second Wars, he served as a spy for the side of the light. He penetrated Lord Voldemort’s Inner Circle and constantly fed the Order of the Phoenix information that kept us one step ahead of the Death Eaters. He also aided me personally in the defeat of Lord Voldemort, thus ending the war once and for all.

“Severus was born in 1960 to Tobias Snape, a drunkard Muggle, and Eileen Prince, a pure-blood witch. He grew up abused by his father and mostly ignored by his mother. He was, however, tutored by his mother in the fine art of Potions, where he learned how to ‘brew fame, bottle glory, and even put a stopper in death’, though how true the last bit was is questionable, considering he died. In 1971, Severus entered Hogwarts, where he was sorted into Slytherin House. Throughout his seven years at Hogwarts, Severus played the part of a true Slytherin by picking fights with Gryffindors, particularly my father, James, and his friends, who were a gang known as the Marauders.  One thing, though, that held him apart from most other Slytherins, was that he was friends with a Muggle-born. My mother, in fact. They remained the best of friends throughout school, even after Severus made the mistake of using the M-word about her. She forgave him that, and I hold no grudge over that, either.

“In his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, Severus was forced to join the Death Eaters by Lucious Malfoy. Upon leaving the lair of Voldemort, Severus went straight to Headmaster Dumbledore and asked asylum and amnesty for receiving the Dark Mark. He wanted out. Dumbledore had other plans for him, though. Severus was asked to remain in the ranks of the Death Eaters and try to work his way up into the Inner Circle. After all, Severus was the youngest Potions Master ever, and the only one in the Death Eaters. He slowly made his way up through the ranks and into the Inner Circle. For the years leading up to the end of the First War, and all through the Second War, Severus played the part of a loyal Death Eater and fed all the information he gleaned from the meetings with Voldemort to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix.

“Most of you here have probably had Severus as your Potions professor. He served as Hogwarts’ Potions Master and Professor from the time he was given asylum by Dumbledore until the 1996-97 school year, when he served as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. During the 1991-92 school year, my first year, Severus helped guard the Philosopher’s Stone from a Voldemort-possessed Quirrenous Quirrel. He also saved me from being cursed off of my broom. In the 1992-93 school year, with assistance from Professor Pomona Sprout, he brewed the Mandrake Restorative Draught, which revived the students that were petrified by Slytherin’s basilisk. In the 1994-95 school year, Severus helped defend the school during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. That year was also the year that Lord Voldemort regained a corporeal body and the Second War began. In the 1995-96 school year, some of you may remember my having ‘remedial potions’ classes, but those were a ruse for Professor Snape teaching me, or attempting to teach me, Occlumency. I couldn’t occlude my mind adequately, and that led to me having visions that drew several students and myself to the Department of Mysteries to save my godfather, who ended up being killed in battle.

“In my sixth year at Hogwarts, upon returning with Dumbledore after retrieving what we thought was a Horcrux, we landed on top of the Astronomy Tower to find a Dark Mark in the air, and a raid by Death Eaters occurring. The battle has been well-publicized, but there is one fact that remains incorrect on the records. Professor Snape did NOT kill Dumbledore in cold blood when Draco Malfoy could not. Severus was bound by two Unbreakable Vows, one from Narcissa Malfoy to complete Draco’s mission if he could not, and one from Albus Dumbledore himself to kill him before the curse that withered his hand caused him to die in agony. To not kill Dumbledore would have meant death by the Vows after they forced him to kill Dumbledore. He did the honourable thing by honouring Dumbledore’s last wish. In what would have been my seventh year, this last year, he helped end this war.

“There are many things I will always remember about Severus Snape. I’ll remember how he always liked breathing down the necks of Gryffindors during Potions class. I remember how irritated he got in my second year, when Hermione, Ron and I took some Boomslang Skin to brew Polyjuice Potion. I remember he was irritated that he couldn’t find out how I got gillyweed for the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Even though he hated the fact that I am James Potter’s son, he always did his best to protect me, because he realized and honoured the fact that I am Lily Evans’ son as well.

“Severus Snape, I thank you for all your hard work and dedication in this war. Thank you for giving up your life to help end this war. I hope to see you in the afterlife,” Harry concluded. He walked away from the ambo, genuflected in front of the alter, and walked over to the seat reserved for him.

The priest came and performed the religious aspect of the Requiem Mass, and the body was transferred to the Knight Hearse, which took it to the newly dedicated Wizarding War Heroes Cemetery, where Severus was interred.

Gradually, the mourners dispersed and all went home for the day, before getting ready to attend the following day’s funeral.