In honour of Severus Snape

It's what's on the inside that counts- Part 2

Chapter 2: ‘Making a Difference’

     “Chocolate frog”, Snape muttered at the gargoyle. The staircase revealed itself as he walked towards the headmaster’s office.

“Come in,” Dumbledore requested in answer to Snape’s knock. Severus pushed open the door, the Resurrection Stone still clutched tightly in his hand.

“Oh, hello Severus,” Dumbledore said brightly, though the tiredness in his voice was unmistakable. “I see you’ve brought back the ring just like I asked.”

Snape nodded and placed the ring on Dumbledore’s desk.

“So have you decided what you want to do yet?”

Although Snape knew exactly what Dumbledore was alluding to, he answered naively. “Do what, Dumbledore?” Dumbledore looked over his half moon spectacles and x-rayed the man with his blue eyes.

“I am not fooled, Severus,” he answered smiling. “You know very well what.”

Snape looked away from Dumbledore, thinking. In honour of Lily’s sacrifice and wishes, Snape wanted- needed to heed her advice and obey Dumbledore, even if that meant tearing his soul apart.

“Fine, Dumbledore. Your plan worked. If the time ever comes, I’ll kill you just as you request,” Snape stated bitterly.

“My plan worked? What plan, Severus?”

Snape sneered, “I am not fooled either Dumbledore. You knew the stone in the ring was the Resurrection Stone.”

Dumbledore looked slightly ashamed at this, but nevertheless nodded, smiling.

“I’m happy to know that my plans still work. Who did you resurrect?”

“I didn’t choose to resurrect anyone because I didn’t know what the ring was. Surely you realised that?”

“So whoever turned up must have been the person or people you would have chosen had you known the true function of the ring.”

Snape nodded.

“So who was it?” Dumbledore asked as he rested his chin on his hands.

“Don’t act stupid, Dumbledore; you knew who would turn up which is why you gave it to me. You knew she’d change my mind- knew that all I needed was her support…”

“So it was Lily?” Dumbledore inquired as if negotiating a business contract.

“Of course it was Lily!” Snape yelled, frustrated that Dumbledore was treating him like an unfeeling machine rather than a human being.

“There’s no need to yell Severus.” Dumbledore said calmly.

But Snape was beside himself. “This is all a game to you, isn’t it Dumbledore? You’ll do whatever you have to to get people to do what you want! I’m like a pawn in your big game and you don’t even care to tell me the rules! The plan! You don’t care what I experienced, how I felt when I saw Lily reawaken from Death. Hell, you even knew that I wouldn’t want to resurrect her which is why you didn’t tell me the ring’s true power; you knew I would not want to bring her into this game of yours. You knew Lily would come to me, but the difficulty was getting me to use the thing in the first place! My naivety regarding the stone allowed your plan to work. It doesn’t matter to you what she said or how she convinced me to follow your orders; all you care about is that she did- she did what you hoped she would! But that’s fine, Albus; I’ll do it, I’ll kill you so that your plan succeeds, but I’m not doing it for you; I’m doing it for her!” Snape had stood up and was shooting daggers out of his black eyes and into the headmaster’s blue ones.