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The door flew open and Severus stepped inside. He stopped and took in the chaos. His shoulders stiffened, but none of the others in the room seemed to realise it. They didn’t know his mannerisms like Albus. If they did, they would’ve known he was nervous.
“Snape, we have a problem,” said Amycus who had his wand pointed at Albus. “The boy doesn’t seem to be able to…”
Albus stared at the man in front of him. His dark eyes were empty, almost as empty as Albus felt. He knew what needed to be done tonight. Everyone in the room knew it. Draco with his wand pointed at Albus, Bellatrix with a smile on her lips, and Severus with his empty eyes. Everyone knew.
And all Albus could do was play along as if he didn’t know, as if he hadn’t known this would happen since before the school year started. He had known the second he put that ring on his finger and the curse took its hold.
Tom would be glad when the news reached him; his Death Eaters in the school and Albus Dumbledore dead. He had every possibility ahead. Chances were likely one of his followers would take over his position as headmaster of the school now. Twenty years ago Tom himself would’ve been delighted to take the school off his hands, but he saw himself as too important to associate with a hoard of students.
Sometimes Albus was glad for his megalomania. Having him as headmaster of Hogwarts would be a disaster and a general safety hazard. That was the precise reason he had denied Tom his application for Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. That and that his student had changed since he last saw him. His brown eyes had coloured red and pupils thinned to lines, his skin passing to an unnaturally pale shade.
Unnatural. That was his first thought when Tom stepped inside his office shortly after he became headmaster. Something had changed him, but it wasn’t until this year he would find out what. The boy from the orphanage was gone, he had been for years, since before he killed his family.
Could he have stopped him from falling into a pit of hatred? Maybe he should have taken him from the orphanage. Made sure he could stay at Hogwarts over the summers, prevent him from coming back to a post-Blitz London, begged and pleaded with the former headmaster. However, that wouldn’t have solved the problem with the Chamber of Secrets and they would've had to close the school. Tom wouldn’t benefit from that either.
Should he have supported him more in school? Helped him gain real friends that challenged him? Made sure he wasn’t drawn to the dark arts? Tom was a part of Slytherin and Albus had been Gryffindor’s head of house. He was Horace’s responsibility, but he failed. It was his fault Tom turned out the way he did.
Yet Albus couldn’t place all the blame on his old friend. He himself had ignored so many warning signs—the trophies he took from the other children at the orphanage, his group of Slytherins, and his effort in catching the one who opened the chamber of secrets. Albus ignored it all, and now they all had to live with the consequences.
Pain filled his body every time he thought of all who had offered their life in the fight against his biggest failure. Lily and James. Gideon and Fabian Prewett. Sirius. Harry who had lost his parents. Remus who had lost his best friends. Mrs Weasley who had lost her brothers. Listing everyone would take too long.
Tom didn’t just affect the members of the Order and their next of kin, but the school too. One-fourth of his school was indoctrinated to his cause. One-fourth. How many students had he lost to him over the years? How many students would die for his sake? Two clear examples stood in front of him, two clear examples of his biggest failings as an educator.
Albus didn’t think much of Severus when he first stepped in through the castle doors. His scrawny build and dark hair didn’t stand out in the sea of first-year students. In hindsight, his rivalry with the four Gryffindor boys should’ve worried him, as should him distancing himself from his childhood friend. The climax of his ignorance was the incident by the Whomping Willow. He should’ve realised what problems it would cause when he had James, Sirius, and Severus in his office that night. Even when his official status as a Death Eater became fact he found himself underestimating the harm he’d cause.
It wasn’t until he caught him eavesdropping on his interview with Trelawney that he realised his mistake. Would being harsher on James and Sirius that night have made a difference? Would he and Lily still be friends? Would Lily and James still be alive instead of lying below the surface, cold and dead? Would Harry still have parents?
Severus had at least proven himself as a skilled spy, he got the information Albus asked for and made sure to never be caught. He obeyed his orders even if he didn’t want to. Like this night, for example. Asking this of him might be too much, yet he had his full confidence in him. More of a friend and an ally than a student. This year had taken a strain on them both, but he couldn’t trust anyone else with this task.
Minerva would’ve refused, Remus would’ve tried finding a solution that didn’t exist and Alastor would’ve killed Draco instead of the intended target. In contrast, Severus was as pragmatic as Albus himself. He understood what needed to be done and never hesitated. That was the first reason why he kept him as a professor at Hogwarts—Albus needed him close at hand.
In addition, he cared about his students, despite no one believing it. He may not be as engaged as Pomona or Filius but he always made sure his students were out of harm's way. Physically, that is.
He wouldn’t trust anyone else to deal with Draco Malfoy, to guide him to this exact moment. You would think Albus to be an expert at spotting Tom’s influence, but that’s apparently too much to ask.
He had assumed Tom would only hire death eaters that had graduated, just like he’d done in the first war. But the Battle of the Department of Mysteries changed his mind. At that point, it was already too late and Draco bore his mark on his arm. Another failure. He could only hope Severus still had some influence over him after tonight.
Everything would change tonight. They would head into the final phases of the war, a war that’s been going on for a few decades too many. A war against his biggest failure. A failure Harry needed to handle. Putting the future of the world on a 16-year-old’s shoulders filled his heart with shame. If only he’d done more…
On the other hand, there was no alternative, it needed to be Harry. All he could hope was that he didn’t meet the same fate as Albus, he didn’t deserve it.
But Albus did. He had failed one too many times, caused too much damage and too many deaths—Tom, Severus, Harry, and Draco. He carried the responsibility for them all. He carried the responsibility for every life Tom Riddle took. Perhaps he could’ve changed something in Tom’s childhood, perhaps not. What’s done is done.
Tom had fallen into a pit of hatred, and instead of finding a way out he embraced the darkness. He had gone to extreme measures to get what he wanted, corrupted his soul and split it. There was nothing to be done.
Albus had done his, left his mark on the world. Hogwarts still stood with its robust walls and high ceilings. He had seen a lot, done a lot, and met a lot of interesting people. He couldn’t ask for more. What was the point in living any longer? Best to take the chance when it stood right in front of him. Severus would make sure he went painlessly, without the curse taking him, without his student corrupting his soul.
His last minutes would be spent in one of his favourite rooms in the castle. As a student, the Astronomy tower was the only place he could be alone in, the only place where he didn’t have to pretend that his father’s prison sentence hadn’t affected him, that Aberforth didn’t hate him.
The night view was unbeatable. Stars covered the sky and the grounds spread out in a panorama. Even tonight with the Dark Mark hanging above it the moon peeked out from its hiding place behind the clouds.
Albus looked at Severus and Severus looked back. His dark eyes may have been empty, but they belonged to a man who knew what needed to be done. All he was waiting for was a signal.
“Severus…”
Severus pushed Draco out of the way. The Death Eaters moved aside and let him through.
“Severus… I beg you…”
Albus felt empty and Severus’ dark eyes remained empty as he pointed his wand at Albus’ heart. “Avada Kedavra!”
Green filled his field of vision before everything turned black.