I remember when he first came to Hogwarts, still afraid and a child. He liked to lurk in the shadows, to not be seen. I think the darkness made him feel protected from a force not there. Not physically, at least. When he came, it was obvious he was not treated as he should, but Albus would not hear of it. From his old, worn out clothes, shabby shoes, fearful eyes, and limp, to the way he flinches whenever someone raises their voice, or the way he always seems so afraid whenever somebody touches him, it can almost not be missed.
He was a child, easily manipulated, easily used. I could tell he was. His mind was corrupted with dark magic by Lucius Malfoy, and his heart corrupted by his own fear. Fear turned into resentment, resentment to hate. However, I could see past the mask he began to wear when he was trying to put on a tough façade, to keep the bullies at bay. Behind them, I could see his fear, his anger, and his hurt. He was badly hurt, as his hopes for happiness here were slashed, by those Marauder fools. I would have expelled them in the beat of a heart, but Albus would not hear of it, either. He insisted that I stay out of it, and favor those who he says would most likely be important in the future. I never understood that, and most likely never will, because how can one child be more valuable than the next child?
I remember after his encounter with Remus, he had kept on insisting that Sirius should be expelled for what he did, and the way Albus had simply told him no had almost broken my heart. He looked like he wanted to cry, break down, scream or curse Albus, but his mask came into place, and his emotions were kept at bay. He simply smirked at Albus, with his eyes pained, and walked away. His expression was what made me want to break and run after him. But I hadn't. I didn't possess the bravery Gryffindors are supposed to have.
I knew he wanted to keep on saying how Sirius tried to kill him, he had in the beginning, but then he realized that it was futile. I heard the message in his words: He tried to kill me, but you don't care, and it hurt me to admit that he was right. Albus didn't care about Slytherins, only who he thinks is worthy and powerful enough to be useful to him. Albus is like the Dark Lord, manipulative, cunning and deceitful. He used others to get his way. Just because he works for justice and the name of righteousness, doesn't mean he uses different ways to get what he wants.
I remember when he had finally broken all ties to other people, and became darker, quieter and more mysterious. He would disappear for days, yet Albus would not care. I seemed like I was the only one to care. The thing is, that he did not even know there was anyone there. He never knew that I, Minerva McGonagall had always been watching over him, Severus Snape.