A/N: Thanks for the nice reviews! This will mostly contain verbal abuse, just as an FYI.
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"I refuse," Snape said, quietly.
He and Dumbledore that Draco Malfoy wouldn't be able to murder the headmaster. Neither of them wanted that on his record, so Snape knew his time to follow his instructions was coming. He hung his head as he stood in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore stood by his desk and shook his head.
"You must be the one to kill me, Severus," he said.
"I cannot."
"You agreed to do so, Severus. All those years ago when you changed your allegiance."
Snape lowered his eyes at that. His hands gripped his cloak tightly as he felt his stomach turn. Dumbledore had made him do things that he normally wouldn't. He had gotten his hands dirty for him in many ways.
"I'm very well aware of the choice I made, master. But, this is beyond anything I am capable of doing."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "You are capable of many things, Severus. You're more powerful than you give yourself credit for. Don't be a coward and do this final task for me."
Snape gritted his teeth at that. "I am not afraid-"
"You are afraid!"
Dumbledore approached Snape with a quiet voice. "I know you are afraid, Severus. The Dark Lord haunts your mind. You fear he will discover your true allegiance to me and punish you as such."
Truly, Snape feared this. The old headmaster spoke truthfully. However, he was not completely terrified as the headmaster made him out to be. He feared failure more than anything. He feared failing to protect Harry Potter.
"I will not. I cannot fulfill the task you have given me," Snape said, firmly.
"You made the Unbreakable Vow, Severus. You cannot back down or you will have the consequence of death-"
"I will take it!"
Dumbledore scolded him. "Do not raise your voice! Listen when you're being told something, boy!"
Snape kept quiet for a moment. Dumbledore pointed an old finger at him as a warning. "You will fulfill the task given to you. It is the only way the Dark Lord will trust you completely."
Suddenly, he raised his hand and Snape felt him literally enter his mind. He shut his eyes and tried to remember his training of keeping him out. His head ached with a sharp pain as Dumbledore entered his thoughts, bringing up images. Images he had hoped to forget. Lily Potter's dead body, Voldemort's cold and emotionless face when he killed her, James Potter's obnoxious laughing and jokes. Snape twitched and put a hand to his head as he fought against the headmaster.
"Stop it!"
"You cannot afford to fail, Severus. Think of her. Her eyes...how you desired her.."
"It was never like that...you know nothing!"
Dumbledore began searching into his darkest memories. Ones that showed his father drunk and shaking an angry fist in the air. The screams of his mother and the smashing of glass bottles. His father raising a hand and striking him in the face. Snape felt a real strike as he stumbled backwards. He had managed to get the headmaster out of his mind.
"You're growing weaker. You were always weak when you were afraid, Severus," Dumbledore said, disappointed.
Snape slowly got to his feet as Dumbledore put a hand on his chest. Snape felt his chest tense as the headmaster traced the buttons on his cloak. His hand slowly made its way to his face and stroked his cheek.
"Can you not be strong? Not even for me, Severus?"
Snape slowly backed away form his touch and breathed heavily. "Never. I do not do any of this for you."
Dumbledore pointed a finger at him. "That's the Severus I remember! Remember your lust for Lily Potter and you will-"
Something snapped inside Snape at the word 'lust'. "You know nothing of it! You bloody fool! You have no right to speak of her again!"
He expected the headmaster to strike at him like he usually did when Severus spoke out of turn. But, he only smiled wide, like a father who watched his son tie his shoes for the first time. Proud.
"That's the anger and strength you will need to get through this, Severus. Keep it that way."
Snape clenched his fists and scoffed. "Have you ever considered that you ask too much? Has it ever crossed your brilliant mind that I don't want to do this anymore?"
Dumbledore gave a small sigh at that. He shook his head as if what he heard was merely noise. "Whether it has or it hasn't is irrelevant. I will not negotiate with you, Severus. You agreed. There's nothing more to discuss."
With a scoff, Snape turned and stormed out of the office.
