Three; The Only Confidant
The old man sat in his office chair, his mind thumbing through the activities of the week, or of what little he could hold in his head; the pain was almost too much to numb with happiness.
"You haven't done as I have prescribed."
The man with the snow-white beard smiled softly; how youth did not know how age thought!
Severus spotted the smile and scowled. "It's your life you are throwing away, but I thought it was in your best interest to keep your heart beating for as long as strictly possible. Carry on like this, and you won't have any more time to smile. Your pain will be too great for that."
Albus Dumbledore opened his eyes as the internal intensity of the pain dulled to a mere throb under the Potion Master's administration. "How can I take a potion that numbs not only my pain, but every emotion in my body?" he inquired simply, searching the blackened eyes of the only confidant he had. Well, Minerva was rapidly becoming one, but Severus knew more than she did. . . .
Severus snorted as he examined the burnt old hand, pressing it at odd points with his fingers. "You are mad. The pain will drive you madder, if that is even possible considering the circumstances, but you will no longer feel life worth living."
"Precisely, Severus," Albus noted back amicably. "This is why I need you to do something for me."
"This is as far as my knowledge can stretch for this sort of thing," Snape replied, suddenly serious. "If you wish to live longer, speaking in years or decades, another master is in order."
"Do you believe that I need to live longer, Severus?"
Snape frowned at him, his thick eyebrows contracting together and fusing a thick onyx line of doom. Albus smiled internally at the funny brow…
"Well, I assumed that you placed higher value in those around you. No one knows of your failing health apart from me. Is that not selfish of you?"
"Selfish though it may seem, Severus," Albus suddenly snapped his tongue, however lightly, but the burnt of the blow was tangible in the atmosphere, "it is imperative that you remain the sole confidant."
A moment of reverent silence followed, but, "What about Minerva?"
Dumbledore frowned and brought his good hand to wipe what Minerva would call 'nonsense' from his eyes. "So you have noticed," he whispered wistfully, as though in awe of Snape's intelligence.
Severus scoffed. "I would be a fool to miss it, what with the both of you fluttering about like incandescent teenagers."
Albus graced him a happy smile before his mood captured the lingering sobriety and he aged all over again. "Severus, I am an old man. Minerva, though certainly not young by any means deserves better than what I can grant--"
"The inadequacy speech has become lackluster," Severus interrupted impatiently.
Dumbledore smiled again. "So it has. However, there are still some startling similarities between--"
"If she loves you, is that not enough?"
He shook his head, a different tactic tumbling out of his mouth. "I cannot provide her happiness for much longer and I feel--"
"An irritatingly wise old man once told me that one should be far more engrossed in present cares instead of future ones."
"I grow weary of your presence," Albus joked.
"It is about time," Severus sighed in exasperation before glancing at the grandfather clock situated near the cabinet of whirring instruments. He stood to leave, but before he could turn from the desk, a thought seemed to strike him with impressionable force.
"Professor?"
"Yes?"
"If you stop taking that potion, your death will be slow and painful-- possibly more than you realize. I believe it is similar to those muggles undergoing treatments for what they call 'kanzer', but worse. You will start bleeding where you never believed blood existed--"
Dumbledore held up his good hand for silence. "As appreciative as I am of your concern, Severus, you needn't worry about me. I still have a bit of fabric remaining to knit. It is not much, I agree, but it is enough." At the sight of Severus opening his mouth again to speak, Albus then added, "Do not feel burdened by me, Severus; I shall only come to you when I can no longer bear it."
Snape nodded curtly, both out of what Albus perceived as irritation and frustration, but if death did not include sacrifice, to what worth was it?
A/N: Ensure the following post. Review. Oh yes, 'kanzer' equals 'cancer', you see? One more thing; I had to re-update this because Severus's lines were neglected. He didn't have any of his words italicized apart from one, and I really wanted his voice inflections to press upon your minds... -nods wisely like a mystical being- :D