Author's Note: thank you Aalyrial for you fantastic support! Of course I will always be mentioning you in shout outs, you are my number one fan and reviewer. Your support and feedback means a lot to me. Even if I don't get a lot of reviews for this story, the fact that I have a least one loyal reviewer makes me keep writing! :D And that's why there's so many updates!

Disclaimer: At this point I am rather sick of typing this seeing as we all know I don't own anything Harry Potter related. All I own is my characters and my plot. Anything Harry Potter related is property of J. K. Rowling

Song of the chapter: The Poison by the All American Rejects from the Alice In Wonderland soundtrack

Lia sat in Dumbledore's office weary and sweating. For what felt like an eternity she had her memories looked at, inspected under scrutiny and she couldn't rid herself of the feeling of being violated. Panting, she sipped at the cold water that Dumbledore had conjured up in a goblet for her. "Would you like to rest?" he asked her. "N-n-no. He-he wouldn't...rest if he were doing this" Lia muttered in between breaths. It had become an unspoken rule to never mention Tom Riddle by name. Dumbledore smiled sadly at her.

He had seen her in his arms, being comforted and cared for. He had lulled her into a false sense of security while silently ripping everything that kept her grounded. His presence poisoned her and she knew deep in her heart that she would never truly escape him. Dumbledore had seen the moments of humanity in him, the moments that flickered and then were snuffed out. Something about the girl before him made Dumbledore question just how far her feelings for him went.

But he didn't need to ask. He saw the image of her writing something down on parchment after witnessing something so horrible, she dared not speak of it. But Dumbledore had seen it, he had seen him split his soul. He saw the poem she wrote on the parchment, something to clear her head. But Dumbledore knew it held a deeper meaning. A soft melody had played in her head as she wrote the poem, she hummed it lightly and Dumbledore tried not to smile.

And you fall down a hole

That's the one place we both know

You take me with you if you could

But I wouldn't go

I guess that sometimes we both lose our minds

Find a better road

I can be pensive

You can be so sure

You'll be the poison

You'll be the cure

I'm alone on the journey

I'm alive none-the-less

And when you do your very worst

It feels the best

He never loved her, he could not feel love. A person who was conceived under the influence of a Love Potion would never feel that particular emotion. Not that they chose not to, but because they couldn't. It was as if a light switch was turned off forever. And Dumbledore pitied the boy. But as he witnessed Lia's memories, her nightmares, he saw that maybe the boy showed things in a different fashion. He could never love her, not properly, but he tried to. Dumbledore witnessed him struggle with an unseen force, an inner struggle that shed light on his actions.

Dumbledore always was suspicious of him. But he never felt the need to keep an eye on him whenever she was with him. If there was a monster it was carefully hidden...as if he did not wish for her to see it. As Lia pulled herself up from the floor, a determined fire burned in her eyes. "Again" she said. "I do believe you've done enough tonight Ms. Liddell" said Dumbledore. "No Professor. I want to do it again...I need to" she said standing straight. "I want to try again" Lia said. Dumbledore only nodded and in an instant he was back in her mind. This time a soft voice of velvet met his ears.

"Can't you see the faces melting as the sun rains for their eyes" cooed the voice as it enveloped him. "Go on and keep your head with the hearts that you left behind. Look at yourself, look in the mirror, don't you see a lie? That you tell yourself again a thousand times. And the truth that makes us laugh will make you cry, you wanna die? No?" the voice said before vanishing.

Dumbledore stared at her. "Auxiliadora, I think tonight is over. Please go rest. You need it" commanded Dumbledore. "Yes sir" she said in a defeated tone. Collecting her items and the parchment that told all Prefects and Professors that she was returning from detention and should be excused for being out past curfew. "Auxiliadora, one more thing before you leave" said Dumbledore as he sat down. Lia glanced at him over her shoulder, a pained look in her eyes.

"You have many demons you must face. But none are as deadly as he is. Are you sure, that should the time come for you to meet him face to face again, that you can cast aside all feelings?" asked Dumbledore. Lia sighed and shook her head. "We never forget our first loves Professor. And I know he's evil, I know he's done bad things and will continue to do bad things. Part of me wants to run away, wants to fight him but the other part of me wants to be by his side. Even though he'll never love me, I want to be there" she said sadly. "And what frightens me is I do not know what part of me is strongest" said Lia.

"Your poem" Dumbledore mentioned and Lia felt her heart drop. "The part of you that wants to stand by his side is strongest Ms. Liddell. Should the time come, I fear you may not be able to resist him" said Dumbledore, mentioning his fears for the first time that night. Lia held onto the door frame to brace herself as his words sank in. He was right and it pained her to admit it. "Good night Auxiliadora. Tomorrow will be a brighter day" said Dumbledore as she practically ran out of his office.

It wasn't until she made it to the sanctuary of the Slytherin common room did she break down into tears. She cried until the pain became numb and when she lifted her head, she saw that her sketchbook was on the table. Ever since that disastrous day in her fifth year, her sketchbook was filled with images of him. Memories, nightmares, they were both well documented in her sketchbook. An assortment of flowers held deeper meaning her artwork and she felt her world fall down around her.

"Lia?" came the monotone voice of Severus Snape as he stepped from the shadows and observed her. "Oh...hey Severus" she said sadly. He rose an eyebrow and sat down. It was uncomfortable at first but she still appreciated his effort. Something inside told her that he was only doing this for Lily's sake. But she took the company she was given. "Is there something bothering you?" Severus asked a tad bit harshly. "Demons" she muttered. He looked at her oddly. "This room is filled with memories I'd rather not relive. There was a boy I used to know. He was so infatuated with the Dark Arts and making a name for himself that he distanced himself from the world. He liked it that way. But the world also turned its back on him as well. He was unusual, different. A dark cloud hung over him and it scared everyone away" she said.

Severus inwardly groaned. He had only asked her if she was alright, not for her to tell him exactly what was wrong. She had better been grateful that he was doing this, he knew that if Lily had found out he did nothing to comfort their newly acquired friend that she'd tear him a new one. "There was something off about him, ominous even. He was a perfect student, almost too perfect. But when something bad happened to others, a dark gleam would light up in his eyes and the coldest smirk would form on his face. I fell in love with him, he was poison and I knew it but I couldn't turn my back. He...ended up being there for me when my family died. But in the end...I was just a puppet to him" Lia said as the tears fell from her eyes.

And he felt bad. He had given her an excuse to open up to him and he saw it pained her. Lily was sure to have his hide now should she ever find out about this. When Lia wiped her tears, she was still clutching the sketchbook dearly to her chest. "The Dark Arts took everything from me. And a strong infatuation with it is disastrous" she murmured. "But it grants one power" Severus said. Lia turned to him and he winced at the look in her eyes. "All the power in the world won't stop you from losing a loved one" she said as she rose to her feet. "You're a fool, of course it will" Severus snapped at her. "No...You are the fool for believing it will" Lia said as she headed up to be. "Good night Severus".

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed it!