Loving all this feedback, people! Seriously you guys are awesome.

I really mean it. Your advice and critiques, your theories and predictions are wonderful because it lets me know how invested you are in this story.

Bringing some coupley stuff and a secret meeting in this chapted.

Blam!

If Someone Cared Enough

Chapter Fifty-Four: The Transfer

While the appearance of the Daily Prophet didn't ruin Christmas at the Evans's household, the article had exactly the effect on the Wizarding World that Severus predicted. According to letters from Severus and Lily's friends, magical communities all over the British Isles were abuzz with gossip and speculation over both Severus's home life and his former ties to Voldemort's followers.

Letters came in daily to the ministry demanding answers on the case of Tobias's death, many people wanting to know if a murderer was in their midst and inquiring about the safety of their families. Since Severus's current address couldn't be released, people wrote to the papers instead. Letters posted in the community section of the Prophet expressed pity and sympathy for Severus's mistreatment at the hands of his father and outrage that it had gone unnoticed for so long. Some even ridiculed the school for not intervening sooner.

There were also who held onto old house biases and jumped on the implication of Severus being connected in any way to the Death Eaters. People threw about insane theories about Severus's near death at the beginning of summer to be a scheme by You-Know-Who to martyr Severus to the general public so that he could act at behest of the Dark wizard without suspicion. Other's claimed that Tobias's death was his reward for carrying out the scheme, or a peace offering to tempt him into rejoining if his betrayal of them was genuine. The rumors varied from there into claims that he had killed his own father, all the way down to insinuations that he was a vampire or other dark creature.

There was even one about him supposedly being a thirty-year-old man trapped in a teenager's body, sent from the future to change his past. Then again, that one came from a local barfly, Bethsheba Rapshe, who regularly wrote into the Daily Prophet about spotting creatures never proven to exist or that she dated Merlin's reincarnation.

Severus had no doubt at least one rumor or two came from Potter and Black. If not, they were at least fanning the flames; this was too perfect an opportunity to discredit him for them to pass up.

Of course, with the flood of sympathy and anger at Severus's abusive father came those who sought to take advantage of the situation to push various agendas. The most prominent one, unsurprisingly, was anti-muggle sentiments. People, oftentimes anonymous, wrote into the Prophet or whispered around Diagon Alley about Tobias's crueltry being proof muggles posed a real threat to wizards and witches. Citing Snape Senior's willingness to harm his own child for possessing magic, many blood purist claimed muggles to be violent beings that lashed out at the gifted and magical out of jealousy and greed. They insisted that more acts like this would follow, committed by muggles seeking to wipe out wizard kind and by muggleborns envious of purebloods's far superior magic.

"What bunk!" Lily exclaimed, scowling over the paper one morning. She and Severus were sharing the window seat that overlooked the back garden, enjoying breakfast and each other's company while Lily's parents were at the market and Petunia was visiting friends. Curled up besides one another with some tea and toast, Lily's head and Severus's shoulder, the very domestic scene would have been wonderful if not for the distasteful commentary from an anonymous 'concerned citizen' glaring up at them from the paper.

Lily frowned in disgust at the article, "Superior? They honestly think the strength of magic is the result of 'good breeding' or something? The Carrows claim their ancestry nearly traces back to Merlin himself and Alecto nearly burned her brother's face off while attempting a levitation spell. They're two halves of a whole idiot!"

"Not to mention their family's history of mental impairments and physical disfigurements," Severus added between bites of toast, "Result of inbreeding; some purebloods honestly think generations of misshapen morons is worth it to 'keep the bloodline pure'. Pretty stupid risk considering there has been no credited research or study proving blood lines are themselves responsible for the strength of one's magic."

"Dumbledore always said magic was the luck of the draw," Lily stated, "You could come from an entire family of purebloods and still wind up a squib while a muggle family could randomly produce the next great wizard of the ages. Blood might not have much to do with it at all."

"Try telling a stuffy pureblood that sometime," Severus scoffed, "Even the pro-muggle ones seem to think heredity contributes to the ability of their children. Augusta Longbottom is likely to expect any child her son as to be as adept at magic as he is."

"And Alice said she's hard to please," mused Lily sadly, "I feel sorry for any grandchild that has to live up to her expectations."

"I just feel sorry for Frank," Severus muttered, "Speaking of him, this letter of his says the Auror office got back to him and approved my request for warding the house. Someone from their department should stop by in about a week or so to do it; a patronus will arrive the day before to give us the actual date and time to expect them."

Lily sighed in relief, "Well that's good. With all this renewed fuss over things in the paper, it would be nice to know we have some security here. I'd rather not start getting unwanted visits from crazed fans or dissenters should anyone manage to get our address."

"Good thing the law would have Rita's head if she released it in one of her articles," Severus said, "But who's to say she won't let it slip verbally to someone and get the news spreading through word of mouth. Better to have the wards up just in case."

Lily hummed her agreement, thumbing through the Prophet. Absentmindedly reaching for her cup of tea, she smiled in satisfaction when her hand found the cup, unaware of Severus casually sliding it towards her as she groped blindly around the table. He even reheated it with a simple wandless bit of magic before Lily even brought the cup to her lips.

"Mmm," Lily groaned happily, "Petunia makes the best tea. So glad she left some for us."

"And how she keeps it at just the right temperature will forever be a mystery," Severus said causally, a knowing smirk on his face.

"I know, right?" Lily agreed, clueless.

Severus just continued to smirk.

Lily flipped to the other side of the Prophet to continue reading.

"Look here," she said, "Dumbledore finally has something to say about this whole issue."

"One can only hope it's better than cryptic letter he sent me," Severus groused. The morning after Christmas, a letter from Dumbledore arrived by owl outside Severus's window. Inside the contents were vague and nondescript, the headmaster offering condolences for Severus's loss while not committing to a concise answer on whether Severus should view the death as a warning or offering. Instead, he offered up advice on trusting one's own judgement and something about light always being brightest in the dark or some other nonsense. Severus couldn't really say it surprised him to get such useless words from the man.

"He's seems to be avoiding any accusations about you," Lily revealed, examining the article before her, "Let's see here… 'We must direct our attention to the truth. You-Know-Who is targeting our youth, be it for violence or manipulation. He is taking advantage of those who have faced hardships, exploiting their traumas for his own gain. We must be there for our children now more than ever, to lead them off the darken path.' Hmmm, that's seems to be it," Lily finished looking up at Severus.

Severus finished the last of his toast, graciously accepting the napkin Lily offered without being asked.

"Well at least he didn't wax poetic about my 'traumas' personally," Severus conceded, taking the paper from Lily, "Though anyone with a brain would know he's referring to me. Not sure I appreciate being portrayed as some sniveling simpleton that was preyed upon by You-Know-Who."

"I hardly doubt that was his intent," Lily said, plucking the paper from Severus hands and folding it up, "And he's not wrong about people being taking advantage of; you know Lucius and his friends misused your trust terribly. Dr. Marcus said there is nothing wrong in acknowledging your victimhood; being a victim means someone hurt you and the blame rests with them, not you."

"Yes but that technically only partially applies to me," Severus pointed out, "With you its obvious: no one should have ever attacked you in any form. But with me…yes they used me, but you can't deny I let some of it happen even after I knew what they were doing. I was angry enough about my life to be willing to put up with it in order to get my way. That doesn't exactly make me blameless. Look at all the things I turned a blind eye to, things you pointed out countless times. It wasn't that I didn't know; I just didn't want to care."

"You were also isolated in a place where saying no would have gotten you hurt," Lily shot back, "I know that now, and it's why it still bothers me that I never realized how alone you were in Slytherin. You literally were sleeping in a snake pit; all these Death Eaters in training just waiting for the Half-Blood to cross them so that they could strike," Lily cuddled closer to Severus, "I had all the back-up and support I could ever want and you just had…well, you."

"I had you," Severus murmured into Lily's hair, running his fingers through her soft locks, "You didn't know what was going on because I never told you. It wasn't very fair of me to expect you to understand when I wasn't even willing to tell you what I was dealing with."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Lily asked, "Simone had to practically hit me in the face with the truth before I ever knew."

Severus thought long and hard about his answer. He carded his fingers through Lily's hair for a few minutes in silence before giving a response.

"I guess I didn't want you to think less of me," he confessed, "When we were kids, you looked up to me like I had all the answers and I liked being the one who was sought after for a change. When we got to school, I fell to the bottom of the pecking order instantly. I was the creepy kid, the weird one."

Severus sighed, "I was humiliated enough on a daily basis by Potter and the others; I didn't want you to know I was un-liked even in Slytherin. I didn't think you'd want to hang out with the most hated person in school."

"You weren't the most hated," Lily soothed, "Some people didn't like you, but most barely even knew who you were; it was mostly people in our year who picked on you. I'd say any of your former friends were more despised, simply because they made a reputation for themselves of picking on anyone and everyone. I can think of plenty of lower years who had never heard your name before that day on the train, but every first and second year knows who Wilkes or Rosier are."

Lily almost added that Severus shouldn't be so quick to think she'd abandon him over everyone else's opinion, but shamefully she'd almost done just that at the end of fifth year. Her confrontation with Simone had thrown that fact in her face. It was regrettable to admit, but Lily had already been growing fatigued by her other friends' constant naggings long before Severus had called her a mudblood. Her own inability to withstand other's judgement and cruelty nearly cost her someone very special to her.

Lily pressed herself tighter to Severus. Thinking about how easily she almost cut him out of her life made her heart feel as if it were caught in a vice.

"Well I was probably the loneliest kid in school," Severus bargained, "Rosier and Wilks may be despised or feared, but they always had an assortment of cronies or followers that flocked to them. People stick by them because they're either in awe of their cruelty or hoping to avoid being the next target. I was mostly the latter; had to keep admiring someone's skills and power when they use it on random harmless first years instead of actual enemies."

"You wanted to learn how to defend yourself from Potter and your father, while they just wanted to hurt anyone and everyone for fun," Lily surmised understandingly.

Severus nodded, "I mean, I can admit there were times I found some amusement or…satisfaction in their actions, especially against Gryffindors. It was really just the relief that someone else was getting it worse than me at the time. But sometimes, the people they targeted, they looked so pathetic, so hurt at even a simple hex…the look they'd give you…"

Severus sighed, "Sometimes it was like seeing myself and that just made everything worse."

"But feeling remorse is what makes you different than your housemates," Lily said, "Empathy; that's something I doubt they feel much of."

"They most likely don't know the meaning of the word," Severus scoffed.

"You know, it's not often you open up to me like this," Lily observed, taking Severus's hand and lacing their fingers together, "You usually clam up or keep things simple…this is nice."

Severus snorted, "I hardly see what's so good about it; I've effectively dampened the whole morning with my commiserating my own selfish choices."

"Nothing's dampened," Lily chided, "Don't be so dramatic. I like it when you share with me. I feel special that you trust me so much," she poked Severus's cheek with her free hand, "I'm sort of jealous of Marcus. He gets to see so much of the real you."

Severus batted Lily's hand away with a chuckle.

"You see plenty the real me plenty," he said, "Marcus just gets the pleasure of suffering through my obsessive, neurotic side. Goody for him."

"There's a 'neurotic Severus' now?" Lily asked with a laugh, "I've met picky Severus, finicky Severus, even 'so serious he's got a stick up his bum' Severus. But I've never met Neurotic Severus. What does he do? Does he proofread his homework five time in a row instead if four? Organize his notes by color-coding? Iron his underwear?"

"Ha-ha," Severus said sarcastically, "Aren't we the comedian? Are you quite done?"

Lily held up a finger, laughing a little bit more to herself. Finally, she settled, "Now I'm done."

Leaning back against Severus, she smiled, "In all seriousness, though, I am glad you feel you can be yourself around me. I used to see some of the real you when we were kids, but even then you were so guarded about yourself. You told me everything there was to know about the wizard world, but never," she turned to look at him, "Your world. We mostly kept focus on me. How I was doing, if me and my sister were getting along. You didn't talk about yourself often."

"I didn't want to scare you off," Severus told her, "As it was, your parents were probably wary knowing I came from a rougher part of town; if they'd known just how bad it was, they probably would never have wanted you around me."

"More like my mum would have kidnapped you and stuffed you silly with home cooking," Lily giggled, "You know my parents never had a problem with you or where you came from. It was who you came from that they didn't like."

"Well he's dead now and we can all rest easier at night," Severus concluded with a stretch.

Lily frowned, unamused, "Try not to look so pleased about it; bastard or not, him being murdered isn't exactly a good thing."

Severus shrugged, "I wasn't saying it was. Trust me, I don't find the idea of some killer running around any more comforting then you do. But being worried about who did it doesn't make his death any less welcome. I'm telling you, if it turned out to be some random guy just trying to end a terrible man's life, I might thank them…if it's You-Know-Who then we've got bigger problems to worry about."

"Like him or his followers being so close to home," Lily shuddered.

"Hence the wards Frank will have put up," Severus said, pulling Lily closer, "And you know I'll always be here to protect you."

"Only as long as you let me protect you," Lily challenged, "I'd prefer to have you not running off to get killed, thank you."

Severus rolled his eyes dramatically, "Nearly get my head cut off one time and you're branded reckless for life."

"For good reason," Lily scolded, elbowing him. Her expression sobered, "I mean it though, I don't want you throwing your life away for me. It's clear things are escalating out there and I don't want to lose you, Severus."

"You couldn't lose me if you tried," Severus promised, pecking Lily on the lips.

"I'll hold you to that," Lily warned, returning the kiss. Slowly, the kiss deepened, the pair melting together seamlessly. As Severus's hands went around Lily's waist, Lily's threaded through Severus's hair, drawing him in closer. Keeping a respectful, reserved hold on Lily's waist, Severus moved his lips against her own experimentally, testing what felt right and natural.

Things had been getting easier with them, more relaxed and carefree. Kissing still brought butterflies to both their stomachs, but there was an air of confidence about them, as if they were finally starting get the hang of it. Their noses still butted occasionally, but for the most part, but they were working on that.

Lily was almost in Severus's lap, so lost in the moment, when the click of the front door being unlocked reached her ears.

"Lily?" Petunia voices traveled down the hall, "Severus? Are you two home?"

"We're here," Lily called back, putting a little space between her and Severus on the window seat. She smoothed out the rumples in her clothes while Severus smoothed his hair down.

Petunia came around the corner into the room, a few bags in her arms, "Finally done exchanging gifts with everyone I shopped for," she declared, "I got this cute little skirt from Allison, Lily. You just have to see it."

She paused, taking notice of Severus's flushed face and Lily's breathless look.

"Am I…interrupting something?" she asked suspiciously.

"No," Lily said a bit too quickly, "We were just reading. You know, the paper…having breakfast. Weren't we, Sev?"

"It's a very interesting read," Severus said awkwardly, avoiding looking at anyone.

"Right," Petunia drawled knowingly, a smirk appearing on her face, "Well I'm just going to put all this stuff away…I trust you two can keep your hands to yourself in the meantime?"

Lily's face went scarlet and Severus blushed all the way to his ears as Petunia waltzed out of the room cackling.

{page break}

In the dusty, dark corner of the equally dark and dusty Hog's Head inn sat a tall figure shrouded in shadows. Surrounded by the usual array of riff raff and ne'er do wells making of the bars patronage, he stood out very little by comparison. His height was a little above average, but that was not unusual a sight for a pub that welcomed in the most unwelcome of wizarding society such as half giants and werewolves. If not for the glittering of his blue eyes illuminated by the moonlight that seeped through the near impenetrable grime of the windows, you'd hardly know he was there at all.

The pub's door flew open, emitting an icy blast from outside that caused several patrons to grumble and shout about the cold. Others made little fuss, far too use to the chill always at their backs.

In with the cold came a bulky, haggard looking man. His face riddled with just as many scars as wrinkles, his mouth was set in a grimace as he clomped into the pub on one good leg and a wooden one. His remaining real eye narrowed as he took in various people scattered across the bar while a bulging, enchanted monstrosity rested in the other socket, swiveling in circles. The magical eye rolled up into the man's head and he turned to look at the corner behind him, at the figure cloaked in shadows.

Lumbering up to the mysterious figure, the man sat down at the table with a huff. As he did so, the shadowy figure raised their wand and a buzzing sound fell over their table.

"It's nasty out there," the haggard man said, commenting on the weather, "I'm surprised you picked here instead of flooing to my office."

The mystery person chuckled as they leaned forward, a long nose and bright blue eyes coming into view along with a voluminous white bread.

"I thought we might have this conversation where we were least expected to be," Dumbledore said, "With the reports flocking to the Ministry lately I doubt my presence there would go unnoticed for long."

"That's vigilant," Alastor Moody declared with a shrewd nod, "If folks thought you had any involvement in the investigations they'd really start panicking. Best keep them in the dark about things for now."

"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded, "Will the Auror's miss you? I understand tonight those two are scheduled to be transferred."

"I put my best men on the job," Moody assured, "Plus half the office. Things go smoother when I'm there, but I have confidence in my men. Trust me, Avery and Mulciber will make it to Azkaban without a hitch."

"I had heard to two were far more subdued as of late," Dumbledore remarked.

"That's true," Moody agreed, "Mulciber stopped crying about a week ago and we haven't heard so much as a peep from Avery in the holding cells. It's strange; that boy was all piss and vinegar when we first brought him in."

Moody signaled Abeforth to bring him a drink, the gruff, bearded man giving Dumbledore a derisive glare as he handed a lager to Moody.

"He could be expecting something," Dumbledore warned.

"Hence my best men taking this job," Moody replied, "Besides, the only reason we kept them out of Azkaban this long was to ensure their buddies would have no idea when they'd be transferred. Less information on our part, less organization on theirs." He hunkered forward, the candlelight casting shadows across his face, "But that's not what we came here to discuss, is it?"

Dumbledore nodded, "That is true. We have another matter that concerns me. What have you found?"

Moody leaned back in his chair, a frown on his face, "Just as you suspected, the death can't be contributed to natural causes. No heart failure, no underlying illness, no signs of trauma. The man just stopped breathing, Albus. It's congruent with the killing curse."

"Not a curse just anyone brandies about," Albus stated.

"No shit," Moody huffed, "There's more information coming in. Apparently there was no guard in that hall because they suddenly got a rather bad gash on their shoulder, can't explain how they got it. While they were having it looked at, the hall was void of any surveillance."

"And what do you think of that?" Albus questioned.

Moody fixed him with a hard stare, "You know what I think. The guard said they'd heard something before they were cut, someone said something. He couldn't make it out but next thing he knew he was bleeding like a facet," Moody shrugged, "He figured one of the inmates must have done it when he wandered too close to the door to their cell. Yet, when guards investigated the place later, they couldn't find one weapon on the prisoners nearest that section. Sounds to me like someone tried to off him with a curse and missed. He got lucky; reports say he came back to the cell to find the guy dead after he heard laughing…a woman laughing."

"Bellatrix," Dumbledore murmured.

"He's lucky all he got out of the night was a cut; Bellatrix must have been in a hurry or she would have stayed to finish him off."

"If she didn't stay to kill anyone else she must have been ordered to a very specific task," Dumbledore said, "That means Tobias Snape was her prime target."

"So that makes the rumors more than rumors, now doesn't it?" Moody growled, "This was a message to that boy. You think they believe they can win his favor by offing his old man?"

"I believe they are greatly underestimating a young man's convictions," Dumbledore said, "Voldemort understand natures of the heart very little, I doubt he thinks anyone would pass up power for love."

"You best be right about this boy, Albus," Moody warned, "You say he's on our side because his little girlfriend is and I'll take your word for now. Just know, I'm keeping my eye on him. It took a lot of pulling strings to get his hearing waived for the spell he created. A lot of paperwork I had to make disappear."

"With an added benefit for yourself," Dumbledore pointed out benignly.

Moody huffed, "Yeah, getting that spell approved for Auror use certainly gives us a better edge in this war. But it's a dangerous spell, Albus. Created by a mere kid. I'm putting a lot of trust in you that he's truly changed for the better, so don't make me regret it."

"I'm sure Severus will show himself to be quite the formidable ally for us," Dumbledore said enigmatically.

Moody drummed his fingers on the table, scowling at Dumbledore's infuriating smile.

"So what do we do for now?" he asked eventually, "They've got their eye on this kid too. We still don't know for sure if it's an invitation or a threat."

"For now we stay ever vigilant," Dumbledore advised with a slight smile, quoting his friend's favorite phrase, "Severus has already requested wards be placed around the Evans' house and Aurors will be watching after the family in secret. Once Severus returns to school, he will be under my protection and supervision."

"What of his mother?" Moody inquired, "The woman's shut herself away in some Home; hasn't gone outside in weeks."

"I want you to have someone watching her as well," Dumbledore instructed, "Regardless of whether Severus is a target, his loved ones could be used as collateral by the Death Eaters."

"Whether they want to induct him or incinerate him, either option he'd end up dead," Moody mused, "Death Eaters aren't known for keeping promises, and they tolerate failure very little. I've seen plenty of You-Know-Who's followers who screw up scattered in bits and pieces in the alleys."

"Which is why it is imperative we stop Severus from being one of those unfortunate few," Dumbledore said giving Moody with a stern look, "Treating him with the same bias that first pushed him down the wrong path will only cause him to second guess his choices now. He's shown remarkable strength through incredible hardship no child should have to go through."

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Moody stated knowingly.

Dumbledore's normally twinkling eyes dimmed with sadness, "I have made many mistakes over the years, Alastor. Ones that my students have bared the consequences of, when it was not their responsibility. My misguided attempts to protect some of those in my care has cost others even the basic trust and security a child should be able to put in their elders; Severus is the prime example."

Dumbledore heaved a heavy sigh, "My own experiences with who Voldemort once clouded my judgment of all Sytherins, to the point that I'd forgotten the house was not founded on hatred alone. Severus's ambition was not born out of greed or thirst for power but a necessity and drive to survive to survive where he could not rely on the help of others."

"Not the first time someone let house bias cloud their judgment," Moody said with a shrug, "Slytherin alumni were garnering bad reputations for their House long before He started making a name for himself. Some felt emboldened by Grindelwald to be more vocal about blood purity, thought money and titles protected them from the repercussions of following his lead."

"But that is the very reason I shouldn't have been influenced by generalizations," Dumbledore said, "The very wizard inspiring the resurgence of dark magic and blood purity wasn't a Slytherin; Grindelwald wasn't even a former Hogwarts student. And it wasn't just Slytherins that became enamored with his ideals," this last part was said quieter, almost to himself, "Was it really so hard for me to believe that people with good intentions can be led astray? In trying to forget my own mistakes, I overlooked that others are capable of making the same ones."

"Getting a bit introspective there, Albus," Moody said with a wry grin.

Dumbledore allowed a small smile, the twinkle returning to his eyes, "Perhaps. Regardless, Severus isn't the only student I've unfairly judged and failed to give guidance to."

"Anyone in particular?" Moody asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Dumbledore replied, "My deputy Headmistress has informed me that all Hogwarts letters addressed to Sirius Black, grades or otherwise now redirect themselves to the Potter residence and have been doing so for over a year. Given how strongly aligned his family is with Voldemort, it comes as no surprise to me that tension over his sorting with prompt him to move elsewhere, but now I find myself questioning if the decision was based on more than a wish to distance himself from parental disappointment. One has to wonder how much pressure he was facing at home."

Moody took a gulp of his drink, wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand, "You think the younger Black might have the same reservations is brother did?"

Dumbledore nodded, "I have been observing him this past term. His fondness for House Elves reminds me greatly of his cousin Andromeda own love and respect for other magical beings, if not far more discreet and subdued. He lacks the propensity for violence Bellatrix showed in school, as well as the indifference to the suffering of others that Narcissa had. With his timidity, it's possible much of his drive to join the Death Eaters is really a desire to please his parents."

Moody chuckled, "You plan to try and take this one under your wing as well."

"Surely a child deserves an alternative to becoming a murderer?" Dumbledore said.

Before Moody could respond, a streak of light shot through the window, blinding him. When his vision cleared, both he and Dumbledore were looking at the glowing image of a lynx on their table.

"Kingsley!" Moody exclaimed.

"Death Eaters intercepted the prisoner transfer," came Kingsley's harried voice, "Bellatrix Lestrange land five masked individuals. Three Auror's dead, two injured."

"Mulciber and Avery have escaped," his last words hung heavily in the air as the Lynx patronus vanished into thin air.

Bum bum BUM!

Saddle up your drama llamas, the next few chapters will begin to dole it out!

Wondering how you lot will respond to this more considerate Dumbledore. Don't get me wrong, he's still an ass who puts too much of the weight of the world on his students he deems worthy, but he is still a human capable of remorse and feeling guilt and regret. I think to some degree, he sees in Severus a parallel to himself. Albus nearly succumb to the dark side of magic for love, one that ultimately wasn't returned (or was broken by the death of his sisters; they never confirm if Gellert ever returned hi feelings) whereas Severus was brought out of darkness by love. The difference between Severus and Dumbledore is the things Severus loved Lily for, the kindness, the consideration, the compassion, are things that didn't exist in Gellert. Loving Gellert for his mind and intellect, blinded Albus to the true darkness in the man's heart.

Don't forget to review ;)