'Ello, luvs!

Welcome back for another exciting round of "Why doesn't this author to something more productive with her free time?" Lol, just kidding, you guys know I don't have a life. I'm apart of a fandom; this is my life XD

Fun fact: every time I write on my laptop in the living room my mom asks me if I'm "Writing the book that will make us rich" and I don't have the nerve to tell her that I'm writing fanfiction just so that I can make someone else's copyrighted characters bang each other...

I also once left my USB drive containing this story plugged into the work computer (was writing a chapter on a lunch break) and was off the next day so I spend 24 hours in anal clenching terror hoping the coworker who covers my days off didn't get curious and look through it. Fun times, lessons learned.

Well, enough about me, on with the story!

If Someone Cared Enough

Chapter Ninety- Nine: Catching Up

After putting it off for as long as possible, Severus found himself sitting in a familiar office, watching a very familiar someone pull his file out of a familiar, enchanted grandfather clock's secret compartment.

"So Severus," Marcus began, going for a nonchalant tone despite how high his eyebrows rose on his head when he thumbed through Severus's file, "You had a rather…eventful end of semester, I take it?"

Severus fidgeted in his chair. While normally so obstinate and arrogant in the face of authority figures, people like Marcus oftentimes unintentionally made Severus feel well and truly chided. It was the same with Lily and Petunia's parents; something about people being disappointed in him bothered Severus far more than something like Tobias or a professor being angry with him. He felt small and foolish by the kindness laced with worry in Marcus's voice.

Knowing that Marcus's upmost concern was for Severus own safety and wellbeing—something only a handful of adults had ever expressed concern for—left Severus feeling guilty for how reckless he acted in the face of certain death.

"You could say that…" Severus said slowly, guiltily focusing on the far corner of the room.

Marcus gave Severus an exasperated look, one so often seen on Mrs. Evans face when Severus or one of the girls failed to get their laundry in the clothes hamper or bickered first thing in the morning, "Severus, I doubt you'll find anything fascinating in that corner. How about looking at me and talking for a bit?"

Severus kept facing the corner, though his eyes moved to peer at Marcus in his periphery, "Not much to talk about is there? You've seen the file; no doubt what Dumbledore and Madam Pomfey sent you."

Marcus sighed, pinching his brow, "Yes, but I thought we should still discuss it. Surely there are some things to unpack here."

He sat down in the chair closest to Severus, scooting it forward several inches until their knees were almost touching.

"This wouldn't be the first near-death experience we've gone over in here," he reminded Severus with a wane smile.

It was Severus turn to sigh, the sullen boy turning about in his chair to face Marcus, "What's there to discuss though? Yes, I was foolish. Yes, I nearly got my only friends killed. Yes, I kept it all secret from adults—grown and trained professionals in magic—because I'm an obstinate little fucker with trust issues who had more faith in a bunch of teenagers!"

He glared at his hands, "I'm aware I messed up. And I know how lucky I am that it didn't cost me my friends or Lily."

"See," Marcus reasoned, "All that's something to talk about right there."

Severus grumbled under his breath.

"Let's start small," Marcus offered, "How are you?"

Severus shrugged, "Overall, fine. I mean, things are going great with Lily and me—we broke up at the end of Christmas break; I'm not sure if I mentioned that last time we saw each other. But we're back together. We're closer than ever now."

"Despite all the chaos, I think I still managed to pass my exams," Severus went on, "My friends and I had our postponed due to the whole near-death thing; just took the make-ups the first week after getting home. Will be getting the results at some point this summer. And if there is any justice in this world, Potter and Black should finally leave me alone now that I've technically saved the school from one of the most feared creatures in wizarding history."

"Yes, the…basilisk, was it?" Marcus inquired, flipping through the file for presumably a picture of the beast; he blanched when he saw it, "Rather frightening a thing, isn't it. Of course, I've always been afraid of snakes and reptiles. Frog too, actually."

Severus smirked, "The basilisk is made by hatching a chicken egg under a toad."

Marcus grimaced, "Right, so there's all of my phobias wrapped up in one. Let's put a pin in that. We know how I feel about the idea of one of those slithering around; how did you feel facing it?"

"Honestly?" Severus asked.

Marcus nodded.

Severus took a deep breath, "Like the bottom of my stomach had dropped out. It's weird, I knew what we'd be up against when I went down there; we'd figured out what was in the Chamber a while back. But…we'd held that knowledge with the idea that once we figured out everything there was to know about the Chamber, we'd fetch Dumbledore and the other professors and let them deal with it. But when Marlene told us Pettigrew was down there…I knew Lupin was going to go whether I went or not, meaning everyone else would follow. There wasn't time to wait for the professors, there wasn't much time to even think about what we were proposing we do. It's not like we were thinking, 'Hey, let's jump in there and see this basilisk up close. We just planned on grabbing Pettigrew and running."

"And obviously, that's not what ended up happening," Marcus stated.

Severus shook his head, "Not in the least. Riddle, he was there, or a memory of him was. It's all very confusing if you weren't involved from the beginning. But basically, this madman killed a student in our schools back when he was still attending. He used her death to preserve a part of himself in this diary…intending to use it again someday to come back and reopen the Chamber to kill off everyone else who opposed him. That's who was waiting for us in the Chamber. Well that and the basilisk."

"Which I don't envy you for," Marcus said with a shudder, "Now it says here that the thing kills you with a glance. How did you avoid that?"

"Well when we first got down there, the beast wasn't present," Severus explained, "It was just Riddle and Pettigrew—though he was unconscious; Riddle was draining his life away to revive himself. It was only a little while later that Riddle summon the basilisk. If we'd been smarter, we would have grabbed the diary and Pettigrew and run; instead we stuck around throwing insults with that arrogant git until he brought the snake out of hiding."

Severus leaned back in his chair, "After that, surviving was mostly pure luck. Literally; liquid luck potion, we took it before going down into the Chamber. Well, they all did…I didn't."

Marcus cocked his head, "Why didn't you take it as well?"

Severus shrugged his shoulders, glancing off to the side, "I thought Pettigrew might need it. The chances of him making it out alive were slimmer than the rest of us; he's not the most competent wizard. I figured if he hadn't been killed off before we even got there, it would take a miracle to ensure he stayed alive long enough to escape."

"Now if I recall, Pettigrew is one of Potter's friends," Marcus observed, checking his notes, "The same folks who bullied and mistreated you. Yet you were so invested in saving him."

"Yeah, because I'm not a monster," Severus grit out with a bite of sarcasm, "What, so because they tormented me, I should want to see one of them be eaten by a giant fucking snake? Maybe I should be glad for it even?"

Severus crossed his arms over his chest, "I happen to be a lot less heartless than those bastards think I am."

"And I wasn't implying otherwise," Marcus commented, "I know you're not a bad person, Severus. Not wishing death on even your enemies is a good thing, I'm proud of you for your morality and maturity."

"But you did more than take the high road," Marcus went on, "You went so far as to give up your own assurance of survival when you gave your portion of the potion to Pettigrew. You could have taken it to increase your own luck of rescuing him, right? Yet you didn't."

"Because he needed all the help he could get," Severus argued, "What are you not getting about this. It's bad enough he got hold of the diary; it turned out he was so fucking susceptible to it's influence that it used him to nearly complete what we spent all year trying to prevent. It shouldn't have even fallen into his hands to begin with, but he found out about it because I just had to bring it with us to the fucking bathroom to try and use it to find the Chamber's entrance. It was safest locked in the bloody dormitories."

Marcus observed Severus carefully, hands folded politely in his lap, "Severus…do you blame yourself for Peter getting the cursed diary?"

Severus looked away, "No. I mean…not really…maybe. He never would have encountered it if I had kept my research of it to my room. Simone and I were doing fine researching it on our own, I didn't need to involve the others."

"So you do blame yourself," Marcus noted.

"Well who's fault would it be otherwise?" Severus challenged, "I could have researched the whole thing on my own. I'm certainly smart enough the crack the secrets of that wretched thing. But I was impatient, I wanted results immediately, so I let the others help—which was the stupidest thing I could have done! Of course, a group of Gryffindors, a Ravenclaw, and a Hufflepuff sneaking around some Slytherins were seem suspicious. It wasn't like I didn't know Potter and Black had been following me around, spying on me for years!"

"And this whole mess happened because of me anyway," Severus went on, "I turned against Lucius and the others. He sent a warning that there would be consquences and he meant it. He snuck the diary into Thea's cloak hoping one of us would be possessed by it and open the Chamber. I turned on him for a muggleborn; so what better way to punish me than unleash a creature intended to kill her and every other one out there?"

Severus ran a hand through his hair, staring miserably down at the floor, "All of this happened because I got involved with them in the first place. If I had listened to Lily years ago, they never would have had a reason to target my friends or me. It was by betraying them that I endangered everyone."

Marcus listened patiently, unrattled by Severus outburst.

"Severus," he said after a moment of silence, "Do you think you deserve to be in danger so often?"

Severus wouldn't look at him, "I don't know…I started this whole mess."

"So you think you should have to suffer to make up for it?" Marcus asked in concern.

Severus shook his head, lost, "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say that you understand it isn't your fault," Marcus exclaimed, "Severus, we all make mistakes, but the way to make up for them isn't through pain or suffering. Agonizing over what you've done doesn't change anything, nor will it make those you love feel better."

Marcus reached out and placed a hand on Severus shoulder, "Severus, you made some mistakes, but you can't keep punishing yourself for it. And nothing you did warranted Lucius or anyone else putting you and your friends in danger."

"But I followed him," was Severus rebuttal, "For years I lapped up his praise and promises, I agreed to join them."

"You were an abused child!" Marcus said forcefully, "Severus, those people used you, took advantage of you. They knew you were suffering more than others were and exploited that knowledge. You told me once before, they promised you protection you weren't getting anywhere else; they preyed upon you and that's on them."

Severus looked away, "They were still my choices to make."

Marcus gave Severus shoulder a squeeze, "They were choices made by a child who was hurt. Severus, the world can make a villain out of the kindest person if it pushes hard enough. Adults have the power to control their own fate, to take responsibility for their actions, but kids are just there for the ride. What life does to a child affects them before they are even old enough to realize it. Child are supposed to be taught kindness and forgiveness, love and compassion. If all the world was teaching you was fear and anger, it wasn't wholly your choice to do what you did."

"Don't martyr yourself for those mistakes, Severus," Marcus pleaded, "Think of past mistakes as a learning experience, not a cross to bear. You were young for much of those decisions, hurt, angry. And much of your anger was rightly so, though admittedly misplaced."

"But they're the ones who misplaced it," Marcus rushed to add, "Lucius and the others knew you were hurting and told you who to blame for it. Some deserved blame for hurting you like James Potter, but others, muggles, that was Lucius and his friends influencing you to distrust a whole world of people."

Severus didn't answer, still so unsure.

"Lucius was older," Marcus pointed out gently, "He was more experienced, and old enough to know what he was doing. You were a child when he started influencing you. He knew what he was doing, you didn't. I'm not saying you didn't do anything wrong over the years, but the mistakes you made were not because you were a bad person, but because you were lost and desperate."

"Lucius was at a point in his life were his choices were all his own," Marcus stated, "and he still chose to cause harm, to mislead and manipulate. And clearly from what he did with the diary, even as an adult he hasn't changed, he shows no remorse. But you have. Don't forget that you're making things right."

Severus nodded slowly, eyes downcast.

"Let's move onto something else," Marcus suggested helpfully, "You mentioned trust issues when talking about the Chamber, that it was the reason you didn't get your headmaster involved sooner. Was that a slip of the tongue, or would you be willing to discuss that further?"

"There's not much of a secret there," Severus admitted, "It's well known that I don't trust him. It's hard to put a lot of faith in someone who only cared about you once you joined his side. It's pretty obvious he wrote me off from the beginning because I was Slytherin, not even giving a thought to why I might have felt being a Death Eater was my only option."

Severus scowled, "But it doesn't surprise me; you don't come out of Spinner's End without the vast majority of folks thinking you're scum. Why should I trust anyone who judged me before they even knew me, when I was still a little kid who couldn't help what hellhole he'd been born into?"

"So your headmaster has given you very little reason to trust him," Marcus remarked, jotting it down.

"Very little," Severus agreed, "I mean, yes I suppose he's helped me with seeing you doing the semester. And yes, he did cover my hospital bill from St. Mungos when Avery nearly sliced my bloody head off…and I suppose he did help keep my mum a secret from the ministry…"

"Your mother?" Marcus questioned, "You said during our last session that she hasn't been doing well with your father's death. Why would that be a ministry matter?"

Severus shifted uncomfortably, "You know how muggles can have—what do you call it? A diseased mind? It's when you're sick in the head instead of the body."

"Mentally Illness," Marcus corrected.

Severus nodded, "Yes, that. You know how muggle doctors tend to treat people who they deem too unstable?"

Marcus's eyes cloud, "You mean asylums. They have that in the wizarding world?"

"Not exactly," Severus explained, "It's more of a ward within St. Mungos. People that go there don't actually receive treatment; apparently there's very little one can do for severe cases. They just…leave them there. Sure, they get fed three meals a day, a warm bed, but…they're just tossed away by everyone else, no one even trying to fix them. They just spend the rest of their lives locked away."

Severus sighed, "The ministry does it because they believe a magical person with a sickness of the mind is too dangerous or unpredictable. Accidental magic is troublesome enough in a child whose powers haven't even fully developed. But a grown adult; that could lead to all sorts of explosive magical backlash. A lack of sanity means a lack of control. So the ministry would rather just shut them away than waste time and efforts investing in trained specialists to help them. They'd do the same to my mum if they knew how far gone she was."

Marcus nodded, "And your headmaster helped keep her from being taken by the ministry?"

"Yes," Severus said, "He did. Very few even know where my mum is currently staying, and of those that do Dumbledore has ensure they're all under the impression that's she's staying with friends voluntarily, in perfect health."

"That was very kind of him," Marcus said.

Severus huffed, "I suppose it was."

"I am grateful," Severus confessed after a moment, "My mother means a great deal to me, so of course I'm grateful. But I can't help feeling like there's some ulterior motive. That he needs something from me, so he's extending a fake olive branch."

Severus looked down at his hands folded in his lap, "No matter how I look at it, I can't see him having gone to such lengths for me or my mother if I was still on the wrong path. So why help me now? What does he want from me?"

"There's nothing wrong with a little caution, Severus," Marcus stated, "If the headmaster expected anything from you in return, he should have mentioned that stipulation to begin with and given you the choice to accept or not. As it is, he presented it as a gift or nice thing to do. The way I see it, you are under no obligation to repay him, regardless of what he may think."

"Then again," Marcus continued, "Perhaps he'll surprise us and ask nothing of you. Maybe what he's done so far was merely in thanks of what you've done. You did kill a basilisk and destroy a cursed object so he wouldn't have to."

"Two cursed objects," Severus corrected, "There was a diadem too. Used basilisk venom to destroy them both."

"You got near it's teeth?" Marcus asked in horror, his snake phobia reeling it's ugly head, "Willingly?"

Severus smirked, "Teeth as long as my forearm."

"A-anyway," Marcus said, "The important thing to remember is that you can be grateful to someone without owing them anything. Just like you can be remorseful for past actions without owing the world its pound of flesh, so to speak."

"You really want to drive that point home, don't you," Severus commented wryly.

Marcus smiled gently, "I just want you to realize that you've already done so much to make up for your mistakes; the people who needed an apology have already forgiven you. You don't owe the rest of the world anything anymore than anyone else does. Focus less on persecuting yourself and more on living your life."

"Your biggest demon is gone, Severus," Marcus told him, "Tobias is dead and you are with people who care the world for you and will stand by your through thick and thin. Your friends must love you to have gone into the Chamber with you; that's very loyal."

Severus snorted, "Well, one of them is a Hufflepuff."

Marcus frowned, "I don't get it."

Severus waved a hand dismissively, "It's a Hogwarts thing." He chuckled.

Marcus smiled warmly, "Live your life for you, Severus. For you and those you care about. It's time you think about your own happiness, don't you think?"

Severus smiled softly, "I guess so."

"Speaking of happiness," Marcus said with a grin, "You said you and Lily are back together? I had no idea the two of you were even on the rocks; you avoided talking about her the last time we met during the semester. I take it there's a story behind all that."

Severus groaned, "Where do I begin? So…there's this friend of ours, Mary. You remember her, right? She's the other girl I saved that day on the train."

"I remember," Marcus nodded, "Very nice girl; Lily's other best friend."

Severus bit his lips, "Yeah…well, I thought we were just friends…and then she kissed me…"

Anyone passing by the waiting room at that moment would have heard a very loud and abrupt "What?!" being yelled from inside Marcus's office.

{page break}

"It is truly wonderful to see you, Mr. Malfoy," Umbridge simpered in a sickeningly saccharine voice, "I'm pleased to hear you are feeling better."

"Call me Lucius, Dolores," Lucius said with a charming smile, "And yes, I'm glad to say I have made a full recovery."

The pair walked down the hall together, ministry workers quick to get out of the way, partly to avoid getting in Malfoy's way, mostly to avoid having to talk to the insufferable Umbridge.

"And just what was the cause of your illness?" Umbridge asked in a poor attempt of nonchalance, "I'm afraid I might have missed that part."

"A case of the Ague, I'm afraid," Lucius replied, "I suffered through a rather nasty bout of it. Fever, chill; Nacissa was besides herself with worry for me."

"I would imagine so," Umbridge agreed, struggling on her stout legs to keep up with Lucius lengthy stride, "And what a dutiful wife she is to nurse you back from the brink. Still…it is rather odd that you didn't go to St. Mungos. Surely the staff there is more than skilled to handle any natural aliment."

"I am a private man, Dolores," Lucius said tartly, in no mood for Umbridge fishing for information, "As if someone of my status wouldn't have a personal healer on hand for any such occasions."

Dolores nodded quickly, "Of course, of course. Why risk catching anyone else's illness hanging around a filthy hospital, right? But it is a wonder…a man of your status could afford the best healers in the world…and yet something that should take little more than a few ashwinder eggs took several weeks for your healer to cure. That is how long you've been gone, isn't it?"

"It was a very aggressive case," Lucius bit out, fixing Umbridge with a stern, icy look, "Purebloods tend to have very delicate constitutions the purer their blood is. Of course, you would know all about that."

Dolores was all too quick to agree, "Of course! Why, I nearly died from a mild case of Dragon Pox as a child. My family's very fragile; it comes from keeping your lineage so perfectly isolated from the trash."

"Indeed," Lucius agreed, hiding a bit of a smirk; everyone knew Umbridge's father was a hapless floor mopper for the Minstry's maintenance department and not a deceased, former illustrious Wizengamot member like Dolores so often claimed. Still, keeping her subdued and cooperative was worth entertaining her pitiful delusions.

He gave Dolores a sympathetic smile, "It's the price we pay for keeping such a prestigious pedigree."

"Absolutely," Umbridge said.

"You really must come join us for tea some time, Dolores," Lucius went on, "Narcissa would be delighted to have such a prominent ministry official in our home."

A lie if there ever was one; Narciss would be fit to have Lucius tied if he ever disgraced their home with a sniveling halfblood like this one. Snape, she could tolerate for his intelligence and dignity—loathe though Lucius was to admit that wretched cur had class. Umbridge, however, was a simpering, groveling, suck-up, her desperation for acknowledgment and admiration pathetically obvious and disgusting.

"I'd be delighted!" Umbridge gushed excitedly, her eyes lighting up with undisguised greed at the thought of being in a Malfoy's esteemed home, "I'm just so happen to have this weekend off."

Lucius winced inwardly; perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if they used the bad China. No point in sullying their good collection with filthy half blood germs. Still, it wouldn't do to reject her when she still has access to what he needed.

Lucius side eyed Umbridge. He could just obliviate her when this was all over. Doubtful anyone here would even notice her acting out of sorts after. They all avoided her like the plague.

"That would be lovely," Lucius lied, "I'll make preparations right away."

Umbridge was practically skipping with joy, "I'm looking forward to it." She was over the moon.

Lucius was anything but, "As am I."

"Forgive me for my impertinence," Umbridge said, feigning shame at what she was about to bring up; truthfully the woman didn't know the definition of shame outside of denying relation to her father, "But I was so saddened to hear that the marriage of your brother-in-law Rabastan fell through. With all the unfortunate outcomes with his family recently—his sister-in-law being wanted by the ministry for example—losing his fiancé to some Parisian upstart must have been devastating."

Lucius grit his teeth, "Yes…that was most unfortunate."

"His fiancé was a fool," Umbridge went on, "To forsake such a wonderful and suitable husband. People such as yourself and Rabastan are the best a girl could ever hope to marry."

"It's a shame," Umbridge said softly, glancing at Lucius from the corner of her eye, "That he doesn't know any decent, eligible bachelorettes…one of fine upbringing and…ministry connections…"

Lucius fought to keep the devious smirk off his face, there was the carrot he needed to dangle above this stubborn, particularly annoying horse.

"If you help me find the information I need," Lucius whispered, "I'll be sure to arrange a meeting with my dear brother-in-law."

"Better yet," he added, "It won't be long before Narcissa's charming cousin is of age. Regulus is such a good lad. And unlike Rabastan, he's set to inherit the entirety of his family's fortune…"

Umbridge's eyes were wide with excitement, so eager for the opportunity to rise up in the world, "I'll do anything you say."

Lucius stroked Umbridge face, "Of course you will; you're a smart, ambitious woman after all. Unsurprising of a Slytherin; you do our house proud."

Umbridge beamed.

"Here we are," Umbridge declared, "The Department of Personal Records."

Opening the door, she sent a nasty glare to the peaky intern sitting behind the desk, before her face smoothed over in a façade of pleasantness.

"Excuse me, dear," she said sweetly, "But Mr. Malfoy and I need to borrow your office for a minute. We have private matters to discuss and I'm afraid there's a plumbing problem in my office at the moment."

"Uh," the fresh faced intern stammered, "wha? Plumbing? T-there isn't any plumbing in an office…"

Umbridge smiled her falsest smile, "It's raining in my office, dear. The Maintenance department has assured me they'll fix it straight away, but in the meantime I need a place to work with Mr. Malfoy."

"The Maintenance, department," the intern repeated, confused and unsettled by Umbridge's unflinching smile, "Right so…Orford?"

A particularly ugly expression passed over Umbridge's face, making the intern flinch back, startled.

Umbridge breathed deeply through her nose, plastering on a rather forced and unnerving smile.

"Best not dwaddle, dear," she said, a hint of warning in her voice, "Mr. Malfoy is a busy man; you wouldn't want it reported that you upset him."

"R-right," the intern squeaked. He gathered up his things, scurrying past the pair, too afraid to even given them a backwards glance.

Umbridge gestured proudly to the now vacant office, "After you."

Lucius swept into the office without further hesitation, wasting no time to seat himself behind the desk of the department head who was currently on lunch break.

"Now," he said primly, smiling at Umbridge with a flick of his wrist towards the filing cabinets, "If you would be so kind."

Umbridge quickly scrambled to comply, hurrying over to the cabinet.

"The name you asked for," she stated, opening up one of the lower drawers, "I haven't heard it in quite some time. Aside from the head of that family, no one else is still alive. That's what everyone says, anyway. All died out; daughter up and went missing years ago apparently."

"But there is a record of them still?" Lucius inquired.

Umbridge nodded, "Yes, anything of importance about them would be saved in our archives. Ah—here we are."

Umbridge pulled a large manila folder from one of the drawers.

"Strange," Umbridge noted, looking at the marking on the outside of the file, "Looks like there have been recent updates to this file."

"May I?" Lucius held out his hand expectantly.

Umbridge obediently handed it over without question.

Lucius opened the file, eyes scanning the pages furtively while Umbridge stood in awkward silence.

"What exactly is it you're looking for again?" she asked after a moment.

Lucius peered at her from over the top of the file, "It's not really your concern, is it?"

Umbridge flushed, "…Well, no…I suppose not."

"Then I won't trouble you with the details," Lucius replied smoothly.

His eyes lit up, a particular entry catching his eye, "There we are."

Lucius grabbed a piece of paper from the desk, copying something from the file.

Umbridge craned her neck to read it upside down. It looked like an address of some sort.

She jumped back startled when Lucius abruptly closed the file with a slap.

"Thank you, Dolores," he said, standing, "That will be all."

"I'm glad to be of assistance, Umbridge said sweetly, stepping around the desk to take the file and put it away, "So when can I expect to hear from you for tea?"

With her back turned, Umbridge didn't see Malfoy raise his wand.

"Never," Malfoy said softly, "Obliviate."

So...who thinks they know what info Malfoy looked up?

Umbridge is fun to mess with, I won't lie. But you know, she shares some traits with Severus *dodges tomatoes being thrown by incensed fans for daring to compare Snape to the evil Umbridge*

I'm serious though. Both are self loathing halfbloods, resenting their muggle half and being taught hatred by their fathers. The difference lies in the fact that Umbridge muggle half was her mother and she was taught by her father to hate the wife he looked down on (and likely abused) whereas Severus father was the muggle and his abuse taught Severus to hate the one abusing him. Both attempt to play at being purebloods, but where Umbridge tried and failed to married into pureblood society, Severus wished to make a name for himself in pureblood society and use that power to protect Lily, a muggleborn.

Also, has anyone been missing our favorite muggle therapist? I don't wish to retire the character because frankly, PTSD can't be conquered in a year, Severus will probably see him for a while, albeit intermittently, to better understand and cope with all he's been through and process how it affected him emotionally.

Admittedly, some of my fondness for Marcus stems from my fondness for my own therapists and psychiatrists who help me cope with PTSD and have been the best confidants I've ever had. Seriously, I've told them the various ways I fantasized about killing my abuser and they took it in stride (they know I would never do it because I understand how the law works and consequences to one's actions as well as the fact that my getting arrested would do my family no good...still it's cathartic to imagine).

Review please :)