-Severus Snape-
I was alive. My neck was sore, but other than that, I was perfectly fine... At least for the time being.

It was a funny pattern... Defy the master, pay for it, do it again. I guess I'll never learn. And always the questions! Where was I? How did I get here? I know for sure that I did not black out in a BED, and that was where I felt that I was.

Open your eyes. Move your limbs. You're ALIVE! Be happy.

I sat up in the bed quickly, jolting straight up as if I'd just been shocked. Opening my eyes, I finally realized that I had been blindfolded. When I tried to remove the blindfold, I discovered that my wrists had been tied to either side of the bed. This in itself was a terrible offense, and angered me considerably.

"Where are you, bastard," I shouted, lurching against the binds fiercely. A mistake on my part, as the mindless tugging stressed my sore throat. "Let me go!"

"I will not pretend I cannot hear you," a reasonable voice said from what sounded to be the other side of the room to me. "Please, calm yourself so I may explain why you are bound."

Instead of calming down as the man had asked of me, I kicked out and struggled at the ropes that held me in place.

"No! I demand to know what you want with me here! Why am I here!? Who are you!? What do you WANT? What do you want!?" I shouted these words many times, each answered by a patient silence, until after a few minutes of my fit I had tired, my voice gone hoarse. There was nothing I could hear but my own heavy breathing. I believed my hands were turning blue.

"I won't tell you who I am just yet, but I simply can't tell you where you are. It would be extremely dangerous and would threaten the safety of myself, as well as others. As far as I will tell you, I can say that I did not bring you here to harm you. You will be released somewhere far away presently, but first you must rest. I found you laid about in the worst manner outside a long way from here, and you're lucky to be alive," the man said softly.

"Let me go," I growled. "Don't tell me I'm lucky to be alive, as if you care!"

"Should I not," the man said; more of a statement than a question. "So what SHOULD I care about?"

"What is this, a psychology lesson!? Let me free, I will do what I want, dammit! Let me go!" I shouted, beginning to go into another mad rage.

"I know who you are," the man said quickly, yet calmly still. "You are Severus Snape, and you are a Death Eater for Voldemort. I could send you to Azkaban in an instant."

I was too angry to talk for a moment, stiff and rigid. Although, I couldn't help a small tinge of fear that stabbed at me, but I wouldn't let the man see, not for my life.

"I am NOT a Death Eater," I replied stiffly, stupidly.

"I wouldn't think you'd be one to lie," the man said after a moment of silence. "You're not a coward in these situations."

"Damn right, bastard," I spat.

"You're a Death Eater, though," the man said.

"That's where you're wrong." I sneered. "I killed Voldemort's "link" to Dumbledore and left."

"Left, did you?" the man sounded humored. "The way you looked, it seemed that Voldemort had left you for dead."

"You're a Death Eater, aren't you?" I shouted. "You are, and you just want revenge! Unbind me, and we'll fight until one of us is dead, I'm not afraid!" I yanked at the binds again, and almost gave a shout as I undoubtedly dislocated one of my wrists with a loud, popping noise.

"Stop now," the man said sternly, in a more serious manner. "Quit hurting yourself. Tell me, exactly, why you left Voldemort, and I shall set you free after you rest."

"You promise me, you better, that you will let me free if I say ANYTHING!" I yelled.

"Anything about QUITTING," the man answered. "You never quit like this before. You've never given up. Why now?"

"Fool!" I cried, "Fool! I did NOT quit! I rebelled against Voldemort's and his band of stupid jesters! He won't win this! I will win this!"

"How can you underestimate him so?" the man wondered aloud.

I hesitated. Once I thought about it, I really did fear the evil master. Not master, no; the evil wizard. The one I am not controlled by anymore! "I am controlled by nobody!" I shrieked. "I will not stand to be a servant, even if Voldemort IS the most powerful wizard!"

"Do you really think he is most powerful? More powerful than a strong wizard? More powerful than Dumbledore?" the man asked.

I laughed outright at this. "Evil outdoes good. For, while good limits itself with love and fairness, there is NONE of that with evil! It is stronger because it HAS no limits! If you saw Voldemort from where I was standing, however long ago that was, you would know that there is NO hope for any good to conquer him! Only a rival evil will defeat the satanic lord! Dumbledore is too worried about everyone around him, and protecting the world and all that heroic-" I stopped suddenly. "Don't tell me..."

"Yes?" the man asked curiously.

He's not a Death Eater. He saved my life. He doesn't fear the name of Voldemort... I'm so slow! I'm so painfully slow, I amaze myself at my own stupidity!

"You're not Dumbledore!" I cried. The man was silent. "You're not! If you were he, you would have done something to me by now! He can't STAND me! I know, I just know that he'd send me off to Azkaban the first chance he got! God, no!"

"I said I'd tell you who I was shortly," the man said softly. "And I cannot lie to you."

"Get away from me, let me go, I want out, you tricked me!" I shouted over and over.

"I did what I had to do to help the truth out of you, Severus. You always were defiant in school," the man said.

"Don't, stop it! Don't talk about school, and don't use my first name, dammit! You didn't "help the truth out of me", you tricked me! You tricked me!" I yelled, pulling at my binds again.

"I will not deny it. I am Albus Dumbledore. Remember; I could put you into Azkaban in an instant. The only reason I am not is because I know you left Voldemort for good. But what did you think you would accomplish once you left? What were you planning on doing? Why don't you think it over. Join us in the end."

"Hell, no!" I protested.

"It's for your life," he said sadly.

"You don't care, you just don't want a threat!" I shouted.

"Severus, you are a fool," Dumbledore said quietly, as inoffensively as possible. "You do not understand yourself, and overestimate your powers greatly. I am sorry for you, and you will do well to come back to us with no protest." There was silence. I was completely disbelieving of what he was saying. "But you will not come without a fight, am I right? You have been given wrong thoughts! See the error of what you think is right, and join us in our quest for freedom, peace; no more war, I am tired of war. I will fight if I must, understand; for the people and for the world. But you can help to end this. You can make the difference you always thought you could make!"

"No, no, no!" I objected. "What is good, anyway? Weakness! All it is, is weakness!"

"No. That is where you're wrong," Dumbledore answered. "Good shows great courage and strength. To go against what you fear for what you believe in."

"I believe in NOTHING!" I growled, my throat hoarse from screaming. "I believe in nothing, and there is nothing to believe in."

"There are many things to believe in," Dumbledore said patiently.

"That's right," I shot sarcastically, "Love, truth, freedom; I don't love, truth is bitter, and freedom I already had BEFORE you took me against my will!"

"You do not care about one other person?" the old wizard asked.

"I care for nothing," I said truthfully. "All I ever cared for was my own life, may it be selfish of me."

"Extremely," Dumbledore agreed. "What about trust?"

"There is no trust," I grumbled.

"You can't trust me?"

"I can trust nobody. You're going back on your word. You said you'd let me free," I said.

"No; I told you I'd let you free once you rested, but you're just making it worse. Rest, and I will let you go," he bargained.

I exploded. "Why do you care!? What is one life, anyway!? What am I worth!? I don't believe you kidnap every Death Eater you find and try to talk him out of being rotten and selfish! Otherwise, Azkaban would be empty! I'm being fooled with! Why do you ask me questions and wonder why I am not good? I'm not, all right? Send me to Azkaban and QUIT PLAYING WITH ME!" I gave another struggle for force.

"I do not send you to Azkaban," Dumbledore said more quietly than ever, "because I know there is good in you. You are a confusing one. So many Death Eaters, always pleading for their lives on the spot; showing me nothing but evil and hatred, and refusing to speak... Mindless killing and all of that! But I see something different in you."

"There is no good in me! Listen to what I say! I despise good, and I shout down upon all you good people! There is no difference between me and the others!" I growled. "Send me to Azkaban if you must, just stop this talk of beliefs and goodness! I have none of that! I am no different."

"You are merely confused," Dumbledore said. "Confused about who you are."

"Don't start with that," I grunted. "Spare me the way you talk, it's absolutely painful," I said, my voice full of sarcasm.

There was an even longer silence now. It lasted more than ten minutes according to my mental clock. Finally, Dumbledore spoke again.

"You will rest now. Later, you will go free," he whispered. "One day, when you realize it, I'll be here. You'll find yourself in the middle of a disaster, and I will help you. And that is when you will trust me fully. And that is when you will join me."

I didn't reply. I really was very tired, and didn't want to think about what this madman was saying to me. So, giving in to the aching and throbbing, and the soft pillows against my back, I settled stiffly into position I held until I heard Dumbledore leave the room. Then I fell into a dreamless sleep.
A/N: Thanks for reading such a long chapter, peeps! If this was a little more confusing than normal, please; bear with me. I had no chance to read this over. I will when I get the time, but my sister is yabbering for the compy. Hope you liked it! :D :D :D :D (And if it's really that bad, I'll fix it up.)