Chapter 17

Dumbledore stared numbly at the Daily Prophet that laid spread before him. There was a pile of papers that were sprawled around him. He was staring at the third set of papers that had been completely consumed with the consecutive worldwide attacks that had occurred for the past three days.

There was no place in the world that had been left untouched. No place had been left unscathed, each rock was overturn leaving nothing but a desolated landscape. Above the site of destruction was marked one of three different ways, hovering above every inch of sky, glowing fiercely and menacingly as it glared down at those little, if any, survivors below it. The place where the Master's Mark had been left, were those that were the least devastated, caused by Death Eaters. Those places that were crippled and was half standing were done by Avenger, marked with the letters 'Avenger'. The places that Harry himself had emerged from were left in ruins, the same way that civilizations had ceased to exist in a matter of minutes. He had marked these places with a single black rose that floated above the sky, in the place of the Mark. It didn't take long for the world to distinguish who had come and left like the wind.

In this way, entire cities were wiped out from the face of the earth. Buildings crumpled, leaving individual walls to stand. Dead, decay and degrade were in the air. No one, no wizard, no Muggle was spared. Those that did survive the three day holocaust of mankind, flocked to Hogwarts in waves as it was the last, intact building capable of being a suitable shelter as it had not been touched after the last class graduated. Muggles, those that survived the onslaught slaughter rushed to relief groups that had been provided by wizards.

Of course, having lived nearly a century and a half, war had been a common thing in the eyes of the headmaster. Yet nothing had prepared him, could prepare him for this. It looked as though the existence of the human race rested entirely on the palms of a single manic, one who still have not yet reached his peak.

There was a pop, a very small pop. If he had been anyone else but Albus, he would have not noticed. At the moment, at the present situation, he wanted to be anyone but Albus Dumbledore. However the world was a cruel place to be, and he had absolutely no control of what he wanted to do and who he wanted to be.

"Headmaster" a silky, muffled voice came from the shadows. Dumbledore looked around, trying to corner where the voice had come from. His eyes searched, but he could find no one.

"Show yourself…" Dumbledore whispered, twirling his wand in his hand. He heard a pair of footsteps approach him, but it wasn't until the person stepped into the light, that Dumbledore recognized who it was.

"Severus…." The fully dressed in Death Eater robes, Potion Master nodded his head, the only place that his skin was exposed.

"What do you want?" Albus asked evenly, his wand still pointed at the man. "How do I know that you are really Severus Snape?"

"Ask me anything that only I would know."

Dumbedore furrowed his eyebrows, thinking for what seemed like an eternity before he spoke again.

"Remind me again why did you join Voldmort? Why did you turn against him? Why did you become a spy for the Order?"

"Ah…I thought you would ask that…" Snape whispered, nodding his head, bobbing it up and down, knowingly.

"The Snape's like the Black's and Malfoy's are a group of pureblood Dark wizards who have served one Dark Lord after the next. There are no exceptions. At the age of 16, as expected of me, I was sworn into the service of the Dark Lord. I had no choice, as like those before me, were done so, the night they were of age. Yet at that time, I had welcomed it with my whole being. The world had been cruel towards me, even as a child. I was friendless and even an outcast within my own House. Blinded by revenge, and the thought of one day making the world pay, I accepted the path before me and battled up to become part of the Dark Lord's Inner Circle, quite like some other school mates, such as Lucius, Bellatrix, and Peter.

The years that followed were rough, but I desperately clung on. I needed to cling on, for the mere thought of survival. Many, such as Regulas Black, had passed before me,. Slowly the truth begun to sink in.—the horrors of what I was doing to the world and the price that I had to pay for it. I realized how foolish I was and what a bastard I had been. I hated myself. Slowly, ever so slowly, I envied Sirius. If only I had followed him, just took off and left my family. I was never as strong as Black, but I swore I wasn't weak either. Then I remembered the first step to anything was to admit my mistakes before I could change them. I knew I had done too much damage. I was alone and there was no way to run. That is, no way until the chance came, the chance that I grasped onto and succeeded. There was a night when the Dark Lord almost won the war. He could have won the war. You as well as many others were captured. Voldemort had planned on your execution the next day, at sunrise when he would broadcast it across the world. That night however, I had been one of the guards that were watching you. By that time I had known that if you died then my hopes of redemption would disappear as well. So, I took that chance and God must have been watching as I was able to safely help you break out and make it look like an accident.

I did not choose to be a spy for the Order, but was convinced to do so. After you escaped, you asked me 'why'. I had given you my reasons. After pondering, you said that the best way and safest way for 'redemption' was to play spy and slowly pay off the debt."

Dumbledore was nodding throughout the entire time. He had not said a thing, but had let the man drag on.

"And why are you here, at this time of the day? Why are you in a Death Eater's suit? As Hogwart's Potion's Professor, you should have every right to roam freely throughout this castle…"

"Ah…you know why. I am supposed to be a spy for you, a spy for you only. Not even for the Order. To everyone aside from the two of us, I am one of the Master's loyalist men. In order for me to succeed, I must trick both sides. It is too dangerous for anyone to know that I am a spy. The stakes in this game has grown, and the lost will be deadly. It is only a precaution."

"Yes, indeed you are Severus Snape. What you speak is the truth. That is the Severus that I remember. However…." In a softer voice that caused the younger man's eyes to flash open, he spoke again "how do I know that your loyalties have not wavered since you have been away?"

Snape spoke coldly, stepping back a bit.

"That is something that is left up to you to decide. You either trust me or you don't. I will not spend time trying to convince you of such things, to persuade you to believe the way I want you to believe. We both know that it is useless to do so. You must trust me, the way I trust you, have always trusted you. You must remember Headmaster, it's my life that is on the line and I have no intention on revealing my true intentions to my real enemies."

Dumbledore had his head resting between his hands, with his elbows supporting the weight.

"So…. what are your plans?" Snape asked at last, staring down at the wearily man before him. "From all that's happened, I don't think you would remain silent and act as though nothing has happened…."

"You're right, I won't. I can't. Yet, you must understand Severus, I cannot blindly attack, not when I know so little of my enemy." The headmaster seemed to hint that he needed more information, and sounded as though Snape needed to spill his guts out with all the information that he possessed.

"What do you wish to know?" Snape asked.

"His plans. All of them."

Snape seem surprise. "That for one, as surprisingly as it may sound, he has none. The Prince has one goal, and one goal only. He wishes to conquer the entire world and rule. He wishes to finish and complete the task that had once belonged to the Dark Lord."

"So it is random?"

"Yes. The places are randomly chosen by the leading Death Eater. Avenger takes care of himself. The Prince finishes the rest. The only thing in common is that all Muggles are killed and very few are taken as prisoners. The world, as you can see, is left in ruins."

Dumbledore rubbed his beard, stroking it.

"And who exactly is Avenger?"

"No one besides the Prince and Avenger him/herself knows."

"I see…." The headmaster was disappointed. Avenger was just as deadly as the Master. After all, he had been responsible for the death of Fudge as well as everyone who was present at St. Mungo's at the time and did not escape the massacre.

"I believe the Master will continue and order these attacks. You must retaliate. How else can we survive? These terrors must stop."

"I know, but even if I wanted to, I must rely on other sources for support as you do not seem to be able to help."

Snape rolled his eyes.

"and those are….?"

"My other sources"

Snape shifted, suddenly uncomfortable with being in front of Dumbledore. It felt as though the old man knew something and was keeping it to himself.

"Well I am sorry I cannot be so helpful. I will try better," Snape continued sarcastically.

"I know you will" Dumbledore whispered. "Your life depends on it"

Snape turned around, clearly annoyed at being kept in the dark, feeling like a fish that was desperately trying to stay alive while being above water.

"In the meantime, I have already gathered my army. I am ready to strike. In fact I have a day planed already."

"And when, where is that? I'll be sure to help out."

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling.

"Now, I cannot spoil it. It is dangerous if information is unintentionally let slipped." Dumbledore then added. "It is not that I do not trust you. Severus, you must understand the dangers and the powers that the Half-blood possesses."

"Of course" he replied, though he did not sound like he understood.

Snape only walked back into the shadows when silence fell again.

"And oh, by the way, there is a cave about 100 miles south of Hogsmade. You may wish to make a visit there." With the he left the way he had come, silent, leaving nothing behind to mark his presence.

It was a while before the Headmaster spoke again.

"You can come out now." From behind him, there was a shuffling noise. "We shall test Severus' loyalties. Make arrangements to visit the cave. We must find a way to mend your connections with the Master."

"Of course headmaster. I'll get to it right away." Dumbledore turned around slightly to look at the young person, extending his hand in a friendly gesture.

"I am glad you chose the path of Sirius. It takes a lot to go a full 180 degree turn against family."