A/N A conversation with Dumbledore. Dun dun duhhhh...

Disclaimer: I highly doubt JK Rowlings would have to write disclaimer, should she choose to do Fanfiction. Thus, I am not her.

Save Me, No One

Chapter 5

As soon as Potter went running out of Severus's office, a deep sigh behind him made him whirl around.

"What do you want, Albus?" he asked wearily, as he sunk down into the chair.

"Why must you torment the boy so. He is only a child," Albus said. Severus could feel the disappointment in the portrait's voice.

"He is a man. He has already done a life's worth of work, experienced as much as YOU. I can hardly consider him a child, as you say," Snape sneered.

"He indeed has experienced more than his fair share of trials. Most of which, I admit, I created..." Dumbledore trailed off.

"Did you know he was abused by his family?" Snape asked suddenly, turning to face the portrait.

Dumbledore hesitated, not looking at the greasy black haired man before him. "Abused, no. Neglected, yes."

Snape had to rein in his temper. "And you didn't do anything because..." Severus growled through gritted teeth.

"I believed," Albus said slowly, "that it would help him in the long run."

"So. You not only raised him like a pig for slaughter, but you decided to turn him into clay that you could mold for ypur own twisted reasons?"

"No, Severus! Not at-"

"So you betrayed him. Did he know you knew, of the neglect, that is?"

A pause.

"I mentioned his room for the first ten years of his life, yes," Albus said vaguely.

"His room being..."

"The cupboard under the stairs," was spoken guiltily.

Severus rubbed a weary hand over his face. "So he knew you knew. You, his mentor, the one person he had left to look up to, betrayed him beyond recognition! YOU disgust ME!"

There was a long silence.

"I DID care about him though," Albus's quiet voice echoed.

Snape froze. What had he said again? "My DUTY is to take care of you," and, "I care about one person and she has been dead for sixteen years."

The boy's face. At first he thought it was disgusted when he said this. He WAS talking about the boy's mother anyway. But now... the amount of hurt was almost tangible. The amount of pain. The lost look in the eyes.

Severus was unsure why the boy even cared if he cared, or not. He had his sidekicks, the Weasleys, Longbottom, Lovegood, his fan club, Lupin, the mutt, and his parents, not to mention Dumbledore.

But even as he rang off the names, some unknown feeling started to rush through his body. Suddenly, he just couldn't sit still.

"I'm going for a walk," Severus said, as he strode from the office to the place that could always calm him.

A/N Gee, I wonder where? Yeah...

So I was watching the sixth movie, and Dumbledore makes a reference to the cupboard under the stairs. Grrrrrr... Sometimes that man irks me!

Reviews make me smile and make your story better! And if you like the battle of the whole:

"But this is touching Severus. Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?"

"For him? Expecto Patronum!"

Thing, than you should read my one-shot "Care? For him?" Sooooo sad, but sooooo sweet too!

So review!