"You're worried, Severus."
Dumbledore stood there in a purple robe, one corner embroidered with stars.
Snape shot him a cold glance and said nothing.
"You shouldn't be teaching him these things," Dumbledore went on slowly.
"You don't get to order me around in this, Dumbledore," Snape said with a sneer.
"I know. But you should trust me."
Dumbledore sounded as though he were conceding something.
"Trust you? Dumbledore, when have you ever trusted me?"
Snape threw his anger at him like a blade.
"At all times."
Dumbledore answered as if he didn't even need to think.
"At all times? Hah… And yet I know nothing. The Dark Lord's power is weakening. He'll notice that. And when he does, do you know what methods he has at his disposal? That idiot doesn't have any mark or magic on him—you're planning to get him killed, aren't you?!"
Snape demanded furiously, glaring at Dumbledore as if he were a thief or a bandit.
"He will return. I have never denied that. But Hogwarts will always be the safest place."
There was a calm certainty in Dumbledore's words.
"Hah…"
Snape clearly thought that was nonsense.
"You still don't trust me. You don't trust anyone. But I trust you, and we all trust you, Severus."
Dumbledore sighed.
"You refuse to tell me anything, and still expect me to trust you, Dumbledore. Stop acting as if everything is simply yours to decide."
Snape said it viciously.
"The issue is not that I don't trust you, Severus. We all have things we should know, and things we do not need to know—or even must not know."
Dumbledore said.
"So you think you're the one who deserves to know everything? Or that he is? If that's what you believe, then you should agree with what I'm doing now."
Snape said contemptuously.
"No, I have never believed I know everything. Most of the time, I know nothing and amount to nothing.
But you crossed the line, Severus. That is not something he should be exposed to."
Dumbledore lowered his eyes.
"You want him facing the most dangerous things. You want him going up against the most dangerous people. But you won't teach him, you won't even tell him—
Do you expect me to just stand there and watch him die, Dumbledore?!"
Snape roared in fury.
"He's twelve years old, Dumbledore! Must your plans include his life too?!"
Dumbledore fell silent. He had no answer.
The dungeon wind blew relentlessly. Outside, the sky was shifting fast, from velvet-dark blue to a cold gray.
It was raining in Scotland.
It always seemed to be raining here.
"Severus… that isn't my decision to make."
Dumbledore said at last.
"Then I'll make it. I'll teach him everything I know. I'll keep him inside Hogwarts as much as I can, and when he has to face something, I'll make sure he can fight back as much as possible."
Snape said, his voice rough.
"Fight back… that is our task, Severus. Not his. Don't you understand?
Our hopes, the duty we have to carry out—none of that belongs to him."
Dumbledore spoke as if he were warning him.
"What do you mean?"
"You should not be teaching him that knowledge. He does not need that kind of power."
"You think he's the next Dumbledore?"
"No. He is the one and only Sean Green. He will surpass me, surpass all of us… He doesn't need someone to guide him. He will find his own path, and all we can do is wait. If possible, we pass knowledge on to him so he can save some time, not delude ourselves into walking the road for him.
Severus, you crossed the line. Your child does not need you to guide him."
When Dumbledore finished speaking, he fell silent again, staring at the window where droplets were gathering into a thin trail.
"You expect too much from him."
Snape suddenly understood.
But that word—child—was like a whisper spoken too softly, and it felt as though a haze of pain lay over his vision. Dumbledore's words seemed to take a very long time to reach his ears.
"On the contrary. I find myself constantly wondering whether I am still underestimating that child."
Dumbledore sighed.
"You mean…"
Snape came to a realization.
"Let him choose for himself. If he wants to learn something, let him learn it.
Most wizards are told what magic they should study. He needs to choose for himself, because his road is longer than ours. No one can help him walk it."
As Dumbledore spoke, the fireplace had somehow gone out.
The last scent of burning wood lingered in the damp dungeon air.
"I have one last question…"
Snape was ultimately convinced, but also deeply unsettled. He wanted him to have the power to protect himself, yet in Dumbledore's eyes those powers didn't even count for much.
"If that's truly how you see it, then why do you always keep him at your side?"
Snape stared coldly at Dumbledore, as if trying to find the slightest trace of a lie hidden in the lines at the corners of the old wizard's eyes.
But to his great surprise, there was no lie there—only an awkwardness that Dumbledore was trying to cover up.
"I never intended for it to be this way. If possible, I would prefer, just as you would, that none of this brushed against him at all.
Severus, tell me this: if time could solve all our problems, would we have any need to take risks?"
Dumbledore admitted, with a rare trace of embarrassment.
That convinced Snape completely—and infuriated him completely.
"I feel exactly as you do, Severus. I'm glad that certain problems have been resolved, and worried about what may yet go wrong in the future.
I do not oppose anything you've done. I signed that detention order. I thought you would understand me."
Dumbledore looked almost hurt.
"Sean Green…"
Snape practically ground the name out through clenched teeth.
He had assumed Dumbledore was quietly pushing things along from behind the scenes, but the truth was that the little boat had been sailing on its own all along. He had always known that, but never felt this irritated by it until now.
"Don't damage that child's soul. Don't test him, even if he can endure the test."
Dumbledore made to leave. As he turned, that kindly smile was still on his face.
"Oh, and don't forget to fill in the justification, Severus. The Board of Governors will need a reason to approve the summer detention."
"Hmph."
Snape gave a cold snort.
He set a sheet of parchment on the desk. Words like Potions Assistant and Summer Training were faintly visible on it.
Those words naturally made Snape think of next term's Care of Magical Creatures class, and he found himself annoyed that he couldn't arrange for the two schedules to collide.
"Oh, not a bad idea. I assume this has nothing to do with Hagrid."
Dumbledore said teasingly as he picked up the parchment.
~~~
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