Nothing lasts forever;

I am Death's Master. Death welcomed me into the world and bent itself to my will. It bowed before me, it worshipped me. It is my servant, my slave, my right hand, my final mercy…

It will never master me...

Severus seems distressed. I wonder if my demonstration has been instructive.

"Wasss that painful to watch?" I ask.

Severus blinks at me, I remember that he is still frozen. I suppose if this discussion is to be fruitful, I have to allow him the use of his mouth. I unfreeze him. He swallows, but doesn't say anything.

"It isss interesting that his admiration, his 'love' for you resulted in his death. He died for you, like a brave little solider. Are you proud? I assume he learnt pointlessss-ssself-sssacrifice from you".

Severus continues to look blank. Perhaps it is shock.

"You aren't even a particularly good martyr. You couldn't even manage to die first".

Severus shuts his eyes.

"Forgive me for saying this, but you have led something of a cursed life when it comes to love. Your father despised you, your mother saw you as another burden. Your one saving grace, your one true friend, turned away from you in disgust upon realizing what you truly are like. Did you think saving her son would make a difference?"

Severus opens his eyes and looks at me consideringly. This is unsettling. I think I will have his eyes removed. But first I will drive my point home.

"The truly tragic thing about you Severussss, is that you are so perceptive, so intelligent, yet you are deluded about your own nature. You are irredeemable, and therefore you cannot be redeemed by martyrdom. They will never love you, they will never even like you. There is something truly repulsive about you that makes all who come in contact with you despise you. And you still haven't accepted it".

Severus shrugs. "You're just mirroring my fears and insecurities back at me". He says this like he is quoting it from somewhere.

"Yes, but what makes you think your fears and insecurities aren't well grounded?"

Severus smiles oddly. I don't like that. I reach forward to brush some of the hair out of his face. I am pleased that he flinches away from me.

"My brave boy", I began "My disloyal servant. I am merely trying to help you realize your error. Your love and the sacrifices you make for this love are the thing that brought you to this place. They turned you into a slavish follower of Dumbledore, a deluded warrior and a savior of the ungrateful. Everything you do is tarnished by darkness".

Severus continues to smile. Maybe the terror has broken his mind. I continue;

"You have lost Severusssss. They will blame you for the boy and Wormtail's death. That lovely girl will spit on your grave and curse your name. Dumbledore will curse the day he decided to trust you. All because of 'love', Severus. 'Your guiding light' has betrayed you and lead you into darkness".

Snape is still smiling. Maybe I will remove his lips first, or his teeth.

"You will die alone Severusss. Alone and unloved and afraid. You will leave this world as you entered it. All for nothing. But not until you realisssse how truly worthlessss you are".

He starts to laugh. Not hysterically, not like he's afraid, but like I have told him a very funny joke.

I don't like it.

"Do you think I did all of this because I wanted them to like me?" he asks. "That I did it for a school yard crush? Why do you insist on complicating matters".

He is mad. His fear of me must have snapped his mind completely.

"The fact that you are a mad melodramatic sadist with a snake fetish is more than enough motivation to defy you. You don't need to further complicate it by throwing unrequited love into the mix" he says.

He just mocked me. The pathetic little weakling mocked me. Why isn't he afraid of me? The boy wasn't afraid of me either.

What did they know?

"I don't deny that I had some rather melodramatic fantasies involving me dying rather dramatically in her arms", he continues, "but that was never a primary motivating factor. I did what I did, I choose what I choose, because I am basically a good person".

"Becausse you are a good perssson" I hiss doubtfully.

"I am a bit sarcastic and a lot of people seem to hate me, but I think overall the world has benefited from my existence". He offers me a mock bow, "thank you for helping me to realise that".

"And because of this do you think you will receive some sort of reward after your death?" I spit.

He considers, "No, a God and a afterlife don't really make any sense to me. But I have the satisfaction of knowing that I played the hand I was dealt well".

"For the greater good?" I hiss mockingly.

He looks at me levelly. "No, for the good of people who needed it. The moral majority, the ones who make up the 'greater good' don't really need help from the likes of me".

"You are going to die" I hiss, "ssslowly, over many months".

He looks at me with pity in his eyes, like the boy.

What do they know?

"Nothing lasts forever" he says, "that is life's greatest redeeming feature, and it's greatest tragedy".

"I will last forever" I say.

He smiles.

He is already mad. There is nothing to be gained from torturing him.

I want him gone. He must know some way to destroy me, if he isn't afraid of me.

"Avada kavada" I say.

He smiles.

The world turns green.

Death will never master meeee...

Epilogue;

Pain...beyond anything I have ever experienced...

But I will survive, I owe young Potter that much.

The End...

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