He held the Horcrux in the pocket of his jacket as he made his way through the familiar halls. At this time of night, no one would be patrolling anymore. Hell, he knew he should wait until morning, but he couldn't wait. He wanted it done now.

He approached the Gargoyle statue and said the password "Gumdrops" and climbed the stairs to the main floor. He knew as soon as the password was said the headmaster would be alerted and awoken.

True to his estimation Dumbledore was emerging from his room behind the desk as he entered his office.

The Headmaster looked only mildly surprised to see him as if the late hour was the only unexpected element in this encounter. "Good evening, Mr. Snape," Dumbledore said, inclining his head slightly as Severus entered his office. "Or perhaps good morning, I should say." He sat down at his desk.

Snape said nothing as he approached the desk, reached into his pocket, and dropped the broken diadem onto the desk without a word, glaring at Dumbledore wondering just what he would say.

Dumbledore's eyebrows raised as he regarded the ruined artifact before he looked up at Severus again. "You've destroyed a Horcrux?" he asked quietly.

"It would appear so," Severus said, his lips tight as he regarded him. "With no help from you."

"You don't seem to have needed it," Dumbledore replied, admittedly impressed. "Well done. I had wondered what exactly you were planning, sneaking back into the castle like that." He had expected that Severus was mainly focused on providing continued unseen guidance to James. "This is … more ambitious than I would have imagined."

Severus licked his lips in annoyance. "You know I was here?" He asked. "This whole time?"

"I suspected," Albus admitted. "And then confirmed that you were no longer in your hometown. It was not difficult to deduce that Potter might have found a way to surreptitiously smuggle you in. He does have a knack for that sort of thing."

"I see. And yet you let me remain in there for months." He said, clearly not amused, "When I could have been doing more to help."

"More than this?" Dumbledore said, gesturing down at the broken remains of Voldemort's Horcrux sitting in the center of his desk. "That seems unlikely, even for you. In any case, we have already discussed the reasons why I could not bring you back into the castle openly. You seem to have done exceptionally well without my meddling."

"And yet it would have gone a lot faster with your help. And I wouldn't have gone so stir crazy." Snape said, starting to get angrier. "All this time we could have been helping each other and you've been doing what? Exactly. Sitting on your ass?"

"I have been doing a great many things, Severus," said Dumbledore, unperturbed. "One of which was allowing you to exercise your own judgment."

"Oh, that was big of you," Severus said sarcastically.

"It seems to have been the right choice," Dumbledore said, ignoring the sarcasm. "You did just strike a significant blow for our side."

"Yes, I did." He said. "And there are still four more. So what exactly do you propose now? Since I can't be at the school and you don't seem to be willing to work with me anymore."

"I'm willing to work with you, given the circumstances," Dumbledore said, his fingers steepled over the desk in thought. "And you've been in the castle for some time without further incident, but continuing your previous apprenticeship is still out of the question."

"For more reasons than you think, yes … It is out of the question. And given the fact of what's happened over the last few months and your blatant refusal to even allow me the chance to discuss what could be done, and given the fact that you've allowed me to work entirely on my own with many hindrances instead of assistance, what makes you think I'd be willing to work with you now?" Severus asked.

"If you are unwilling to work with me, then you certainly don't have to," Dumbledore said mildly. "You and Mr. Potter seem to be doing quite well regardless … Though if there is some way that I could assist you, I certainly hope you would let me know."

"I've already let you know how you could assist me, and yet you left me …" He said. "You know … Had I not had Potter to sneak me back into the school after your blatant refusal I have no doubts I would be dead by now. But, I suppose that doesn't really matter to you. Since I wasn't of any use any longer."

"I assure you, I would not have permitted that to happen," Dumbledore said, though he looked a little perturbed at the implication. Shaken, even. "And I had no doubt that Mr. Potter and Miss Evans would find their own way to keep you in the loop."

"In the loop isn't the matter here. The matter is your inability to listen or assist!" He yelled. "Because if you did even bother wanting to listen to me before I would have told you that in using dark magic on a muggle I had gained the attentions of the death eaters and the dark lord himself! I also would have told you that in helping Mrs. Evans, I had entirely lost my ability to use magic! I'm no more magical now than a muggle. So if I did remain out there with them watching me … How long do you think it would be before they found out? And how long after would my body be appearing in the Daily Prophet, maybe alongside Lily's family?"

Dumbledore visibly stiffened at that. He was silent for a long moment, before he said, "I wish you had told me that. Perhaps … I gave you no reason to trust that I would listen. I'm sorry for that. But I wish you had said something, nonetheless."

"So what happens now then?" He asked, gesturing as if he had no idea. "Am I going back to Cokeworth or am I staying here?"

"I'm not sending you away, Severus," Dumbledore said, with a somewhat pained expression in his eyes. "I trust you can continue to lay low for the time being? Even at Hogwarts, it would be best if you avoid drawing attention to yourself."

"No, I figured I'd go for a jog in the middle of the afternoon through the grounds." He said. "Maybe wear a nice bright purple tracksuit." He said sarcastically.

"Does anyone besides Mr. Potter and Miss Evans know you're here?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring his sarcasm once again.

"Yes." He said simply, not elaborating.

Dumbledore regarded him for a moment over the rims of his half-moon spectacles. "And would you care to tell me who else is aware that you're in the castle?" he asked.

"No," Severus said. "They won't tell anyone. And until you are willing to trust me, I'm no longer going to play your game. I'm not answering to you … I told you that from the beginning and yet again you're playing these games. You can't stop yourself can you?"

"This isn't an interrogation, Severus," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "But, given that your safety is on the line, I doubt you would let anyone know if they couldn't be trusted. I will respect your judgment on the matter."

"Really?" Severus asked. "Is that all?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, glad I could be of service." He said sarcastically before going to leave the room.

"No," Dumbledore said calmly. "That is not all. Two other Horcruxes have been found, and I have a lead on another."

Snape paused and turned to Dumbledore. "Found?" He asked. "And where are they?"

"Safely locked away, for now," Dumbledore said, looking back at him. "Though I have, as of yet, been unable to destroy them. Incidentally, I don't suppose you know where the Sorting Hat is?"

"You've had two Horcruxes all this time?" He asked. "For how long?"

"A couple of months now," Dumbledore said calmly. "I did not, however, possess the means to destroy them."

"Where are they?" Severus asked again, his voice flat but he was clearly annoyed.

"In my desk," Dumbledore answered. "Locked and warded, of course."

"In your …" Severus looked away from him and shook his head. "You know what … Forget it. I'm done!" He said walking away.

"It is late," Dumbledore agreed as if Severus had no other reason for abruptly leaving. "But whenever you're ready, the two other Horcruxes can be destroyed on your terms."

"I mean I'm done. You can finish this on your own. I'm out! It's not my problem!" He said angrily before leaving the room and slamming the door shut behind him.

Albus shook his head, letting him go. He had every reason to be angry, no doubt, and there was nothing Albus could do to assuage it right now. But Severus would inevitably be back, in his own time and for his own reasons.

Severus walked angrily down the hall, his hands clenched at his sides, one clenching his cane so hard his knuckles turned white as he stormed back towards the room of requirement, so livid that even Filch who caught him in the hall didn't say anything, and in fact even moved out of the way.

When Severus arrived back in the Room of Requirement, James was sitting in a far corner of the room, as far as possible from where he had destroyed the Horcrux, his arms crossed as he looked up at the opening door.

"I'm done." He said. "I quit! I'm out!" He practically yelled, slamming the room of requirement door which made no sound as it slammed shut which only seemed to make Snape angrier. "You're on your own Potter! It's Dumbledore's problem now!" He said going to his room and slamming that door shut behind him, thankful this one actually slammed loudly, as if the room knew he needed the satisfaction of the sound.

James stared at the closed door in fuming disbelief, before he stood up and stormed over, giving the door a loud kick. "You could have damn well told me that before you told me to wait here for you!"

"James," Lily said, alarmed, pulling him back by the shoulder. "You're making things worse. Go calm down and get some sleep."

"No," James snapped, jerking away from her. "He's done nothing but drag me around when he promised me answers!"

Lily shook her head, shoving past him and going into the room, leaving James unable to follow.

Severus sat on his bed, his back to her, his hands braced on his knees as he tried to control his breathing. Even Amaranth and Radar seemed to know something was wrong, Radar sitting on the bed behind him, facing him, her ears perked up at attention, Amaranth perched on the headboard watching him. Neither made a sound, which was strangely odd for the bird who was usually squawking and pecking at him.

Without a word, Lily went over to sit on the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. "It's alright," she said quietly. She didn't know what had just happened, but he'd expressed his sentiments clearly enough. "You don't have to do anything for anyone."

His hand went up to her arm that was in front of his chest and looked down at the floor. "I don't know what to do …" He said quietly. "I don't want to do this anymore. The lies, the games … He's doing it again. The entire time I was in here going stir crazy … He knew I was in here. And he'd found two other Horcruxes … And he decided to not only allow me to stay in here but to keep that information to himself. These things could have been destroyed months ago, and we could be onto the last two."

"Why would he do that?" Lily asked, shocked. "Even if he doesn't care how any of this affects you, he wants them destroyed, doesn't he?"

"I guess he didn't think I would know how to destroy them. Or maybe he didn't think me capable since I didn't have any direct connection with destroying them before. I don't know. But I'm done playing this game … I'm not doing it again." He said, changing a glance towards her before he looked back down again.

Silence filled the bedroom for a long moment, save for the restless, aggravated pacing coming from the main room outside, before Lily nodded, her hair brushing softly against his shoulder as she did. "I understand," she said. "You've already done more and sacrificed more than anyone could reasonably ask of you. So if you want out … I support that." She was even a little relieved. It had kept her up at night, wondering just how many times the man she loved could be broken and put back together again before there was nothing left. Whatever he may have done in another lifetime, he still deserved better than this.

He looked over his shoulder at her as Radar climbed up his back onto his other shoulder. "Would you run away with me? We could go to Canada."

A wistful little smile crept across her face at that. "That does sound tempting."

"I'm serious this time …" He said quietly. "Would you?"

Lily looked up at him, torn, a longing sadness in her eyes. "I couldn't leave my family here, while things are only getting worse. And I doubt they could be convinced to come with us."

Severus looked away from her, his hands running over his mouth before he nodded. "I'm going to go to bed. You two should head back to your rooms." He said quietly, standing up, Radar jumping back down onto the bed and tumbling a bit.

"I can stay with you," Lily said, her hand touching his arm gently. Just the look on his face was painful to watch. "If you want."

"No." Severus said. "I just …" He paused, carefully wording what he said next. "I have a lot to think about."

Lily hesitated, before she nodded, then leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Send for me if you decide you want some company," she said quietly. "I don't care what time it is."

He nodded slightly and forced a small smile. "I will." He said though he had a feeling they both knew he wouldn't. "I'll uh …" He paused briefly. "I'll see you later."

"Soon," Lily agreed, giving his hand a squeeze before she reluctantly stood to leave. She was afraid that she had answered his question the wrong way, and that he might end up pushing her away. It took a massive force of will to let him be alone right now. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he said, watching her as she left before he collapsed back on his bed. He felt like he had too many options and at the same time too few options. Running was an option, but it really wasn't. With the dark mark on his arm, he'd be tracked, easily. But then again, in this time period when the Dark Lord had so many followers … Would he really care if one new recruit moved?

Considering the Dark Lord himself paid him that particular visit, his assumption was probably.

If he stayed, he would have to go back to Dumbledore, admit that he'd follow his rules, and play the lapdog again …

Or he could hide out here until Dumbledore decided to kick him out, or storm in here demanding to know how to destroy the Horcruxes.

All three options weren't good options … And at least one of them resulted in him having a 92% chance of dying, and the other two at least a 50/50 chance of dying.

Severus screamed at the top of his lungs, pushing out every single frustration he had into that cry of emotion, the sound making Radar jump on the bed and look in his direction, his ears pointed straight up, Amaranth squawking and flying to the other side of the room. He couldn't bring himself to care right now, he had enough stress to deal with. Honestly, his chest hurt so much right now, if he didn't know better he'd think he was having a heart attack.

It was easy really, three options, only one answer. All he had to do now, was make a decision. One that will drastically change not only his future but Lily's as well.