This chapter took me forever and there was originally supposed to be more! I had to split it into two chapters; hopefully the next one won't give me as much trouble.

…

Severus felt drained as he entered the Castle grounds. His time with Dursleys had been very insightful.

He'd spent an hour of his time determined to figure out the truth.

He'd used Occlumency to sort the lies from the truth. It had been a long process; there had been so much he hadn't known. So much he wished he could now wipe from his mind.

The abuse had been...Severus shook his head; he wasn't even sure what to call it. Vernon was a cruel, evil man, and neither his wife nor son were any better.

They had condoled the violence. The son even participating in it once and a while as Petunia turned a blind eye to the whole thing.

A particularly gruesome memory chose that moment to barge into his mind and Severus felt sick to his stomach.

He looked up at the castle, his eyes landing on the Headmaster's tower. Knowing the man was probably sitting in his office, behind his desk, going about his day like everything was normal. Not caring that he had condemned a child to suffer a most horrifying, abusive childhood.

It chilled Severus to the bone to have known this man for so long and yet he'd never once suspected the man of wrong doing. He was just that good.

And Potter, why had Potter stayed quiet all this time? Had Dumbledore been threatening him? Had he been hoping someone would put it all together and help him?

But the help had never come and now Potter was dead.

Severus clenched his fists and strode ahead, walking with propose towards the castle.

He just needed to make a quick stop at his chambers before heading to confront the Headmaster.

...

Severus had just finished flooing the last of his belongings to his summer home. He walked out of the fireplace just in time, within seconds Dumbledore's head appeared in the flames.

Severus stood in front of him, blocking his view to the rest of the chambers; he didn't want Dumbledore to notice that there was anything out of place and get suspicious. That might ruin everything.

"Severus," Dumbledore's voice was low but conveyed the distaste in his voice. It was the same tone he had been speaking to Severus in since they had found out about Potter. His tone held no patience, there was anger there that suggested he was blaming Severus for everything, and Severus had believed him!

Had taken everything he had said to heart, and it had worked. He'd blamed himself.

But now he knew the truth and who was actually to blame. He would no longer be putting up with his bull.

He still knew he was partly responsible though. He had been hard on the boy. Believing he was something that he wasn't and blaming him without even knowing him.

Maybe if he had just been able to see past his hate, he would have seen the real Potter and just maybe he would have caught what was going on.

He mentally shook himself, he couldn't dwell on that now. There was no way of knowing what would have happened if things had been different. Now he had to move forward with his life, get out from under Dumbledore's thumb and make sure that Potter hadn't died in vain.

"Headmaster," Severus acknowledged.

"I need to see you in my office now," he said and even through the flames Severus could see that he was glaring.

"I'll be there in a moment Albus," Severus said.

"Now Severus!" Dumbledore commanded before the flames sizzled out.

Severus let out a deep breath once he was gone. He looked around, doing one last sweep. He didn't want to forget anything important. Nodding, he held himself tall. Preparing himself for the battle ahead and stepped out of his chambers for the last time.

...

"I just do not understand what compels you to do these things. Letting a student treat you the way you allowed Ms. Granger to do this morning without any consequences and the walking out of your own class without a word before it was even half way through. Not only that, but also not showing up to any of your other classes. Do I even want to know what you thought was more important that you chanced having your cover blown? Any other teacher I might have allowed that from but that was so out of character what am I supposed to tell the other teachers when they ask about that incident? What about students or their parents when they eventually find out and they will find out! You are walking a very thin line Severus, I will not tolerate this anymore!"

Severus who was sitting across from the headmaster letting him go off, waited a moment before raising his brow and asking "Are you finished?"

He felt like clapping and congratulating Albus for his overly dramatic performance, but decided it would be better not to anger him more than necessary.

However the look on Albus's face made up for that disappointment.

He was gapping at him. Severus had never spoken back to him like that and it was obvious he couldn't believe what he was hearing now.

"So you wanted me to yell and threaten a girl who has just lost her best friend? Isn't that something you've been hammering into my mind for the last few days? That Potter's death was my fault and there was no excuse for the way I treated the students?"

Dumbledore still seemed to be trying to get his thoughts in order.

"Now though, I know the truth, and whose fault it really was that Potter died."

"Is that so?" Albus said dryly, finally finding his voice "Go on then, I'd love to hear what I'm sure is a fascinating tale."

Severus' lip curled, he was mocking him.

"You've spent all this time putting the blame on me, making me the guilty party in Potter's death when really if anyone is to blame for the tragedy that befell Potter it was you and that awful family of his."

Shock passed over Albus' face. Apparently he hadn't been expecting to be faced with the truth.

"Tell me Albus," Severus sneered "why would you condemn a student…a child to an abusive life when practically the whole of the wizarding world would have been happy to offer the boy a home filled with love and attention? So many would have been honored to have the opportunity to raise him as their own, he would have had a good life with almost anyone else and yet he was living in a cupboard being neglected for the first few years of his life. Then being used as a punching bag as soon as he could walk! How could you have done that to him?!"

Severus was seething and Albus was looking at him like he was a wild animal as he tried to back pedal and get the situation under control "I…I had no idea Severus, if I had known…"

"Don't you dare try to worm your way out of this acting all innocent. Do you really think I would have come in here without all the information? I've been to the Dursley's home, had to sit and sift through the disgusting man's perverted mind, I know everything!"

Albus shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"You threatened them and the only thing they cared about. You threatened to have their son taken away if they didn't take Potter in and yet you never truly explained why it had to be them other than some nonsense about blood wards which you and I both know that without love those would have been very weak wards indeed. Then you left Potter with them, never checked up on him except when you came to sweeten the Dursley's deal by giving them a little extra incentive to continue taking care of their burden. You knew they were abusing him. You essentially paid them to continue on abusing him! All these years you acted like you cared for him and I believed you, everyone did, when really you are no better than they are, in fact you're worse."

Albus sighed, he looked at Severus, eyes almost pleading "You must understand Severus, I did it for the good of the wizarding world. We needed a hero, someone who would be grateful for what they had and be willing to take on everything that comes along with being the savior. Not someone who had been raised famous and as a spoiled brat. He needed to have humility and strength, if I had left him with anyone else there was no guarantee that's what he would have been when he walked through the doors of Hogwarts at age eleven."

Severus was shaking his head; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You took his childhood from him, you had no right!"

"I had every right!" Dumbledore snapped "I did what needed to be done. No one else was going to do it. I had to be the bad guy but we needed Harry to defeat Voldemort, he was the only one who could do it and now he's gone because you and your prejudice against him."

"Me?" Severus gaped at the headmaster "He's dead because of you Albus. You were the one who threatened him with being sent back to his family. All I wanted was an apology and to see him serve detention. You saw your little minion out of control and had to break him, get him back under your control. So you took Potter when he was obviously at a fragile state and used his worst nightmare against him but it backfired and now he's dead and the fault belongs to you."

Dumbledore was shaking his head like he had honestly convinced himself that he was in the right.

He then looked up sharply at Severus "So Severus, what do you plan on doing now?"

Severus stared back, wondering what the Headmaster was thinking. The normal twinkle in his eye had turned cold.

"I understand your distrust Severus but I really was doing what I thought was best, but now with Harry gone we need to focus all out energy into taking down Voldemort. I need you at my side more than ever, infiltrating Voldemort's rank. Harry cannot die in vain."

"You're delusional," Severus said boldly "to think I would ever work at your side again. I think I've given you enough of my life. You asked me to help you protect Lily's son all those years ago, and yet you had already handed him to the devil. I'm no longer going to be your puppet Albus, and I have a feeling everyone else will feel the same way when they learn the truth about you."

Dumbledore stood up; he walked around his desk, drawing his wand from his robes. He was cold and calculating, the Albus he had known was nowhere to be seen, it was rather frightening but Severus held his ground.

"You really didn't think you would drop this bomb on me and then be allowed to leave my office did you Severus?" Dumbledore questioned.

Severus didn't answer, he was tense, this wasn't how he thought things would go. Was Albus seriously threatening his life, right here in the middle of his office?

"That I would bow my head, cry for forgiveness and let the auror's come remove me from my post, possibly even send me to Azkaban? I think not Severus, unlike you I still have a duty to protect the wizarding world from the real evil that is coming."

Albus took a step forward and Severus found himself automatically taking a step back.

"I'm as shocked as you are Kingsley," Severus frowned at Albus' next words "I honestly thought he had changed. I trusted him! I wish I hadn't had to do it but he burst into my office…he was so arrogant. He told me everything, how he had spent years biding his time. Pretending to be faithful to me, while all along he had just been waiting for his master to return…but they finally had what they wanted. Potter dead, it was time that I joined him in the ground. Severus was sick and tired of working under me; he would take pleasure form my death. I tried to reason with him but when that didn't work we struggled, I reached for my wand and all of a sudden…Severus was lying lifeless on the ground."

Albus raised his wand, while Severus stared at him in disbelief, how could he have been so wrong? The Headmaster was insane and Severus had never once had any inkling about it.

His hand tightened on his own wand that was in his robe pocket. Silently he said a spell, clutching the wand painfully hard as he saw Albus draw back, a curse flying from his lips. Severus focused all his attention and BANG…he was falling forwards onto the carpet before him.

He heard a scream and looked up to see a clearly terrified Minerva standing a few feet away from him. It seemed he had scared the living daylights out of her when he had popped into her office unannounced.

It was known that no one was able to apparate in or out of the castle but he had found a loophole a few years ago. One could move within the castle if they had the willpower and enough magic. It was a very difficult thing to do though and had taken all the strength he had but he knew he had to get up. He knew Albus wouldn't waste any time coming after him once he figured out what had happened.

"Minerva," he said, pushing himself to his feet on unsteady legs "I don't have much time. In the next few days there will be lots of horrible thing said about me I'm sure, other than that I don't know what will happen but I do know that you must not listen to them."

Minerva was staring at him blankly; it was all a bit much for her to take in.

Severus took a step towards her "You must not trust Albus, he doesn't have the student's best interest at heart. I know I've never been a very good teacher but we must not allow any more injustice to be done. Take this," Severus thrust a vial into her hands "I know I can trust you Minerva. Albus had us all fooled, don't allow him to get away with it."

"Severus…" Minerva said, her voice uncertain "I don't understand."

"I know," Severus said, lurching towards her fireplace and pulling out a handful of floo powder he had been keeping in his pocket "but you will."

With that he threw the powder into the fireplace, took one last look at a confused Minerva and was gone. He didn't have any more time to waste.