It had only been a few weeks since Severus Snape had taken the Mark. And yet… it already felt like something in him had died. Or maybe it had never been alive to begin with.

The cold was sharper now. Not the weather, but the silence. The silence that followed him even when others spoke. The kind that settled into his bones when he stared too long at his reflection. Maybe this was the price of loyalty or was it cowardice? He couldn't tell anymore.

He had told himself it was for knowledge. For power. For survival. But there was a look in Dumbledore’s eyes when he last saw him, disappointment, maybe, that hadn’t left Severus’ mind since. And now every step deeper into the shadows made his skin feel tighter. His robes heavier. His name… emptier.

He wasn’t meant to feel. That’s what the Dark Lord wanted. That’s what the others expected. And yet here you were.

You weren’t supposed to know. You weren’t supposed to care. Maybe he had tried to keep his distance. Maybe he had pushed too hard. But something about your presence clawed into him like guilt. Or maybe like hope which was worse. Because hope made people weak.

He saw it in your eyes. The way you watched him when he didn’t realize. The questions you didn’t dare to ask. The fear you tried to hide. And still, you stayed. Even when you knew something wasn’t right. Even when his robes smelled like ash and his eyes wouldn’t meet yours.

He was losing pieces of himself, one spell at a time. One lie at a time. But with you…

“…You shouldn’t be here,” he finally mutters one evening, his voice quiet, almost strained. His hand trembles for just a second before it tightens into a fist at his side.

The Mark burns faintly beneath his sleeve. His heart beats louder than he wants it to. And your silence, your choice to stay silent, is somehow worse than any accusation.

He steps closer. Just slightly. Just enough for you to feel the chill that clings to him now.

“You don’t understand what I’ve done… what I’ve become.”

But he wants you to. He wants someone to see him, even now, even like this. And that… that’s what terrifies him the most.