The old wizard thumbed through Snape's last note, sighing. The note was singed, half of the words unintelligible. It had been found in his pocket. He quickly replaced it when he felt the presence of Light Yagami and L in his office.

He waited until they were outside the door before calling, "Enter."

The two of them shuffled in, a stark contrast in their physical appearance. Mentally, Dumbledore wasn't so sure. He wouldn't dare use Occlumency on L, he had learnt exactly how difficult it was to break his barriers. L had been an unnaturally gifted child, mastering the mind arts easily at the tender age of eight. Dumbledore, himself was gifted as well, but L easily surpassed him in certain areas. He had been curious about him and had thus allowed him to become L, the great detective behind the screen. In the beginning, Dumbledore had functioned as his ears and mouth, albeit in disguise, and had been quite impressed. L's only and most major issue was his complete lack of social skills. Thus, Dumbledore had filled in for that. He had called himself Watari, until they had found another man more suited for the job, and their contact had faded to mere professionalism.

"Pray sit down. Lemon drop?" he asked, holding them out.

L took a handful while Light politely declined.

"I had been expecting the both of you. However, before we begin, I am sure that you would ask me for proof, I believe. Thus, ask the question that you wish."

"If the situation had been something else, I would have said that there was no need, however recent events have necessitated this. So, therefore I must ask a question which no one but you would know the correct answer to," Light said calmly, "Aberforth."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at the question. The existence of Aberforth wasn't a secret to people, but no one made the connection between the two of them. Aberfoth didn't want to, and it suited Albus fine. No one would have known, except Light, who had decided to do some research in his third year. He was impressed.

"My brother, Gryffindor, the owner of Hog's Head in Hogsmade, has a peculiar fascination with goats, has run into trouble more than once."

Light looked satisfied, but his posture remained stiff. Dumbledore couldn't help but marvel at the sheer amount of self-control that had kept him from shouting the question that he wished so desperately to ask. Dumbledore decided to answer that. He needed Light to trust him, after all.

"You aren't too off there, Mr. Yagami. I was indeed afraid that you were to become another Tom Riddle."

His words seemed to have ignited a fuse in the brown-haired teenager in front of him.

"So, apparently, high-scoring Slytherins are Dark Lord material and high-scoring Gryffindors are Savior material."

His words dripped with pure venom and disdain. Dumbledore pretended that he was unaffected, but these words struck a chord.

"So, apparently, turning a cold shoulder to me would stop me from committing the felonies that he had. Well in that case you made a grave error, Professor."

His voice had risen sharply and it was all he could do to not stand up and break the Headmaster's already crooked nose. He was furious.

"First off, ANY IDEA HOW MANY SLYTHERINS BECAME DEATH EATERS JUST BY HATING YOU? JUST BECAUSE YOU THREW THEM A COLD SHOULDER, LET THEM BE BULLIED AND KEPT MISTRUSTING THEM, THEY BECAME WHAT YOU FEARED!!! ANY IDEA HOW MANY OF US ARE JUST BULLIED FOR BEING IN THIS HOUSE??? ANY IDEA HOW MANY OF YOUR PRECIOUS GRYFFINDORS LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO WATCH A SLYTHERIN TRIP DOWN THE STAIRS AND BREAK THEIR ANKLE BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN TRIPPED???? AND YOU SAY THAT YOU FIGHT FOR JUSTICE WHEN YOU LET INJUSTICE RUN RAMPANT IN THE CORRIDORS OF YOUR OWN SCHOOL???? JUST BECAUSE I HAVE GOOD GRADES, LIKED BY TEACHERS AND AM PROEFFICIENT IN DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS, YOU ASSUMED THAT I HAVE POTENTIAL TO BECOME THE NEXT DARK LORD????"

Dumbledore flinched at his accusations. They were true, he couldn't deny those. L had stiffened at the raised voices, even though it wasn't directed at him.

Seeing no resistance from his victim, Light pressed on.

"And THAT'S exactly where you are wrong, sir. Everyone had potential to become a tyrant, however small the percentage may be. Just because we are SLYTHERINS doesn't make us inherently bad. You complain about the Slytherins having prejudice against others. Ever thought that we suffer from the same amount of prejudice, only trebled????"

Winded, he sat down, not knowing when he had stood up. L's soothing voice brought the atmosphere to a calm.

"I believe that it would be unwise to continue any further interactions at the present moment. Light-kun is exhausted, I believe it would be if we withdraw."

It was true that he was exhausted. All these years of pent up rage and frustration had made him crack at Dumbledore's statement. Dumbledore nodded his assent to L's statement and Light stormed out of the office, L following quietly behind him.

Justice.

Such a funny word. Such a funnily misused word.

"I don't want to talk, Ryuzaki."

"I never said that I wanted to talk."

Light had somehow ended up in front of Snape's old quarters. He looked up, remembering why he was bitter.

Despite of what he had said, Ryuzaki began speaking, very softly. His voice had a strange calming power to it.

"I knew him too. Dumbledore only saw me, and others as tools to be used, pieces in his carefully constructed chess board. He had been annoyed at the idea of teaching Occlumency to an eight year old. But, I think that I had impressed him. He decided to teach me both Defense and Potions in his free time. To take his mind off things, I suppose. He had commented that I would make a fine Slytherin if I attended Hogwarts and the Headmaster went something along the lines of, "He wouldn't go down the dark path, no way—," until Snape glared at him and he backed off. He explained the prejudices then, not that I hadn't figured it out before, however it felt disturbing. Thus, my choice for Ilverhorny."

Light nodded, not really paying much attention to what he was speaking, his mind elsewhere.

It was his first day. He had put an insane amount of effort at looking well-dressed and organised, but his plans had been ruined. A lone foot protruded out of a corner, and in his haste he didn't notice it and tripped. He twisted his ankle and cried out in agony. No one rushed to his aid, just because he was a Slytherin and a being to never be trusted.

The Prefect arrived behind him, eyes blazing, demanding to know who was responsible for it. Of course the troublemakers had fled by then, and the Prefect couldn't do much. He had helped him up, and then Snape had come. Their first class had been Potions.

"Who did this?" His voice had been soft, but firm, laced with venom. On the Express, everyone had asked him to be wary of the man, so Light flinched when he saw him kneel down to check.

"Nothing major, just a twisted ankle. Take him to Madame Pomprey, will you, Duncan?"

Duncan, as he realised the name of the Prefect to be had nodded and escorted him to the Hospital Wing. He had, however never forgotten the almost concerned look on the man's face and the fury when he realised who did it.

"Light-kun?" Ryuzaki's voice cut through the haze, and Light found himself blinking back tears. Great, now this was the second time he had lost control that night. The Potions Master's death must have hit him harder than he thought. It was also a sense of chilling fear as to who was going to protect the Slytherins now that Snape was no longer there.

They wouldn't trouble Light, nor would they trouble Misa, or anyone with them for that matter. But the rest? The innocent first years?

"Light-kun, I agree that this is a matter of concern, but you need to breathe. Panicking is understandable, but breathe."

Merlin's Muddy Beard.

He nodded, putting his focus on breathing and reality came into focus. They were still in front of Snape's office, only Light had somehow ended up on the floor and Ryuzaki looked mildly concerned. He groaned and shook his head.

"I am overreacting, sorry." He got back up, looking at the door, almost imagining the man to come out, hoping that he had faked his death like those cliche stories. But the door remained shut.

Snape was dead.

The true Savior of the Slytherins was gone.

Ryuzaki hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder and said, "I believe that it would be prudent to return back to the Common Rooms. Most would have gone to sleep by now."

Light nodded his assent.

The duty of keeping the Slytherins safe had fallen to him and the Prefects. Whoever their new Head Of House was, Light was sure that he would be utterly useless.

The duty had fallen to him.