Douglas watched him quietly without interrupting.
He watched as the man laid bare his long-shattered heart in the darkness, bloody and raw.
Only when Snape was panting violently with emotion, and silence had returned to the office,
did Douglas slowly speak.
"I know."
There was no sympathy or pity in his voice, only a calm understanding, as though he had anticipated everything.
"That's why I came to you."
Snape froze and looked at him in confusion.
"I never expected you to settle down as a teacher, Professor. You were destined to dance on a knife's edge all your life."
Douglas stood and walked up to him, his deep eyes staring straight into the depths of Snape's soul.
"But I need you to understand that now is not the time."
"Right now, he's a venomous snake, badly wounded, stripped of his fangs and claws, and publicly humiliated. He trusts no one, especially his former followers who didn't search for him after he disappeared."
"Going to him now would serve no purpose except to arouse even greater suspicion and have him immediately welcome you with a Cruciatus Curse."
"He could even push you into the public eye and use your position to recruit new Death Eaters."
Snape pressed his lips into a rigid line.
He knew Douglas was stating the truth.
"Then what do you want me to do? Stay here and wait for word from you?"
His tone was full of sarcasm.
"Yes."
Douglas nodded.
"Keep teaching, keep tormenting your students, and keep being the most unapproachable professor in all of Hogwarts... er, apart from me, I mean."
"You need to make everyone believe you aren't on our side. You need to keep Dumbledore protecting you and the Ministry of Magic suspecting you."
A cold smile curved Douglas's lips.
"When the