Xxxxx
Harry and Draco had been so caught up in what they were doing that they hadn't even seen Professor Snape trudging towards them in the darkness. He stood hovering over them, his feet not inches away from them. Their clothes and hair disheveled, expressions of shock plastered across their faces. Snape looked quite mortified himself, with the light from his wand casting eerie shadows over his face. And then he tilted his face downward a bit more, narrowing his eyes. He looked demented with anger, his long, black hair shrouding his face in darkness. Draco shook violently in fear, but beneath him, Harry was still as a statue.
"Now that I've interrupted your little get together, I think it is time that you went to your chambers," Snape said, glaring darkly at Harry. Draco glanced hurriedly between the two of them as they stared each other down. Harry didn't seem to share Draco's terror; on the contrary, he looked so angry that he could have attacked the Professor where he stood. His eyes were narrowed and glaring right back at the Professor, his jaw tightly clenched.
"Now!" Snape growled, waving his illuminating wand frantically in the direction of the castle. His eyes were wide in rage and he was moving rather erratically. The two students scrambled apart from one another and onto their feet. Draco grabbed his robes up from the ground. Harry hurried off towards the castle, not even taking a second glance back in Draco and Snape's direction. But when Draco made off to do the same, Snape grabbed him by the back of his shirt.
"Come with me," he hissed through his teeth, and Draco swallowed, followed by another violent twitch. His body was exhausted from all of the harsh emotions he had gone through in the last few hours, but he still had the strength to be terrified by the thought of what might happen to him when the word about this incident got out.
He should have known that something like this was going to happen. It was too good to be true and he should have realized it. Now Snape knew, Snape actually saw, and it was going to be the end of him. It was over. What exactly was going to happen though? Of course his father would have to know right away; he and Snape were practically inseparable. The two began walking at a fast pace towards the castle.
An infuriated image of Lucious Malfoy made his way into Draco's thoughts. He twitched again, and as if sensing his thoughts, Snape gave him a sharp knuckle into his back, snapping him back into the real world.
The Professor kept hold of the back of Draco's uniform shirt, which was still open in the front. Even though they walked quickly, Harry had disappeared from view. Draco wished that he could still see him; he needed some visual proof that the preceding experience had been more than just a well procured day dream. On the other hand, if that was true, then what was happening now would just be a nightmare, and he had nothing to worry about.
Snape and Draco were across the grounds now and had reached the castle without speaking. He kept a firm hold on Draco, and gave him a forceful yank to the side when he began to turn in the direction of the dungeons. Draco figured immediately that they were not heading for the Slytherin chambers, but for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom; Snape's office.
He couldn't be receiving his punishment so soon, could he? He knew that it was inevitable, but he thought that at least he would be able to have the night to contemplate how he would bear through his father's retaliation of his behavior.
The two of them hurried through the corridors, and when they reached their destination, Snape didn't release Draco. He merely gave his wand a jab in the direction of the door and it flew open to allow them entrance. The empty classroom was completely dark; there may have been some of the moonlight from outside pouring through the windows if Professor Snape hadn't had them completely darkened out to accommodate his tastes. But even without any type of light source, Snape lead Draco through the room and into his office.
And then Snape released him, slamming the office door. He hurried away to the back of his office, his robes swishing behind him. He yanked open the door of what seemed to be a broom closet behind his desk. A strange white glow was faintly resonating from the closet, but Snape was quite far away, and Draco couldn't see what he was doing. He stood, helpless and shaking in front of the door, wringing his robes in his fingers nervously.
What if Snape was already contacting Draco's father? He couldn't handle that right now. He wasn't sure how much more he could handle. All he wanted was to sleep. Or preferably, melt into the floor and disappear. He wished momentarily that he was still unconscious in the Hospital Wing. But then, he wouldn't have the lovely memories of what had happened between he and Harry not moments earlier.
And through the darkness, there is a light, Draco thought to himself. He began to try and recall every detail.
"Draco, come here."
As if his thought bubble had just been popped, Draco's heart deflated again, and he scurried over to where Snape stood. When he was a few feet away, he stopped, trying to understand what the Professor was doing.
Still facing the inside of the closet, Snape held the tip of his wand against his temple. Then he pulled it away very slowly, and with it he drew what seemed to be a long strand of wispy white smoke. The strand broke away from the wand and floated downwards.
Then Snape spun around to face Draco. Pressing his fingers to his temples with his eyes closed, it as if he was nursing a headache.
Draco stood absolutely still, his breath caught in his throat. He didn't know what was coming, and frankly, he didn't really want to know. He began to concentrate very hard on turning into a puddle on the floor.
Snape sighed and opened his eyes, peering wonderingly into Draco's. He had an exasperated look on his face.
" No one needs to know about this incident. I promise that I am not going to tell anyone about this, but Draco, are you trying to get yourself killed? Are you? Because that is exactly what is going to happen if you keep pulling these stupid, immature little stunts!"
Anger began to rise in Draco's chest. Immature? Who was he calling immature?
"Professor-"
"Draco, I might as well be your uncle. There is no need to call me Professor."
Draco glared childishly and took a deep breath.
"Severus," he corrected himself with a snotty tone to his voice, "If you'd remember correctly, I think I was trying to get myself killed."
A look of anguish crossed Snape's face, and, without turning around, closed the closet door and collapsed into his chair next to him. Draco followed suit and took a seat in the chair across the desk.
"Yes, I do remember Draco," Snape said, his fingers returning to his temples and his eyes closing again. Draco shifted uncomfortably, feeling sorry that he'd caused this reaction. He knew that Snape cared for him as if he were his own son, and proving to be a more caring father figure than Lucious ever could, he didn't really want to cause the man any grief.
The Professor looked back up at him quickly.
"But you must stop being so self destructive. I understand you were in contact with Narcissa tonight? Do you realize that she is on the brink of insanity, being so worried about you?" Snape was whispering, but Draco didn't seem to see any reason why.
"I'm not being self destructive-" he said loudly.
But Snape laughed shortly, cutting him off, and gesturing to Draco's arm with his hand. Draco scowled and tucked his arm against his side.
"What exactly do you call that?"
"That's not what I meant," Draco snapped. "I mean Harry. I was not being self destructive with Harry."
Snape sighed impatiently.
"You want to be a Death Eater, and yet you are cavorting around with the Dark Lord's sworn enemy in the middle of the night." Snape's voice was even lower than before. Draco looked down into his lap, beginning to twist his robes between his fingers again.
He mumbled almost incoherently, "I don't want to be a Death Eater."
