22. …Snape aids the Situation.
It was at this point that Harry decided to jump into the conversation. Holding up the
Daily Prophet as some sort of demented visual aid he said, "Just remember he was just
trying to act the part he was playing." This thought was clearly too much for Harry and
the last came out as a squeak. Now he just stood there shaking from the obvious effort of
holding in his laughter. "At least you too didn't go all the way, aye Malfoy," he gasped
before sitting down on the couch with a thump, clutching his sides. Clearly the
seriousness of the situation had escaped him.
Draco was not amused. His eyes were narrowed and his lip was curling back in a snarl.
"Shows how much you know, doesn't it Potter?" he spat. Harry's eyes had barely
enough time to register shock before Draco swung his wand, a long string of complicated
syllables spilling from his mouth. Before they knew it, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were
lined up on the couch, unable to move or think. Hermione would have been impressed
with the precision of the spell if it weren't for…well, everything else. Ron had started to
his feet and Hermione was wondering why Draco hadn't included him in the spell.
Professor Snape strode down the corridor, black robes swishing along the stone and eyes
flashing determinately.
Ron climbed slowly to his feet. "Now Draco, don't do anything rash." Ron was trying to
sound calming but really he was at a loss as what to do. The extreme mess of the
situation just about overwhelmed him and he found himself fervently wishing that he was
still a girl so he could just faint. But fainting was not an option, because Draco was now
turning slowly to face him.
Draco was just beginning to advance, his teeth bared in a snarl and his wand raised
menacingly, when Severus Snape strode into the room. "Oh, what sort of mess do we
have here?" Snape muttered to himself before uttering a spell that sounded remarkably
similar to the one Draco had used previously. Ron and Draco were now sitting stiffly on
the couch across from the others. "Have I come at a bad time?" Snape inquired with a
sneer before propping himself on the arm of a chair.
He stared at the group intently before appearing to reach a decision. "You two will, I'm
sure, be of little help at the moment and I'm sure you have things to…" here he paused to
curl his lip in disgust, "work out." He then raised his wand and Ron found himself
sailing backward into a room off the common and landing with a thud on his back. He
scrambled to his feet, realizing as he did that Snape had removed the curse and that Draco
was in the room with him just as the door slammed with a very final sounding bang.
Draco stormed to the door and gave it a hard kick. It didn't even have the decency to
shudder beneath the blow and Draco turned, fury evident in his eyes. "You sick bastard,
this is all your fault," he screamed lunging for Ron and knocking him to the ground. Ron
would have said something in protest but Draco's hands were now locked about his throat
and all of his energy was being used to try to get free.
Draco finally let go and stood, shaking with rage and towering over Ron as he tried to get
his breath back. "Give me one reason I shouldn't hex you into the next world for what
you've done."
"Professor Snape took our wands?" Ron knew that levity was out of place at the present
moment but the statement was also quite true. What was also true was that he wasn't
sure how he was going to live after the mess that was this weekend and such lack of life
ambition was making him indifferent to the consequences of his words.
"How could you…Why did you…" The edge to Draco's anger seemed to be slipping
away and he was starting to look merely shaken. "..and even with my father? The
thought is just revolting."
"I don't know." Ron himself was starting to feel drained. "I suppose if we really wanted,
we could blame it all on Hermione. She very thoughtfully neglected to mention that the
potion has an effect on your emotions. But what's the point in blaming her anyway? I'm
not even sure that my having known would have helped all that much. It was like, being
in that body, I was completely helpless against…..a touch."
Draco muttered something not fit for polite conversation. Then he said, "I hope you know
that I'm never eating turkey sandwiches again. Ever." He kicked the door once more to
punctuate his sentence and stalked over to Ron, clearly out for the kill.
"Hey, it wasn't my idea," Ron inched as close to the wall as he could get. "None of it was
my idea! I had to go along so you wouldn't suspect anything!"
Draco had raised a fist as if to punch Ron, but thoughtfully lowered it, a sick smile on his
face. "I just realized that you haven't told me why you broke into my house. And it must
have been something important, because you endured seeing my father naked for the
privilege."
Ron gulped, trying to shut out the image of a very naked Lucius Malfoy dribbling
chocolate sauce over Blaise's nude body. (Ron had been very surprised – he had always
thought of Lucius as compact and stocky, but under his robes, he was wiry and thin and
remarkably hairless. But of course, now is not the time for such musings.)
"We were…ummm…" Ron wracked his already-taxed brain for a plausible excuse.
"…and that's it," Hermione finished meekly. She had told Snape the truth. Harry was
impressed. Clearly Hermione was better at telling the truth than at making up lame
excuses.
Snape had been drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. At the end of Hermione's
story, he suddenly turned to Ginny and narrowed his eyes at her, as if to determine what
part she had played in the whole matter. Ginny squeaked and buried her face in Harry's
shoulder.
"You have neglected," Snape drawled, "to mention whether or not you learned anything
of use."
"Not a thing," Hermione admitted. "We screwed up the spell, which caused the
explosion."
"This is why Gryffindors can't be trusted to gather information," said Snape, "they
blunder into a course of action without learning any of the finer points of what they're
doing." Snape stood up suddenly. "There is only one thing to do. We will destroy that
table. Then we will perform a memory charm on young Mr. Malfoy to erase his
knowledge of this plot. I am still unsure what we should do about explaining things to
Lucius…."
Deep inside, Harry was wondering what horrible price they would have to pay for
Snape's aid in this situation. He could almost smell the swamp right now.
"Accchh…nnnnn…" Ron struggled, but Draco's hands around his throat made speech
difficult, to say the least. He raised his legs and kicked Draco solidly in the stomach.
Draco went flying and landed heavily on the ground with a string of obscenities, then
quickly hopped up, clutching his pained abdomen. Ron, deciding that offense was the
best defense, lunged for Draco and managed to knock him to the ground once again.
Draco pulled a Judo-esque move on him and they rolled around together, finally
knocking up against the wall. And then, the unexpected happened. Draco leaned over and
smashed his lips to Ron's. Ron's eyes widened as he tried to decide…what…to do!
It was at this point that Harry decided to jump into the conversation. Holding up the
Daily Prophet as some sort of demented visual aid he said, "Just remember he was just
trying to act the part he was playing." This thought was clearly too much for Harry and
the last came out as a squeak. Now he just stood there shaking from the obvious effort of
holding in his laughter. "At least you too didn't go all the way, aye Malfoy," he gasped
before sitting down on the couch with a thump, clutching his sides. Clearly the
seriousness of the situation had escaped him.
Draco was not amused. His eyes were narrowed and his lip was curling back in a snarl.
"Shows how much you know, doesn't it Potter?" he spat. Harry's eyes had barely
enough time to register shock before Draco swung his wand, a long string of complicated
syllables spilling from his mouth. Before they knew it, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were
lined up on the couch, unable to move or think. Hermione would have been impressed
with the precision of the spell if it weren't for…well, everything else. Ron had started to
his feet and Hermione was wondering why Draco hadn't included him in the spell.
Professor Snape strode down the corridor, black robes swishing along the stone and eyes
flashing determinately.
Ron climbed slowly to his feet. "Now Draco, don't do anything rash." Ron was trying to
sound calming but really he was at a loss as what to do. The extreme mess of the
situation just about overwhelmed him and he found himself fervently wishing that he was
still a girl so he could just faint. But fainting was not an option, because Draco was now
turning slowly to face him.
Draco was just beginning to advance, his teeth bared in a snarl and his wand raised
menacingly, when Severus Snape strode into the room. "Oh, what sort of mess do we
have here?" Snape muttered to himself before uttering a spell that sounded remarkably
similar to the one Draco had used previously. Ron and Draco were now sitting stiffly on
the couch across from the others. "Have I come at a bad time?" Snape inquired with a
sneer before propping himself on the arm of a chair.
He stared at the group intently before appearing to reach a decision. "You two will, I'm
sure, be of little help at the moment and I'm sure you have things to…" here he paused to
curl his lip in disgust, "work out." He then raised his wand and Ron found himself
sailing backward into a room off the common and landing with a thud on his back. He
scrambled to his feet, realizing as he did that Snape had removed the curse and that Draco
was in the room with him just as the door slammed with a very final sounding bang.
Draco stormed to the door and gave it a hard kick. It didn't even have the decency to
shudder beneath the blow and Draco turned, fury evident in his eyes. "You sick bastard,
this is all your fault," he screamed lunging for Ron and knocking him to the ground. Ron
would have said something in protest but Draco's hands were now locked about his throat
and all of his energy was being used to try to get free.
Draco finally let go and stood, shaking with rage and towering over Ron as he tried to get
his breath back. "Give me one reason I shouldn't hex you into the next world for what
you've done."
"Professor Snape took our wands?" Ron knew that levity was out of place at the present
moment but the statement was also quite true. What was also true was that he wasn't
sure how he was going to live after the mess that was this weekend and such lack of life
ambition was making him indifferent to the consequences of his words.
"How could you…Why did you…" The edge to Draco's anger seemed to be slipping
away and he was starting to look merely shaken. "..and even with my father? The
thought is just revolting."
"I don't know." Ron himself was starting to feel drained. "I suppose if we really wanted,
we could blame it all on Hermione. She very thoughtfully neglected to mention that the
potion has an effect on your emotions. But what's the point in blaming her anyway? I'm
not even sure that my having known would have helped all that much. It was like, being
in that body, I was completely helpless against…..a touch."
Draco muttered something not fit for polite conversation. Then he said, "I hope you know
that I'm never eating turkey sandwiches again. Ever." He kicked the door once more to
punctuate his sentence and stalked over to Ron, clearly out for the kill.
"Hey, it wasn't my idea," Ron inched as close to the wall as he could get. "None of it was
my idea! I had to go along so you wouldn't suspect anything!"
Draco had raised a fist as if to punch Ron, but thoughtfully lowered it, a sick smile on his
face. "I just realized that you haven't told me why you broke into my house. And it must
have been something important, because you endured seeing my father naked for the
privilege."
Ron gulped, trying to shut out the image of a very naked Lucius Malfoy dribbling
chocolate sauce over Blaise's nude body. (Ron had been very surprised – he had always
thought of Lucius as compact and stocky, but under his robes, he was wiry and thin and
remarkably hairless. But of course, now is not the time for such musings.)
"We were…ummm…" Ron wracked his already-taxed brain for a plausible excuse.
"…and that's it," Hermione finished meekly. She had told Snape the truth. Harry was
impressed. Clearly Hermione was better at telling the truth than at making up lame
excuses.
Snape had been drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. At the end of Hermione's
story, he suddenly turned to Ginny and narrowed his eyes at her, as if to determine what
part she had played in the whole matter. Ginny squeaked and buried her face in Harry's
shoulder.
"You have neglected," Snape drawled, "to mention whether or not you learned anything
of use."
"Not a thing," Hermione admitted. "We screwed up the spell, which caused the
explosion."
"This is why Gryffindors can't be trusted to gather information," said Snape, "they
blunder into a course of action without learning any of the finer points of what they're
doing." Snape stood up suddenly. "There is only one thing to do. We will destroy that
table. Then we will perform a memory charm on young Mr. Malfoy to erase his
knowledge of this plot. I am still unsure what we should do about explaining things to
Lucius…."
Deep inside, Harry was wondering what horrible price they would have to pay for
Snape's aid in this situation. He could almost smell the swamp right now.
"Accchh…nnnnn…" Ron struggled, but Draco's hands around his throat made speech
difficult, to say the least. He raised his legs and kicked Draco solidly in the stomach.
Draco went flying and landed heavily on the ground with a string of obscenities, then
quickly hopped up, clutching his pained abdomen. Ron, deciding that offense was the
best defense, lunged for Draco and managed to knock him to the ground once again.
Draco pulled a Judo-esque move on him and they rolled around together, finally
knocking up against the wall. And then, the unexpected happened. Draco leaned over and
smashed his lips to Ron's. Ron's eyes widened as he tried to decide…what…to do!