36. ...Snape remembers how nice hot chocolate can be
Ron and Draco were extremely involved when the dark owl came swooping through the window above the bed and so for a few minutes ignored the letter that it dropped on the sheets before winging off into the night. Soon however they were able to remind themselves that it was probably a reply from Draco's father and their thoughts cleared enough for them to draw, regretfully, apart.
"Let's see what the bastard has to say." The cruel smile curling Draco's lips looked so charming on Blaise's face that Ron was instantly resentful of the interruption and watched impatiently while Draco read the letter. "Shit! You were right, the plan wasn't as foolproof as we had hoped." Draco tossed the letter over to Ron.
Draco-
I admire the attempt but you're forgetting one crucial thing. You have no proof. If you even dare try to reveal Reginald's whereabouts to the Ministry I will simply kill him, as I should have done years ago, and destroy the body, thereby destroying all evidence. Who you think they will believe, a governor, or his small brained son no yet out of school? The wedding will go ahead as planned. Your mother and I are arranging a dinner next Friday for you to meet the family formally. I expect you to be on your best behavior.
Sincerely,
Lucius Malfoy
Finishing the letter, Ron groaned and fell back on the bed, his hands over his eyes as if to block out the mess of the situation. He let his hands down and looked over at Draco worriedly, who was staring off into space. Finally Draco emitted a strangled, frustrated scream, throwing his hands up in the air and beginning to change back into his own form. Ron watched Blaise's beautiful body disappear with regret but knew that there was no way, with that temptation around, that they could think of any sort of decent solution.
Finally back in his own form, Draco flopped back down on the bed to lie beside Ron. The two boys stared at the ceiling but no solution was immediately forthcoming. "So you really don't have any evidence that your uncle is really down there?" Ron asked cautiously.
"Aside from the man himself? No." Draco groaned. "And my father's right too, no one would believe me over him, not without solid proof, and I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to do away with him permanently as he threatened." Draco curled up into a fetal position and then rolled over and screamed into a pillow. Anger management classes or no, he was extremely frustrated and needed to vent.
Ron reflected on how Lucius was able to so easily produce this reaction. He looked at Draco who was clearly near the breaking point and, for some reason, really felt the urge to comfort him, but it was more awkward when they were both in their regular bodies. Centuries of masculine homophobia took its toll. Aw, what the hell. Ron reached out and pulled Draco to him. The blond shook in his embrace and seemed unable to say anything more than, "What can we do?" over and over, his voice developing a hysterical edge.
Ron held Draco and thought about the problem "You know what the real problem is?" he said softly, still thinking. "The real problem is that your father CAN kill Reginald. Your father has him locked up and therefore holds all the cards. If we could get him out of there and somewhere safe then we, or rather you, would be the one in the strong position and your father would have to do as you say."
Draco stilled in his arms and stopped his muttered questioning. He looked up at Ron and Ron saw the old Draco come back into his eyes, the one with the wicked smile. "Once again I think you've got something there, Weasley. I hate to say it but I think you're the brains of our operation." He bit playfully at Ron's nose before getting up and going in search of his clothes.
Ron sat up more slowly. At that phrase another realization had come into his mind. "You know, I don't know the lay out of the situation very well, but I have a feeling it would go easier if we had help." He glanced quickly at Draco to see his reaction.
Draco's reaction was instant and angry. "I refuse to ask that flaming Potter for anything!" He was only half dressed, but his anger was so tangible that Ron could see no humor in the picture he presented.
He bit his lip, trying to think of a way to get Draco to include the others. Help was always good, especially if it included Hermione Granger, who always seemed to have a solution to any problem. "You don't have to ask him," Ron finally said. "We can just give them some of the basics of what we're doing, not that he's your uncle or anything," Ron added hastily upon seeing the look on Draco's face, "and leave it up to them to join us. Besides, it's Hermione we really need and she's usually up for a surprising lot of stuff." The last trailed off hopefully and he held his breath, waiting for Draco's reply. He found that he really did want to help Draco, especially if they were going to be rescuing a man who had been imprisoned for 25 years, but the thought of going back to Malfoy Manor with no back up and barely anything resembling a plan did not appeal to Ron.
Draco's shoulders slumped and he nodded his head wearily. "I hate to admit it, but you're right. We need help. We also need to act quickly because I'm afraid that my father will realize that the simplest solution for him is just to kill his brother now and remove the threat entirely. He is a very cruel man and it really is amazing he's kept my uncle alive all this time.
Walking through the halls on the way to the Gryffindor commons -- Draco had finally relented about the whole secrecy thing and let Ron see where he was going -- passing the potions class room when they heard voices coming down the hall in the opposite direction. One voice resolved itself as Hermione and Ron was just about to run down the hall to meet her when the answering voice came back as Professor Snape.
Upon hearing Snape, Draco glanced around quickly, spotted a shadowy alcove and thrust Ron into it, pressing him against the wall and kissing him while the other two passed by. "Really, Miss Granger, hot chocolate was a very good idea. I have forgotten how nice it can be during the winter. And stop by my office any time if you have any more questions..." the voices trailed off and Draco stepped back.
Ron was feeling a bit dazed. The kiss had been a bit more passionate than was probably necessary for the masquerade and he looked at Draco quizzically. "But we were just coming to look for Hermione?" was all he finally managed to get out as they started off down the hall once more.
"Yes, but we don't want to involve Professor Snape. Things would only turn into a huge mess if we did." Draco was pretending to ignore the questioning looks Ron was giving him and continued swiftly down the hall. Ron felt himself trotting to keep up.
Ron and Draco were extremely involved when the dark owl came swooping through the window above the bed and so for a few minutes ignored the letter that it dropped on the sheets before winging off into the night. Soon however they were able to remind themselves that it was probably a reply from Draco's father and their thoughts cleared enough for them to draw, regretfully, apart.
"Let's see what the bastard has to say." The cruel smile curling Draco's lips looked so charming on Blaise's face that Ron was instantly resentful of the interruption and watched impatiently while Draco read the letter. "Shit! You were right, the plan wasn't as foolproof as we had hoped." Draco tossed the letter over to Ron.
Draco-
I admire the attempt but you're forgetting one crucial thing. You have no proof. If you even dare try to reveal Reginald's whereabouts to the Ministry I will simply kill him, as I should have done years ago, and destroy the body, thereby destroying all evidence. Who you think they will believe, a governor, or his small brained son no yet out of school? The wedding will go ahead as planned. Your mother and I are arranging a dinner next Friday for you to meet the family formally. I expect you to be on your best behavior.
Sincerely,
Lucius Malfoy
Finishing the letter, Ron groaned and fell back on the bed, his hands over his eyes as if to block out the mess of the situation. He let his hands down and looked over at Draco worriedly, who was staring off into space. Finally Draco emitted a strangled, frustrated scream, throwing his hands up in the air and beginning to change back into his own form. Ron watched Blaise's beautiful body disappear with regret but knew that there was no way, with that temptation around, that they could think of any sort of decent solution.
Finally back in his own form, Draco flopped back down on the bed to lie beside Ron. The two boys stared at the ceiling but no solution was immediately forthcoming. "So you really don't have any evidence that your uncle is really down there?" Ron asked cautiously.
"Aside from the man himself? No." Draco groaned. "And my father's right too, no one would believe me over him, not without solid proof, and I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to do away with him permanently as he threatened." Draco curled up into a fetal position and then rolled over and screamed into a pillow. Anger management classes or no, he was extremely frustrated and needed to vent.
Ron reflected on how Lucius was able to so easily produce this reaction. He looked at Draco who was clearly near the breaking point and, for some reason, really felt the urge to comfort him, but it was more awkward when they were both in their regular bodies. Centuries of masculine homophobia took its toll. Aw, what the hell. Ron reached out and pulled Draco to him. The blond shook in his embrace and seemed unable to say anything more than, "What can we do?" over and over, his voice developing a hysterical edge.
Ron held Draco and thought about the problem "You know what the real problem is?" he said softly, still thinking. "The real problem is that your father CAN kill Reginald. Your father has him locked up and therefore holds all the cards. If we could get him out of there and somewhere safe then we, or rather you, would be the one in the strong position and your father would have to do as you say."
Draco stilled in his arms and stopped his muttered questioning. He looked up at Ron and Ron saw the old Draco come back into his eyes, the one with the wicked smile. "Once again I think you've got something there, Weasley. I hate to say it but I think you're the brains of our operation." He bit playfully at Ron's nose before getting up and going in search of his clothes.
Ron sat up more slowly. At that phrase another realization had come into his mind. "You know, I don't know the lay out of the situation very well, but I have a feeling it would go easier if we had help." He glanced quickly at Draco to see his reaction.
Draco's reaction was instant and angry. "I refuse to ask that flaming Potter for anything!" He was only half dressed, but his anger was so tangible that Ron could see no humor in the picture he presented.
He bit his lip, trying to think of a way to get Draco to include the others. Help was always good, especially if it included Hermione Granger, who always seemed to have a solution to any problem. "You don't have to ask him," Ron finally said. "We can just give them some of the basics of what we're doing, not that he's your uncle or anything," Ron added hastily upon seeing the look on Draco's face, "and leave it up to them to join us. Besides, it's Hermione we really need and she's usually up for a surprising lot of stuff." The last trailed off hopefully and he held his breath, waiting for Draco's reply. He found that he really did want to help Draco, especially if they were going to be rescuing a man who had been imprisoned for 25 years, but the thought of going back to Malfoy Manor with no back up and barely anything resembling a plan did not appeal to Ron.
Draco's shoulders slumped and he nodded his head wearily. "I hate to admit it, but you're right. We need help. We also need to act quickly because I'm afraid that my father will realize that the simplest solution for him is just to kill his brother now and remove the threat entirely. He is a very cruel man and it really is amazing he's kept my uncle alive all this time.
Walking through the halls on the way to the Gryffindor commons -- Draco had finally relented about the whole secrecy thing and let Ron see where he was going -- passing the potions class room when they heard voices coming down the hall in the opposite direction. One voice resolved itself as Hermione and Ron was just about to run down the hall to meet her when the answering voice came back as Professor Snape.
Upon hearing Snape, Draco glanced around quickly, spotted a shadowy alcove and thrust Ron into it, pressing him against the wall and kissing him while the other two passed by. "Really, Miss Granger, hot chocolate was a very good idea. I have forgotten how nice it can be during the winter. And stop by my office any time if you have any more questions..." the voices trailed off and Draco stepped back.
Ron was feeling a bit dazed. The kiss had been a bit more passionate than was probably necessary for the masquerade and he looked at Draco quizzically. "But we were just coming to look for Hermione?" was all he finally managed to get out as they started off down the hall once more.
"Yes, but we don't want to involve Professor Snape. Things would only turn into a huge mess if we did." Draco was pretending to ignore the questioning looks Ron was giving him and continued swiftly down the hall. Ron felt himself trotting to keep up.