Jailbird
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling (JKR), various publishers of the Harry Potter (HP) series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 2 (uploaded 11/5/03)
Snape took a leisurely breakfast by himself in the teacher's lounge as he perused the Daily Prophet, wizarding's number one newspaper. The halls were quiet and the other permanent residents in Hogwarts castle kept their own schedules. After a quiet walk in the forest for some introspection and exercise, he returned to his classroom to review some research notes. There was a knock on the door.
Snape looked up from his reading, "Enter."
Draco walked in, angry and seething. He was holding his broom. His normally pale complexion was flush. "Draco," Snape acknowledged, "I was to see you at dinner tonight, but come in. Pull up a chair."
"You what? Where?" Draco said through clenched teeth.
"How is Lucius's sister? I went to school with her, though she was a few years above me."
"How should I know. I've been at Goyle's or at Crabbe's. I couldn't stand two days with Aunt Vanessa."
Snape placed his elbows on top of his desk and tented his fingers, his deep dark eyes staring at his student. "I asked to see you yesterday after visiting your father in Azkaban. Have you not written to him?"
Draco relaxed a little and shook his head. Snape got up from the desk with a quill, bottle of ink, and parchment. He placed it on the desk in front of the blond 16 year old. Draco swallowed hard, "I don't know what to say."
"Take your time. Does your mother know you're here?" Draco stared at the blank parchment and shook his head slowly.
"Then I'll send an owl to let her know you're with me. We'll talk about this over dinner tonight."
"I don't want to go home. Mum is weird lately. I can't explain. She wanted me out of the way so she could entertain Father's friends from the Ministry. She said she's trying to get Father out of prison."
"Fine, Draco. But you and I are going to sit down to dinner tonight with your mum."
"Why are you doing this to me?" Draco scoffed, still looking down at the parchment on the desk in front of him, now crossing his arms.
"Call it a gut feeling. You've always been close to your mum and I don't like to see you drifting away from her like this."
"What business is it of yours, anyway? Besides, I'm not a little boy. I don't need to hold Mummy's skirt."
"Draco," Snape walked over and picked Draco up by his collar so that they were eye to eye. "I am your godfather, as your father so plainly reminded me. I see his concern and I don't think you're handling it as a Malfoy should."
The young Malfoy moved his chin out of the professor's yellow fingers and sneered, "Right, a real Malfoy would fly right over to Potter's house and hex him and his family off the planet. It's his fault." Draco pulled his wand from his robes and clutched it tightly. Sparks flew from its tip.
Snape dropped Draco down on his chair and continued with a silky voice, "A Malfoy is more cunning, Draco. One thing at a time. The task before you is to write your father. You can stay at Hogwarts until we go to dinner tonight." Snape called a house elf to retrieve a couple of school owls. He sent his letter off to Narcissa.
"Hey," Draco's eyes looked panicked, "You didn't tell Mum that I haven't been with Aunt Vanessa, did you?"
Snape looked up from his research. "No, only that you're with me today. I would think she's known for a while, however I would believe she had no objection with you being with the Crabbes or the Goyles."
Draco took the rest of the morning to compose his letter. He asked Snape to review it before he tied it to the owl's leg. The potions professor had no objections, it was a pretty superficial letter. Snape addressed the letter, quite simply, to "Malfoy, Azkaban Prison."
~ ~ ~
Snape borrowed a thestral and carriage from Hagrid to carry them to Malfoy Mansion. He normally would have apparated the distance, but he couldn't expect the teenager to fly all the way home. The way Draco was behaving, he probably wouldn't have gone home anyway. As they approached the door, Draco looked around nervously, like he wanted to turn and run. Snape kept a light hand on the boy's collar, just in case.
When they got to the door, Snape lifted his free hand to knock, but Draco called, "Let me in!" The door opened by itself. As soon as it did, Draco ran up the stairs to his room, slamming his bedroom door behind him. A house elf apparated to the foyer and announced "Mistress will be down in a moment, Sir. Please wait in the sitting room." The elf led the dark clad guest to the sitting room and poured a drink for him. As soon as it was taken from the elf's hand, he disapparated, "I will let Mistress know Sir is here."
Snape walked around the room, looking at the knick knacks and pictures. He'd been in this room hundreds of times over the years. He looked across the foyer and noticed the door Lucius's study was ajar.
Putting the glass down, he listened for movement in the house and looked up the stairs for a moment. He eased the door open, ever so gently, ever so deftly, just enough to slip his tall, thin body through the opening. The spy in him knew instinctively how suspicious it was that Lucius's study would be open without his presence. He'd been in this room more often than he'd been in the sitting room. He looked around and determined that nothing on the shelves looked like they'd been touched since his last observation. Lucius owned many illegal items associated with Dark Arts and proudly displayed them on the shelves. Except for some parchments on the desk, everything seemed in place. The parchments were related to Lucius's trial. He heard distant footsteps upstairs. It seemed that Narcissa was trying to talk Draco out of his room and down to dinner. Draco was putting up a stubborn argument.
Snape was backing out of the door and returning the opening to its original size, when he was grabbed at the hips from behind. Quickly, he spun around. The other black clad figure ducked his elbow and pinned his hand to his chest, wand not completely drawn. His face twitched, but a velvety voice came from his throat, "Bellatrix."
"Severus, good to see you again." Bellatrix Lestrange pushed her body against his.
"Don't you think it risky to be here." He asked coolly.
"Don't you think it risky to be in Lucius's study without his presence?"
"I asked first."
"Very well. I'm here to visit my sister. Why would anyone think that unusual?"
"Oh, Bellatrix, perhaps because you're an escaped prisoner," he looked into her eyes, trying to probe her soul.
She looked up the staircase, as if she could listen to the argument on the second floor. He pushed his wand back into his robes and grabbed her around her waist. He pulled the door closed with his other hand and stepped around to pin her to the doors. Snape drawled, "I know for a fact that Lucius has wards on his study so that nobody else can open these doors. Not Narcissa, not Draco, not anybody." She breathed hard, feeling the heat of his body pressing against hers. "How, would you imagine, it possible that door would be open whilst Lucius sits in Azkaban?"
She shrugged, jaws taut, accentuating her sunken cheeks, "My sister tells me you visited Lucius yesterday. How is my dear brother-in-law holding up?" She pushed him away when Narcissa and Draco appeared at the top of the staircase.
"He could be better," Snape deadpanned as he looked up at the Malfoys.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling (JKR), various publishers of the Harry Potter (HP) series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 2 (uploaded 11/5/03)
Snape took a leisurely breakfast by himself in the teacher's lounge as he perused the Daily Prophet, wizarding's number one newspaper. The halls were quiet and the other permanent residents in Hogwarts castle kept their own schedules. After a quiet walk in the forest for some introspection and exercise, he returned to his classroom to review some research notes. There was a knock on the door.
Snape looked up from his reading, "Enter."
Draco walked in, angry and seething. He was holding his broom. His normally pale complexion was flush. "Draco," Snape acknowledged, "I was to see you at dinner tonight, but come in. Pull up a chair."
"You what? Where?" Draco said through clenched teeth.
"How is Lucius's sister? I went to school with her, though she was a few years above me."
"How should I know. I've been at Goyle's or at Crabbe's. I couldn't stand two days with Aunt Vanessa."
Snape placed his elbows on top of his desk and tented his fingers, his deep dark eyes staring at his student. "I asked to see you yesterday after visiting your father in Azkaban. Have you not written to him?"
Draco relaxed a little and shook his head. Snape got up from the desk with a quill, bottle of ink, and parchment. He placed it on the desk in front of the blond 16 year old. Draco swallowed hard, "I don't know what to say."
"Take your time. Does your mother know you're here?" Draco stared at the blank parchment and shook his head slowly.
"Then I'll send an owl to let her know you're with me. We'll talk about this over dinner tonight."
"I don't want to go home. Mum is weird lately. I can't explain. She wanted me out of the way so she could entertain Father's friends from the Ministry. She said she's trying to get Father out of prison."
"Fine, Draco. But you and I are going to sit down to dinner tonight with your mum."
"Why are you doing this to me?" Draco scoffed, still looking down at the parchment on the desk in front of him, now crossing his arms.
"Call it a gut feeling. You've always been close to your mum and I don't like to see you drifting away from her like this."
"What business is it of yours, anyway? Besides, I'm not a little boy. I don't need to hold Mummy's skirt."
"Draco," Snape walked over and picked Draco up by his collar so that they were eye to eye. "I am your godfather, as your father so plainly reminded me. I see his concern and I don't think you're handling it as a Malfoy should."
The young Malfoy moved his chin out of the professor's yellow fingers and sneered, "Right, a real Malfoy would fly right over to Potter's house and hex him and his family off the planet. It's his fault." Draco pulled his wand from his robes and clutched it tightly. Sparks flew from its tip.
Snape dropped Draco down on his chair and continued with a silky voice, "A Malfoy is more cunning, Draco. One thing at a time. The task before you is to write your father. You can stay at Hogwarts until we go to dinner tonight." Snape called a house elf to retrieve a couple of school owls. He sent his letter off to Narcissa.
"Hey," Draco's eyes looked panicked, "You didn't tell Mum that I haven't been with Aunt Vanessa, did you?"
Snape looked up from his research. "No, only that you're with me today. I would think she's known for a while, however I would believe she had no objection with you being with the Crabbes or the Goyles."
Draco took the rest of the morning to compose his letter. He asked Snape to review it before he tied it to the owl's leg. The potions professor had no objections, it was a pretty superficial letter. Snape addressed the letter, quite simply, to "Malfoy, Azkaban Prison."
~ ~ ~
Snape borrowed a thestral and carriage from Hagrid to carry them to Malfoy Mansion. He normally would have apparated the distance, but he couldn't expect the teenager to fly all the way home. The way Draco was behaving, he probably wouldn't have gone home anyway. As they approached the door, Draco looked around nervously, like he wanted to turn and run. Snape kept a light hand on the boy's collar, just in case.
When they got to the door, Snape lifted his free hand to knock, but Draco called, "Let me in!" The door opened by itself. As soon as it did, Draco ran up the stairs to his room, slamming his bedroom door behind him. A house elf apparated to the foyer and announced "Mistress will be down in a moment, Sir. Please wait in the sitting room." The elf led the dark clad guest to the sitting room and poured a drink for him. As soon as it was taken from the elf's hand, he disapparated, "I will let Mistress know Sir is here."
Snape walked around the room, looking at the knick knacks and pictures. He'd been in this room hundreds of times over the years. He looked across the foyer and noticed the door Lucius's study was ajar.
Putting the glass down, he listened for movement in the house and looked up the stairs for a moment. He eased the door open, ever so gently, ever so deftly, just enough to slip his tall, thin body through the opening. The spy in him knew instinctively how suspicious it was that Lucius's study would be open without his presence. He'd been in this room more often than he'd been in the sitting room. He looked around and determined that nothing on the shelves looked like they'd been touched since his last observation. Lucius owned many illegal items associated with Dark Arts and proudly displayed them on the shelves. Except for some parchments on the desk, everything seemed in place. The parchments were related to Lucius's trial. He heard distant footsteps upstairs. It seemed that Narcissa was trying to talk Draco out of his room and down to dinner. Draco was putting up a stubborn argument.
Snape was backing out of the door and returning the opening to its original size, when he was grabbed at the hips from behind. Quickly, he spun around. The other black clad figure ducked his elbow and pinned his hand to his chest, wand not completely drawn. His face twitched, but a velvety voice came from his throat, "Bellatrix."
"Severus, good to see you again." Bellatrix Lestrange pushed her body against his.
"Don't you think it risky to be here." He asked coolly.
"Don't you think it risky to be in Lucius's study without his presence?"
"I asked first."
"Very well. I'm here to visit my sister. Why would anyone think that unusual?"
"Oh, Bellatrix, perhaps because you're an escaped prisoner," he looked into her eyes, trying to probe her soul.
She looked up the staircase, as if she could listen to the argument on the second floor. He pushed his wand back into his robes and grabbed her around her waist. He pulled the door closed with his other hand and stepped around to pin her to the doors. Snape drawled, "I know for a fact that Lucius has wards on his study so that nobody else can open these doors. Not Narcissa, not Draco, not anybody." She breathed hard, feeling the heat of his body pressing against hers. "How, would you imagine, it possible that door would be open whilst Lucius sits in Azkaban?"
She shrugged, jaws taut, accentuating her sunken cheeks, "My sister tells me you visited Lucius yesterday. How is my dear brother-in-law holding up?" She pushed him away when Narcissa and Draco appeared at the top of the staircase.
"He could be better," Snape deadpanned as he looked up at the Malfoys.