Chapter 9: Lucius Malfoy
The next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was quite interesting as it involved something Harry had become quite familiar with; dementors. Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Lupin was teaching this subject to them due to the recent problems of the dementors on the loose. Or rather, under Voldemort's control. Luckily, Lupin began teaching them all the Patronus Charm, although Harry had no problem whatsoever producing it. Lupin even asked for Harry to demonstrate the spell to the class, and a moment later a gallant stag was leaping past the students, who watched in awe. Hermione, in turn, produced a spectacular Patronus of her own animal, the sea otter. By the end of the class, however, only Neville was able to produce a full- fledged Patronus, which took the form of a turtle, which no one found particularly menacing until it reared its head and belched fire from it. Although it hurt no one, it scared the majority.
That afternoon it began to rain, making for a muddy trip down to the greenhouses, where they worked diligently on their puffapods until finally Professor Sprout said "Due to the weather you are all excused from classes for the rest of today. The Headmaster's orders." They all cheered, although clearly not looking forward to the journey into the rain, which was now almost horizontal because of the wind. It cut through their robes easily, and finally Hermione put a Water Repelling Charm on each of them, and they made it back to Hogwarts mostly intact.
Sometime after they had gotten back to the common room and Hermione had begun blow drying their robes with a spell that produced hot air from the tip of her wand, Ron broached the subject of her detention the night previous. "So what did Snape make you do?" She frowned at the mention of the name of the Potions Master and simply said, "Made me scrub cauldrons and scrape gum off the bottom of some of the desks...by hand!" Ron cringed, "Glad it wasn't me." Hermione threw him a venomous look, so he said, "Ah, just kidding!"
Harry and Ron played wizard chess and traded a few Chocolate Frog cards for the rest of the afternoon, neglecting their homework till the evening. Hermione, however, worked as diligently as usual, and they were both surprised that she did not pick on them about not doing their work.
The rain slashed at the windows as they looked out the common room, and eventually night fell; they could barely see through the rain to Hagrid's hut, where a single lamp was shining brightly, the chimney smoking only just. Finally it was dinnertime, and the three of them traipsed through the portrait hole and across one of the moving stairways when suddenly a vase exploded above Ron's head. He gave a shout and ducked as Peeves came tearing through, shouting "IT'S POTTY WEE POTTER!" and hurling a bottle of ink at them. "PEEVES!" shouted Filch, who was hobbling around the corner after him, "SO HELP ME I'LL HAVE YOU EXPELLED FOR SURE THIS TIME!"
The three of them ran for it, down the stairs, to the Great Hall, hoping not to get hit again by Peeves the Poltergeist. They sat down at Gryffindor Table by Dean and Ginny when they overheard Parvati and Lavender talking to each other. "I mean, I can't believe it! It's all so strange!" Lavender was saying, "I mean I know she's Loony but-" Harry looked up from his mince pie, "What's that about Luna Lovegood?" They turned to him, "Oh, didn't you hear? Something dreadful happened to Loony but she won't say. She's been crying in the bathroom for two hours now. Probably realized the Crumple-Horned Snorkack doesn't exist or something," she sneered nastily. Harry stiffened and said, "Which bathroom?"
"Oh you know, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," said Parvati easily, "that's where every girl goes if they want a good cry." Snatching up a few things to eat on his way up, Harry excused himself from the table and went upstairs, not realizing that somebody else had taken notice of his absence.
"Luna? Luna, are you in there?!" said Harry loudly through the door to the Girls' Bathroom. "G-G-Go away H-H-Harry!" she sobbed, no longer her usual misty self. "Come on Luna, what's the matter?" he called, "Come out and talk to me!" A minute later, Luna peered from around the door, "Go away, H-Harry," she hiccupped, "I d-d-don't want to talk." "Luna, please, I'm your friend. Come out and talk to me." She shook her head rapidly. "All right," he said slowly, "you want me to come in there?" She seemed to weigh this for a minute, then said, "Okay, but be quiet or Filch'll nab you."
He snuck in quietly, hoping Moaning Myrtle was not in the bathroom at the moment, and sat down on a dusty old bench by the window. "What's the matter Luna?" he asked carefully, waiting for her to finish drying her eyes. She sniffed, and tried to bring her breathing back to normal, "I-I-I j-j-just got an owl from h-h-home," she said slowly. "My f-f-father's been attacked by a D-D-D-Death Eater," she said, tears welling up in her eyes again, "and they d-don't think he'll m-m-make it!" she burst out, sobbing once again. Harry's eyes grew wide; he hadn't heard about an attack! It must have happened just this afternoon!
"Oh, Luna, I'm so sorry," he said, watching her continue to stand there and cry, hiding her face. Unsure of what to do next, he stood up and pulled out a handkerchief, "Ah, here Luna," he said, pushing it into her hand. She blew her nose and sobbed into it, "M-M-Mum's already g-g-gone, and n-n-now Dad! I don't know wh-wh-where they'll p-p-put me! Probably in," she gasped, "an," another gasp, "orphanage! N-no one else w-w-will take m-m-me!" Harry looked at her with knowing, understanding the pain of having no parents, and he said, "Your dad'll be fine. He won't die. You'll be fine." "I know he won't d-d-die!" she sobbed, "I mean he was t-t- t-tortured! By the Cr-Cr-Cruciatus C-Curse! He's insane n-n-now!"
Harry's jaw dropped, but he kept silent; she sobbed even harder, so, not knowing what else to do, Harry put his arms around her and let her cry into his shoulder.
The following day Luna was not in school, and Harry assumed she had gone to St. Mungo's to visit her father. Harry did not tell Ron and Hermione what had happened, mostly because he didn't think it right to go about saying such things to people that Harry wasn't sure Luna would want knowing about it. Unfortunately, however, it was blasted all over the Daily Prophet, which had full details about Mr. Lovegood and his daughter Luna. The entire school, by midday, knew about it.
Not surprisingly, in Potions, he got into serious trouble over it. Pansy Parkinson made the somewhat catastrophic mistake of saying that "Well now we can really say that she IS Loony Lovegood!" letting out a high pitched squeal of a laugh that drove Harry completely crazy. She was taken up to Madam Pomfrey a few minutes later, hex marks all over her face. "POTTER!" Snape had shouted, "100 POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR AND A WEEK'S WORTH OF DETENTION!" Harry, however, didn't care at this point; Pansy had gotten what she deserved.
That evening Harry went down to the dungeons to take his first detention with Snape when suddenly none other than the man himself went running past him. "Professor-!" said Harry, but Snape glanced back and said "Another night Potter now go back to your dormitory!" and he took off down the hall. Harry was alarmed, but said nothing and did as Snape said. He was wandering through an empty corridor on the way to the portrait hole when he saw something dark brush past the end of the corridor. Harry froze. It had looked like a person in a black cloak, and slowly Harry pulled out his wand. He walked down the hallway silently, wand at the ready, and came upon the end of the hall. He peeked slowly around the left corner to see nothing but another corridor, leading further into darkness.
He felt his insides tearing in two; he wanted to go down the corridor and find out what was going on, but if he disobeyed Snape's order...he could end up sincerely paying for it. Just as he had decided to go around the corner he felt a very strong hand clamp onto his shoulder. He looked up to see Snape standing there, "What did you see?" he said softly. "A dark shape, a figure, in a black cloak," said Harry quietly, "I thought it was...was..." "Was what, Potter?" said Snape. He hesitated, "A Death Eater," said Harry finally. "Your dormitory, Potter. Now. And if you don't go back this time I'll send you there myself in pieces small enough to fit in a matchbox." Harry nodded and went to the right corridor, looking back to see Snape pulling out his wand carefully and starting to go down the hall.
Then Harry had an idea, and he charged back up to his dormitory and ripped open his trunk, searching for a very special piece of parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" he said, tapping his wand on it. The Marauder's Map slowly began to reveal itself, and then Harry saw Snape, slowly moving down the corridor, sliding along the wall. His eyes raced down the paper to the end of the corridor, where, waiting around the corner, was the dot that said Lucius Malfoy. "Oh no...!" gasped Harry, quickly tapping the parchment and saying "Mischief managed!" then running out the door as fast as possible.
He ran panting all the way to the corridor, only to find Snape lying on the ground. "Professor! Lucius Malfoy...!" "Potter RUN!" groaned Snape, sitting up slowly, "GET OUT OF HERE!" Harry turned and saw Malfoy, wand already raised, saying, "Cruc-" "EXPELLIARMUS!" shouted Harry, and then Snape shouted "IMMOBULUS!" The wand flew from Malfoy's hand and he froze as the Immobile Spell hit him hard, knocking him backward. Suddenly Harry felt the same strong hand he had felt earlier grab him and throw him aside, and Snape jumped on Lucius Malfoy like a hissing snake. "Finally got your comeuppance, eh Lucius? How did you get in this castle you sneak? Did your dear boy let you in?" he hissed. "Talk or I'll kill you," he said, releasing him from the Immobulus spell. The moment he had released him, Malfoy immediately began struggling, "Get off me Snape! You traitor! The Dark Lord is waiting for you! He has a special place for you! Yes he knows about you! He knows of your sneaking to Dumbledore!"
"IMMOBULUS!" shouted Snape again, and Malfoy's jaw snapped shut. Clearly, though, he was still struggling to spew insults at Snape, who turned to Harry and ignored the struggling noises from behind him. "Get out of here Potter. I told you. And of course you didn't listen, as usual. Your father would be proud. Now get out." Harry shirked back for a moment, then stood firm, "No." "What do you mean, 'No'? Get out of here Potter! Out I said! NOW!" "With all due respect, sir, you're hurt. And if I hadn't shown up when I did Malfoy probably would have killed you. I'm not leaving you to just sit here with an injured leg." Snape looked down at his left leg to see it was bleeding freely now, a large gash in his black pants revealing a pallid pale leg with an incredibly big open wound in it.
Snape shot daggers at him with his eyes, "If you go to Madam Pomfrey you're dead." "I won't if you'll just let me help," said Harry, "I just...I don't want to leave you here for some other student to find you. I might as well help. Besides, I'm supposed to be in detention with you anyway." Snape looked disgusted with him but said, "Fine," and tried to stand up on his own, but found his left leg kept slipping from underneath him. Harry put an arm underneath his and helped him stand, and Snape hated every minute of it. "Locomotor body!" said Harry, and Malfoy slowly levitated to head height. "Where are we going?" asked Harry. "Down to the dungeons," said Snape, wincing as he put more pressure on his leg. "After that, do you want me to get the Headmaster?" Snape nodded, "Yes, fine, let's just get down to the dungeons for now."
The journey down to the dungeons seemed to take a lifetime, but once they were there Snape limped away into his office and came back with a bandage around his wound, then said "Put him down over there on that table." Harry carelessly dropped Malfoy on the table, who banged his head against it, but neither he nor Snape really cared all that much. "I'll get the Headmaster," said Harry, hurrying out of Snape's dungeon before he could take away points. A few minutes later, when he returned with Dumbledore, Snape was sitting by Malfoy, pointing his wand at him and waiting for them with a casual, esteemed look on his face. "Well, well," said Dumbledore, "Lucius Malfoy, we meet again. You can remove the spell now, Severus." Snape removed the Immobulus spell, albeit with some bitterness, and Lucius immediately sat up, rubbing his head, silver hair askew.
He said nothing for a moment, then spoke, "You had no evidence to throw me in Azkaban Dumbledore! And you have no evidence to take me back!" "Other than some casual rantings about the Dark Lord, no, not really," said Snape easily, inspecting his nails. "That and a prison break," added Harry cheerily. Malfoy stared at Harry, "You." Harry grinned, "Me." Dumbledore turned to Harry, "I believe now is a good time for you to return to your dormitory, Mr. Potter. And please do not wander. Severus, you will accompany him while I speak with Mr. Malfoy, yes?" Snape looked angered at the idea, but only said, "Yes, Headmaster." Harry's shoulders slumped with the idea of Snape accompanying him back to the common room, but he said nothing and simply continued his way out the dungeons, Snape firmly shutting the door behind them so he could not see what Dumbledore and Malfoy were discussing.
Snape limped his way along the corridor without too much fuss, and despite his limp, he was still keeping up with Harry easily due to his forever long strides. "I was just trying to help, sir," said Harry softly, glad that the corridors were emptied of students. "Always trying to help, aren't you Potter? Show-off..." he muttered, limping alongside him, glancing down dark corridors as they went, looking for signs of further mischief. Harry stopped walking and faced Snape, who merely glared at him loftily. "Sir, I just thought I'd say...I appreciate what you're doing to help me. With the Occlumency and things. And the Order. And Hermione's parents. And tonight. I just...I just don't have the guts to say it."
Snape stared at him through narrowed eyes, "Well, that's good for you to realize such things Potter." And he continued on up the hall. Harry rolled his eyes but followed him, "And I just wanted to tell you that...that after what happened last year, in your Pensieve, I mean..." Now he saw Snape stiffen as he walked. "That I think you, you might be right about my dad. I saw the way he treated you and I...I never thought he was like that...people are always saying I'm just like him, but I hope not like that." Snape whirled around, "You are just like him! You're arrogant! You think you can do as you please here and not get caught! Well I hope you know, Potter, that life isn't like that!" He swirled back and continued to walk, now in a more frenzied manner. "I really don't think that I can get away with everything, sir," said Harry, following him quietly, "I just try to do what's best."
"Well sometimes your best isn't what's right!" snarled Snape, not looking at him, "Why can't you just stay in your damn dormitory like every other student here? No, you have to go out wandering the halls whenever you feel and stumble upon some new sort of hero-mongering thing that brings attention to you! Well good for you Potter but I could care less about you!" They were almost to the portrait hole when Snape stopped and said "I think you can handle it from here, or shall I tuck you in bed?" Harry stiffened, feeling like he'd been verbally slapped in the face at least ten times in the last minute, and said, "All I said was I'm sorry and thank you and you still hate me. What else do you want me to do?" "Graduate and disappear off the face of the earth!" he snapped, limping away from him.
Harry felt the urge to run after him and slug him, kick him, gouge him in that stupid wound, but instead he just stood there and watched an extremely angry, bitter, aging man walk away from him as fast as his limp would allow.
The next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was quite interesting as it involved something Harry had become quite familiar with; dementors. Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Lupin was teaching this subject to them due to the recent problems of the dementors on the loose. Or rather, under Voldemort's control. Luckily, Lupin began teaching them all the Patronus Charm, although Harry had no problem whatsoever producing it. Lupin even asked for Harry to demonstrate the spell to the class, and a moment later a gallant stag was leaping past the students, who watched in awe. Hermione, in turn, produced a spectacular Patronus of her own animal, the sea otter. By the end of the class, however, only Neville was able to produce a full- fledged Patronus, which took the form of a turtle, which no one found particularly menacing until it reared its head and belched fire from it. Although it hurt no one, it scared the majority.
That afternoon it began to rain, making for a muddy trip down to the greenhouses, where they worked diligently on their puffapods until finally Professor Sprout said "Due to the weather you are all excused from classes for the rest of today. The Headmaster's orders." They all cheered, although clearly not looking forward to the journey into the rain, which was now almost horizontal because of the wind. It cut through their robes easily, and finally Hermione put a Water Repelling Charm on each of them, and they made it back to Hogwarts mostly intact.
Sometime after they had gotten back to the common room and Hermione had begun blow drying their robes with a spell that produced hot air from the tip of her wand, Ron broached the subject of her detention the night previous. "So what did Snape make you do?" She frowned at the mention of the name of the Potions Master and simply said, "Made me scrub cauldrons and scrape gum off the bottom of some of the desks...by hand!" Ron cringed, "Glad it wasn't me." Hermione threw him a venomous look, so he said, "Ah, just kidding!"
Harry and Ron played wizard chess and traded a few Chocolate Frog cards for the rest of the afternoon, neglecting their homework till the evening. Hermione, however, worked as diligently as usual, and they were both surprised that she did not pick on them about not doing their work.
The rain slashed at the windows as they looked out the common room, and eventually night fell; they could barely see through the rain to Hagrid's hut, where a single lamp was shining brightly, the chimney smoking only just. Finally it was dinnertime, and the three of them traipsed through the portrait hole and across one of the moving stairways when suddenly a vase exploded above Ron's head. He gave a shout and ducked as Peeves came tearing through, shouting "IT'S POTTY WEE POTTER!" and hurling a bottle of ink at them. "PEEVES!" shouted Filch, who was hobbling around the corner after him, "SO HELP ME I'LL HAVE YOU EXPELLED FOR SURE THIS TIME!"
The three of them ran for it, down the stairs, to the Great Hall, hoping not to get hit again by Peeves the Poltergeist. They sat down at Gryffindor Table by Dean and Ginny when they overheard Parvati and Lavender talking to each other. "I mean, I can't believe it! It's all so strange!" Lavender was saying, "I mean I know she's Loony but-" Harry looked up from his mince pie, "What's that about Luna Lovegood?" They turned to him, "Oh, didn't you hear? Something dreadful happened to Loony but she won't say. She's been crying in the bathroom for two hours now. Probably realized the Crumple-Horned Snorkack doesn't exist or something," she sneered nastily. Harry stiffened and said, "Which bathroom?"
"Oh you know, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," said Parvati easily, "that's where every girl goes if they want a good cry." Snatching up a few things to eat on his way up, Harry excused himself from the table and went upstairs, not realizing that somebody else had taken notice of his absence.
"Luna? Luna, are you in there?!" said Harry loudly through the door to the Girls' Bathroom. "G-G-Go away H-H-Harry!" she sobbed, no longer her usual misty self. "Come on Luna, what's the matter?" he called, "Come out and talk to me!" A minute later, Luna peered from around the door, "Go away, H-Harry," she hiccupped, "I d-d-don't want to talk." "Luna, please, I'm your friend. Come out and talk to me." She shook her head rapidly. "All right," he said slowly, "you want me to come in there?" She seemed to weigh this for a minute, then said, "Okay, but be quiet or Filch'll nab you."
He snuck in quietly, hoping Moaning Myrtle was not in the bathroom at the moment, and sat down on a dusty old bench by the window. "What's the matter Luna?" he asked carefully, waiting for her to finish drying her eyes. She sniffed, and tried to bring her breathing back to normal, "I-I-I j-j-just got an owl from h-h-home," she said slowly. "My f-f-father's been attacked by a D-D-D-Death Eater," she said, tears welling up in her eyes again, "and they d-don't think he'll m-m-make it!" she burst out, sobbing once again. Harry's eyes grew wide; he hadn't heard about an attack! It must have happened just this afternoon!
"Oh, Luna, I'm so sorry," he said, watching her continue to stand there and cry, hiding her face. Unsure of what to do next, he stood up and pulled out a handkerchief, "Ah, here Luna," he said, pushing it into her hand. She blew her nose and sobbed into it, "M-M-Mum's already g-g-gone, and n-n-now Dad! I don't know wh-wh-where they'll p-p-put me! Probably in," she gasped, "an," another gasp, "orphanage! N-no one else w-w-will take m-m-me!" Harry looked at her with knowing, understanding the pain of having no parents, and he said, "Your dad'll be fine. He won't die. You'll be fine." "I know he won't d-d-die!" she sobbed, "I mean he was t-t- t-tortured! By the Cr-Cr-Cruciatus C-Curse! He's insane n-n-now!"
Harry's jaw dropped, but he kept silent; she sobbed even harder, so, not knowing what else to do, Harry put his arms around her and let her cry into his shoulder.
The following day Luna was not in school, and Harry assumed she had gone to St. Mungo's to visit her father. Harry did not tell Ron and Hermione what had happened, mostly because he didn't think it right to go about saying such things to people that Harry wasn't sure Luna would want knowing about it. Unfortunately, however, it was blasted all over the Daily Prophet, which had full details about Mr. Lovegood and his daughter Luna. The entire school, by midday, knew about it.
Not surprisingly, in Potions, he got into serious trouble over it. Pansy Parkinson made the somewhat catastrophic mistake of saying that "Well now we can really say that she IS Loony Lovegood!" letting out a high pitched squeal of a laugh that drove Harry completely crazy. She was taken up to Madam Pomfrey a few minutes later, hex marks all over her face. "POTTER!" Snape had shouted, "100 POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR AND A WEEK'S WORTH OF DETENTION!" Harry, however, didn't care at this point; Pansy had gotten what she deserved.
That evening Harry went down to the dungeons to take his first detention with Snape when suddenly none other than the man himself went running past him. "Professor-!" said Harry, but Snape glanced back and said "Another night Potter now go back to your dormitory!" and he took off down the hall. Harry was alarmed, but said nothing and did as Snape said. He was wandering through an empty corridor on the way to the portrait hole when he saw something dark brush past the end of the corridor. Harry froze. It had looked like a person in a black cloak, and slowly Harry pulled out his wand. He walked down the hallway silently, wand at the ready, and came upon the end of the hall. He peeked slowly around the left corner to see nothing but another corridor, leading further into darkness.
He felt his insides tearing in two; he wanted to go down the corridor and find out what was going on, but if he disobeyed Snape's order...he could end up sincerely paying for it. Just as he had decided to go around the corner he felt a very strong hand clamp onto his shoulder. He looked up to see Snape standing there, "What did you see?" he said softly. "A dark shape, a figure, in a black cloak," said Harry quietly, "I thought it was...was..." "Was what, Potter?" said Snape. He hesitated, "A Death Eater," said Harry finally. "Your dormitory, Potter. Now. And if you don't go back this time I'll send you there myself in pieces small enough to fit in a matchbox." Harry nodded and went to the right corridor, looking back to see Snape pulling out his wand carefully and starting to go down the hall.
Then Harry had an idea, and he charged back up to his dormitory and ripped open his trunk, searching for a very special piece of parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" he said, tapping his wand on it. The Marauder's Map slowly began to reveal itself, and then Harry saw Snape, slowly moving down the corridor, sliding along the wall. His eyes raced down the paper to the end of the corridor, where, waiting around the corner, was the dot that said Lucius Malfoy. "Oh no...!" gasped Harry, quickly tapping the parchment and saying "Mischief managed!" then running out the door as fast as possible.
He ran panting all the way to the corridor, only to find Snape lying on the ground. "Professor! Lucius Malfoy...!" "Potter RUN!" groaned Snape, sitting up slowly, "GET OUT OF HERE!" Harry turned and saw Malfoy, wand already raised, saying, "Cruc-" "EXPELLIARMUS!" shouted Harry, and then Snape shouted "IMMOBULUS!" The wand flew from Malfoy's hand and he froze as the Immobile Spell hit him hard, knocking him backward. Suddenly Harry felt the same strong hand he had felt earlier grab him and throw him aside, and Snape jumped on Lucius Malfoy like a hissing snake. "Finally got your comeuppance, eh Lucius? How did you get in this castle you sneak? Did your dear boy let you in?" he hissed. "Talk or I'll kill you," he said, releasing him from the Immobulus spell. The moment he had released him, Malfoy immediately began struggling, "Get off me Snape! You traitor! The Dark Lord is waiting for you! He has a special place for you! Yes he knows about you! He knows of your sneaking to Dumbledore!"
"IMMOBULUS!" shouted Snape again, and Malfoy's jaw snapped shut. Clearly, though, he was still struggling to spew insults at Snape, who turned to Harry and ignored the struggling noises from behind him. "Get out of here Potter. I told you. And of course you didn't listen, as usual. Your father would be proud. Now get out." Harry shirked back for a moment, then stood firm, "No." "What do you mean, 'No'? Get out of here Potter! Out I said! NOW!" "With all due respect, sir, you're hurt. And if I hadn't shown up when I did Malfoy probably would have killed you. I'm not leaving you to just sit here with an injured leg." Snape looked down at his left leg to see it was bleeding freely now, a large gash in his black pants revealing a pallid pale leg with an incredibly big open wound in it.
Snape shot daggers at him with his eyes, "If you go to Madam Pomfrey you're dead." "I won't if you'll just let me help," said Harry, "I just...I don't want to leave you here for some other student to find you. I might as well help. Besides, I'm supposed to be in detention with you anyway." Snape looked disgusted with him but said, "Fine," and tried to stand up on his own, but found his left leg kept slipping from underneath him. Harry put an arm underneath his and helped him stand, and Snape hated every minute of it. "Locomotor body!" said Harry, and Malfoy slowly levitated to head height. "Where are we going?" asked Harry. "Down to the dungeons," said Snape, wincing as he put more pressure on his leg. "After that, do you want me to get the Headmaster?" Snape nodded, "Yes, fine, let's just get down to the dungeons for now."
The journey down to the dungeons seemed to take a lifetime, but once they were there Snape limped away into his office and came back with a bandage around his wound, then said "Put him down over there on that table." Harry carelessly dropped Malfoy on the table, who banged his head against it, but neither he nor Snape really cared all that much. "I'll get the Headmaster," said Harry, hurrying out of Snape's dungeon before he could take away points. A few minutes later, when he returned with Dumbledore, Snape was sitting by Malfoy, pointing his wand at him and waiting for them with a casual, esteemed look on his face. "Well, well," said Dumbledore, "Lucius Malfoy, we meet again. You can remove the spell now, Severus." Snape removed the Immobulus spell, albeit with some bitterness, and Lucius immediately sat up, rubbing his head, silver hair askew.
He said nothing for a moment, then spoke, "You had no evidence to throw me in Azkaban Dumbledore! And you have no evidence to take me back!" "Other than some casual rantings about the Dark Lord, no, not really," said Snape easily, inspecting his nails. "That and a prison break," added Harry cheerily. Malfoy stared at Harry, "You." Harry grinned, "Me." Dumbledore turned to Harry, "I believe now is a good time for you to return to your dormitory, Mr. Potter. And please do not wander. Severus, you will accompany him while I speak with Mr. Malfoy, yes?" Snape looked angered at the idea, but only said, "Yes, Headmaster." Harry's shoulders slumped with the idea of Snape accompanying him back to the common room, but he said nothing and simply continued his way out the dungeons, Snape firmly shutting the door behind them so he could not see what Dumbledore and Malfoy were discussing.
Snape limped his way along the corridor without too much fuss, and despite his limp, he was still keeping up with Harry easily due to his forever long strides. "I was just trying to help, sir," said Harry softly, glad that the corridors were emptied of students. "Always trying to help, aren't you Potter? Show-off..." he muttered, limping alongside him, glancing down dark corridors as they went, looking for signs of further mischief. Harry stopped walking and faced Snape, who merely glared at him loftily. "Sir, I just thought I'd say...I appreciate what you're doing to help me. With the Occlumency and things. And the Order. And Hermione's parents. And tonight. I just...I just don't have the guts to say it."
Snape stared at him through narrowed eyes, "Well, that's good for you to realize such things Potter." And he continued on up the hall. Harry rolled his eyes but followed him, "And I just wanted to tell you that...that after what happened last year, in your Pensieve, I mean..." Now he saw Snape stiffen as he walked. "That I think you, you might be right about my dad. I saw the way he treated you and I...I never thought he was like that...people are always saying I'm just like him, but I hope not like that." Snape whirled around, "You are just like him! You're arrogant! You think you can do as you please here and not get caught! Well I hope you know, Potter, that life isn't like that!" He swirled back and continued to walk, now in a more frenzied manner. "I really don't think that I can get away with everything, sir," said Harry, following him quietly, "I just try to do what's best."
"Well sometimes your best isn't what's right!" snarled Snape, not looking at him, "Why can't you just stay in your damn dormitory like every other student here? No, you have to go out wandering the halls whenever you feel and stumble upon some new sort of hero-mongering thing that brings attention to you! Well good for you Potter but I could care less about you!" They were almost to the portrait hole when Snape stopped and said "I think you can handle it from here, or shall I tuck you in bed?" Harry stiffened, feeling like he'd been verbally slapped in the face at least ten times in the last minute, and said, "All I said was I'm sorry and thank you and you still hate me. What else do you want me to do?" "Graduate and disappear off the face of the earth!" he snapped, limping away from him.
Harry felt the urge to run after him and slug him, kick him, gouge him in that stupid wound, but instead he just stood there and watched an extremely angry, bitter, aging man walk away from him as fast as his limp would allow.