Thanks to Sylvia Potter who beta reads for me.

Thanks to all of you for your amazing reviews; you are truly loyal.

And… I do hope you like where this story is going. I've written a couple of chapters more so… stick around.

Anyhow…  here it is; chapter 25… enjoy!

Chapter 25: An odd invitation

It was early enough for Draco Malfoy to owl his father with the piece of information he had managed to get. He was, after all, his father's son and the evil within him allowed him to do as much harm as he wanted to as many people as he wanted.

And soon enough with daddy at the very top of the Ministry of Magic, things would run smoothly for him. Yes. Dumbledore needed to die.

He ran to his room which he shared with Crabbe, Goyle and other Slytherin boys whose names were not important enough for him to remember. Everybody had gone to breakfast and were getting ready for morning lessons so the room was only for himself to use.

He sat on his bed and searching through his night table he found a parchment and the quill he used specially when he wanted to tell his father important things. For these school supplies were magical and their function was to prevent a stranger from reading the message without a proper password. A password known only by his father and mother who had purchased the items for their child to communicate at leisure, in case the time came when they were intercepted by Ministry employees.

He lay now on the bed with the parchment on his stomach and the quill in his left hand and with a gasp of air he started writing:

Dear father,

I followed your instructions and I am pleased to tell you that Hermione Granger and Professor Snape do sleep in the same chambers and their relationship is stronger than we thought.

Unfortunately, not only does he penetrate that mudblood but cares for her as well, something very suspicious for a Slytherin. Father, I advise you to take this into consideration; Professor Snape never shouted at any Slytherin like he shouted at me this morning and I am certain that Hermione Granger is not as courageous or as untruthful to her friends as we thought the other night. She refused to be touched by a Malfoy, father. You should make her pay for that. I am sure, however, that Professor Snape will never allow you to touch her if she does not want to be touched and thus a plan needs to be elaborated to prove their loyalty to the Dark Arts.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Draco.

He then walked all the way to the Owl tower where he knew Ambrosius would be eager to travel all the way back home and so inserting the note in his beak he let him fly away praying the Gods for an early answer.

--*---*--

It was late that night when Lucius Malfoy decided to sit on his velvet armchair at his private rooms with a glass of port on his left hand near the fireplace to keep warm. He enjoyed the beautiful color of fire because of its power to destroy things. And here stood a man who enjoyed destroying things important to other people because, make no mistake: Lucius Malfoy cared for no one but himself.

He was about to throw the port into the flames so they would roar with stamina when he heard a "tic, tic" on the window.

He turned his head to the right and noticed that Ambrosius- Lucius gift for Draco's birthday- was there in the middle of the cold with a note in his beak.

"Oh, Draco, Draco," he said while opening the door letting the bird and also the cold breeze in, "what have you got here, Ambrosius? Is this a letter from Draco?," he asked to a bird who was unable to answer back. But all the same he enjoyed the company of animals a lot more than the company of certain types of wizards. In fact, both creatures were on the same level, easy to kill, easy to murder for someone with the political power of Lucius Malfoy.

His power, however, had decreased since Voldemort's defeat; even though he had come out clean from that case, his reputation had been damaged by rumors. But his manner remained calm through the abyss; the time would come when he would take the lives of those who had tried to vanquish him. Yes, revenge is the sweet nectar of the gods, even sweater than his port.

He took the note in his hands and read it as quickly as he could.

"Draco thinks Severus loves that little mudblood, doesn't he, Ambrosius?," he asked the bird that perched now his shoulder. He, then, caressed his head because he was particularly fond of the bird, "I think Draco is blinded by his attraction for that filthy mudblood. The only way for us to find out how strong their feelings for each other are and where their loyalties lay is to invite them here, to dinner with Narcissa and I," he told the bird and without saying a single thing he stood up and searched through his cupboard for the special quill and parchment he had purchased for his son and himself.

He then, wrote:

Dear Draco,

It is always delightful to hear from you but the next time, could you please detect useful information? Because as much as I appreciate your efforts I do think that your adolescent feelings for Miss Granger have completely blinded your objectivity.

As for now I advise you not to worry for I will invite them to dinner on Friday night as to investigate the real nature of their feelings and their loyalty to the Death Eaters.

You mother sends her best,

With love,

Lucius.

And handing the note to Ambrosius, he fed him an owl treat and opened the window for him to leave. He needed to write to Mr. and Mrs. Snape requesting their presence for Friday night and sure enough useful information would be revealed.

---*---*---

Severus Snape was about to fall asleep after a long day of teaching Potion's to, apparently, limitless groups of dunderheads when an owl he recognized as Calicius, Lucius favorite owl, woke him completely.

He got up and opening the window he let the owl in and a letter that meant nothing but trouble.

The letter went as follows:

Dear Severus,

I firstly must apologize for my son's behavior which I consider rude, bad-mannered and offensive. I discussed the subject with Narcissa and we have agreed to invite you and your wife for dinner on Friday night as an apology for our son's behavior. Moreover, we would have the chance to argue serious subjects which our wives will find irrelevant, I am sure.

We will also be more than pleased to accommodate you at our residence so feel welcome to stay for the weekend.

I look forward to hearing from you, Severus, and please send my best wishes to your wife,

Lucius.

Severus folded the piece of parchment and with no hesitation he answered the letter with what he thought would be the appropriate thing to do: say yes. He then communicated the news to Dumbledore, who agreed and with no further actions he caressed Calicius head and opened the window for him to fly away.

Calicius arrival had taken Severus's intentions of going to sleep away and so his feet gradually led him to Hermione's chambers where he watched her snore gently, remembering the times in which they had been happy.

Those times were gone and sure enough Friday night would be crucial both for Severus and Lucius, for good and evil will confront and nothing good ever comes from that collision. Not even love. Not even peace.