"Alone, if you please," Malfoy added. He steered her toward a narrow doorway, holding her right arm in a steely grip. A spiral staircase led up into the church bell tower. Malfoy crowded against Alex, preventing her from getting to her wand with her free hand. She hesitated at the foot of the stairs, but he didn't slow his pace. Her choices were limited to walking on her own two feet, or being dragged. Either way, she was going up the stairs. Glancing up at Malfoy's profile, Alex saw that he was smiling.

What a bully. Jerk. I could kick him - she immediately rejected the notion. Too late to catch him off guard. Besides he'd probably enjoy an excuse to rough me up. Yelling for help wasn't an option either. No way I'm going to disrupt the burial service. I'd look like a total idiot. Malfoy only wants to talk. I hope.

The wizard didn't release her until they'd reached the level that housed the carillon. The bells hung in rows high above their heads. "Such a pity you had to miss our little dinner party," he remarked casually, "there were a number of influential people there that I'd hoped to introduce you to."

Alex smiled back at Malfoy insincerely. She'd slipped her wand out of her pocket as soon as he'd let go of her and now held it firmly, her hand concealed in the voluminous folds of her skirt. "I hope Severus told your lovely wife how sorry I was not to be able to attend."

"He mentioned something about you being ill. Severus is, shall we say, somewhat lacking in social graces," Malfoy said with just a touch of condescension. He chuckled indulgently.

"Severus isn't lacking in the qualities that really matter," Alex replied. She felt a flare of anger at Malfoy's subtle ridicule of Snape. I'm the only one allowed to comment on his lack of social skills, buddy, she thought. "There are more important things in life than having expensive clothes or influential friends," Alex added, "but some people don't understand that." Her eyes roved over Lucius Malfoy's impeccably tailored robes, coolly unimpressed.

"I wouldn't be in a position to appreciate the full range of Severus' good qualities, Miss Rose," he answered, "but I'm sure you could attest to his... prowess." For just a moment, he allowed his smile to slip, turning it into a leer.

Alex felt herself blush. She bit back an angry response. He's just trying to get a rise out of me. She was grateful for the shadows in the bell tower that hid the flush that had risen in her cheeks. I wish he'd get to the point.

"Of course, I'm speaking of potion making," Malfoy added blandly. "Severus tells me that you yourself are skilled in that area. I often have need of various potions. Of course, I am in a position to pay handsomely for the services of a potions master," he flicked manicured fingers dismissively. "Far better than the pittance you receive for your work at Hogwarts."

"I doubt I'm suited to create the type of potions you'd require," Alex said. I'm not in the habit of brewing poisons.

"I think you're mistaken, Miss Rose. I'm sure you're quite competent," Malfoy responded, choosing to take her rebuttal as a lack of self-confidence. He waited, one elegant eyebrow arched expectantly. Alex didn't reply. "I'm afraid you are mistaken on another point as well," he went on smoothly after a moment. "You said that influential friends aren't important. I disagree. The right friends can be very important indeed." Alex felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The smile never left his face, but somehow he managed to convey menace. "In difficult times like these, influential friends can even mean the difference between life and death."

Okay, that was a threat. Alex crossed to one of the arched windows and stood looking down on the burial service. Lucius Malfoy's hints and innuendos were beginning to wear on her nerves. Below in the churchyard, the coffin had been lowered into the ground and the mourners were filing by slowly, each tossing a handful of dirt onto the lid. "How tiresome," Alex remarked, indicating the ceremony. She was determined to get a dig of her own in. "This must be the second funeral you've had to attend this week," she said over her shoulder. "I read Antonin Dolohov's obituary in the Daily Prophet. He was one of your friends, wasn't he ?"

"Yes, Miss Rose, he was." He stepped soundlessly across the space between them. She gasped involuntarily as he grabbed her roughly, spinning her around to face him. His pale eyes bored into hers. "But Dolohov made a fatal mistake. He became my enemy." He loomed over Alex, his face only inches away from her own. The low stone windowsill and Malfoy's hands grasping her arms were the only things between her and empty air.

"I'm not afraid of you, Malfoy," Alex murmured. To her surprise, she found it was true. She still held her wand ready to defend herself. His grip on her arms might hinder her, but she didn't need to make any big flourishes to cast the hex she had in mind. "Let me go, right now," she suggested pleasantly, pointing her wand at his crotch. "Unless you want a scorching case of venereal disease. That'd be interesting to have to explain to your wife."

If anything, Malfoy's smile widened. He stepped back from the window ledge and released her. "I see you've overcome your fear of heights."

She blinked at him in surprise. Wow. I guess I have.

"Am I interrupting something ?" A silky voice broke the silence. Severus Snape stepped out of the shadows.

"Of course not, Severus," Malfoy assured him smoothly, "I was just explaining the importance of friendship to Miss Rose."

"Good. I wouldn't want to disrupt the moment with my lack of social graces," Snape replied sarcastically.

He's been here all along, Alex realized. My knight in shining armor. Well, okay, not exactly shining, she amended. Heck, not exactly a knight, either. She nearly laughed out loud, struck anew at the contrast between the two Death Eaters. Snape's bruises had just begun to fade and his hair, as usual, was greasy and unkempt. Malfoy, on the other hand, was perfectly groomed. There was nothing to show that he'd participated in mayhem the week before. Ugh. You wouldn't know it to look at him, but Lucius Malfoy is the slimy one.

He turned back to her, all trace of the smile gone. "A word to the wise, Miss Rose. You'll find soon enough that I'm not the only one who's taken notice of you. I daresay it's no longer a matter of if you'll need protection, but when."

"Your concern is touching but misplaced, Lucius," Snape interrupted. "You needn't concern yourself about Miss Rose. Her safety is my responsibility, not yours. Besides," he added, "you really don't want to worry. It can cause unsightly wrinkles, or so I've been told." Malfoy glared at him. "Ah, you see, it's happening already," he pointed out, unintimidated.

Malfoy turned away from him dismissively. When he looked at Alex, his smile was firmly in place again. "Consider my proposal, Miss Rose," he said. "It's really in your best interest to accept." Malfoy turned regally and brushed past Snape. "Good day, Severus." They watched as he swept down the stairs.

"The train for Hogwarts will be leaving shortly," Severus told her, holding out his arm. Putting away her wand, Alex slipped her arm through his.

"I didn't need any help dealing with Malfoy," she felt compelled to say as they descended the staircase.

"I know."

"But I was damn glad when you showed up," she admitted.

-----

Snape and Alex sat across from one another in an empty compartment towards the back of the train. Neither spoke until they'd left the station. "I don't -" Alex began, but he silenced her with a gesture. She watched as he placed wards against eavesdropping around the compartment. Paranoid, she thought. No, cautious. "I don't think Lucius Malfoy knows about the kidnapping," she said once Severus had sat down again.

He nodded. "He suspects some plot is in the works, but he isn't a part of it. That points to his chief rival."

"Bellatrix Lestrange," said Alex.

"Yes. I think we can conclude that it was Bella Lestrange who arranged that little escapade. And somehow, I doubt that she simply wanted to talk to you."

Alex shuddered. Then a new thought occurred to her. "So Malfoy isn't involved... unless he really is involved, and was deliberately playing dumb about it ?"

Snape's eyes gleamed as he grinned at her. "Your reasoning is a bit too convoluted, even for a Death Eater. You're starting to think like Mad-Eye Moody." Alex responded with an unlady-like snort. "Lucius sought you out to offer help," Snape explained. He held up a hand to forestall her protest. "In his own warped way, of course. He needn't have done so if he approved of Bella's schemes – in that case he would have simply left you to her tender mercies, with no attempt to warn you."

"So you're saying he dragged me up those stairs, made a bunch of thinly-veiled threats, and nearly threw me out the window because he wants to help me ?"

Severus nodded, smirking at her reaction. "Basically. I'd say that you can count Lucius as a friend, for the moment, at least. Not that you should trust him even half as far as you might throw him," he added.

"For cryin' out loud. That's just completely insane," Alex muttered. She pulled her feet up under the skirts of her gown and sat hugging her knees. "I hate this," she remarked softly. "I never thought I'd get involved in this kind of craziness again." Severus stood up. She expected him to sit down next to her, to offer more explanations. To try and comfort her. Instead, he slid the compartment door back and stepped into the hallway.

"I'm sorry you became involved," he said as he shut the door.

"With the Death Eaters, or with you, Severus ?" she asked, but he was already gone.