Chapter 16 - Truth Revealed
The snow had finally melted, and it was almost time for the fifth Quidditch match of the season, Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff. The whole school was out on the pitch, except for Draco Malfoy, who'd faked an illness so he wouldn't have to play. Madam Hooch had sent him to the hospital wing, and he pushed the door open to go inside, then blinked several times, not believing his eyes.
Professor Snape was sitting quietly with his chair pulled up to a bed in which sat a very perturbed Professor Deesia. She was scolding him rather thoroughly, but he just sat gazing at her with a mildly amused expression on his face.
"You might have warned me about the after-effects when we hatched this plan, Severus," she said. Draco noticed that in spite of her annoyed tone of voice her hand was resting in Snape's. "Every month on the day for exactly how long?" she asked.
"It will probably only happen once more. I was under the curse a good deal longer than you were. For me it was half a year before it quit." Snape looked a bit grim at this pronouncement, but his expression flickered immediately to anger as he looked up and saw Draco. He stood up abruptly and headed toward him.
Snape dragged Draco by the arm and deposited him roughly in the chair he himself had just left. Professor Deesia looked a bit pale, and Snape looked furious, but at whom, Draco couldn't tell. He was feeling very confused, but he knew from dealing with his father that the worst thing he could do was ask, so he kept still and waited. It was obvious that either Professor Deesia was a spy or Professor Snape was, and it wouldn't do to start talking until he knew which of these was the case.
It was Professor Deesia who spoke first. "Well, Draco, I can tell that you are a bit concerned to find Severus and I here talking like old friends. It might ease your mind a bit to know that we grew up together, and have been friends most of our lives." She was smiling at him, and Draco, though still confused, decided to risk a question.
"But didn't he use the worst curse on you that he could come up with?"
"Actually, no. I'm surprised you didn't glean it from the conversation Sirius had with Madam Pomfrey that night. I used the curse on him. He merely rebounded it to me. I failed to block it, and you saw the result." She was looking at him shrewdly now, and the pieces fell into place suddenly.
"Then, you let it hit you so that I would see and bring him here?" His voice was incredulous, but as he continued he grew more certain. "And I DIDN'T stun Father, did I?" He turned to face Snape, who still looked rather ferocious. "You stunned him when he started to turn around! So you were the spy who told the Order that Voldemort was going to kidnap all those people!" Snape cringed, but nodded.
"But why? Why did you need me? They could have just taken you back with them when they came here with the port key." He was less sure of himself now, and starting to feel as though he'd been tricked.
It was Professor Snape who responded this time. "Mr. Malfoy, certainly you do not think that anyone among us wanted you to follow in your father's footsteps. Or did you think that no one would know that he was pressuring you to submit to his master?"
Draco, who'd been pacing as he talked, sank back down into the chair. "How did you know about that?" he muttered. "I didn't even tell Crabbe and Goyle, although Crabbe already has his mark, I saw it when we were dueling." He looked up quickly, remembering that he and Ron had only told Sirius about that incident. A pained expression had crossed Snape's face, which he quickly replaced with his usual sneer.
"Professor Black," he responded, spitting out the name as though it were a foul tasting bug, "mentioned the incident to me after that class." Draco could see that whatever side Snape was on, he still did not like Sirius, who'd been following him around almost continually since Christmas. Sirius stood guard outside potions lessons and sat between Professor Snape and Professor Deesia at each meal. Draco had thought this was because Snape couldn't be trusted to stay put, but saw now that it was only a charade they'd been playing for the benefit of the Slytherins whose parents answered to Voldemort.
"Remarkably insightful thinking, Draco," Professor Deesia said, smiling again. "We didn't want to ruin Severus' cover. If he should escape again," her eyes twinkled now, and Draco saw that this must be their plan, "we want them to welcome him back." Snape and Draco each suppressed a shudder, knowing that Voldemort's idea of a warm welcome wasn't something they ever wanted to experience. But Draco was now looking at Snape with something akin to awe. It had never occurred to him that someone might be brave enough to do what he'd been doing. At this point a new thought intruded in Draco's mind and he lurched back out of the chair.
"But Harry and Ron must have known all this," he said suddenly. "They knew and they didn't tell me, they just let me tell the whole story and acted like they really thought I was brave and everything!"
"They were right not to tell you. We were all still rather wary of telling you anything right away, and it's better that you found out from the people who were really involved." Professor Deesia looked concerned to see him so upset.
"They've been laughing at me this whole time," he continued, ignoring her. "They're probably outside right now talking about what a dunce I am, and how nothing I did was really that dangerous."
He was almost shouting now. Professor Deesia glanced helplessly at Snape, who knew at once that nothing she said would calm him. So he said it himself, looking as though the words were being extracted from him with pliers. "Malfoy, master yourself," he spat. "You are aware, as I am, that what mattered most to them was that you were willing to do it, not whether or not you were actually in danger. You must realize that we had planned for you to be in as little danger as possible." He fell silent for a moment, remembering Macnair's screams. "Not that it worked, however."
Draco, who appeared to be remembering the same thing, was nodding. Snape continued. "Lucius was supposed to be out, but he fought off Moody much more quickly than any of us expected. And - " Snape paused here, looking to Muriel as if for permission to continue. She nodded. "And none of us could have foreseen that the Dark Lord himself would be using the Malfoy mansion as headquarters. The information I had put him at the Goyle residence. When you arrived, however, he was occupied upstairs. You were in far more danger than any of us had ever intended."
They heard the sound of students shuffling past outside the door, and it wasn't long before Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came into the room, looking first startled and then relieved to see their professors already talking calmly with Malfoy. Draco, however, looked a little sheepish, remembering all the nasty things he'd just said about them. But they were all grinning, and it wasn't long before they headed down to the Great Hall for dinner, talking about the Quidditch match.
Professor Deesia, having had another draught of purple liquid, addressed Snape. "Are you sure you have to go back so soon?" She sounded worried, but he ignored it.
"I have been in touch with the Dark Lord through young Mr. Crabbe. I believe he is convinced of my loyalty, though I am sure it will have to be proven when I return." He saw that she had turned a pale shade of green at his words, and continued in haste, "Muriel, no heroics! I don't want you rushing to my aid. As I am reminded daily, you lost a great deal helping me the last time." This last sentence was said with such venom that Muriel could only look at her hands.
"That, she did," said a carefully restrained voice from the doorway. Sirius came inside and closed the door carefully behind him. "Having your tearful goodbye, then?" he asked, the look on his face something between anguish and fury.
Snape turned to him slowly, raising his wand as he did so. "Perhaps you wish it were you she was lamenting?" he snarled. Sirius had raised his wand as well.
"Would both of you just leave off!" Muriel was near tears, and neither of the men was really eager to make her cry. They were silent, but looked as though they'd dearly love to be hexing one another's ears off. They turned at the sound of bare feet hitting the floor. Muriel, in a purple flannel dressing gown, had climbed out of bed and now had her wand in hand, a playful but determined look on her face. "I've changed my mind," she said, matter-of-factly, "you two can just stay right there and work this out."
"Accio wands," she said forcefully, causing both their wands to fly into her outstretched hand. "Impedimentia indefinatus," she said. Her voice was triumphant as Sirius let out a groan and Severus hissed, looking angrily at her. She made to leave, but turned at the doorway, "You can stand there and stare at one another until I get back, which will be after lunch, or you can use the time to do something constructive. I don't care, but either way I will be keeping your wands until that time." The door clicked closed behind her, and they looked at one another with similar helpless expressions.
"Merlin, I love her," Sirius said finally, dropping his face into his hands. Severus raised both eyebrows, which gave him an expression almost like pity, and sank down to the ground to sit cross-legged. He couldn't move forward or turn away, but he could at least be at ease.
When Sirius looked up again, Severus was careful to keep his face impassive. Sirius sat as well, trying to look at anything but the man in front of him. He had so many reasons to hate him: He'd caused Mur a great deal of pain; he'd tried to turn Sirius over to the dementors in spite of evidence of his innocence; he'd been horrible to Harry. But mostly Sirius hated him because Mur had put Severus before him, and before herself. The man in front of him was the reason he'd been alone for the last 15 years.
The snow had finally melted, and it was almost time for the fifth Quidditch match of the season, Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff. The whole school was out on the pitch, except for Draco Malfoy, who'd faked an illness so he wouldn't have to play. Madam Hooch had sent him to the hospital wing, and he pushed the door open to go inside, then blinked several times, not believing his eyes.
Professor Snape was sitting quietly with his chair pulled up to a bed in which sat a very perturbed Professor Deesia. She was scolding him rather thoroughly, but he just sat gazing at her with a mildly amused expression on his face.
"You might have warned me about the after-effects when we hatched this plan, Severus," she said. Draco noticed that in spite of her annoyed tone of voice her hand was resting in Snape's. "Every month on the day for exactly how long?" she asked.
"It will probably only happen once more. I was under the curse a good deal longer than you were. For me it was half a year before it quit." Snape looked a bit grim at this pronouncement, but his expression flickered immediately to anger as he looked up and saw Draco. He stood up abruptly and headed toward him.
Snape dragged Draco by the arm and deposited him roughly in the chair he himself had just left. Professor Deesia looked a bit pale, and Snape looked furious, but at whom, Draco couldn't tell. He was feeling very confused, but he knew from dealing with his father that the worst thing he could do was ask, so he kept still and waited. It was obvious that either Professor Deesia was a spy or Professor Snape was, and it wouldn't do to start talking until he knew which of these was the case.
It was Professor Deesia who spoke first. "Well, Draco, I can tell that you are a bit concerned to find Severus and I here talking like old friends. It might ease your mind a bit to know that we grew up together, and have been friends most of our lives." She was smiling at him, and Draco, though still confused, decided to risk a question.
"But didn't he use the worst curse on you that he could come up with?"
"Actually, no. I'm surprised you didn't glean it from the conversation Sirius had with Madam Pomfrey that night. I used the curse on him. He merely rebounded it to me. I failed to block it, and you saw the result." She was looking at him shrewdly now, and the pieces fell into place suddenly.
"Then, you let it hit you so that I would see and bring him here?" His voice was incredulous, but as he continued he grew more certain. "And I DIDN'T stun Father, did I?" He turned to face Snape, who still looked rather ferocious. "You stunned him when he started to turn around! So you were the spy who told the Order that Voldemort was going to kidnap all those people!" Snape cringed, but nodded.
"But why? Why did you need me? They could have just taken you back with them when they came here with the port key." He was less sure of himself now, and starting to feel as though he'd been tricked.
It was Professor Snape who responded this time. "Mr. Malfoy, certainly you do not think that anyone among us wanted you to follow in your father's footsteps. Or did you think that no one would know that he was pressuring you to submit to his master?"
Draco, who'd been pacing as he talked, sank back down into the chair. "How did you know about that?" he muttered. "I didn't even tell Crabbe and Goyle, although Crabbe already has his mark, I saw it when we were dueling." He looked up quickly, remembering that he and Ron had only told Sirius about that incident. A pained expression had crossed Snape's face, which he quickly replaced with his usual sneer.
"Professor Black," he responded, spitting out the name as though it were a foul tasting bug, "mentioned the incident to me after that class." Draco could see that whatever side Snape was on, he still did not like Sirius, who'd been following him around almost continually since Christmas. Sirius stood guard outside potions lessons and sat between Professor Snape and Professor Deesia at each meal. Draco had thought this was because Snape couldn't be trusted to stay put, but saw now that it was only a charade they'd been playing for the benefit of the Slytherins whose parents answered to Voldemort.
"Remarkably insightful thinking, Draco," Professor Deesia said, smiling again. "We didn't want to ruin Severus' cover. If he should escape again," her eyes twinkled now, and Draco saw that this must be their plan, "we want them to welcome him back." Snape and Draco each suppressed a shudder, knowing that Voldemort's idea of a warm welcome wasn't something they ever wanted to experience. But Draco was now looking at Snape with something akin to awe. It had never occurred to him that someone might be brave enough to do what he'd been doing. At this point a new thought intruded in Draco's mind and he lurched back out of the chair.
"But Harry and Ron must have known all this," he said suddenly. "They knew and they didn't tell me, they just let me tell the whole story and acted like they really thought I was brave and everything!"
"They were right not to tell you. We were all still rather wary of telling you anything right away, and it's better that you found out from the people who were really involved." Professor Deesia looked concerned to see him so upset.
"They've been laughing at me this whole time," he continued, ignoring her. "They're probably outside right now talking about what a dunce I am, and how nothing I did was really that dangerous."
He was almost shouting now. Professor Deesia glanced helplessly at Snape, who knew at once that nothing she said would calm him. So he said it himself, looking as though the words were being extracted from him with pliers. "Malfoy, master yourself," he spat. "You are aware, as I am, that what mattered most to them was that you were willing to do it, not whether or not you were actually in danger. You must realize that we had planned for you to be in as little danger as possible." He fell silent for a moment, remembering Macnair's screams. "Not that it worked, however."
Draco, who appeared to be remembering the same thing, was nodding. Snape continued. "Lucius was supposed to be out, but he fought off Moody much more quickly than any of us expected. And - " Snape paused here, looking to Muriel as if for permission to continue. She nodded. "And none of us could have foreseen that the Dark Lord himself would be using the Malfoy mansion as headquarters. The information I had put him at the Goyle residence. When you arrived, however, he was occupied upstairs. You were in far more danger than any of us had ever intended."
They heard the sound of students shuffling past outside the door, and it wasn't long before Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came into the room, looking first startled and then relieved to see their professors already talking calmly with Malfoy. Draco, however, looked a little sheepish, remembering all the nasty things he'd just said about them. But they were all grinning, and it wasn't long before they headed down to the Great Hall for dinner, talking about the Quidditch match.
Professor Deesia, having had another draught of purple liquid, addressed Snape. "Are you sure you have to go back so soon?" She sounded worried, but he ignored it.
"I have been in touch with the Dark Lord through young Mr. Crabbe. I believe he is convinced of my loyalty, though I am sure it will have to be proven when I return." He saw that she had turned a pale shade of green at his words, and continued in haste, "Muriel, no heroics! I don't want you rushing to my aid. As I am reminded daily, you lost a great deal helping me the last time." This last sentence was said with such venom that Muriel could only look at her hands.
"That, she did," said a carefully restrained voice from the doorway. Sirius came inside and closed the door carefully behind him. "Having your tearful goodbye, then?" he asked, the look on his face something between anguish and fury.
Snape turned to him slowly, raising his wand as he did so. "Perhaps you wish it were you she was lamenting?" he snarled. Sirius had raised his wand as well.
"Would both of you just leave off!" Muriel was near tears, and neither of the men was really eager to make her cry. They were silent, but looked as though they'd dearly love to be hexing one another's ears off. They turned at the sound of bare feet hitting the floor. Muriel, in a purple flannel dressing gown, had climbed out of bed and now had her wand in hand, a playful but determined look on her face. "I've changed my mind," she said, matter-of-factly, "you two can just stay right there and work this out."
"Accio wands," she said forcefully, causing both their wands to fly into her outstretched hand. "Impedimentia indefinatus," she said. Her voice was triumphant as Sirius let out a groan and Severus hissed, looking angrily at her. She made to leave, but turned at the doorway, "You can stand there and stare at one another until I get back, which will be after lunch, or you can use the time to do something constructive. I don't care, but either way I will be keeping your wands until that time." The door clicked closed behind her, and they looked at one another with similar helpless expressions.
"Merlin, I love her," Sirius said finally, dropping his face into his hands. Severus raised both eyebrows, which gave him an expression almost like pity, and sank down to the ground to sit cross-legged. He couldn't move forward or turn away, but he could at least be at ease.
When Sirius looked up again, Severus was careful to keep his face impassive. Sirius sat as well, trying to look at anything but the man in front of him. He had so many reasons to hate him: He'd caused Mur a great deal of pain; he'd tried to turn Sirius over to the dementors in spite of evidence of his innocence; he'd been horrible to Harry. But mostly Sirius hated him because Mur had put Severus before him, and before herself. The man in front of him was the reason he'd been alone for the last 15 years.