WARNINGS: HBP spoilers!
Summary: What do Draco and Severus do once they flee Hogwarts? 'The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children.' – Euripedes
Sins of the Father
Draco's fingers tap lightly on a sofa in the house on Spinner's End, pal eyes and face contrasting starkly with the dimness of the house. He can feel Snape's eyes watching him from across the room. Unspoken accusations fly between them.
"I knew you couldn't do it," Snape says icily. Draco only smirks in response. "Wormtail!" Snape's voice echoes throughout the almost empty home. With a scurry of feet, Pete Pettigrew appears in the room.
"Yes, Snivellus?" he says with a sneer. A quickly concealed flash of anger crosses Snape's face, but otherwise he ignores the insult.
"Go to our master; tell him the task he gave Draco has been completed, and that we shall arrive shortly with the details." Wormail nods and disappears with a pop leaving the two Slytherins alone.
"We mustn't stay long. Aurors will arrive shortly to take the place by force. Is there anything you need from Malfoy Manor?"
It takes Draco a second to realize Snape has spoke to him. "I don't know," he replies sincerely. "What exactly does one need to go into hiding from the Ministry?"
Snape sighs and begins the ascent up the work wooden stairs to his room. "Come," he says sternly, and Draco follows obediently.
"I never thought you would do it, either. Father was certain you were a spy."
"I was," Snape replies matter-of-factly.
"I meant for Dumbledore."
"I was," he repeats. On the outside his face is stern, emotionless, but on the inside his stomach flops, and he must suppress the urge to cry. "I thought I could walk the line forever and come out on top, no matter who won, but you changed that," he says bitterly. He grabs a black bag and begins to fill it with the essentials: clothes, parchment, quills, a travel potions' kit. He attempts to keep the load light, but fails miserably.
"That's a coward's way out. You should choose a position and stand for it," Draco replies with disdain.
"I was given no choice, your father saw to that."
"At least my father served his master with pride and courage. That's more than I can say for you."
"And what did it get him, Draco, a lifetime of hell in Azkaban? In return for his years of dutiful service, his master repaid him by sending his only son on a death mission."
"I was glad to do the job!" he says with passion, though he pales (if that's even possible) at the reminder.
"If that were true you would have killed Dumbledore, only to be slaughtered by his followers. Don't you get it, Draco? Voldemort meant for you to die, one way or another. That is your father's true accomplishment as a Death Eater – the destruction of his pure-blood family line,"
"I'm not dead, yet!" Draco shouts.
Severus can't help it, he laughs until tears fill his eyes; he is sure that Monty Python did not intend for their line to be used in this way. In an instant, Draco's wand is aimed at Snape's chest.
"Put that away, child, unless you mean to use it," he commands darkly. He moves his own hand ever so slightly, and the wand concealed in his sleeve slides to his palm.
"I will kill you in my father's name!"
"The only things you will do in your father's name are dies and bear the Dark Mark." He crosses to Draco, grabs his left arm, and pulls his sleeve up. "Look at this Draco. This is the legacy your father gave you. 'The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children.'"
Something snaps in Draco then, and unbidden tears begin to fall. "I didn't want this, Severus; I didn't want it at all. Not for you, not for me."
"Neither did I, Draco." With a heavey sigh, Severus wraps his arms around Draco awkwardly. The boy's tears soak Snape's chest as he attempts to console him. A few moments later Draco breaks their embrace and looks up at his ex-head-of-house expectantly.
"What do we do now?"
"We go to Malfoy Manor to get your things, send your mother to one of your vacation homes, and report to Voldemort."
"And then?"
"We try to survive."
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! I am a review whore!