He slid into the classroom, cloak billowing around him dramatically. Turning swiftly on his heels he starred menacingly at the 6th year class of Gryffindors and Slytherins. They shrank away at his glare.
"Quill and ink out, put the rest away, we're writing a test to prove once again how useless you are in this subject!" Severus scowled, picking up the chalk on his desk and preparing to fill the blackboard with questions.
The class moaned but quieted the moment he fixed them with a stare of his dark eyes. He saw a few shudder and it pleased him. It was better that they feared him and learned that the world was not going to be nice to them as early as possible. Although there were some who would never learn that. His eyes wandered to Potter, who, still looking pale around his eyes, seemed to be back on his feet. That boy would always attract trouble no matter how hard Severus tried to keep it away from him; it was annoying, but someone had to do it since the other idiots in this school, with the exception of maybe Dumbledore, seemed to be unable to do so.
He finished writing the questions on the board and sat down on the edge of his desk to keep an eye on the students.
He watched Longbottom squirm nervously in his seat while Granger tried to squeeze every bit of ink out of her quill so she wouldn't waste time refilling it more times than necessary. He sighed mentally, there went a few hours of sleep. That girl appeared to be unable to write all the information in short and well summarized answers.
A row behind them he saw Draco Malfoy biting down on his thumb as he wrote, lost in thoughts while his two side kicks tried to copy from him without catching his attention. He rolled his eyes ignoring them. Later he would simply scratch their test with a nice red line and write in a very tactful manner that they were about to flunk his class if they didn't start doing their own work.
Suddenly he felt his body tense as a burning sensation started to spread from his arm to the rest of is body. Voldemort was calling. And not only him but the rest of them as well… The fire he felt flaring through his mark indicated that it would be a Grand Meeting. Everybody would have to attend; it probably meant that the complete Inner Circle would gather as well. This would provide Severus with the best chance to see how far the Dark Lord's influences went and with some luck, he might be told about the rumors about the new tactic the Death Eater's were planning to use.
Pale eyes looked up to his and he met Draco's calmly. Severus knew for a fact that the boy had been initiated during the last year and that he sought nothing more than power. The manner in which he behaved indicated how strong the child had become. If the gossip were true, then it would only be a matter of time before young Malfoy would even surpass his father's connections within the Death Eaters and most likely be chosen to join the Soul Circle of Voldemort. The group of his most trusted and feared men and women. The group to which Lucius was denied entrance due to the Twin Sister's influence. The circle to which Jathy, the Vampire belonged.
That man, young or old, one couldn't tell with vampires, had been introduced to the Inner Circle about a year ago, shortly before school had started. Severus could still recall with shuddering respect the man's dark, yet seductive way to glide through the mass without anyone noticing and suddenly resurface in their midst. His white teeth had shone dangerously, like a wolf's about to struck down his prey, as he had grinned at them. No, it wasn't at them; he had looked down at their inferiority. Severus would have believed it some childish spectacle if it hadn't been for the fact that Voldemort had chosen him as part of the Soul Circle. There was a naivety and innocence in the Vampire's eyes that made Severus still wonder sometimes if indeed it wasn't all an act.
Voldemort had partnered them in various occasions and he had witnessed the man's cruelness as he toyed with his victims. It was worse than watching Lucius have fun with those at his feet. How could anyone not have nightmares of the high-pitched screams he caused, the terror filled eyes starring out of dead bodies around him? Severus had to drink Dreamless-Sleep Potions more often than he cared to after having gone on missions with Jathy. Cold sweats build on his forehead whenever Voldemort ordered them to do his bidding. Animals were decent compared to how that vampire mangled his opponents. His skill and speed surpassed anything he had ever seen not to mention that he could do magic.
Severus had read many books and researches on vampires in his life, but Jathy was unnatural to them. It was almost as if he made a category by himself. Usually humans turned to vampires retained only a fifth of their magical abilities, while the born ones had other skills to which one could add telepathy and spectacular self-transfiguration. But to justify the extend of magic Jathy used, it either meant the man had been awfully skilled and gifted as human, or he was not solemnly born as a vampire since he appeared to lack the ability to read others' minds.
His mind refocused on his class as he saw Granger stop suddenly her assault on the parchments in front of her. She stared in what one could only interpret as shock before starting to scratch various parts of her writing and continuing on.
His eyes returned to young Malfoy who took out a new piece of parchement to fill. Severus sighed mentally; sometimes he really questioned his methods of teaching, not that he would confess that out loud. Making them write endless essays meant only that he would end up loaded with work at the end.
Malfoy, that boy was becoming more and more like his father, at least in by appearance, inside… Who knew? Severus pitied him; Jathy had his eyes fixed on him and it only caused fury in Lucius. He had tried various times to calm the older Malfoy, that it might be good on the long run to let Jathy take care of Draco, but Lucius had struggled fiercely against the idea. It might have to do with the fact that he felt overrun by his own offspring.
The Professor narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing well that it would only make his students more nervous should they dare to look up to him.
During a meeting Jathy had suddenly jumped up from his position at Voldemort's feet. Everyone was alarmed but the Dark Lord had continued his speech ignoring his servant's behavior. He had moved like a hunting cat through their ranks sniffing here and there, a low growl emanating from him. The atmosphere had immediately tensed. Suddenly he had stopped before Severus breathing heavily, his green eyes looked almost lusting at him, before his deep voice echoed throughout the room clearly for everyone to hear. Even Voldemort had stopped speaking at his voice.
"Trai~tor~" he had hissed.
Severus had felt his heartbeat stop for seconds. Only years of conditioning himself to remain expressionless had saved him that day. Jathy had pushed him aside and had rested his glare on the figure of one of Voldemort's oldest followers. The man had stared, panicked, at the vampire. Yet unexpectedly it wasn't Jathy who took care of getting rid of him, but the Twins. They had resurfaced like shadows next to the vampire. Dark hunters approaching their meal hungrily. Severus couldn't remember very clearly what had happened next. The two women had lunched forward and then the air had been filled by the smell of burned skin and boiled blood. Only ashes remained at the spot… ashes accompanied by the awful laughter of a dark master who reminded his servants again how treason to him would be paid. Severus feared deep in his soul that one day they would uncover his secrets.
He didn't know how Jathy had known that the old man had been a traitor, as it was proven to the rest of the Death Eaters shortly after. But it certainly hadn't been by telepathy, otherwise Severus would already be burning in hell for all his crimes.
On the other hand maybe Jathy was just playing with him… Sadistic bastard!
Or he was waiting to find some usefulness in his demise, after all not everyone reported directly to Dumbledore. He had voiced his concerns to this to the headmaster, who had only nodded and drank his tea. Severus was irritated by the lack of worry the older man had shown on various occasions and he had to wonder sometimes if Dumbledore really was as smart as people believed him to be…
There had been another meeting not too long ago, which he recalled quite clearly, to his dismay. The day Jathy had chosen Draco Malfoy as his feeding source. As often as his students compared him with vampires, he had never actually witnessed a feeding. It had been disgusting and terrifying as only a dead thing can be.
They had sat in their seats waiting for the Dark Lord to make his big entrance as usual. The door had opened and Jathy had come in instead glaring annoyed at them, before a smile had spread on his face. That instant Severus' head had felt as though some heavy mist was pressing down on him. His skin had started to itch and then he felt lust, sexual lust, rising in every part of his system almost driving him insane. As he regained a bit of focused, he saw Draco slowly standing up from his seat. His eyes were dazzled, his hood thrown back; he took step by step towards the red haired man with the green eyes. He seemed to sleepwalk. Severus had heard Lucius calling his son back, but Draco never looked back at the rest of them who were frozen and trapped in their seats. Jathy had looked up at them and had grinned. And the moment he had done so, Severus had felt all his longing and yearning turn to horror as cold as the grave. He imagined that he must have turned pale as the white bones in shroud. He had seen the sullen glare in those eyes; they were suddenly less human, their pupil turning into a slit like cats' or dragons' eyes. And then Jathy had grinned wider showing them his longer teeth. He had the image of something dead coming back to life within the darkness of the room. He had reached for the boy… and then the scream had begun. He would hear that sound in his worst nightmares for a long time on. Draco screaming as a child in nightmare as he tried to back away, but the long and bare arms had snaked around him pulling him closer to the vampire. Jathy had cocked his head and then had thrust forward.
Draco still bore the mark of that night on him, two small punctures like pinpricks below his jaw.
Finally class ended and the students handed him their work. At the door he saw Potter and Malfoy bump against one another. Draco snapped an insult at the Gryffindor but was immediately quieted by a fist punching him in the face. Severus sighed and walked over to them knowing quite well that he must look menacing since the students quickly made way for him to pass. The moment he reached Potter, Draco hit back with the same force throwing the Golden Boy of his feet against the wall behind him. Weasley and the other students were about to interfere.
"STOP THIS NONSENSE!!" Severus shouted.
All flinched at the sound of his voice. Potter and Draco looking up at him perplexed. They probably hadn't realized they were still in his classroom.
"That will be twenty-five points from Gryffindor for physically harming a classmate, Potter! And detention for both of you tomorrow night at 7pm here." He snarled.
The boys turned their faces angrily away. "Yes, professor." They said.
~*~*~*~*~
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"
Harry gazed up at Draco from his current position cleaning the Potion's classroom's floor with a sponge. Snape had left a while back, leaving them to do their duty since the headmaster had called for him, the old man wanted to be filled in on the Grand Meeting last night.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked after he got up and settled on a chair.
"You've been avoiding me, Harry." The Slytherin said with a heavy sigh. "I've been watching you… You're hiding something from me… I thought you'd have learned to trust me by now." Draco threw his sponge into the empty cauldron and he moved his hand annoyed, spelling the room clean. He walked over to Harry and sat on the desk next to him. "I'm your mentor…" he shook his head. "No, you're my friend. Why can't you tell me what is troubling you?"
Harry blinked a bit startled that the other stated back to him that they were indeed friends. His mentor had never actually spoken it out loud. He shook lightly his head focusing back on the matter and sighed. "It has nothing to do with not trusting you Draco. By now you should have realized that I have learned to respect you not only as my mentor but also as a friend. You have taught me many things over the last year. And I have managed to come to terms with the fact that Tom isn't as bad, as people believe him to be." He coughed a few times before continuing: "I mean I never suspected I could do wandless magic this precisely, nor that I would be able to surpass Trelawney in Divination."
Draco laughed. "That isn't very hard."
Harry grinned. "Oh, but you haven't seen her on her really creepy predictions." He shuddered at the memory.
Draco jumped down to the ground and turned swiftly with a smile to Harry. "That was very cunning of you, trying to change the subject, Potter, but I haven't been in Slytherin for 6 years for mere fun." His eyes turned hard. "Spill it!"
The Gryffindor rolled his eyes knowing he was defeated. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you." He let his eyes wander up to the ceiling as he leaned his head back. It made him dizzy but he tried to remain in control. "I think Snape suspects something…"
Draco narrowed his eyes. "Snape?"
Harry glance back to him. "You know that he and I are often send on missions together." He didn't wait for Draco to reply. "God, Draco, and you said you aren't in Slytherin for the fun of it and that man is the Head of House for crying out loud! I can't keep on deceiving him; I see my mask crumble before him every time he looks at me. I can see suspicion and curiosity flaring in his eyes when I let the darkness that sleeps within Tom come out through me. You didn't see the disgust on his usual calm face as you screamed in my arms!" He felt desperation wave through him as well as fear. "And when I'm here in his class I can't manage to look at him, because I see the hate he has towards me, Harry Potter!!"
Draco starred at the outburst remaining quite for a long time as Harry pulled his legs up, feet balancing on the edge of the chair, and put his arms around them hiding his face.
Before him was a broken child. A child he had pushed too hard during the last year, a child who was keeping everything inside of him, letting it fester and tear him from the inside, and Draco knew that soon it would break loose with the Seasoning, and therefore Harry's Awakening, approaching.
He reached out with a hand but then, unsure of what to do, let it fall back on his side as he looked down guiltily. He wasn't good at comforting people, that wasn't what he was supposed to do. That had always been Drake's expertise, but she was… Draco shook his head. This wasn't the time to remember the past, he had promised James he would take care of his child. He owned his best friend this much; he owned it in some strange way to himself. And so for a second time, he reached out, this time not hesitating to take the sobbing child in his arms. To hold and protect, to comfort and be someone who loved him. Proving to that child that he would never be alone as long as Draco had anything to say about this.
~*~*~*~*~
Severus apparated to the outside of Malfoy Manor. Lucius and some others were already waiting for him to use the Portkey to Voldemort's hideout. Since his encounter with the Potter-boy the Dark Lord had decided to give them a prepared Portkey at the end of every reunion that would lead a small group of them to his momentary hideout. In other words the man had become suspicious of their loyalties and deemed it safe to keep his whereabouts secret. The only ones who knew for fact where he was were those of the Soul Circle. It wasn't easy, and getting increasingly harder to give Albus any useable information.
Lucius greeted him and they waited for a few more moments for everyone to gather and then touch the Dark Arts book that was this time's transport medium. Severus felt the pull of magic as the world was suddenly swallowed away and he was sucked into the Portkey. Then everything went back so abruptly that he almost fell of his feet, but managed in last moment to remain somewhat upright, unlike others who had been either squashed by those nearby or simply had landed face-down on the ground like Lucius. He helped his old schoolmate to his feet, looking around at the mass of people already sitting in the huge hall. There must be thousands of Death Eaters here.
Lucius grinned at him as he put his mask on and made his way to the seats solemnly reserved for the Inner Circle at the front. Severus noticed that neither Voldemort nor Jathy were here yet, but the two blond female concubines of the Dark Lord had already settled down at their place at their master's feet. They glanced around the room calmly with unreadable expressions.
Severus was about to follow Lucius as someone tugged at his robe and he turned to look at Draco Malfoy's face.
"The Dark Lord wishes to speak to you," said the blond boy noticing him to follow.
With a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach, he followed after the boy. He was lead out of the room, which was magically resealed after they exited. The boy made his way through large corridors, here and there turning and Severus had to admit after a while that he was slowly loosing orientation. For a moment he wondered how Draco could know his way, but then as the boy turned to him as they stopped in front of a metal door, he saw the mark of the vampire on his neck, and he knew that it was probably Jathy who had taught the boy the labyrinth's ways.
"Pass through the door. You will find a passage that leads to another door. Enter and wait to be called," the boy said and then made his way back.
Taking a deep breath Severus reached for the door handle but it remained closed. He frowned slightly and leaned his hand thoughtfully on the metal surface. Surprisingly it gave away under his hand and he fell forward into a well-lighted corridor with various painting on the wall.
"He could have told me he mean it literally when he said 'through' the door." he scowled as he made carefully his way.
The paintings on the walls caught his attention. They showed Dragons flying in the sky; the pictures showed freedom and an air of such calmness that for an instant he forgot that he was on his way to meet the Dark Lord if he hadn't run into the door at the end the corridor.
He knocked twice and stepped inside. The room was warm and cozy. It was awfully gryffindorish, almost like Minerva's quarters, full of bright colors. Here too there were paintings of Dragons on the walls. Yet, Voldemort's pet snake curled up on the ground looking calmly at him, disrupted the whole image. Where the hell had he ended up? From the couch on the window he heard a muffled sound and he glanced at its source.
There lay Jathy sleeping on his stomach, one arm hanging down to the ground, the other tugged under his head. His breathing causing his body to shift slightly up and down. His lips were partly open but he could still manage to see the sharp end of his fangs. The man's hair fell into his face and Severus felt the sudden urge to go over and tug it behind his ear. Jathy looked like an innocent young man, almost like one of his students. He wondered if he should wake him.
Nagini hissed from the ground and slid over the vampire and stubbed his hand. The vampire growled and waved the snake away who barely dodged Jathy's hand. Severus eyes noticed a book lying on the ground next to the couch. Curiosity got the better of him and he went over and picked it up. Marking the page that had been open with a finger he closed it and looked at the title. He blinked surprised; this was one of the books this year's sixth year were using in Transfiguration. He flapped a few pages finding here and there various handwritings marking some paragraphs. There were sketches and comments on the edges. He frowned. He knew those handwritings. How could he not, it was Weasley's and Potter's. He could recognize any of his students' handwriting anywhere. Hundreds of questions formed in his head immediately.
The snake next to him hissed louder this time and the vampire hissed something back opening his eyes slowly. Severus glanced down to meet emerald eyes looking at him, blinking in shock.
"Professor!" the young man jumped to his feet alarmed starring at Severus. "I'm sorry, I… I…" he seemed indeed like a student who had just woken up in his class. He fidgeted nervously with his clothing and reached with a hand to move his hair behind his ear.
And it froze the moment he touched it. Severus watched as the slender fingers slowly moved along the length of his pointy ear. Eyes turned wide before glancing around quickly. He saw realization brighten them and in a matter of seconds the young man's whole body language changed drastically. Now it was radiating power, darkness and self-assertiveness.
Green eyes glanced at him, their pupil turning into a small slit. "What are you doing here, Professor Snape." Came the low hiss.
Severus watched him, examining, trying to determine which was the real Jathy, the child who had awoken, or the man that faced him now. It was strange that although everyone here called him by either his given name or simply Snape, the vampire kept on referring to him as Professor Snape. Even after he had allowed Jathy to call him Severus.
"I came on our Master's request." He answered.
The snake hissed again. She seemed angry. Jathy rolled his eyes and made a grimace. "I shall be going then and leave you to the Lord's business."
Severus watched him leave before letting his eyes wander back on to the book in his hands. There on the surface barely readable, he could make out the carvings of an H and a P.
~*~*~*~*~
He calmed down slowly as Draco held him. But the fear that the Potion Master had seen through him wasn't leaving him. He pulled away from the Slytherin, his eyes closed. He felt sick, worse than before. It was as though the world was spinning around him faster and faster. He tried to reach for something nearby, but lost balance and fell of the chair. He heard Draco call out to him alarmed as cold fever rushed through him. His lungs tightened up before he started to cough. Something warm and familiar remained on his tongue. Blood. He tried to stop it, but it continued to flow out of him as he threw up and his body started to shiver uncontrollably. He cried in fear. Oh, god! How had Tom been able to hold through all this for weeks?
Draco tried to hold Harry's body but it struggled on the ground. He watched, horrified, the amounts of blood the boy coughed out. He felt nauseated as the other vomited. Merlin! Harry was indeed sick and in a worse state than Tom had ever been. Panic ran through the Slytherin's mind. What should he do, he couldn't use magic on Harry, not without help. He wasn't as strong as James had been to join their energy until he could get help.
So he did the only thing that came to his mind. He ran.
~*~*~*~*~
Severus was on his way to the classroom in which Draco and Potter were serving detention when he heard an alarmed scream echo through the corridor. Then Draco came running around the corner, the boy's pale eyes widened in relief.
"Professor! Potter!! He needs help!!" Panic was written all over the boy's face as he ran towards him and pointed back the way he came from. "He's coughing blood and feverish!"
Severus hurried past him and entered the classroom. The air smelled of vomit mixed with blood. The Gryffindor was lying on the stone floor trembling, his eyes closed tightly as he coughed. Severus could see the energy flowing out of the young man. He reached out but was thrown back by Harry's energy leashing out.
"Draco, get Poppy and the Headmaster as well as McGonagall." He turned to the nervous boy. "Hurry!"
The Slytherin nodded slowly before turning and running out. Severus focused his attention on the shivering boy who gasped for air. Again he reached out, focusing his thoughts and energy to reassure the young man that he was not going to harm him. It worked. He saw the energy moving in synchronic waves to his own. Carefully he put his hand under the boy's head, his other under the boy's knees and pulled him up into his arms. Severus could feel the heat rising from the boy as Harry's head leaned against his shoulder. Blood smeared his black clothing as he coughed once again.
Swiftly he made his way to the infirmary where Madam Pomfrey was already expecting him and showed him to lay Harry on one of the beds. Shortly after Dumbledore and McGonagall arrived, Draco following them, concerned.
Severus watched the boy's body arc up like a bow as his muscles tensed. Blood kept on streaming from his gaping mouth and the boy struggled desperately for air. Madam Pomfrey ordered him and Minerva to hold him down and turn him over in order not to suffocate Potter. He barely registered the things she said to the headmaster who hurried out into her office.
Potter's green eyes gazed quickly around searchingly and he tried to speak, but all he managed was a cry like a tortured animal. Severus felt his blood freeze as his mind started to give him answers to what he was witnessing. The boy… he was showing symptoms of the virus the Death Eaters were currently discussing to use and weaken the magical population eliminating those who were not pureblood. But Potter couldn't have it. How?
Minerva lost hold of her student as he began kicking and hitting around with his arms slapping her in the face and throwing off her glasses to the ground. The boy rolled to Severus side who barely caught him. Almost loosing control of Potter and letting him fall Madam Pomfrey tried to approach and help him. Then suddenly Harry's body went limp against him. The room filled with silence except for a sobbing sound a heavy breathing. Carefully Severus and Poppy laid Harry back on the bed, the boy gazing in shock up to the ceiling, his eyes unfocused.
Dumbledore returned with vials in his arms and handed them to the medi-witch. She approached Harry slowly and lifted the boy's head putting a relaxing potion to his lips. Severus watched as the boy sank back into a semi-sleeping state.
"Please, let me check on him now, I'll call you when I need help." Madam Pomfrey said turning to them.
Minerva repaired her broken glasses and nodded accompanying the Potion Master and Dumbledore to the medi-witch's office. Severus turned once more to look back hearing still the sobbing sound. And it wasn't coming from Potter.
"Severus?" Dumbledore asked as he walked slowly to the entrance of the infirmary.
The Potion Master's eyes went wide as he saw his Slytherin cowering in the corner. Draco sat on the ground, arms around his legs, head leaned slightly back, and his pale eyes were blank. Blank like the day Jathy had summoned him to feed. Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face and Severus wondered for a moment, if it wasn't maybe this child, who was the source to Potter's suffering. Pushing the thought aside for now, he approached Draco and picked him up, like he had the Gryffindor earlier, and carried him along to Poppy's office. Minerva and Dumbledore looked questioning at him. Severus just shook his and nodded them to follow.
~*~*~*~*~
Draco sat in one corner of the infirmary, legs drawn up to his chest, his arms around his legs head resting on them. Ironically it was exactly the same pose Harry assumed when he had broken down in the classroom.
He had his eyes closed tightly as he cried in worry as a mother would for her child. He had suppressed this side of him over the years to be the strong leader the Dragons needed. Drake was stubborn but too emotional, especially when it came to anything involving James. And since James' death Drake had withdrawn from reality leaving him in charge. He was in control of this body now, but she had resurfaced once sixth years ago at the sight of Harry Potter, and now again she was struggling to come free to protect the boy that was James'. And Draco knew this wasn't the time.
He leaned his head back, letting the tears flow out of him unrestrained concentrating all his energy on keeping Drake asleep as long as possible. He couldn't let his sister out; she would never allow them to continue this path they had chosen. It was too dangerous for Tom and Harry. No, she wouldn't allow it under any circumstances.
But Draco was at his end. It was already bad that Tom had been sick like this. It had been hard to conceal those thoughts of worry from Drake. He had shared his energy with Tom to help him, but the other was a God, not a Dragon like Draco, so it was only a matter of time before he would recover on his own, yet he had stilled drained much of the dragon's energy. Draco still hadn't recovered fully. Especially with keeping up those acts in front of the Death Eaters about Jathy using him. It forced a lot of magic out of him.
Harry on the other hand was half-dragon, worse, he was the last Yorae, and their all survival was based on James' prediction of the new era. Harry would never be able to fight this sickness, he might not survive and it would be Draco's fault because he had not considered this. The virus only attacked non-magical beings. Harry was not a pureblood wizard, his blood was of mixed heritage, he didn't have the strength to fight of the illness on his own.
He opened his eyes slightly, seeing only blurs through the tears. He heard the sound of voices and movements as the teachers moved around Harry on the other side of the room. What should he do? What could he do with Fred and George staying over night at Tom's? He was on his own again, as so many years ago… How was he to explain this to the Council? Now, that they wanted them to return? … This time there would be no James to help him at the last minute…
His mind started to spin and his head felt as though it wanted to explode from all the crying he had tried to keep inside, but now his loud sobs joined the roaming of the others. Emotions he had thought forgotten pushed through his being. It was only a matter of time. Drake was awakening. Soon he wouldn't be able to hold her back. Soon she would reclaim what was rightfully hers… This body…
~*~*~*~*~
Minerva remained quite as Severus went through Poppy's shelves and picked out a few vials and gave them Draco to drink. The boy seemed absentminded, as though he wasn't even aware of his surrounding. The boy's eyes blinked tiredly a few times before he returned to sleep on the couch.
"Severus, what happened?" Albus finally asked.
The Potion Master sighed and turned to them. Minerva had the impression that he seemed to have aged in the last moments by years.
"I know as much as you, Albus." He answered rather calmly. "Mr. Malfoy was running in the corridors searching for help. He seemed panicked by Potter. When I entered the classroom, the boy was lying in vomit and his own blood trembling all over. When I picked him up, I could feel the fever on him."
"How come no one has noticed? Something like this doesn't happen just like this." Minerva turned to the headmaster.
The old man passed thoughtfully his hand over his beard. "Severus, does this by any chance have anything to do with Voldemort's current plans?"
"I'm not sure." He paused. "There are rumors that there are groups investigating on old curses and illnesses… But he couldn't have caused it on Potter without risking too much…"
"You're not denying that it might have been You-know-who?" Minerva crossed her arms, her lips turning white as she pressed them together. "You think Mr. Malfoy might be responsible?"
"I doubt it." Albus said. "He would be a far too obvious. Voldemort isn't this stupid to incriminated his faithful servants' families. He would have used someone else."
Minerva wanted to protest but was surprisingly interrupted by Severus. "You're too trusting Albus." He said. "He could have been manipulated to do such and maybe-"
"I didn't infect Potter…"
They all turned to see Draco sitting on the couch looking paler than usual. The boy whipped the traces of tears of his face with his sleeve. Severus narrowed his eyes. The Potion he had given his student would have kept any human knocked out for at least two hours.
"But I…I can tell you what he has…" Draco's eyes blazed slightly for an instant. "I don't want him to suffer and I can't help him… I just can't…" he let his head hang as tears started to form again in the corner of his eyes. "I promised to protect him, I have to keep my word…" he started sobbing again.
Minerva's female instincts made her move to the Slytherin and hug him to her. She whispered calming words rubbing the boy's back in soothing motion. She saw Severus scowl from the corner of her eye.
"Draco, what can you tell us about what is causing this to Harry." Albus spoke as he came closer as well.
The boy pushed Minerva from him and looked away. "It's called Karerukoto… it's an epidemic. The Death Eaters have been doing research on it, but I swear if I had know that Harry- " he cried more. "I wouldn't have let him… I wouldn't…" And Draco passed out in Minerva's arms.
She turned, confused, to the men. The headmaster seemed lost as she was, but apparently Severus knew what Draco had referred to, because his eyes were wide and he appeared shocked.
"I need to go to the library immediately!" the Potion Master said as he ran out of the room leaving the rest of the in puzzlement.