(A/N) Ok...so I lied, this one's not longer. Sorry! Read it anyway. And sorry about the dely, like I said I've been on vacation. Hope you guys had an awesome Christmas...Holiday... whatever.
Umm...mostly Draco in this chapter. And Snape. Hehehe the plot thickens.
Disclaimer:Nope, sorry, still don't own it.
Professor Severus Snape could feel the painful aching in his arm permeating his entire body; one of his headaches was coming on again. He rubbed his temples in annoyance. How had any of these kids get into advanced potions? None of them had any aptitude for it. Well, that wasn't completely true, all his Slytherins did. And, unwillingly, he admitted that the youngest Weasley also seemed to have a talent for it. While he hated to admit it he had a grudging respect for the girl. He, after all, knew better then anyone the pain of being a servant to the Dark Lord felt like.
Yet, she handled herself with a certain grace. Behind her emerald eyes was a determination he rarely saw in his students anymore. Clearly, she hadn't let the experience impair her; she had found closure in a way he never had. Even while working for the Order he felt the guilt, the repercussions, of what he had done. Even now the nightmares plagued him.
But still…he wondered. Deep cuts may heal but they always left scars. Where were hers?
He hated to admit it, but she didn't annoy him nearly as much as she should have.
He sighed and turned his gaze to his prized student, Draco, who met his eyes a moment before returning to his potion. He smiled to himself. Draco, who reminded him so of Narcissa. He may have inherited his father's face, but somewhere, lurking just below the surface, he could sense the true Draco, Narcissa's son, dying to get out.
Finally, the bell rang, pulling him out of his musings and the students filed out in a mad dash to reach their next class.
He walked into his office, closing the door behind him, and sunk heavily into a chair. Behind him the door opened and Draco entered, unabashed. He walked to the Professor's private store closet and took out several bottles before returning to the classroom. He followed the boy, more in amusement then annoyance.
"What are you doing?"
The blond handed him a ladle filled with a thick, purple potion.
"Drink." He commanded. In reply Snape frowned down at the vile substance. "You've been having one of you headaches again, now drink."
He obliged and was thankful he had for the relief that flooded his throbbing head was cool and immediate.
He nodded his thanks, opening a desk drawer and removing a jar fill with an amber liquid and a spoon. He raised the spoon, offering some to his pupil.
Draco wrinkled his nose, "What is it?"
His Professor smiled something between a true smile and a smirk. "Honey." He explained, "That stuff tastes horrible."
Draco couldn't help but laugh. Even after getting to know the Potions Master sitting in the same room and having a conversation with the mad still seemed ludicrous. Declining the sweet, sticky substance, he shook his head.
Another wave of pain caused Snape to wince.
"Does it hurt?" Draco asked, a question the professor had heard many times that summer. Yet somehow, it had changed, taken on a new meaning. There was something in his voice that had not been there before. Pity? Yes, but that was not new; there was more. Fear. For him? For even the boy himself?
The boy searched his eyes, and finding the silent approval and understanding there he sought, reached for the sleeve of the teacher's robe. Slowly, as if afraid of what he might find, he took the material in his hands and began rolling the cuff further up his arm, exposing the pale white of his sun deprived skin. There, dark and foreboding, was the appeared the Dark Mark.
He touched it softly, the pressure of his cold fingers there causing it to burn the older man's skin.
"Draco." He said softly, drawing the boy's attention though his eyes never left the mark. "You have to find a place to stay."
He looked up, startled. "Here,' He gestured around him, at the castle.
"Of course here you fool," The Professor snapped, though his words were not nearly as harsh as they could have been. "I mean for the holidays."
Draco looked confused. "Why not here?"
"Boy, can you not see the signs? It's coming! They want you to join them this Christmas; if you do you'll never be able to escape. You mustn't go home."
Draco's head whirled at the unexpected news. The initiation? So soon? He knew his father had been thinking about it, but hadn't they decided instead to wait until his summer apprenticeship with Snape was over. Of course, that had been the sole reason he had escaped the mark this summer.
His mother had convinced Lucius to allow him to spend the last half of summer of his seventh year and the summer afterwards with the Potions Master to learn the art of brewing. Wasn't the initiation supposed to be postponed until then?
"Why not here?" He asked again.
"Think, boy! If Lucius is desperate enough-"
"Or stupid enough."
"-to rush the initiation it means something big is coming. And I don't want you anywhere near the walls of this school when it happens."
"The school? You're worried about the school?"
"We don't know that, but Voldermort is no fool. He will hit where it hurt Dumbledore the hardest. And if he does, I don't want you anywhere near it."
The boy looked up, almost hopefully, "With you, then."
He shook his head. "I must stay here. Besides, my house will be the first place Lucius looks. He has never trusted me, your father, and if he gets on suspicion, even an inkling anything is wrong and…"
He didn't need to go on. Draco knew well the punishment a traitor would get. If they found out Snape was a spy…he didn't even want to think about the possibility.
He straightened the look of childish expectancy gone from his face, replaced with his usual mask of indifference. "Fine. I'm well taken care of."
Snape pause. "You…have a place?"
"More of a…plan. But don't worry."
"Draco…this isn't illegal is it? This plan of yours?"
He shrugged. "Probably." Then smirked his usual smirk, leaving the professor to wonder if he was kidding or not.
"I-"
A slight sound followed by a crash. Both men paused and looked toward the door, where Ginny Weasley laid on the ground.
"Holy muffins." She grumbled, getting to her feet, stopping immediately when she felt the two pairs of suspicious eyes upon her. "Err…Sorry, Professor, I-"
Malfoy was already upon her, snatching at her wrists. "What did you hear, Weasley?"
"Nothing."
"Then why were you eavesdropping outside the door, eh? Just out for a nice stroll along the dungeons? Tell me what you heard." He said forcibly, cornering her against one of the desks.
"I already told you I didn't hear anything." She said, almost exasperatedly, waving her hand in dismissal. Then, in a tone that suggested boredom, she added, "Could you let go now? This kind of hurts."
"I'm warning you Weasley. Tell me or so help you I'll-"
"Mister Malfoy," The professor cut in sharply, "Please release her. She heard nothing."
"But, Professor, she-"
"You forget what house your little friend is in, Mister Malfoy. Eavesdropping and lying are below a Gryffindor."
His grip loosened slightly. "Then what are you doing down here, Weaselette?"
"I left my wand and I've come back to get it. Now kindly release me so I may do so, Malfoy."
"You may get it and go, then." The professor said coolly.
"She's up to something." The other insisted.
"You're forgetting she's a Weasley. You're giving her way too much credit." The professor said sarcastically.
The girl rolled her eyes.
"Fine." Draco said, throwing down her arms and leaving.
"Draco…" He said trying to stop the blond.
"I'm taken care of." He said, not turning, as he walked through the door. The man's eyes fell back on the girl in front of him. "Well!" He snapped.
"Oh, yes, sorry." She rushed to her desk and pulled her wand from it. "I always do that." She said awkwardly and turned to leave.
"Weasley…?"
She met his eyes, and there he thought he save a deep understanding, though he could have just imagined it. She gave a slight, almost imperceptible, nod, an answer to his silent question. She'd heard everything.
She spoke softly, looking him in the eyes, her gaze showing none of the meekness her voice portrayed. "I heard nothing, Professor."
He nodded, "Let's keep it that way."
Armadillos! Inside joke....nevermind. Please, please, please review! I'll love you forever. I'll give you cookies. Cooookkkkkiiiiiiieeeeeessssssss!