Chapter 18: In Which Snape Visits His Ward

An owl arrived at Snape's home. He took the scroll off of it and quickly read it. A smile crept onto his face. It was a very Hermione gesture, bold and brash, followed by regret for trampled toes.

He quickly wrote his response.

H,

I should not have lied. We are even.

S

Will I see you soon?

He looked at his clock and stood. It was time to go. He walked to his floo, grabbed the powder, and spoke the words.

A moment later, he was standing in the front room of an ancient villa overlooking the Mediterranean. He had once asked Lucius how old it was, and the best guess he could give was 2200 years. It was the first Malfoy estate, from time when this land was Roman Gaul. Draco had decided that this would be an apt place to move, after deciding that Wizarding Britain was no longer a suitable residence.

It was one of the great ironies of the last few years that Snape had been made the trustee of the Malfoy wealth. Lucius and Narcissa did not want their son to get control of the family fortune until he was at least thirty, so they had named their old, true friend Severus Snape to make sure the money was well handled until he had reached said age.

Lucius Malfoy had died last year in Azkaban, and immediately upon his death Draco tried to get his will overturned. His main reason was that he had been successfully managing the Malfoy fortune since his father was imprisoned and his mother died. Secondarily, Snape was not the old, true friend his parents had thought he was. Unfortunately for Draco, the Wizengamot did not consider being a traitor to the Death Eaters sufficient reason to overturn Lucius' will. They used the specious argument that Lucius could have changed it had he seen fit to do so. It was common knowledge that Lucius had gone insane shortly after Bellatrix admitted to using the Imperius Curse to make Narcissa destroy the Ministry of Magic, so Draco could only assume that the Wizengamot was out to make his life as annoying as possible. Personally, Severus thought he was right.

Since that time, Snape had seen him on the fourth Monday of each month. Their visits now had a ritual quality to them. Draco handed over his portfolio, listing how each of his holdings had performed the month before, and a list of what other opportunities he would like to take advantage of, and how much he would like to do it with. Snape looked over the portfolio, and wrote him a cheque. Occasionally he would ask if he could piggyback onto one of Draco's investment choices. Draco usually grunted in ascent. Ten minutes would pass and they would be done for another month.

This time, as Snape was handing over the check, Draco asked, "Will you be moving?"

"Pardon?" Snape gave Draco a questioning look.

"I still get the Prophet. Will you be moving to avoid the Marriage Law? The reason I ask is that your flat in London is in a good neighborhood, and if you are selling, I would like to buy."

"You want to move back to London?" Severus couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

"Gods, no! The next Malfoy in London will probably be my grandson. As I said, it's a good neighborhood, and I see it as a decent investment property. There are very few places for travelling Wizards to stay in London; your flat would make a good place."

Draco had a good point. He should think about renting it when he wasn't using it. Or selling it, he'd have much less use for it in the future. "I do not intend to move."

Draco looked curious. "You found someone to marry you?" He didn't bother to keep the insult out of his voice.

Snape quirked his lip in a manner that could be called a smile. "Possibly, we have not yet spoken on the specifics."

"Is she some sixteen-year-old who will come of age in the next few months? She obviously didn't go to school while you were teaching." Draco sneered at Snape.

"My asking price for the London flat just went up fifty thousand pounds."

"You said you weren't moving."

"I didn't say I was keeping the flat. Since I used it primarily as a place to meet Muggle women, I will have less need for it in the near future."

"Who on earth would be willing to marry you?"

"Seventy thousand."

"How much do you want for it?" Draco stopped sneering. Snape knew Draco wanted to keep on belittling him, but he also wanted the flat, and he didn't want to pay so much for it he couldn't recoup the loss in less than three years.

Snape named his price.

Draco whistled softly. "You really have been reading the reports I send you."

"I know how much you make on similar properties in Paris, Oslo, and Istanbul. Besides, I may have to come up with a wedding present grand enough to overcome more than a few reservations. Not the least of which are those of my prospective in-laws. God only knows what kind of bride price they may ask. That sum for the flat will make sure that I am flush with cash, and you will still make a tidy profit."

"No doubt. Who is she?"

"I want the money in my account first." Draco raised an eyebrow and then summoned a House Elf. In a matter of minutes the confirmation came back from Gringotts. The money and deed had changed hands.

"Hermione Granger."

Draco fainted dead away. "Same time next month?" Severus smiled as he walked past the unconscious figure on the floor.