Severus was once again staring thoughtfully out of the window in Narcissa's bedroom; he'd been trying for the last many rather unsuccessful hours to devise a satisfactory way for everyone to get out of this situation; but no matter which way he turned it, he knew that this would all end badly for someone. Narcissa slipped quietly into the room, she was practically skulking around her own house now; afraid of the Dark Lord's presence.
He turned and she stepped into his arms, so he held her, reassuringly, against him.
"We need to talk about Draco," Severus said after several slow minutes. Narcissa instantly tensed and took a step back, moving to pour herself a cup of tea from the still warm pot. "I can't see any other way around it, Cissa."
"Well, you'll just have to come up with something," she put the cup down hard. "He's done everything they've ever asked of him,"
"That won't make any difference, Cissa, you know that." Severus said harshly. "If he stays here, they'll slowly destroy him; just like they did to Lucius."
Narcissa stared at him, her eyes cold: "And if he does what you want him to do, then they'll kill him; I don't see any win there."
Severus knew she was right, if Draco was caught before he could get back to the school, then they would indeed kill him; but if he did get back, then he knew that Draco would be protected.
"I think it has to be Draco's choice,"
It took all of Draco's resolve not to react when Longbottom submitted so willingly to Eugene; his hand had gone to handle on the hidden door, before he'd realised and pulled it away again. Eugene was now lounging on his bed, Longbottom sitting meekly beside him: "A little birdie told me that you know the Minister, butterfly - tell me if that's true?"
Longbottom stared at Eugene: "It is true,"
Draco frowned, he couldn't imagine any circumstances in which Neville Longbottom would know Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic.
"I hear that he regularly visits your parents in St. Mungo's?"
"Yes, almost every third Wednesday of the month, unless he's too busy."
Eugene smiled at him reassuringly: "Auror loyalties, I can imagine they're far more reliable than Death Eater ones - I guess that's why he visits them. Am I right?"
"Yes, they used to work together before..." Longbottom trailed off.
"Before your boyfriend's auntie tortured them into madness?" Eugene finished helpfully.
"I don't have a boyfriend,"
Eugene looked amused, but rather than say anything more he got up and started wondering around the room, riffling through Draco's things.
"So, do you think, if you wanted to talk to the Minister alone, that he'd be accommodating - say, if we were to go to St. Mungo's tonight?"
"We often talk alone; he likes to tell me I should be more like my parents."
Draco frowned again.
"Well, he's wrong," Eugene said for him. "You're perfect, just the way you are." Eugene had moved out of his line of sight, it sounded like he was standing just on the other side of the hidden door - and almost as soon as that thought occurred to Draco, the door opened and he was dragging bodily into the room. "Don't you think so, Draco?" Eugene finished with barely a pause.
Draco picked himself up off the door, and brushed the dirt from his robes; willing his cheeks not to burn.
"So this is what you're planning; to bind the Minister of Magic to you?"
"Of course now that you know that, I'll have to lock you in the dungeon too, Draco - no offence, but I just don't trust you at all,"
Eugene pulled out his wand and trained it on Draco; he was not expecting Draco to do the same to him.
"Oh, really?" Eugene mused. "Have you forgotten who I am, Malfoy?"
Eugene instantly fell into duelling stance: "Perhaps I do need to teach you some manners after all."
Draco licked his lips, and took up his own fighting stance; the last thing he wanted was to duel with the Dark Lord's protégée, but he'd be damned if he was going to end up locked in his own dungeon. His first few hexes were easily deflected and he had to twist and dodge to the right to avoid Eugene's curse; he brought his wand up and swung it around, catching Eugene with a well placed incendio; Eugene swore as his robes caught fire and he backed away, keeping his guard up.
Both boys knew that they were too closely matched for this to be a quick and easy fight.
Eugene smiled at him.
They slowly circled each other.
Draco knew what to expect from Eugene, just as Eugene knew what to expect from him - but this fight wouldn't be won by adhering to Wizard Duelling Etiquette. Lunging forward, Draco ducked under Eugene's wand arm, and shoved him hard enough to send him sprawling to the floor. Eugene stared up at him in dumbfounded silence as Draco kicked his wand out of his reach, and brought his own to Eugene's throat.
"Stop him," Eugene demanded, and in the time it took for Draco to realise he was talking to Longbottom, Longbottom had thrown himself at Draco and they rolled to the floor, Draco's wand flying out of hand. The first punch made his head bash painfully back on the polished wood, the second punch he managed to block; he hooked his ankle around Longbottom's and spun them round, so he was in the dominant position, pinning Longbottom beneath him.
He could hear Eugene chuckling behind him.
Draco's wand was only an arms stretch away, and he reached for it, momentarily letting his hold go, and Longbottom grabbed him by the neck with both hands, and started to squeeze. Draco reacted instinctively: elbowing Longbottom hard in the ribs, he wedged his knee up between them, and pressed down hard on Longbottom's ribs, forcing him to let him go.
Draco lurched forward for his wand, and twisted around to face Eugene; they both cast at the same moment, but whereas Eugene's went wide, Draco's hex hit the mark. Eugene flew backwards and hit the floor hard, the air rushing out of his lungs; Draco was on him in the blink of an eye: "Consider this your lesson learned,"
He rummaged in Eugene's pockets and found the small, black stone with the symbol that he knew would mirror the one on Longbottom's chest. Almost as soon as Draco's fingers closed around it, Longbottom, who had been getting to his feet, slumped back down to his knees.
And it was over.
Severus opened the door just in time to see Longbottom pull back his leg and kick Eugene hard in the head.
"What is going on here?" he demanded, and both Longbottom and Draco spun around to face him. It took no more then a few brief seconds for Severus to take in the bruises coming up on Draco's jaw and neck and the way Longbottom gingerly held his ribs. "Have you two been fighting?"
It seemed quite improbable given what he knew about the boys, but this whole situation was far beyond ordinary.
"It's complicated," Draco said, casting a quick glance in Longbottom's direction.
"It wasn't my fault," Longbottom interjected. "It was him." And Severus was almost certain he was going to kick the unconscious Eugene again.
"He used the Rhaetic on Neville," Draco explained, and Severus suddenly understood; he sighed and stepped further into the room.
"Are you ok?" he asked Draco, and he nodded. "And you?" he asked Longbottom, and he too nodded.
Severus stared at Eugene for a short time, and then turned to Draco: "Well, this actually fits in with the plan."
"What plan?"
"The plan to get Potter and the others out of here,"
Severus knew that his next few words could possibly change the course of Draco's future exponentially.
"You already have Eugene, so it shouldn't be too hard to replace him with Potter. Just make sure Eugene either stays unconscious or that you silence him in some other way so he can't raise the alarm until after you're gone."
Draco stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.
"That's the plan?" he asked incredulously. "For me to replace Potter with Eugene," he paused. "And then what am I supposed to do?
"You should be safe at the school,"
Draco looked stricken, staring first at him and then at Longbottom.
"You want me to betray the Dark Lord?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes."
"They'll kill me,"
This conversation so perfectly mirrored the one he'd had earlier with Narcissa.
"You have two choices Draco, either you remain here and live the rest of your life in constant fear of the Dark Lord, or you take a chance and hope for something better."
"And you didn't think to tell me that before now?" Draco quipped. "What about mother? You know what he's threatened to do to her if I don't cooperate."
"If you agree to this plan, then your mother will go into hiding in the Muggle world, and I will personally vouch for her safety."
"I bet you will," he muttered desolately. "And father?"
"As long as you and Narcissa are safe, Lucius will be more than able to take care of himself."
And that was the crux of it: together they were one another's weakness, their love and fear for each other keeping them trapped and obedient; but separate they would be capable of doing almost anything.
"I can't do this on my own,"
"You won't be on your own," Longbottom said quietly. "I'll be with you."
Severus was never so glad for the valiant predictability of Gryffindors as he was just then; and he saw in the way Draco stared at the other boy that the decision was made; he was choosing to take a chance in something better, to perhaps become the boy he was never given the opportunity to be; he was taking a chance in Longbottom.
"I don't see why you can't do this,"
"Yes, you do,"
"Ok, fine." he replied, almost petulantly. "So talk me through how you see this happening."