The dining room was directly above the crawlspace and Ana was taking full advantage of this yule tide dinner party. She had been standing on the second to last stair and leaning toward the center of their tiny room all evening listening to their dull conversations. But as promised Draco sat himself and Professor Snape as close to where the stairs sat as possible, allowing Ana to hear them. But the subject she had been waiting on was not risen until dessert was nearly finished.

"You really must see the guests we have now professor. They are all of the highest priority, I'm sure. But out most recent is a real gem."

"I wasn't aware you had acquired a third party down there, Mr. Malfoy," Snape responded cooly. How was Ana supposed to read that? No different than usual she supposed; Snape was always a cold individual.

"Oh yes, we have quite the collection now, and the crown jewel just happens to be Miss Fabiana Prewett."

There was a pause. Someone sighed as though they were bored, and there was a heavy goblet set down on the table, very gently. "Is that so?" Snape asked. "How did you come to possess her?"

"Greyback wanted to store her here," Luscious responded in a whiney tone, signaling him as the bored individual. "He wanted to be able to come back for her at some point, however I am rather pleased with her as a prisoner. The creature can't make a peep. Perfect for their little hiding pace down there."

"Indeed, father," Draco was heard to say. Ana was getting excited. He was setting up their gamble. "But it's not satisfying enough to simply know that wench is suffering in the dank crawlspace. No, it is far more satisfying to witness how far she has fallen first hand."

"Don't bother the headmaster son."

"It's no bother," Snape cut off Luscious. "I think I could do with a little pleasure in others' pain. After all being a headmaster allots me little time to take part in those activities that I used to find so…enticing. May I?"

There was no sound from above aside from the shuffling of feet and chair legs scraping on the floorboards. Ana leaps off the stairs and landed as far from the door as she could muster in the short time she had; the dining room was just to one side of the door at the top of the stairs. She tried to calm her facial features and seem like she was miserable, but it was difficult. All the same, she managed to plaster a long face over her elation just as the door opened and light spilled into the crawlspace from the room above.

Snape stepped down to the bottom of the stairs and only looked in Ana's direction for a few second before turning his back and facing the Malfoy men still standing on the steps behind him. "I'm not certain you should be keeping her here without the Dark Lord's permission. She's not your average prisoner of war. The Dark Lord views her as something…special."

Luscious crossed his arms. "Just like her mother I suppose. Must be the reason Greyback held onto her."

"She should be handed over to him."

"She's our prisoner," Luscious countered. "Besides, she could be our family's bartering chip for good favor when the time comes."

Snape shook his head. "She would do much better for your favor if you just turned her over now."

Malfoy's voice dropped as he answered to this. "Look around you. Everything is falling apart. Prewett is valuable. Imagine the amount of money I could demand from Greyback when he comes back for her. And he would pay it. You remember Natalia; we all do. Prewett looks just like her. Tell me Greyback's relationship with Natalia is not an indication of what he would be willing to pay to have the daughter; to gain back something he feels was stolen from him. Greyback knows that won't happen if he gets a hold of her. The Dark Lord will want her for himself."

Snape matched the tone Luscious was speaking in. "Consider the fact that you won't see a single knut if the Dark Lord discovers you've been keeping her here." Snape then turned and shot a rope from the tip of his wand toward Ana. It coiled around her wrists, binding her hands behind her back.

Suddenly Luscious got defensive. He tried to shove past Snape, though to no avail, all the while saying, "You can't just come in here and steal my prisoner!"

"Consider it a favor, Luscious. I'm saving you from what I assure you would be a painful death. As it is the Dark Lord was planning to make surprise visits to all prisoner locations within the next week to inspect the captives we have and ensure nothing has been going on without his knowledge," he motioned to Ana as he walked toward her to help her stand. "For example."

Snape lifted Ana from an elbow and helped her stand. While leading her out and up the stairs, Draco let his hand brush against her arm. The foe, an enemy of her and her friends through the years, had come through for her. He probably saved her life.