Madness

A few days later, Astoria was about to refile several parchments that she had carefully cleaned and covered with special preservation spells, when she heard raised voices approaching the entrance to the archives.

So far working down here had been pretty lonely. Apart from Harry, and Draco's ghost, she hadn't seen another witch or wizard down here in days. If it were not for regular requests for documents zooming into their dungeons and new stacks of scrolls being delivered every night, she might have wondered if this was a real job at all, and not a professional oubliette.

Whoever was coming to visit the archives was not in a good mood. Hurriedly, Astoria put her parchments away. Even coated in conservation Charms, they were quite fragile and sensitive to magic beyond the wear and tear of the mere passage of time.

"When did that … Why did no one … How could you … been told! … my right! HE'S MY SON, YOU FWOOPING MUDLOVER OF A MINISTER!"

"Mister Malfoy, either you get a grip on yourself this instant, or I will have you thrown out of the Ministry before you can count to three."

With CRASH! the door flew open and a man with silver-white hair stormed into the room, wand and cane raised threateningly. Two watch wizards were hanging onto the sleeves of his robes. The Minister of Magic followed hard on his heels, her face white with rage.

Astoria jumped back, collided with the files cabinet at the back of the main office and stumbled into the narrow space between the cabinet and the wall. Staring at Lucius Malfoy in horror, she stayed where she was and tried not to breathe, doing her very best to turn invisible without actually casting a Disillusionment Charm on herself.

Deep down, she'd always been afraid of Lucius Malfoy. And the man who was coming towards her now positively looked insane. He was rail-thin, his face positively cadaverous. His eyes lay deep in their sockets and glowed with a desperate light.

"Draco!" Lucius Malfoy shouted, spittle flying from his lips, his expression deranged. "Draco! WHERE IS MY SON?"

He stumbled and almost fell down. Leaning heavily on Harry's desk, he stared down at the blind wizard with an expression of uncomprehending agony.

"Draco," he rasped. "Draco?"

"He should be here any moment, Mr. Malfoy," Harry replied calmly. But from her vantage point Astoria could see that below the desk, he had his wand pointed steadily at the unexpected visitor. "Please, have a seat."

"I – Draco. Draco is really – Why – how – why did no one – a conspiracy – a damned conspiracy – worse than Voldemort – you – it's you – your fault – all of this – I demand –"

"Sit. Down."

The two terse syllables seemed to slam into Malfoy with the force of a spell. He jerked back and sank down on the indicated chair.

Suddenly the icy breeze that indicated a ghost's passage chilled the cold sweat that had begun to pearl on Astoria's forehead even more.

Draco glided to the desk. Somehow he seemed a little more translucent than normally and the elegant folds of his robes appeared just a little hazy.

"Father."

Just one quiet word, and the temperature in the room dropped by at least five degrees. Astoria shivered.

Lucius Malfoy stared at the silvery silhouette of his dead son. He blinked frantically, as if he was unable to make sense of what he was seeing. Even from her corner at the back of the room Astoria could see that the man's lips were quivering. His throat worked frantically, but no sound emerged.

Clattering, his cane and wand dropped to the ground. The wand rolled to the opaque tips of Draco's shoes. Lucius Malfoy's shoulder's shuddered as his tall, thin body convulsed with the force of his weeping.

oooOooo

"ARGH! That was not my shadow, you horrid hag of a healer!" Severus Snape flinched as a diagnostic spell seared his skin.

The shadow in question was looming in a corner of the room – where it could not possibly appear, given the lighting conditions. Additionally, while the shadow presented the figure of a man standing tall and tense and fully robed (down to the outline of the tight collar of a frock coat), his owner was lying in naked humiliation on an examination table.

"Hush, Severus. That only prickled, it didn't hurt," Muriel Mugwort scolded the Potions Master. Turning to the door, she called out a question to her assistant in the adjoining room. "Do you have everything recorded, Healer Pye?"

"Yes, Madam, everything crystal." The young man's voice was muted by the door. But nothing could conceal the enthusiasm audible in his words.

"Excellent. I think we have everything we need. You may get dressed again."

When Muriel's gaze drifted over his body, Severus felt heat wash over him and had the distinct impression that he was blushing fiercely under her scrutiny.

"What?" he bit out, as he hurriedly pulled on his pants and snatched up the trousers that went with his black frock coat. "I'm not the centrefold of this month's Playwizard. Kindly turn your lecherous leer elsewhere, dirty old biddy."

The Healer briskly shook her head. "I'll have you know that my appreciation for Mr. Mugwort will in no ways be jeopardized by being forced to observe your skinny arse at a close range. But both you and your wife are too thin. – And then there are your test results.

"Physical and magical," she added meaningfully.

That brought him up short. Severus turned, his vest and shirt momentarily forgotten. "How are Hermione's results?"

Muriel hesitated. "Does she know what you're doing?"

"Do you think I could keep something like that from her?" he asked. Then, bitterly: "Do you think I would keep it from her? And just do it? Without her knowledge, without her consent?"

"No," the Healer responded curtly. "But you know I had to ask. – Severus, what you are doing is madness. You can't keep that up!"

"I know."

oooOooo

A/N: "fwooping" was invented by the Hissing Harpies (go and look for them and their round robin "I F...ing Do!" at the LiveJournal Community GrangerSnape100!) and is used with permission; it refers to the Fwooper, a bird from "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", which drives the listener instantly insane.

I hope you liked today's set of chapters!