A/N: My heart is so filled with joy right now because I finally know where this story is going. The ending has been written for two and a half years at this point but in the meantime, I was adrift in how I was ever going to get there. Never fear dear readers, I now have my course heading corrected and the end is in sight. Yes, it's sad that there is not too much story left to tell but it's also a good thing. Cheers for sticking with me this long!

PS. Apparently this story has turned into crack!fic now, if the latter part of the chapter is anything to go by. Hope nobody hates me for that. It was just too much fun to write!

oOoOo

Lucius was waiting with a glass of firewhiskey when Harry at last appeared in the fireplace. The young auror moved directly over to steal a drink and a kiss – in that order – before settling in on the couch at Lucius' side. Lucius gave a low, rumbling chuckle and squeezed Harry against his body.

"What did Severus have to say?"

Harry gave a small hum and replied in a tone that tried to be coy, "If you were meant to know the answer to that, he wouldn't have asked to talk to me alone, now would he?"

"Are you toying with me, Mister Potter?"

"Of course I am, Mister Malfoy. Is there a problem?"

Lucius pretended to scowl. "You are lucky I love you or you'd not get laid tonight."

"Erm, about that…" Lucius glanced down to meet Harry's gaze and the young man grimaced, "I can't stay. Ginny's home tonight and it's already late."

Disappointment washed through Lucius at the words and he couldn't hold back a sigh. "Can't you tell her that we're still working or that you're staying at Hogwarts tonight?"

Harry shook his head. "Gin's too friendly with most of the staff and that's something that could very well come up in conversation."

"There are times like this that make me wish I hadn't allowed you to get married."

"Allowed?" Harry laughed.

"Yes, allowed. Do you think that I couldn't have stopped it from happening?" Lucius let his hand drift down Harry's torso, caressing as it went.

The laugh disappeared from Harry's eyes, replaced by a more sober look. "I know you could have. You're the one that urged me to go forward with the wedding, remember?"

Another sigh threatened. The conversation was turning in a direction that the elder wizard really didn't wish it to go. However, before he could redirect the topic back to something safer, Harry took it farther off course.

"Lucius, were you and Snape ever…" the boy actually blushed as he struggled to finish his inquiry, "erm…lovers?"

Now that was a question that Lucius had never expected to answer, especially coming from Potter. He was taken aback for a moment. "Why? What did Severus say that made you think that we were?"

"Nothing really. I was just wondering because he seems very," Harry paused again, groping for the right words, "concerned that I treat you well."

Lucius snorted. "That you treat me well?"

A tiny smile reappeared on Harry's lips. "That's the impression I got."

Malfoy shook his head, unable to conceal his amusement, "Severus and I were quite close once, believe it or not. I invited him to live at the manor after he graduated Hogwarts; he needed to get away from his father and there was plenty of room with us. Narcissa and I hadn't been married long when Severus came to stay."

"And yet he became your live-in-lover?"

"We…dabbled."

"You take far too much joy in being cryptic, Old Man."

"Perhaps I do, but Severus was an intensely private person, as you know. I'm not sure that he would be thrilled with my discussing his love life – especially with you."

"Lucius, I've seen some of the worst moments of his life and I respect him more for it than I ever thought possible." Harry was quiet for a few moments. "The knowledge that he might have found a little happiness with you would make me feel, I don't know, less guilty maybe."

The elder wizard thought about that for a bit. Potter didn't necessarily have a right to know but then again, there wasn't any harm in telling him either. Severus was dead and even though some essence of the man would always remain in the portrait at Hogwarts, he was beyond the care that anyone would judge him for the past.

"Yes, he was my lover for a time." Lucius admitted with a fond smile. He recalled the pale teen sprawled on his bed, dark eyes glittering up at him and those long, nimble fingers driving Lucius absolutely mad with desire. "Severus was a surprisingly good lover, in fact. I'm sure that he taught me everything I know about making love to another man. Or, it might be more accurate to say we taught each other. You can still thank him for that, if you like."

He offered Harry a little wink before continuing, "Sev was always observant, responsive and…" his voice trailed away as Harry's had done earlier as he sought the proper word. He settled for, "intense."

Intense. Yes, that was the best way to describe Severus Snape as a lover. In fact, that was probably the best way to describe him as a human being – unless, of course, you had been one of his students. Lucius thought that most of them would have used much less flattering adjectives to describe the former professor.

Harry was nodding as he processed Lucius' words. Lucius could see the young man trying to reconcile the things Lucius said with the man he, Harry, had known. The auror finally found his voice again. "So he lived with you, shared your bed and became a Death Eater."

"Amongst other things, yes. I first introduced Severus to the inner circle and the Dark Lord was more than happy to put a wizard of Severus' skill to good use."

Harry grunted and Lucius had to concede that the uses the Dark Lord had put Severus to couldn't quite be considered 'good.' He let it pass without trying to correct his statement.

"Did you ever love him?"

That was a question Lucius did not have an immediate answer to. Eventually though he shook his head. "I don't think love ever came into it. I found Severus interesting and I enjoyed indulging with him in carnal pleasure. I don't know that I should speak for Severus, but I believe he only sought companionship."

"Because he couldn't be with my mum."

"There was that, though I do think he was somewhat attracted to me. At least, he always gave that impression."

"Well, who could blame him?" Harry kissed Lucius' neck. "You're an incredibly attractive man."

"Of course I am." The elder wizard laughed and patted Harry's hip.

"So why did the relationship between you end?"

"As you can imagine, it became difficult to see him when he started teaching. Once Draco was born and the Dark Lord vanished, I managed to get a seat on the board of governors at Hogwarts. That gave me an excuse to visit Severus at school but he became more distant. We were still friends, of course, but the physical relations dwindled and finally ceased."

A feeling of loss stole over Lucius with the last sentence. He'd forgotten how much he'd missed his time with Severus until he spoke about it. Suppressing those emotions, he made his voice brighter than he felt.

"Do you feel better or worse for knowing that Severus was here before you?"

"Neither, really, but I appreciate the knowledge. Just so you know, I promised him that I would take care of you. I think that he did love you, in his own way. Maybe not like he loved my mum but he wouldn't still be concerned for your happiness if he never cared about you at all."

Lucius couldn't quite reconcile this concept of love and caring with the sarcastic, fiercely independent man that he'd known. But perhaps he should trust Harry's instincts. After all, the boy had a certain knack for seeing into men's hearts.

"Merlin help him if he loved me in the least," the elder wizard sighed, "I know I was less than deserving of such an emotion."

"Humility is not a familiar look on you, Old Man," Harry teased and then patted Lucius' leg in a manner that conveyed that he was preparing to leave. Lucius caught his hand and held it.

"Please don't go."

"I have to."

"Please." With the ghosts of the past lingering around him, Lucius found that he didn't want to spend the night alone.

"Don't beg, Love." Harry lifted Lucius' hand to his lips and kissed it. "I'll see you in the morning, which is not that far off now."

Defeated, Lucius slumped a little and let go of his lover's hand. Harry twisted to press a last kiss on Lucius' lips and then bid the older man a good night. Lucius nodded and watched the young auror walk through the floo. He sat, staring into the fire for a while longer before getting up and dousing the flames. After double checking that all was taken care of and the flat was locked up tight, he apparated to the manor to seek out Narcissa's comforting presence.

oOoOo

"I just don't get it Gin," Harry said through a mouthful of egg, "I mean, my dad, Sirirus, and Lupin created the map while they were still students so you wouldn't think the magic was that complex. Sure, they were really good at magic - otherwise they wouldn't have all learned how to become animagi - but I don't think they would have come up with the map spells on their own. There has to be a book or scroll that tells how to do it."

"Well, maybe it's like Snape said. Maybe that map is something that could only have been made at Hogwarts. Maybe they found the parchment that it's drawn on in the room of requirement or something and that's what gives it its special properties."

Harry hadn't thought of that. The map might not be a product of spells at all. It could just be drawn on parchment with specific magical properties or perhaps the magic was in the ink. What if the materials used to make it had come from the Room of Requirement? Or what if it was something else that one of their families had access to? Considering all of the strange and mysterious objects that Harry had encountered in the Blacks' house, Sirius could easily have gotten special enchanted parchment or ink before he ran away from home.

"Great. That will make the mystery even harder to solve. It was bad enough when all we had to figure out was what spell or spells they used."

"You'll figure it out, Love. I have faith in you," Ginny got up and moved over to kiss the top of Harry's head, "but I've got to get to practice. See you tonight."

"I may be really late if we're still working on this."

"No worries. I'll be sure to keep your dinner warm until you get home."

Harry thought about that for just a second and then shook his head. He couldn't forget the sadness in Lucius' eyes when he'd insisted on leaving the night before. "Just put it in the fridge, if you don't mind. And please don't wait up. We may end up working all night."

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"The Minister needs this map as soon as possible. If we can't get it for him then I'll have to lead the raid myself." He met her eyes and held her gaze, letting the weight of that possibility sink in. "Needless to say, it will be less dangerous for everyone involved if Lucius and I can unravel the mystery of the map."

"All right, well, don't work yourself too hard and I'll hope to see you tonight."

"Give em hell at practice."

"You know I will!" He smiled as she gave a cheery wave and disapparated with a soft pop.

Now that Ginny was gone, Harry took his time with the washing up and then got ready to go to Hogwarts. He procured a small bag from his closet and stuffed a change of clothes and his toothbrush into it. He planned on asking Minerva if he and Lucius could stay at Hogwarts that evening – provided that they didn't solve the riddle of the maps beforehand – and he reasoned it would be best if he didn't have to come back to the house to change his clothes in the morning.

He felt a bit guilty about not just telling Ginny about his plans to stay over, for letting her think that there was a chance me might be back at some point that night, but he tried to ignore the feeling. Harry wanted to spend the night with his lover and that was just what he was going to do. There was no point in trying to undermine his own decision.

The bag was packed and he was ready so he used a shrinking charm to make it small enough to fit into the pocket of his robes and moved over to the fireplace. Taking up a handful of floo powder, he named the Headmistress' study at Hogwarts and stepped into the flames.

Lucius was already there when he arrived, chatting amiably with McGonagall. His pale eyes flickered over to where Harry was emerging from the fireplace and happiness flared in them. A little smile quirked the corners of his lips. "Ah, Potter. We were just wondering if you were going to grace us with your presence this morning."

"Sorry that I'm late. Ginny and I were discussing the map problem."

"Did your brilliant wife crack the case for us?"

"No such luck, I'm afraid, but she did come up with something that I hadn't thought about." Harry walked over and plopped down in the last vacant chair by the Headmistress' desk. "What if we're not looking for a spell at all?"

Minerva frowned. "Whatever do you mean, Potter?"

"Well, what if it's the materials the map is made from that allow it to track people like it does? Have either of you heard of a type of ink or a parchment that would survey a place and track its inhabitants?"

"I don't think anything like that exists. At least, in all of my years teaching, I've never encountered such a thing." McGonagall gave him an apologetic smile and Lucius was nodding his agreement. "I think you were on the better track when you were searching for spells."

"Maybe so, Headmistress. We still have a bunch of those to go through," he nodded to the stack of books they'd left the night before, "but it wouldn't hurt to keep an open mind either."

"Of course, Potter. I'll ask the rest of the staff. Maybe one of them has heard of something."

"Thanks, that would be great."

Minerva nodded again and a silence fell between the three of them. After a moment it became awkward so the Headmistress cleared her throat and stood up, "I'll leave the two of you to your work then. Do let me know if you need anything."

"We will," Lucius answered before Harry could and Harry nodded his agreement.

"Oh, before you go, Professor, I wanted to ask a favor."

"Of course, Potter. What do you need?"

"Well," Harry drew a breath and tried not to look at the man sitting next to him, "I have a feeling that we will be working late again and it may be more convenient for Lucius and me to just stay here at the castle instead of going home for the night and coming back. Do you think you could find space for us?"

The auror heard Lucius shifting slightly in his chair but he still refused to look over at the man, lest he give anything away in his expression. McGonagall was considering his request. "I think we might find spare rooms for the two of you. I'll let you know a little later, if you don't mind."

"That would be great," Harry smiled up at the elderly witch, "thanks!"

"You're welcome, Potter. Good luck with your research."

Harry nodded once more and watched until the Headmistress left the room. Once the door clicked shut, he finally allowed himself to look at his lover.

"We're staying the night at Hogwarts?" Lucius was obviously surprised.

The auror grinned. "Unless you have an objection." One eyebrow quirked in challenge.

"An objection is not quite what I have." Lucius shifted again in his chair.

"Objection, erection, close enough." Harry laughed and stood to retrieve their stack of books. When he did, he noticed that Snape was now occupying his previously vacant portrait. "And good morning to you, Headmaster."

"Potter. Lucius." The painting nodded to each of them. "How was your…evening?"

"Uneventful." Harry handed a book to Lucius and settled back into his chair to open a tome across his lap. "Did you hear the question I asked Professor McGonagall?"

"About your sleep over?" Snape's smoky voice carried a tinge of amusement. Harry smiled in return, glad that the former Headmaster seemed to be taking Lucius and Harry's relationship in stride.

"No, not that. The other thing. About enchanted map-making materials?"

"Ah. Yes, I did, Potter, and I don't have any ideas either."

"Damn it." He sighed and flipped to the index of his book. "It's going to be a long day."

Harry's words turned out to be prophetic. He, Lucius and Snape worked through lunch, the two living wizards dining on sandwiches and Butterbeer brought up by a gaggle of house elves. It was almost comical to see the way they fell over each other to serve Harry. After a few minutes though, he thanked them all and sent them on their way back to the kitchen. Too much more of their attentions and he would have started getting annoyed.

Minerva popped back a little before 3 pm and informed the wizards that she'd arranged two suites among the staff quarters for when they were ready to retire for the evening. Unfortunately for Lucius and Harry, the rooms were not adjoining. In fact, they were in different parts of the castle. Both men thanked her while trying to act unfazed by this development and Snape wore a broader smirk than usual. All three of the men knew that Potter and Malfoy had been allotted one room more than they would be using that night.

After the headmistress left again, Harry shared a look with Lucius and laughed. "I hope that both rooms have a fireplace or one of us is going to have a long walk."

"It will be you, Potter. I'm far too old to go skulking around the castle at night."

"What if I wear myself out walking to your room and then all I want to do when I get there is sleep?"

"Then I will be forced to either wake you up or just molest you while you're sleeping. Whichever is easier for me at the time."

"You'd better wake me up, Old Man, or I'll be very cross with you."

"Do you think we might put the foreplay on hold for while and get back to work?"

Harry thought Snape's voice wasn't quite as annoyed as it might have been. He looked up at the painting and taunted him, "You're just jealous."

"Very mature, Potter."

"No, no, it would only have been immature if I had done this." Harry stuck out his tongue. Snape rolled his eyes and Lucius sat back in his chair and laughed. The former Headmaster looked down at his long time friend and asked, "How do you ever manage not to murder him in his sleep?"

Lucius smirked up at the portrait. "Do you see that tongue? I make sure he puts it to good use."

"And I wear him out so that he couldn't murder me even if he wanted to."

Snape could only shake his head at the two of them. "I would never have expected to say this, but I do believe the two of you are perfectly suited to each other."

"That is something we can all agree on, I think."

Harry hummed his agreement too.

"Excellent. Now that we're all in agreement, I think we can turn our combined attention back to the map, yes?"

"All right."

"Wonderful. Now I won't have to leave my frame to go vomit."

"You're dead. You don't eat."

"Thank you so much for pointing that out, Potter."

"Any time."

Lucius was still chuckling to himself as he turned his attention back to his book and Harry pulled the Marauder's Map toward him to look at it for a while. Something told him that they weren't going to do it. He was going to have to find a way to tell Lucius that he was going to return to Belgium to lead the raid. It was Harry's duty as an auror and they had given it their best shot.

Looking over at Lucius, Harry smiled again when he saw the older man so intent on his study and knew that he didn't have the heart to break the news tonight. It would be a fight to get Lucius to let him go alone and all Harry wanted for tonight was uncomplicated intimacy. He would have to break the news tomorrow at breakfast and hope that Lucius wouldn't cause a scene in the Great Hall.

Time ticked away. The elves came again with dinner, which Lucius and Harry ate while they worked. The stack of books dwindled until there were only two left and it was getting late. Harry closed his book, stretching the kinks out of his back with a soft groan. "Do you think we should just give up? I'm getting tired."

Lucius sighed. "I think that's probably the best option." They looked up toward Snape's portrait, expecting to find him asleep since there hadn't been much for him to do for the last hour or so other than watch them read, but his frame was empty.

"Wonder where he's gotten off to?"

"I don't know," Lucius stood up and offered his hand to Harry, "but I know where I want to 'get off' to."

"Then let's hop to it, Old Man." He leaned in for a kiss and then stepped back before summoning one of the house elves. "Mister Malfoy and I will be staying the night in the castle. Will you show us to our rooms?"

"Oh yes, Harry Potter. If you will follow Pippy?" Harry grinned as the elf led the way and followed it until it came to a banded oaken door. "This is where Mister Malfoy is staying." The elf turned its big eyes up to peer at Lucius, its – or rather her, Harry decided – ears quivering slightly. Harry heard Lucius snort and glanced over at him.

"Thank you…Pippy." Harry was proud. Lucius had managed to almost hide his sneer at the house elf. His hand settled on the door knob and twisted, pushing the door open to reveal a spacious sitting room with a fire already crackling merrily in the grate. The elder wizard's gaze flickered back to Potter. "I'll see you later." Then he winked and moved into the room, pushing the door closed behind him.

"Lead on, Pippy."

The house elf gave Harry a dopey grin and led him off down the hallway again. They walked up stairs and down corridors and as they went, things began to look very familiar to the auror. When they came to a halt outside Professor McGonagall's door, Harry was alarmed.

"Pippy, what are we doing here? These are the Headmistress' rooms!"

"Oh, no, not any more, Harry Potter. Headmistress McGonagall moved when she took over the school."

Well that was terribly awkward. Or at least it would have been if Harry planned on staying the night there. He didn't even want to imagine trying to make love with someone – especially a Malfoy – in the bed once occupied by his head of house.

"Thanks then, Pippy. You can go back to the kitchens now. Good night."

Pippy wrung her hands, "Is there anything else Harry Potter is needing?"

"No, thank you, Pippy, I think I'll be all right." Harry made a show of opening the door so that she wouldn't think anything was amiss. "I'll summon you if there's anything I need, okay?"

The house elf bobbed her head in excitement and after another minute, Harry finally managed to send her back to the kitchens. "House elves…" he muttered, shaking his head. He closed the door behind him, locked it and then counted to two hundred before walking over to the fireplace. Grabbing up a handful of floo powder, he named Lucius' room and dropped the powder into the grate. Then he took a deep breath and walked in. The journey, of course, was almost instantaneous and he stepped out into the other room to find Lucius waiting for him.

"That took a while," his lover murmured after their first kiss had finally ended.

"Would you believe," Harry, unable to resist, pecked Lucius' lips again, "that Minerva gave me her room?"

"She did?" Lucius sounded just as surprised as Harry had been.

"Yeah. Apparently she moved quarters a while ago but I was really scared there for a minute."

"I don't blame you."

"Thank God that they didn't put you in Snape's old quarters or we would have had to choose between two uncomfortable and awkward places to have sex."

"I would have chosen Severus' dungeon," Lucius replied without hesitation.

"Yeah…I think I would have too."

It was weird for Harry to think that he would feel more comfortable in Snape's room than he would have in McGonagall's but at least Snape understood the connection between the men. He even seemed to approve in his own way. Minerva would probably be shocked and dismayed if she found out. Harry could just picture her reaction in his head.

Lucius tapped lightly on Harry's temple, "Hello?" He waited for Harry's eyes to refocus on him before smiling, "Oh, there you are. You disappeared on me for a moment."

"It's just being back here…doing this in the castle." He nuzzled against Lucius' neck and hugged him close. "I've never had sex at Hogwarts before."

Harry felt rather than heard the soft laugh that answered him. After a few seconds, he also felt Lucius nibbling at his ear. "Not even with the former Miss Weasley?" the elder man purred.

"No. We didn't, mmm, we didn't have sex until…oh, Lucius…" Harry closed his eyes as a shiver flitted through his body, "until she moved in with me."

"All that time you were a virgin?" Lucius started nipping his way down the younger man's neck, fueling the fire now burning through Harry's groin. "No wonder you were so easy."

"Oi," the younger man gave his lover a playful shove, "I was saving the world from Voldemort, and gits like you. I didn't have the opportunity to be a normal, randy boy."

"Thank Merlin you're making up for that now then." Malfoy grinned and took Harry's hand, leading him through to the bedroom.

"Yes, you'd better be thankful!" They paused by the bed to kiss again and Harry slid his hands down Lucius' chest before resting them for a moment on the man's hips. He felt his usual impatience tugging at him and as a consequence, took out his wand to banish Lucius' clothes with a murmured spell. Harry then turned the spell on himself and summoned a small bottle of oil. "Lie down on your back, Old Man, I think I fancy a ride tonight."

Lucius licked his lips and moved without hesitation toward the bed. "Yes, please!" Harry grinned again at his lover's haste to comply.

As he was pooling some oil into his palm, preparing to stroke it over the older wizard's erection, Harry happened to glance at the rather large painting above the headboard. The subject was a dark and gloomy forest, probably in Transylvania somewhere by the looks of it. "Doesn't that just set the mood?" he asked Lucius, who craned his head back to see what Harry was referring to and then made an amused sound.

"You could pretend we're there shagging amid the trees, if you like."

"Hmm," the younger man moved to straddle his partner's body and settled back onto Lucius' hardness with a pleasure-filled sigh, "we should do that someday."

"Make love in a forest?"

"Yeah."

A hum broke from Lucius' throat as Harry started moving at a slow and steady pace. "We could do that this summer. Any…hmmm…any particular forest you have in mind?"

Harry shook his head and as he glanced up at the picture again, he thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. His brow drew down a little as he frowned and he sat back a bit, still keeping his movements steady but hoping he might see something among the trees.

Lucius noticed the shift and frowned as well. "Something wrong?"

After another few seconds of squinting at the painting, Harry shook his head and returned his attention to Lucius. "Not at all." He leaned down to give the other man a searing kiss, though as it lingered, he couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched. There was a little prickle between his shoulder blades that he had felt many a time as an auror. He pretended not to notice until the kiss ended.

Finally he relinquished Lucius' lips and sat back again, making a show of stroking his cock as he rode Lucius harder. He kept his gaze locked on that of the man beneath him, licking his lips as he felt the pressure inside him building to the inevitable crescendo. He reached up with his free hand to pinch his nipple and it was at that moment that he heard a soft gasp that had not come from him or Lucius.

Got you…

Harry's eyes flickered up to the painting again and he thought he might have just detected a glimmer of motion. He knew then, without a doubt, that they were being watched – and he had a pretty shrewd guess about who was doing the watching.

Knowing that he was getting very close already, Harry stroked furiously until he came with a sharp cry, his eyes slipping closed of their own accord even though he wanted to keep looking at the painting. When he was spent, he slowed, panting and opened them to look down at Lucius. The older man was watching him, breathing deeply and obviously close to his own end but not quite there.

Wanting to give their interloper the best show he could think of, Harry leaned down to give his lover another kiss and then pulled off, trailing kisses and long strokes of his tongue down Lucius' body. He tasted the salty tang of his own cum on the other man's skin and paused to collect a few droplets. Lucius wriggled, groaning in quiet desperation. Harry patted the man's hip and moved on until he could tease his lover unmercifully, driving him just to the edge but never quite over it.

Before long, Lucius was begging, pleading with Harry to let him come. With a last glance up at the portrait, Harry wrapped his lips tight around the head of Lucius' cock and sucked, stroking hard and fast with his hand on the man's shaft as he did so. Malfoy's back arched and he clenched the sheets in a death grip while bellowing out his ecstasy.

It had not been a bad performance, if Harry said so himself, and he cuddled up to his momentarily unresponsive lover to wait for the old man to come back to his senses. He wondered if their voyeur would stick around long enough to catch round two. Just the thought brought a feral smile to Harry's lips. Idly he found himself wondering whether people in paintings could become sexually excited and with a very un-chivalrous thought, he hoped they could.

It would serve him right. He could have just asked…

Lucius gave a little groan and stirred, snapping Harry's attention back to him. "Welcome back, Old Man. Let me know when you're ready for the next round."

The elder wizard's reply made Harry smile.

oOoOo

The office was dim and quiet when Snape skulked back into his frame, looking far more flushed and discomfited than was his habit. Dumbledore had been snoozing in his portrait but opened one eye to regard the other man.

"Something interesting happen on your rounds tonight, Severus?"

It always amused the other portraits that even after his death, Snape still liked to make rounds through the castle in the dead of night. The only difference was that now he was forced to use the paintings rather than the halls and corridors. Severus scraped his throat, as though it had gone dry and an expression akin to embarrassment flickered across his face.

"I was…making sure Lucius and Potter were settling in all right."

"Oh? And were they?"

There was a twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes that betrayed the polite curiosity of his voice.

"They…" Snape cleared his throat again and the blush was more pronounced, "yes, they seemed to be getting along very well."

"Good." Dumbledore closed his eyes again and the grin broadened just a little. "It's nice to see the two of them fitting so well together."

"Erm. Yes."

"Perhaps we should ask them to come more often."

Snape made a strangled sound. "Albus."

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

Dumbledore peered at the other portrait once more, chuckled and dropped back off to sleep.