Severus apparated into the Malfoy's forest clearing to find Lucius pacing agitatedly around the blood-stained stone alter. Raising an eyebrow, he held out Lucius' emergency summons, and dangled the hastily scrawled note in the air.

"You seem stressed," Severus drawled, casting a warming charm over himself, to keep the winter chill at bay.

Lucius looked up at Severus, then past him, scanning the trees. He took a moment to strengthen the wards around the ancient ritual site, layering silencing, camouflaging, and distraction spells on top of one another, before gesturing Severus closer.

"Things have taken a turn," he said bluntly.

"Apparently so. What's going on, Lucius? I don't appreciate being ordered into the forest late at night. It was bad enough when the Dark Lord did it."

"You're being investigated for murder."

Severus blinked. "I… what?"

"Well, attempted murder, I suppose. Harry told Bones and Scrimgeour all about you."

Frowning, Severus grabbed Lucius' shoulder to stop his pacing. "Harry told the DMLE that I tried to murder someone?"

"What? Oh, no. Harry told everyone that you are a hero that saved him from his abusive muggle relatives. He made it very clear that you're on his side, and would never hurt him. Scrimgeour wants to pin Harry's quidditch match incident on you."

"Well, that… complicates things," Severus muttered, his mind frantically thinking through the implications.

"I've promised Harry that I'll keep you out of Azkaban. He was starting to look ready to raze the ministry to the ground, personally. He's entirely convinced that you're on his side."

"I am on his side," Severus said, mildly. "I've tried to look reluctant to help the boy, to keep Albus from meddling, but there's no way I can publicly antagonize him while privately keeping his trust. The boy's too smart, and there's too much at stake."

"Well, your instincts have paid off for you, on that front. You have the Boy Who Lived's unwavering support, support he's more than willing to make public to keep you out of trouble."

Severus sighed, and bent to pluck a sprig of magical winter lavender that had been growing from a crack in the altar. It would be a great addition to a potion he'd been thinking up. "Do you think Our Lord will understand what we're doing?"

Lucius shivered, and not from the cold. "Not before a round or two of torture, but that's nothing new. Hopefully, if given the chance to explain, he'll see reason, and come around. This is a high-risk, high-reward gamble we're making. You've kept up your occlumency skills, haven't you? The things I told the boy tonight, to calm him down… if the Dark Lord ever sees that conversation, he'll kill me before I have the chance to plead my case."

That peaked Severus' curiosity. "What did you say?"

"A bit of the truth. A bit of what he wanted to hear. He's… there's something about that boy, Severus."

Severus snorted. "Tell me about it."

"He's going to be harder to manage than I'd realized. If he wasn't so good for Draco, I'd be tempted to give up on this, and separate them."

Severus smirked. "Oh, I'd like to see you try to keep them apart."

Lucius brushed some snow and dirt off the polished stone, and leaned back against the alter. "I'd have to send Draco to Durmstrang, and refuse him the use of an owl. Neither him nor my wife would ever speak to me again. Even then, the little monster would find a way to keep in contact with Potter, I'm sure."

"You are right, though," Severus said, tucking the lavender safely in his pocket. "Draco has flourished with Harry by his side. All of Slytherin has. It's not all his doing, of course, but the boy has sparked something in that house. They're all feeding off of each other's ambitions, now."

"He's going to be more than a figure-head, someday," Lucius agreed. "We should better coordinate our efforts, to steer him to our side. He's going to be a powerful ally, or a powerful enemy. I can't see him being anything, in between."

Severus bit back his refusal. That line was already running thin, and Lucius was promising to throw his money and political clout behind keeping Severus out of prison, so biting the hand would be a particularly bad move, at the moment. "What do you have in mind?"

"Once this investigation is official, it will make an excellent excuse for me to visit Hogwarts regularly, and even to be seen speaking with you. I will be defending my son's Head of House, after reviewing the evidence, after all. In the meantime, let's compare stories. What have you told the boy about the first war?"

Severus shrugged. "Not much. I've been evasive and vague where I can. I've told him I have regrets, but I haven't elaborated."

"You never were good at bragging yourself up," Lucius chuckled. "I told Harry that you were a spy, months ago. I made you out to be an absolute hero."

"You did what?" Severus asked, incredulously. "You should have told me."

Lucius gave Severus a look. "I knew you wouldn't outright contradict your cover story. It is too public, and Dumbledore could tell Harry all of your secrets at any time, to keep the boy in line. It's a pity you so rarely found the time to speak with me, or I would have told you sooner."

Severus could not argue with that. He had avoided Malfoy at every possible turn, since their fateful encounter in Diagon Ally in August. "What about you, then? What have you told him about your role in the war?"

Lucius looked grim. "I told him that my father had been seduced to the Dark Lord's cause, and imperiused me to ensure I'd follow suit. I told him that I don't view muggles or muggleborns as lesser than wizardkind, but that I fear what their weapons can do to us."

"Impressive. I can't fully corroborate your story. An imperiused soldier would never confer with a secret spy about his insincere loyalties until after the fact, but I can tell Harry that you reached out to me, after the war, and that I had always suspected that you were less than enthusiastic, if it ever comes up."

"That will do," Lucius nodded. "Preparing the potion too thick would be counter-productive, in the long run. How do you propose we go about easing the boy into the necessity that muggles are disposable? The Dark Lord won't opt for peace, to suit the Boy-Who-Lived's sensibilities. He's going to have to get used to the idea."

Severus rolled his eyes. "You always forget that I'm a half-blood, Lucius."

"Right," Lucius said, with a self-deprecating shrug. "Forgive me. It was always more about the dark arts and personal vendettas for you, wasn't it?"

"It was. We'll never convince Potter to abandon all muggles to their fate," Severus said, sternly. "The boy's got too much of his mother in him. Harry and I do have something in common, though. My muggle father was even more of a bastard than his aunt and uncle. I can float the suggestion of strengthening the separation between our worlds, to protect wizarding children from the bad apples."

"That's a start. What did you do to protect the boy in that house, by the way?"

Severus waved his hand, dismissively. "Not much. I warded his bedroom, and gave him access to a reliable food source. Why?"

"I'm going to try to get him out of there, this summer," Lucius said, setting his jaw in determination.

"Good luck with that. Dumbledore will fight you every step of the way."

Lucius searched his face. "Why's that?"

"I don't know, for sure. He's been as cryptic as always."

"I'll see what I can do. Severing the boy's ties to that world as early as possible will make our job much easier."

Severus wondered if that was Malfoy's only motivation, but merely nodded.

"And if you can't manage it?"

"I've got ideas. Nothing I'm willing to commit to, yet. I'm still weighing my options."

"Well, keep me updated," Severus said, shuffling his feet, and pressing his fingers against each other, to stretch them out. "I'll help get Harry out of there, if I can."

"Will do," Lucius said, standing and straightening his robes. "Make sure you act surprised when Amelia Bones brings you in for questioning. I'm under strict orders not to warn you about the investigation."

"I'll be caught entirely off guard, I promise," Severus drawled. "Any chance they'll actually convict Quirrell, do you think?"

"Ministry competence is never a safe bet, my friend. Look at us. I'll do what I can to nudge them in the right direction, though. It would be nice to see Dumbledore brought down a peg, by bringing his hiring practices into question. I'll sleep better knowing no more trolls will be lured into my son's vicinity, too."

"You and me both. I don't think I've had a full night's sleep since term started."

"I appreciate your vigilance, Severus," Lucius said, seriously. "The Slytherins are lucky to have you."

Severus shrugged. "They deserve better than we had. Speaking of which, I should get back. The castle is nearly empty, but there's still a little snake or two sleeping in the dungeons over the holidays. Thank-you, for the warning. I'll do better about keeping in touch."

"Good night, Severus. We'll speak again, soon."

Severus apparated to Hogsmeade, and then used the fireplace in the Three Broomsticks to floo back to his chambers. He glanced at his bedroom door, but settled into his desk chair, instead. He had too much on his mind to be able to sleep.

Objectively, the ministry taking the threat to Harry's life seriously was a good thing, even though it was bound to cause Severus headaches. It might also prevent Severus from keeping Harry safe, though, and that could become a problem. Proving his innocence by being observed by aurors at the other end of the castle while Harry was struck dead by Quirrell was not an acceptable option. He would need to lean on Gemma Farley and the other Slytherin prefects to pick up his slack, while the aurors did their digging.

Dumbledore would not be happy about this. The man loved his autonomy, and the untouchable air that his pristine reputation afforded him.

Severus would not give a damn about the headmaster's damaged pride, except for the risk that the man would take his frustrations out on Harry. The boy had triggered the investigation, after all.

Things with Lucius Malfoy were getting more convoluted, too. Severus would have to be very careful when giving the man advise about how best to lure Harry to the dark side. He could not risk his input being too effective, or too off the mark, especially now, with the investigation looming over his head. If Lucius decided that Severus was a risk to his own plans for Harry, Severus had no doubt that the man would pull enough strings behind the scenes to see Severus behind bars and out of his way.

Groaning, Severus rummaged around in his desk drawer and pulled out a vial of pain-relieving potion. It seemed he was destined to suffer through a perpetual headache for the foreseeable future, and he needed a clear enough mind to solidify some plans to weather the coming storm.