He didn't get much sleep that night, but he hadn't expected to. It had taken him a great deal of self-control to even think about how he wanted to approach Lucius after his conversation with Hermione. In the early hours of the morning, he finally decided to broach the subject directly and without any detours. If, contrary to expectations, Lucius turned out to be a loyal follower of the Dark Lord, he could still say that he was merely trying to find a traitor in his master's ranks. Voldemort trusted him enough to let such an excuse stand, especially where Lucius was concerned.

When he entered the breakfast room, Hermione's prediction was confirmed: the master of the house was sitting alone at the long table, drinking coffee and leisurely leafing through the Daily Prophet.

"Good morning, Severus," he greeted his guest with exquisite friendliness, "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes, thank you," Snape confirmed just as politely. He sat down to Lucius' right without waiting for an invitation, folded his hands on the table and looked at him intently. Everything depended on this moment, and even he was not immune to the tension it caused.

"Lucius," he finally began very quietly and very seriously, "it has come to my attention that you are not a loyal follower of our lord."

"This again?" he snapped at him angrily, "We've already talked about this! That's not true and you should know better than anyone that I'm loyal to the Dark Lord."

"On the contrary," Snape returned, still speaking quietly, "I know you're not. You wish him dead. And so do I."

Lucius Malfoy stared at his guest in an obvious mixture of horror and confusion. "What?"

"I'm planning to kill the Dark Lord. And I need your help to do it."

Silence fell over the room. Snape looked at Lucius from cool, emotionless eyes, but inside he was anxious. He was doing something here that had not been his own plan, rather he had to rely on the judgement of a young woman. If it had been anyone other than Hermione Granger, yes, even if it had been Hermione Granger, whom he still knew from Hogwarts, he would never have trusted her judgement. And even now, when it came down to it, he wondered if it had been his mind that had made him trust her - or something else entirely.

"She talked. I can't believe it. She ... she talked."

Snape watched the expressions on Lucius' face with attentive eyes. He could see bewilderment, and anger, and fear. Fear was good, because it meant that he had told Hermione the truth about himself and now actually felt betrayed.

"Indeed she has," Snape confirmed matter-of-factly, "And that's a good thing. I need your help."

"How did you get her to do that?" he asked angrily, "You of all people! Why would she voluntarily tell you anything?"

"Why wouldn't she?"

"Severus Snape!" Lucius thundered angrily, "The woman I found after your disgraceful deed was a mental wreck, incapable of accepting even the tenderest touch from a man. Don't tell me a woman like that suddenly confided in you."

Snape clenched his teeth, but he didn't let on how much the words bothered him. "As it happens, she did. And you of all people shouldn't complain about her lack of tenderness."

"What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything, I'm stating. It doesn't take a genius to interpret your little nocturnal action in the library yesterday."

Lucius jumped up from his chair angrily. "You were spying on us?"

"I was merely looking for Miss Granger. I definitely wasn't prepared for this scene."

"Hermione is mine!" Lucius Malfoy thundered, but Snape was unimpressed.

"It's not our job to decide that. She is an independent being, she belongs only to herself. And which man she feels she belongs to is her decision."

"I can see what's going on here, but not with me, Snape, not with me!" Lucius said, trying to control his anger. "You want her for yourself and now you're trying to trap me to get rid of me."

"You are blinded by jealousy," Snape accused him. He hadn't expected this conversation to escalate so quickly or that it would even degenerate into an argument about Hermione. It annoyed him that Lucius Malfoy was so short-tempered, but at the same time, his every word confirmed that Hermione was right: he needed her and he would do anything to keep her with him. Even if he had to kill the Dark Lord to do it.

"What reason would I have to be jealous?" Lucius said patronisingly, "You don't think Hermione would choose you, do you?"

"Sit down, Lucius," Snape ordered sharply. He didn't like the tone with which his friend spoke so haughtily about Hermione. "I was completely serious. I need your help in overthrowing the Dark Lord."

"You will not command me in my house!" Lucius replied just as coldly, but he obeyed the request. They were both silent for a moment, then he spoke up again, "Why should I believe you?"

"Because Miss Granger does," Snape said quietly, "You just said it yourself: what I did to her is unforgivable and will scar her for the rest of her life. And yet she trusted me enough to suggest you as a possible ally."

Lucius looked silently into his now cold cup of coffee. It was obvious that he still could not get over the fact that Hermione broke her promise.

"You can't blame her," Snape interrupted his thoughts, "We were faced with a problem that could only be solved if we had a second wizard on our side. She knew about you. It would have been stupid not to say anything just to keep the promise to you. You only wrested it from her anyway because you thought I would betray you to the lord."

"You're always so logical," Lucius muttered, but it didn't sound like a compliment. "It would never occur to you that a person could actually have irrational feelings. Of course Hermione did the right thing, but this is a matter of principle."

"You, of all people, talk about feelings?" Snape returned with a raised eyebrow, "Back when I joined the Lord's ranks, it was you who taught me to hide my emotions and not let them get the better of me."

"And where did that lead me?" Lucius replied dully. "All my life, I've only cared about the well-being of my family and let my pride blind me. I have not allowed any other feelings. And now I'm faced with the ruins of my life. There is nothing left for me to be proud of. If I had started earlier ... But those are idle thoughts."

Snape couldn't help but admire Hermione for how accurate her description of Lucius' emotional state had been. He was indeed a broken man who, in the second half of his life, had realised what a wrong path he had taken. Snape refrained from telling him that, in this case, realisation was by no means the first step towards recovery. He himself had realised very early in his life what a mistake he had made, but it had not made him any happier, on the contrary. His life was at least as much in shambles as Lucius Malfoy's. And obviously Hermione had not only recognised this, but had also found a way to give Lucius comfort and hope. It was admirable.

"Anyway," he finally said, "The most important question is: do you believe me?"

Lucius stared at him silently, while Snape returned his gaze as openly and honestly as possible. Everything depended on them being able to have a second wizard on their side. He hated needing other people, but situations like this forced him to look for help.

"Hermione trusts you?"

"So much it's almost ridiculous."

"Then I do too."

Snape nodded. What was it about Hermione Granger that made two grown, highly suspicious men rely on her judgement? But that didn't matter, all that mattered was that he had achieved his goal. "Glad to hear it. If I'm not mistaken, the rest of the family will be joining us for breakfast shortly, so I'd like to postpone any further conversation about the plan until later."

"Yes, Narcissa should be here any minute and if he doesn't oversleep, Draco is actually on time too."

Snape rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The Christmas holidays at Hogwarts began on Monday, so his presence at school was no longer mandatory. And as generously as Narcissa had behaved towards him over the last few weeks, she would certainly agree to him staying on her estate until the big feast.

"Would I be a great burden to you if I spent the next few days here as well?"

"Does it serve the plan?"

"Why else would I suggest it?"

Instead of replying, Lucius raised an eyebrow meaningfully. Impatiently, Snape leant across the table. "If we are to work together, you must put your jealousy to rest. It's so unfounded that I don't even know how to talk you out of it. You said yourself that Miss Granger ... that I've hurt her too much for her to ever look at me kindly again."

"All you ever talk about is how unlikely it is that she wants anything from you. But what about the other way round? The easiest argument would be to simply say that you're not interested in her."

Snape faltered. Really, why hadn't he said that? He was about to reply when Lucius waved him off. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to provoke you. You don't have to tell me that you think it's ridiculous to have to say something so obvious."

Before he could say anything in reply, Narcissa and Draco came to the breakfast table, followed by Hermione, who entered from the direction of the kitchen. He could see her looking curiously back and forth between him and Lucius, but of course he couldn't reveal anything in front of the rest of the family. Breakfast passed in silence, apart from his announcement that he would be spending the next few days here. Narcissa was delighted, Draco's expression remained expressionless. Snape looked thoughtfully at his former favourite student. He suddenly remembered that he had found Draco in Hermione's room that night. He had been the reason why he had gone to Hermione so early and why he had had to become so violent. Was he a danger?