Snape tapped a finger against the side of his face as he pondered something.
"Professor?"
"Go tell Draco I wish to speak with him, alone," Snape announced.
"About me?"
Snape gave him a cool look. "About him."
After the office door closed behind the two Slytherins, Harry fetched Sals from her box, and squinting at her half-camouflaged form, went to bed. He didn't know how long Snape talked with Draco; he only knew that the other boy hadn't returned by the time Harry drifted off to sleep.
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Snape wasn't there for breakfast, the second day in a row. From what Hermione had said, Harry knew that Snape had eaten in the Great Hall the previous day. He wondered if Dumbledore's note had had that effect. Was Snape going to eat more meals with his colleagues, as suggested?
Of course, Harry didn't know that Snape was in the Great Hall again. For all he knew, the man was back to skipping meals. Harry had been hungry enough during his life to get pretty upset about someone passing up perfectly good meals that were freely available. He did know that he really shouldn't nag Snape about things, but he couldn't help but wonder what he could do about the man's tendency not to take good enough care of himself.
Draco seemed unusually quiet, and rather disinclined to eat, but that couldn't be because he disliked the food. Harry had gotten up first, and had successfully used the Floo to order "whatever suits." He was rather pleased that despite his lack of "urgency," as Snape had put it, the Floo had still seemed to work for him. Maybe, Harry reflected, having faith that he could perform a particular type of magic also helped his powers flow.
Draco had ended up with poached eggs and rye toast, but instead of eating anything, he just kept swirling the tines of his fork through his egg yolk. He looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.
"Draco," Harry prompted.
The other boy raised bloodshot eyes but didn't reply.
"What is it?" Harry gently asked. "Didn't talking to Snape help? It always helps me."
Draco's reply was so quiet that Harry almost missed it. "It didn't help me."
That surprised Harry. As far as he was concerned, Snape had quite a keen way of analyzing problems and seeing solutions. He thought it must come from all those years of taking his Head of House duties so seriously. "Didn't Snape have any suggestions at all?" Harry pressed.
"He wants me to do something I can't do," Draco murmured, letting his fork clatter down onto his plate.
Harry thought back, trying to make sense of that comment. Really, he could only think of one thing it might mean. "Oh... um, he wants you to testify against your father?"
Draco jerked so sharply that the feet of his chair skittered on the dungeon floor. "What are you playing at?"
Harry blinked, then stared. "Nothing. Are you all right? You aren't making much sense."
"Well, what did you mean, he might want me to testify against my father?"
"About what Darswaithe did. About finding the Portkey your father spelled."
"Oh, that." Draco seemed to slump. "No. My father's rather immune to prosecution, if you hadn't noticed. As far as I know, he's never even been charged for abducting you back in Nov--" He drew in a shaky breath. "Sorry. Didn't mean to mention that."
Harry acknowledged the apology with a nod. "What does Snape want you to do, then?" he questioned.
"I don't want to talk about it," Draco said, standing up. "I'm going back to bed."
"Brooding in our room isn't going to help whatever's troubling you," Harry pointed out. "Weren't you the one who told me to stop sulking?"
"I," Draco stressed, "was up half the night arguing with Severus, and it's not as though he gave me a magic potion to make my problems all go away. So if you don't mind, I'm going to try to sleep, now."
"Potions can't solve all my problems, either," Harry protested. "Listen, if talking to Snape didn't help, why don't you try me? Maybe it's like Hermione said last night... you need a more youthful perspective?"
Draco scowled. "The day I take advice from a Muggleborn-- Never mind. I can't tell you my problem, Potter. It's as simple as that."
"Why not?" Harry demanded.
Draco's tone was weary as he answered, "Harry, you are my problem."
With that, he was closing the bedroom door with a definite thud. Not willing to leave it at that, Harry went to pull the door open and found it stuck fast. Draco had secured it with a spell. Harry pounded, then realized there were probably silencing charms up as well.
Well, if Draco needed solitude that badly, Harry reasoned, he ought to have some. Anyway, it wasn't as though Harry could do anything about it. He couldn't even contact Snape, since this definitely didn't qualify as an emergency. Sighing, Harry worked a bit on a Potions essay, careful to include plenty of those transitions Snape thought were so important, then went to study the bookshelves for some texts that might help him unravel the Gryffindors' well-wish.
It didn't take him long to conclude that he was going to need Madame Pince to direct him to the right kind of books. Once, that would have meant owl post and a delay of several hours, at least. Now, Harry used the Floo, though first, he had to scoop up Sals, who had slithered in sometime after breakfast. At least she was fully visible, now.
Harry lifted her to his face and gave her a mock growl. "What am I going to do with you?" he grumbled. "You know better than to sleep in the Floo!"
It must have been Parseltongue he'd spoken, since Sals replied readily enough, saying that the fireplace was the nicest spot in the whole house.
Harry sighed, and let her curl up around his neck as he sat in front of the hearth and tossed in some powder so he could contact the library.
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Snape didn't ask after Draco when he came in that evening, but he likely thought that the Slytherin boy was just reading or studying in the bedroom, as often happened. How was Snape to know that Draco had spent the entire day holed up in there, the door spelled so Harry couldn't even get in?
Harry didn't want to get Draco in any trouble--or at least, not any more than he was apparently in already, but he had a feeling that Draco's depression, or whatever it was, would just get worse if something wasn't done about it.
"I'm really worried about Draco," he admitted, wandering into the office where Snape was taking off his teaching cloaks and draping them over the back of his desk chair. "I tried to talk with him, but he pretty much refused. And then he slept all day. Or pretended to. Do you know what the matter is?"
Snape neatly evaded the question. "What did he say the matter might be?"
Harry sighed. "He said his problem is me. How can that be? It's ridiculous. I think he knows I actually do trust him now..."
"What if he's afraid that one mistake will have him losing your trust?"
"Well, he doesn't trust me much if he thinks that would happen," Harry retorted. "Look at what happened to Sals. I didn't hold that against him."
Snape came to stand just in front of Harry. "I think it will all work out. Perhaps it is as you said, before, Harry. Draco has been trapped too long down here."
Harry sighed. "Well, there's nothing for it, unless you've reconsidered my invisibility cloak idea? You know, let him fly a bit around the pitch wearing it... nobody would know..." Snape was giving him such a dark look that Harry abruptly shut up. He knew the man didn't approve of Harry even having such an item. All Harry needed was for Snape to go all fatherly about it and decide to confiscate it until graduation or something. "Never mind," Harry quickly covered his mistake. "Bad idea."