That put Harry in a bit of a quandary. He didn't have any brilliant ideas for how to solve this mess. He just knew one thing for sure. "Don't make him do any more lines. Or anything else that looks like a punishment," he hastily added, seeing horrid visions of Snape demanding Ron scrub the floor without magic or something. He wouldn't put it past him. "But... well, I do like the idea of him spending time down here. You'll think of something."
"I'll think of something," Snape echoed, shaking his head. "You haven't any more constructive ideas than that?"
Harry looked up, and smiled. "No. I trust you to handle it, now that you know how I feel."
"Now that's manipulative," Snape remarked, sounding more pleased than not. "I really must go now. You will not likely see me again until evening."
"Oh right, the Order meeting," Harry murmured. "Are you still using Sirius' house for that, even after what happened with Lucius Malfoy?"
"We are still using your house, yes," Snape stressed.
Which reminded Harry. "You said you'd see about getting me some legal help to sort that out--"
"Let's discuss that this evening when I return," Snape suggested. "All right?"
"All right," Harry slowly agreed. Things seemed all right now --or at least Snape didn't seem angry any longer-- but Harry was strangely aware that all those things that had been said the night before last were still hovering between them. Get out of my sight. You don't deserve to be my son. And Snape must have meant them, at least somewhat, considering he'd stayed away from Harry the entire day before, even locking him out of the Potions Lab. He couldn't help but feel they'd better talk that out. It didn't feel right to just ignore the horrible fight they'd had. Ignoring things made them worse... like when he'd ignored the whispering in the walls, and students had ended up petrified.
He wasn't going to be as immature as that. Not this time. Even as he decided that, however, a choking feeling swept over him. He didn't want to bring up all the ugliness of their fight, he really didn't. But.... it seemed like he probably should. Otherwise, those awful words would always be lurking around in the back of his mind. "Yeah, all right. We'll discuss it tonight."
Snape moved toward the door, then looked back. He looked as though he might say something more, but after a moment, he swept out into the hallway without a word. A wave of his wand, and the door thudded closed behind him.
Harry took in another deep breath, and told himself acceptance.
He does accept you; it's obvious. He does...
All the same, he couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved by the conversation he still had to have with his father.
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By the time Draco emerged, Harry had recovered his equilibrium and finished his breakfast. The Slytherin boy served himself and cast a warming charm to freshen his food, then looked straight at Harry to suggest, "Let's make sure you finish researching that well-wish, today. How does that sound?"
"Like you've been eavesdropping. You heard Severus ask about it."
Draco didn't deny the allegation. He didn't even look disturbed.
"I don't know that I'll be able to concentrate," Harry murmured, wondering what was going on in Snape's conference with the Weasleys. Maybe he shouldn't have left matters to his father, considering the daft scheme the man had come up with last time. Ten thousand lines....
"You need to do something," Draco insisted. "I'll even help you, all right?"
That certainly startled Harry out of his morose thoughts. "You're offering to help me cheat?"
Draco laughed and leaned back in his chair. "Slytherins always cheat. I thought you knew that." Then he sobered slightly. "But no, I wasn't, actually. I thought I might just nudge you in the right direction. You do want to know what your House wished for you, don't you?"
"Yeah," Harry admitted. "I'll go get that book Ginny gave me."
"No rush, I'm going to enjoy my breakfast first. But as long as you're collecting books, fetch one called Plant to Potion from my trunk. I think it might come in handy."
Looking in Draco's trunk turned out to be a rather enlightening experience. The sheer volume of stuff the boy kept in there! Harry couldn't believe it. The trunk contained wizardspace, obviously, holding vastly more than its physical dimensions would indicate. Might be something to ask for next Christmas, Harry mused. He wondered how expensive a trunk like that would be.
After Harry brought out all his books and notes, spreading them out on the table which Draco had already cleared of breakfast items, the Slytherin boy asked what Harry had discovered so far.
Harry checked a scroll of parchment. "Arabic gum to purify evil; strawberry leaves for love and luck."
"Luck only," Draco corrected. "You only got the smaller leaves, which represent the secondary quality."
Harry thought that little tidbit was quite a nudge, but he wasn't complaining. Draco wasn't done, though.
"I'll give you a hint about what's left," the Slytherin boy offered. "Except for the bluebell, they all mean the same thing. The same wish, over and over. I think your friends were trying to make sure you didn't miss their point."
"Which was...?"
"Unravel the plant meanings and find out," Draco shrugged.
So, Harry did.
It was easier with Draco there to keep him from going up blind alleys in the research. It was also a lot easier with Draco's book, which covered practically everything. Still, it was more than merely looking things up. The book focused heavily on potion properties, which Harry had to think about a while before he could relate them to more general magical characteristics.
He was nibbling a turkey sandwich as he finished the last item on his list. Setting his quill down with a sigh, all he could say was, "I'm not quite sure what to make of this."
Draco looked up from his own lunch. "So you're done?"
Harry nodded. "The bluebell's a wish for truth. And the almond, iris, sage, and sunflower all represent wisdom."
"Ten points to Slytherin," Draco lightly joked, nodding in approval.
"Half of them will go to Gryffindor," Harry retorted, thinking of how Snape had circumvented the House Counters when he'd been mad at Harry. That had been just awful, and not only because Gryffindor had got the short end of the stick.
"Right. So forget that," was Draco's reply. "Well, you know all the wishes now. Any thoughts?"
Harry checked his notes, then murmured, "Hmm. Well, my friends were nice about it, mostly, but they aren't too comfortable with the adoption. They've wished me luck and to be able to purify evil, probably because they think I'll need those to survive being down here in Slytherin." He looked up, but Draco didn't smile. "Then they want me to have the truth... I suppose that means they think I'm fooling myself. But most of all, their wish for me is wisdom. All right, I get it. They think I don't know what I'm doing, so they're wishing I would see reality and know how to deal with it."
"That's about it, yes."
"So why did you say you couldn't wait to see my face when I found out?"
"That they wished wisdom for you no fewer than four bloody times?" Draco scoffed, "It's so transparent. But ironic, too. Because whether they know it or not, Severus is an incredibly wise choice of father. Who but Severus both knows the Dark Lord so very well and is on the side of Light? Who else could teach you whatever dark magic you need to survive the coming battle, yet make sure it doesn't corrupt you? Severus has been there. He's been through Hell and come out on the other side, so he'll know how to keep you from making the same journey."