"Didn't make him any less rich, or less likely to curse them into oblivion if they don't do whatever he wants."
"No, but it made them far more aware of what fate will await them if Voldemort loses this war and they are seen to have been allied with his second-in-command. Thus far, the Board has seen through his vapid excuses to force you from the sanctuary of the school. Believe me, Draco, I have little respect for the Board of Governors, such as they are, but in this instance, I am confident. They will not expel you except upon solid grounds."
"I hope not..." Draco shivered, then surprised Harry by pressing, "There's something else though, isn't there?"
After taking a long moment to consider matters, Snape divulged, "I mentioned it before. Voldemort is making inroads into Europe. France, in particular. The wizarding authorities there make our own Ministry look as though it's staffed by geniuses. They refuse to believe the threat is real, though Muggleborns have already been the subject of several attacks." When Harry stiffened, Snape cautioned, "There is nothing you can do about it, Harry."
"There is something I can do," the boy disagreed. "And I'm the only one who can do it."
"You are too young as of yet," Snape erupted. "I only mention Voldemort's activities because you do better with more information rather than less, as I believe I once told you. Be that as it may, you are to finish your education before you so much as think of taking that madman on!"
Draco glanced from one to the other. "Am I missing something? I know Harry's got the name and the mystique; he can't help but be the vanguard of the war effort but... the only one who can do it? You are talking about killing the Dark Lord, I presume?" When neither Harry nor Snape said a word, Draco went on, "This must be the prophecy my father was after at the end of last year?"
Snape looked carved from granite, his entire face a harsh mask.
Not liking secrets, Harry reluctantly nodded in answer.
"Potter," Snape growled.
"We are a family," Harry reminded him. "Besides, you said you wanted Draco to know how to help me if it ever came to that. So he might as well know how this war has to go, don't you think?"
As though sensing an advantage he could press, Draco narrowed his gaze on Harry. "So only you can kill the Dark Lord. Makes sense in a way, considering that Lumos. What about your dreams, these seer dreams you've never told me about?"
Harry drew in a deep breath and revealed, "I knew in advance that I was going to be blinded at Samhain, and that I would live down here and end up punching Ron. I also knew you were going to say we were brothers."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "So that's why you laughed so much, I suppose. Well, what else? You said there was a latest one. It sounds as though it hasn't come true yet?"
"Severus doesn't think it will come true," Harry told him. "I dreamed he was going to unadopt me."
Draco's eyes just about bugged out. "Un-adopt you," he slowly repeated. "That's just daft, it is. You don't believe that, do you?"
"I didn't, and then I did..." Harry shrugged. It was too difficult to explain all he felt about the seer dream.
"Severus, tell him you aren't about to unadopt him!" Draco demanded.
"I don't believe that particular dream was a seer dream at all," the Potions Master flatly announced. "Harry was merely living out his fears in the dead of night."
"Yeah, well I thought so too until Draco brought up the Lotion Potion and it reminded me of the dream," Harry protested.
Draco frowned. "Wait, you knew about the Lotion Potion--"
"In advance!" Harry interrupted. "Or, sort of. It's hard to explain. Anyway, it was definitely a seer dream. And I know Severus doesn't want to unadopt me, but I think something's going to force his hand."
Snape cast Harry a scathing glance. "The silly Gryffindor refuses to believe that even if his dream is true, a sixteen-year-old with issues may not be the world's foremost authority on dream interpretation!"
"I have however decided that it won't really matter," Harry put in, ignoring his father's mood. He was probably just infuriated that Harry had gone ahead and told Draco about the prophecy. "Because legalities aren't what a family is really all about. How's that for dream-interpretation, Severus?" When his father said nothing, Harry frowned. "I'm sorry I didn't come to you with it right away. I should have. I remember promising to tell you if anything in my dreams disturbed me."
Snape speared him with a glance. "Indeed. Twenty points for phenomenal bad judgment."
"That's ten from Slytherin!" Draco complained.
"Then teach him some strategy!" Snape shot back. "Even a first-year Slytherin knows better than to invite me to take points!"
Draco thought that over for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, your new Housemates are going to eat you alive if you aren't more careful!"
"It's late," Snape scathed. "Go to bed, both of you."
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They went as asked, but Harry couldn't sleep. Too hot, too cold... he thought again of Goldilocks and had to stifle a slight laugh.
"You can't sleep either, huh?" Draco asked, sounding as though he were rolling over to face Harry.
"Too much on my mind," Harry passed it off. "I want to stop Occluding all the time but I'm kind of scared to. It really hurts when my scar goes off." Hoping to distract himself, he asked, "Why can't you sleep?"
"Lucius," Draco sighed. "I keep thinking he's going to find a way to get to me, you know? I think about--" He abruptly went silent.
Harry rolled onto his side as well. "About what?"
"Needles," Draco whispered. "Except for me it'll be snakes, I bet. He'll probably toss me into a pit of vipers--"
Harry thought better than to point out that the Slytherin common room likely qualified as one. "He's not going to have a chance," he said instead. "Severus won't let him get anywhere near you."
A noise of distress caught in Draco's throat. "You've never seen them together, Harry. Well, except at Samhain I suppose, but that hardly counts as Severus was playing a role. I grew up around them both. And Severus... well, I wouldn't say my father exactly intimidates him, but there was always a certain deference there."
"Yeah, because he was playing a role then, too," Harry insisted. "Look, you're right; I don't know anything much about it. But I suspect Severus always knew to keep an eye on your father."
"The war was over, Potter," Draco scathed. "Nobody knew the Dark Lord would rise again!"
"Yeah, but your father was trying to help it happen, wasn't he?" Harry asked, thinking of Tom Riddle's diary. "Severus probably had his suspicions. However he acted around your father, it was misdirection."
"Think he was misdirecting me as well all those times he called me the whinging wonder?"
That had Harry laughing out loud. He could just see a bratty little Draco deserving of the name...
"We don't want to wake Severus up, not in the mood he's been in," Draco whispered. "Cast Silencio. Wandless, remember. Or did Severus not clear you for that one, yet?"
"He did." Remembering his father's admonitions that he shouldn't get into the habit of displaying wandless magic, Harry fumbled for his wand, then cast the spell using just his hand. "Whinging wonder, really?"
"Well," Draco drawled, "I just might have been a tad spoiled in my youth. Still, it's better than idiot child. You think he's fond of Longbottom, too? I did hear Severus call him idiot boy once."
"I think Neville's safe," Harry dryly admitted. "Severus uses a certain tone of voice to me, you realize. Well, usually."
"Yeah, he's got some real idiosyncrasies," Draco mused. "When something amuses him and he doesn't want to let on, he clenches just his left fist. It's really pretty weird."