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Draco slept straight through until almost ten o'clock. Harry kept checking on him, a bit worried, though Snape had assured him that it was entirely normal after imbibing, as he put it, less than perfectly brewed Veritaserum.
Finally Harry heard the shower running, though Draco evidently wasn't in a mood for singing. When he came out in fresh clothes, his hair still a tiny bit damp, he looked like he needed another twelve hours' sleep. Hunger, apparently, had driven him to leave his bed.
"Dinner, good," he said, sitting down to tuck in. "Where's Severus?"
Harry took a seat facing his brother. "He said he had to see to some things." Frowning, he gestured toward Draco's glass of pumpkin juice. "Sorry, I forgot to keep that cool. Should I get you some fresh?"
"Leave it, it's fine."
"Or would you rather have tea?"
Draco slanted him a glance. "Potter, I don't know what's given you the impression that I've become an invalid, but I assure you I can Floo for an alternate drink if I want one."
"All right." Harry worried his lip a little with his teeth. "So... has the truth serum worn off then? Completely?"
"Hmm, let's see. My name is Alistair Fiddlejumper the Third and I was born during the Goblin Wars of 1247... Yes, Harry, I seem to be completely over my bizarre fixation to be truthful. I suppose now you won't trust me when I say the pumpkin juice is fine?"
Laughing a bit, Harry admitted, "I just didn't want to make you talk when you were still under the influence. You know, it wouldn't be fair."
"Gryffindor." Draco took a bite of his lamb and sighed. "Mmm, now that's very nice." Another bite, this time lingering over it, and then, "Thanks, Harry."
"For dinner?"
"For not taking advantage, I meant. It's not too horrible having a Gryffindor for a brother. Well, sometimes it's horrible. You know."
"Yeah, I know," Harry said. And he did. He knew exactly what Draco meant.
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After dinner, Draco insisted that he wanted to wait up for Snape, but he was so exhausted that he could barely keep his eyes open. It didn't take long before he fell asleep sitting up on the couch. Sighing, Harry shook him awake and sent him to bed, feeling oddly like he imagined Molly Weasley must.
He stayed up alone for a long time, pulling this book and that off the shelves in the living room, just killing time until Snape came home, but he finally got so tired himself that he had to give it up. By then, Snape had been gone for hours and hours. What could be taking the man so long? For that matter, what was so urgent that it needed Snape's attention tonight? Didn't the man know that Draco would be feeling bruised and raw and in need of reassurance?
Actually, Harry was positive that Snape knew that.
Sighing, he looked down at his ring to summon some Parseltongue, then called for Sals. She'd been hiding, though not in the Floo, thank goodness. She'd crawled behind some of the books on the lowest shelf of a bookcase, and though she poked her head out at Harry's call, she wouldn't really slither forth until he assured her that Draco was asleep for the night. Harry supposed he really couldn't blame her. Sals had always been a little afraid of Draco, and that was before he'd smashed her box with her in it.
Harry went to sleep with the little snake curled up on his wrist, and dreamed that Basilisks were chasing him until, strangely, their scales erupted into blisters. The Basilisks collapsed, groaning, unable to move, but Snape was there with his potions, tending them...
Harry awoke with a start, shuddering, and dosed himself with a dollop of Dreamless Sleep before laying back down.
On Sunday morning Draco had more colour in his cheeks, though he slumbered on. Harry showered and dressed, and when none of the resulting noise caused his brother to stir in the least, he thought he'd better go get their father to check on him. But just then the Slytherin boy rolled over, mumbling something about dragons looking for treasure. Or maybe it was Dragon my treasure. Hard to tell. Either way, Harry frowned.
Snape was buttering a slice of rye toast when Harry joined him at the table. There was a full breakfast laid out with three plates. Harry served himself a healthy pile of scrambled eggs and a banger. "Draco's still sort of out of it."
The Potions Master nodded. "He did wake up last night to eat?"
"Yeah, and he wanted to talk to you," Harry said. As hints went, that one was pretty pointed, but Snape didn't take the bait. "All right, where were you?" he finally gave in and asked, his frustrations sort of boiling over. "Did the Aurors need you for something else? Were you helping them edit the transcript? Whatever you were doing, I hope it was important."
"Very."
"That's it? Very?" Harry stabbed at his eggs with his fork. They were just as delicious as always, but for some reason the taste didn't appeal this morning. A heavy sprinkling of pepper and salt helped, though not much. He thought about asking the kitchens for ketchup but decided not to bother. "Is it something I don't need to know, is that it?"
"Harry, I had a number of things to do," Snape told him. "Kingsley needed me to fill out an authorization for Veritaserum to be used on you. Otherwise, we can't claim that Draco's alibi has been verified via truth serum."
"Did he remember to pour out six drops more so it looks like he potioned you and me both?"
"He's a senior Auror, Harry," Snape said, shaking his head. "He's not going to overlook a detail like that. I also went to Devon to collect Draco's books and yes, I did spend some time consulting with elements of the Order. Your brother's not completely secure yet, I hope you realise. It might interest you to know that Fudge has arranged for a special meeting of the Board of Governors for this coming Friday. There is but one topic on the agenda."
"Expelling Draco," Harry said, groaning. "The minister himself is going to push for it? I really hate that man."
Snape curled a lip. "Oh, but he's doing it in the interests of protecting the student population at Hogwarts if one is to believe his official communiquÈ."
"That's so unfair! Draco hasn't even been charged with anything!"
"Which is almost certainly why Lucius has persuaded Fudge to begin making moves. By late last night, Lucius had realised that we had managed to subvert his scheme to use Magical Law Enforcement against Draco. This is his contingency plan. In some ways it is a stronger gambit still. Some of the Board will be in Lucius' pocket as a matter of course. The others need only be persuaded that Draco poses a danger to other students, even if there was insufficient evidence for the Aurors to bring formal charges in the murder."
"Great." Harry shuddered. "So, how's the weather in Argentina this time of year? Oh, I think the seasons down there are reversed or something, it might be coming on towards winter. Well, we're wizards. I suppose we can manage. I'll really miss Hogwarts, though. Just my luck. What'll I get, five days back in the Tower before you resign again, this time for good?"
"I wouldn't plan on leaving just yet. The Order is doing what it can to foil Lucius. As am I."
Which explained the man's absence the night before, Harry supposed, but on some level it still bothered him. "Dad... I appreciate how hard you're working on that, and I'm sure Draco does too, but don't you think he'd feel a lot better if you sat him down for... um, a father-son talk?"
Snape finished his last bite and banished his plate away, then folded his hands on the table. "What makes you think I haven't done that? I don't hold my talks with you when he is present, do I? I quite assure you, Draco and I had ample opportunity for discussion when I went to fetch him yesterday."