"I'm not that bad at Potions," Harry said, bristling slightly.
"I didn't mean you were. But I've seen your wanded magic, Mr. Basilisk!"
"Gentlemen," interrupted Snape.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry," said Harry, moving back to his workstation.
Draco inclined his head slightly, which was better than nothing, Harry supposed.
It took most of the night to finish the renewal of the stasis potion. Harry couldn't help but think back to that long day when he'd been so upset because Snape had been avoiding him--he'd thought. Now that he knew what was involved to deal with his father's mark, he understood a lot better why Snape hadn't wanted to talk to him in the middle of the process.
Definitely, the conversation wouldn't have gone well, not with Snape in pain like this and needing to supervise critical stages of the brewing.
It was almost dawn when Draco finally laid aside his stirring ladle and rolled up his sleeves. "Now comes the awful part."
Harry figured he meant the actual slicing off of the mark. Which he did, in a way. But the reality of it was much, much worse than Harry could have envisioned. He'd thought that it would be a simple matter of cutting the skin away--though that just had to hurt like mad--and dropping the mark into the vat of stasis potion. And then they'd pour the renewal draught in directly after, or perhaps before.
Before, Harry decided, since Draco was starting to unscrew the enormous lid that had kept the glass vat covered. The marks within were still hot enough to keep the potion boiling, but it seemed like they were angry, too. For when the lid came off, they all screamed, a long high wail of agony, or maybe demand. Harry couldn't tell.
Draco cast a numbing spell on Snape and himself. What for, Harry didn't know, until Snape plunged his arm straight down into the vat, his features taut with dreadful expectation.
The other marks attacked his arm, clawing at it, bursts of magic like tiny starbursts erupting in all directions as Snape's face tightened still further and a low gasp escaped past his clenched teeth.
Meanwhile, Draco worked quickly. He handed Harry the finished flask of renewal draught, telling him to pour it in the instant Snape removed his arm from the vat. Then Draco snatched up a sharp knife and sank both his arms into the vat, where he grabbed Snape's wrist in a firm grip. He used his other hand to slice the mark clean off, and straight away yanked Snape's arm up out of the boiling liquid.
They both fell back from the counter, staggering, --Draco actually slipped and landed on his arse-- as Harry poured the renewal draught into the vat.
It made the other marks stop attacking the new one, at least. But it didn't stop them from burning hot and fierce.
"For Merlin's sake, Harry! Cap off the vat!" shouted Draco.
Fumbling a little, Harry did so. If in the process he dropped the empty flask, he thought that couldn't be helped.
Draco pushed to his feet. "Evanesco," he muttered as he picked up his borrowed wand from the counter and swished it in an angry arc. The broken flask vanished from sight. "Accio the damned burn salve."
Nothing happened.
"It's not actually damned," Harry pointed out. He felt a bit better about his own clumsiness, hearing Draco make a silly mistake like that.
"Ought to be," said Draco with a grimace, looking down at his arms. "Ugh. Too bad Sansdoleur doesn't take care of the burn itself, instead of just keeping the pain at bay."
Harry had to admit, the boiled-lobster colour wasn't a good look for him. Snape's arm wasn't any better. Harry summoned the burn salve himself and watched as his father and brother applied it. It got rid of the burn, all right, but Snape was still left with a gaping, bloody wound that covered half his forearm. Harry would have thought that the boiling stasis potion would have more-or-less cauterized it, but the fresh blood seeping from it told him differently.
Snape nodded rather curtly at them both. "Good work, gentlemen. I've improved the Lotion Potion to the point where this is not necessary very often, but sometimes yes, it is indeed necessary.... I do believe."
"You're rambling," said Harry, glancing at his watch. "Why don't you get some sleep, Dad? In fact, why don't you take the day off? You have been up all night."
Draco wisely made no comment about providing Snape another spiked drink to help him sleep.
Snape winced as he spread more salve on his wound, then visibly relaxed as the numbing agent took hold. "I must go see the Order now, Harry, and help them analyze whatever information they've been able to glean about Voldemort's activities."
"Well, the headmaster'll be there. Tell him you're cancelling classes, all right?"
"No."
"All right, fine." Harry glared a bit. "But I'll be down here after classes to see how you're doing, and I'll stay here on Saturday, too."
"You'll go to Hogsmeade," corrected Snape. "Spying on Voldemort was fraught with far greater difficulties than this, Harry. I will be perfectly fine."
For all that though, he staggered slightly as he walked from the lab, the Lotion Potion clutched tightly in the fist of his uninjured arm.
"I think I ought to stay around the dungeons this weekend," murmured Harry, biting his lip.
"Why, because only Harry Potter can do anything useful? I will be here to help him if he needs something. Which he won't. Not by then."
"I didn't say only I could help him--"
"No, but you do think that way, Harry. You're not trying to, maybe. But you do tend to have a bit of a hero-complex, don't you think?"
"You've been discussing me with your therapist!"
Draco just shrugged.
"All right. Severus will be just fine on Saturday without me," admitted Harry. "But I'm still coming down here tonight to check on him."
Draco started rolling down his sleeves, but he didn't button them. Harry figured he was probably going to take a shower and change into a clean shirt.
"Can I still ask you to get me something?"
"Sure. What do you need?"
The other boy smiled slightly. "A few chocolate frogs, maybe? Severus wouldn't let me buy anywhere near enough when he took me into the village. Said it might give me cavities. As if I don't know anything about fluoride charms."
Harry didn't know anything about them, but he did know that Draco brushed his teeth three times a day, so he couldn't imagine that cavities were really an issue. "I think he's just enjoying being a dad."
"Yes, well get me all the chocolate frogs you can carry. It's not like I can order desserts any longer. I'll pay you back."
"Oh, but--" Harry bit his tongue in time, and managed not to say that it was his treat. Draco would think that was charity, most likely.
"All right," he agreed instead. "Five percent interest only. Since you're my brother."
"Five percent!" Draco stood up straighter. "That's outrageous. That's usury, it is--"
"Five percent a month," added Harry, grinning.
"Oh, fine." Draco made a face. "Borrowing money is horribly vulgar in any case, so I'll get Severus to hand out our allowance tonight, then. And I'll send my money with you. Five percent!"
Harry laughed. "See you later, Draco. I have to go try to wake up enough to survive classes today."
Draco swished his borrowed wand. "Accio Pepper-Up Potion," he said, tossing the vial to Harry after it flew his way. "There you go. You'll be fine. Strange you didn't think of it yourself."
"I would have!" Harry laughed. "Well, eventually. After I'd fallen asleep in Charms."
"I wish I could fall asleep in Charms," said Draco, his expression falling. "I'm sick of being down here. I really am."
Harry didn't know what he could say to that. He nodded sympathetically, then went to ask his father for some Floo powder so he wouldn't need an escort back up to the Tower.