Well, his friends were gone now, he told himself, so it was time to calm down. Way down. "All right," he prompted when he felt able to speak politely. It was a little bit of a trick, but he did it. "What do I need to know?"
"Several things," the headmaster quietly answered, moving forward to sit lightly on the end of Harry's bed. Harry couldn't help it; he bent his legs to pull them back. He could see Dumbledore shaking his head at that, though he didn't say anything.
"First," he began, rhythmically stroking his beard, "and this is the part your friends realize, the entire House of Slytherin, with one exception, is united against you. They've sworn to accomplish your death."
Snape moved to stare out the windows, his back to the boy in the bed.
"Just because I survived Voldemort again?" Harry scoffed. "You'd think they'd know how to get over it. That only happens almost every year!"
"Ah, but this time you've done something that doesn't happen every year. You've stolen away, so to speak, one of their own. He's loyal to you now, and not to the cause their families support, and as he's the only son of Voldemort's most important supporter, well... they find the whole thing an extreme offense."
"Malfoy," Harry realized. "Um, the whole House of Slytherin? You mean he's told everyone about his... er, supposed change of heart?"
"It isn't supposed, Harry," the headmaster chided. "And yes, he's told everyone."
"You made it another condition," Harry accused.
"Not precisely. Mr. Malfoy was told to do what he could sway elements in his House away from loyalty to Voldemort. He also had to be seen to be publicly, overtly loyal to you. We told him we wanted no more intrigues. Unfortunately, Mr. Malfoy synthesized all these objectives--"
"The fool," Snape harshly broke in.
"Yes," Dumbledore simply agreed.
"Making grand proclamations like an idiot Gryffindor--"
"That's enough, Severus."
"What did he do?" Harry asked.
It was Snape who answered, stalking away from the windows in a haze of swirling black. "Directly after speaking with us, he came here and sat with you until an hour after curfew. The state you were in evidently influenced Draco for the worse. When he left your side, he went straight away to the Slytherin dungeons and went from room to room, banging his way in and making loud pronouncements about Voldemort being weak and demanding weakness from his minions!"
"That's why you said you had talked to him about impulse control?"
"Of course! I expected more subtlety from the idiot child!"
Idiot child. That was even worse than Draco calling the Potions Master Severus. More to distract himself than for any other reason, Harry asked, "How'd he get to the girls' rooms? Aren't they warded against boys like in Gryffindor?"
"For all I know, he used his broom!" Snape snarled. "What matters is that before his little theatrical, we had thwarted Lucius from getting him home to be killed. Once word of Draco's fit of idiocy spread, Lucius arranged for his student plants to announce a reward. Five thousand Galleons for his son's head."
Harry swallowed. Five thousands Galleons was an awful lot of money, but what struck him harder was the thought of a father doing that to his son. "Uh, have there been any attempts?"
"What do you think?" roared Snape. "They're Slytherins!"
All right, all right, so Malfoy had some problems. It wasn't like Harry cared all that much. And besides... "I still don't see what this has to do with me attending class," Harry entreated.
Snape threw up his hands in disgust, while the headmaster made a calming gesture and said, "Harry, we haven't even been letting Mr. Malfoy attend his classes, and you're in more danger than he is. You've lost access to your magic, not to mention... the price on your life is... far higher."
"And I'm far more hated," Harry acknowledged, before frowning. "But Malfoy's been going to Potions, I thought?"
"Not since the day I came up here to find him reading you the text," Snape clarified. "There was an... incident."
Severus let me out, Harry remembered Malfoy saying. The comment had been tossed out with such studied casualness that it had rung false at the time, but Harry had been so angry to have Malfoy near that he'd overlooked that. Now he realized that he shouldn't have. Since when did Snape just let students out of Potions class? You had to blow up your cauldron, or get yourself coated in something horribly caustic, at least. You never got to leave just because a fellow student was laid up in the hospital.
"Incident?" Harry questioned.
Snape sighed, his brows drawing together. "I knew the Slytherins were growing restless. That was another reason why I had Draco helping me brew Potions, Harry. I thought if I kept him close during class, no one in my House would dare make an attempt, not there. But that day someone incanted Serpensortia prior to class and released a viper spelled to attack only Draco."
Sounds about right to me, Harry thought, remembering how Malfoy had used the same curse on him, once. Then of course he had to remember that Snape, even hating Harry then, had gotten rid of the snake for him. So... no doubt he'd do at least as much for Draco. "You used an evanesco spell, then?"
"Draco can take care of himself," Snape said, running a hand through his hair. "That's not our main concern. The failed attempt, though, will encourage the Slytherins to take more chances next time. Students will end up hurt or worse if we let him attend classes."
"But isn't he in just as much danger in his own common room?"
"The other Slytherins are the ones in danger if they cross him," Snape scoffed. "Nevertheless, we have made arrangements to keep him... rather isolated."
"So who conjured the snake?" No answer. "Oh, come on! All you have to do is check their wands. Priori Incantatem?"
"Someone at Hogwarts, most likely more than one someone, has access to additional wands, Harry," Dumbledore explained.
"No doubt the wand was destroyed as soon as it was used," Snape added. "We've begun closely monitoring the post." He grimaced. "Much as Umbridge did, I'm afraid. Though Lucius most likely has other means of getting wands to his cohorts here."
"I thought the wand chose the wizard, and all that?"
"Ollivander loves to exaggerate, though it's quite good he sold you the wand he did," Dumbledore sighed.
"Veritaserum, then," Harry pressed. "I remember that Professor Snape here keeps a supply."
"The serum I gave Umbridge to use on you was counterfeit, Potter!"
Harry sighed. Even back then, Snape had, in his own way, been on Harry's side. Harry thought better than to thank him, though. "Hmm, yes. You've got the real stuff on hand, though. Don't you?"
Snape gave a sneering laugh. "Oh, brilliant, Potter. We're to administer doses of illegal truth serum to mass numbers of students? Hogwarts would be shut down within minutes of the first owl out!"
"All right!" Harry shouted. "I'm just trying to help you figure out who the troublemakers are, so I can get back to classes!"
"Are you deaf as well as half-blind?" Snape roared. "Draco Malfoy is not presently allowed in classes, and he's well able to both see, and defend himself with magic. You're helpless as a kitten!"