Change My World

\"I shouldn\'t be here! I don\'t know anything! I don\'t have time for this, and if Draco wakes up alone again I\'ll-\" shouted Harry as he stormed angrily around Dumbledore\'s spacious office, eyeing the shiny instruments that he\'d once chaotically thrown around the room after his godfather\'s death.

\"Harry!\" snapped Dumbledore. \"Sit and settle down. He\'s still unconscious and his bones are mending. It is unlikely he will awaken any time soon. Sit.\"

\"Will he be all right?\" Harry asked fretfully as he rushed back to the desk as if Dumbledore had all of the answers and could fix this situation with a wave of his wand. Snape sat back agonizingly in the squashy chair in front of Dumbledore\'s desk sipping on a warmed generalized healing and numbing potion to try and ease his muscles that were aching from the Cruciatus curse. He vigilantly blotted his face in an attempt to rub off the remnants of the bright red ink that stained his face making him appear either extremely aggravated or absolutely embarrassed.

Dumbledore sighed at going over this again; Harry was in the Infirmary when Poppy explained the unpredictable nature of Draco\'s injuries. \"The brain is a mysterious thing, Harry. However, Draco is responsive to pain stimuli which means he is in a fairly light state of unconsciousness. This shouldn\'t take but a few minutes if we can all calm down and go over this rationally. Then you can be right back down there. Now, let\'s take this from the beginning,\" he said as he looked over the worried Gryffindor and gestured for him to sit. For the first time he noticed that Harry was wearing half of a Slytherin uniform, which was curious, but not particularly troubling. Wardrobe mishaps happened.

With a loud and rather put out huff, Harry fell into the chair near Snape and gave the man a viperous glare. He slapped his hands down on his knees and chuffed again at the momentary silence, wanting this to be over with. Dumbledore, however, was not going to continue until Harry sat still and seemed relatively settled. Watching the boy over the rims of his glasses, he finally gave a nod and looked between them expectantly. \"So, first thing is first, Lucius Malfoy got into the castle. I assume neither of you allowed him in?\"

Clearing his throat, Snape sat forward in his seat to engage in the conversation more actively. \"I was grading papers when he arrived. How he got into the castle is a mystery to me. He interrupted me very unexpectedly. He greeted me as a brother,\" Snape said, pausing now to quickly rerun how he was going to present his story. This was do or die time for him. No one else could prove or disprove what happened in the office. The only thing that might cast suspicion was how well he stuck by his story. \"Not wishing to compromise my standing as a spy for the Order, I heard him out. He had come on orders of the Dark Lord to avenge his wife\'s death and Death Eaters in general by murdering his son. I attempted to talk him out of it, but he would hear none of it.\"

Pausing for a moment to rewet his throat with more of the steaming potion, he glanced at Harry who was listening with rapt attention. The boy\'s emerald eyes looked pained, no doubt thinking of how terrible it would be to have your father so willing to sacrifice you to his ideology. Snape gave the boy a brief nod, which only served to exasperate Harry into sulkily averting his eyes with the irritation that he needed to be near this man to find out what was going on. \"Go on, Severus,\" Dumbledore encouraged, making note of the interaction, although tension between the Gryffindor student and the Slytherin head of house was nothing new.

\"He was, of course, asking me to reveal where the boy was located. I attempted to talk him out of acquiring this knowledge and even, for a time, had him talked into my writing a note to get Draco to come down. I warned him that Draco was not alone in his room and that there was an obvious and inherent danger in confronting the two boys together. I had him convinced to allow me to write a note to Draco to have him come down alone, rather hoping that in the interim that I could either find a way to detain him or signal you. I had also rather hoped that the strangeness of the request would have been enough to goad Draco into seeking help. He is not generally one to charge into situations alone. Nor did I reasonably believe that Potter would allow Draco to come down to the room alone. It was a gamble, I readily admit, but I was pressed for time and at a bit of a loss for a way to preserve my cover as well as protect the children. My priority was on protecting them, of course, but things took a rather... unpredictable... turn,\" he drawled as he glared over at Harry.

\"You know why! You know exactly why I came down there alone! You pedophile! Letch!\" Harry exclaimed as his hands came up and slapped down on the arms of the chair for emphasis. \"I thought you were just trying to get Draco alone so you could... do whatever you... think about doing... you... sick... bastard!\" he choked out nervously, glancing now and then at Dumbledore as if the language he was using would be any more disturbing than his accusation.

Dumbledore cleared his throat to break up the tension between the rivals. His gaze went from one to the other and back again. \"Pedophile? That is a very serious charge to levy against Professor Snape, Harry. Do you know of something untoward between he and another student?\" questioned Dumbledore who appeared calmly concerned.

\"He... he\'s... he touches Draco!\" argued Harry.

\"Touches?\" asked Dumbledore, his brows were up in alarm and his hands dropped to his desk in shock.

\"I do no such thing!\" insisted Snape.

\"I... err... I mean he hugged him! And he touches his shoulder...all the time!\" Harry shouted the last three words for emphasis, as if the force of his vocalizations would make the allegations sound more severe. Although even Harry understood that without being there and understanding the context, it sounded rather hysterical.

While Dumbledore realized that any sort of contact that the stoic Snape offered was unusual, that particular sort of touching wasn\'t exactly noteworthy. \"Harry,\" started Dumbledore gently.

\"I saw it! I saw in his mind! When he was testing me for Occlumency! I saw he was... he had... he was thinking that...\" carried on Harry, trying to explain something that was so subtle and ill-defined that it was nearly impossible to prove, he realized. But Dumbledore just had to believe him. He had to!

\"Of course I have been kinder to him, Potter,\" Snape condescended as if speaking to a very young and distressingly slow child. \"His mother was just murdered. He had to go through a great deal to ensure his safety and furthermore worked hard to get your learning set up. I will not argue that we have bonded since this ordeal began, but I can assure you that it is strictly on a platonic level. I see him as a son, and as you bellowed at me downstairs, he sees me as a father. That manner of company is something that he is likely to need, particularly given what has just happened,\" said Snape as he sat up a little straighter in his chair, seeing that he was gaining ground as Harry was looking increasingly helpless under Dumbledore\'s scrutiny.

\"As for what you think you saw in my head, though you do not deserve a response to it, seeing as you seem so vexed by it, I shall explain it to you. Draco\'s movements distracted me and so I looked up at him, which is when you broke in. I was attracted... to a ring he often wears with the Slytherin insignia. I will admit to coveting the ring, it is very rare and far too costly for me to acquire on my own. That is what I was attracted to. You may rest assured I have no designs on your... boyfriend,\" sneered Snape.

While both Snape and Harry realized how false this testimony was, Dumbledore had no means to comprehend the vulgarity of this lie. Had Draco been there, he might have been able to verify that he hadn\'t been wearing his ring that day, as he didn\'t wear it very often. It was too bulky and tended to bang on things, much to his annoyance. So he only wore it on special occasions when he wished to rub his wealth or Slytherin-ness in someone\'s face. As his purposes that day were far from that, he was ring-less. This little fact was too arcane for him to have shared with anyone and was far too petty to tell Harry about, as the boy would likely disapprove. So Harry was left with nothing but a gaping mouth of incredulity at the stream of falsehoods that left Snape\'s mouth. \"You.... YOU KNOW THAT ISN\'T TRUE! YOU AND I KNOW WHAT I SAW!\" Harry shrieked in his defense as he shoved himself up out of his seat.

This response was not unanticipated. In fact, Snape relished how easy it was to goad Harry into teen angst ranting. The potions master cowered under the bellowing and aggressive movements as if he were afraid of being attacked again. In truth, he was a bit afraid that Harry would raise his hand, but the pain would be worth it to see Dumbledore\'s golden boy so shamed. \"Harry. Sit down this instant. Professor Snape has explained his side of things. Do you have any other proof of misconduct?\" Dumbledore asked as his pointed finger directed Harry back to his seat.

Still glaring at the quailing teacher, Harry retreated and fell back into his own seat seething with pubescent rage, \"No.\"

\"If we are done exploring Potter\'s relationship neurosis, I\'d like to finish this so that I may heal?\" intoned Snape.

\"Of course, Severus. I do not mean to keep you from your chambers capriciously. I just wish to get the facts as straight as possible so that I may make a proper report of the events to the Ministry. You may yet have to answer them afterwards, this is strictly preliminary, you understand,\" responded Dumbledore, moving on before Harry exploded over Snape\'s statement.

\"My chambers? I thought it might be wise to stay under observation in the Infirmary,\" Snape stated smoothly. \"I was injured after all...\"

\"I think that given the... emotional... nature of the parties involved, it would be best if you stayed in your own room. Should you feel unwell, I\'m certain you can make your way back, but given the current status of your symptoms, rest is likely what you need. Someplace quieter than the Infirmary is better for that, and what place is quieter than your chambers in the dungeon?\" questioned Dumbledore diplomatically.

\"Are you so certain that Draco will wish to have Potter there keeping him company? After all, the boy did leave him at a crucial moment,\" slurred Snape, causing Harry to shift uncomfortably as he waited for Dumbledore to agree and send him back to his dorm.

\"If I\'m not mistaken, Severus, you were the one who broke the Fidelius charm by telling Lucius where his room was. I would say the boy has ample reason to be annoyed with the both of you,\" stated Dumbledore bluntly.

\"But I was tortured!\" protested Snape as he felt hot with Harry\'s glare at him.

\"And Harry was disillusioned with his belief that you were trying to get Draco alone for nefarious purposes. He went there in an attempt to protect him, did he not? Misguided though it was, his motives were pure, were they not?\" pointed out the aged headmaster. \"You gave up Draco\'s location to save your own skin, or so it would appear.\"

Snape paled at this accusation. This was something he hadn\'t planned on and upon reflection, was a huge hole in his plan. Likely he missed it precisely because he was a Slytherin rather than a Gryffindor. It made perfect sense to him that after some torture he\'d give up the information. A Gryffindor, however, would die before letting such information slip. He burned with the peripheral vision of Harry\'s beaming smile. \"But I\'m like his father!\" tried Snape.

\"It would seem that you are much like Lucius, yes,\" said Dumbledore with an edge of caustic uncouthness that made the point that as he saw it, both men would sell the boy out to cover themselves in the end.

The potions master wanted to argue this, but how could he without further entrapping himself? Explaining that the plan was really to get Potter to kill Lucius for him, eliminating his problem of his Death Eater cover and driving a wedge between the two boys, sounded entirely worse than the poor judgment he was accused of having now. It would likely also bring back up that nasty allegation of his improper feelings for Draco, which would be thorny to explicate. \"Very well then. I will stay in my chambers. Is that all?\" asked Snape.

\"I believe I have the idea of what happened next, the Unforgivable hex followed by your breaking the Fidelius which forced Draco into the unenviable position of committing patricide,\" Dumbledore said uniformly.

\"Potter left him there,\" asserted Snape.

\"Yes. We\'ve gone over his motivation for doing so, and I believe he deserves a chance to explain that to Draco himself. Which he will get when the boy awakens,\" stated Dumbledore as he sat back in his chair and folded his hands on his lap.

Snape paled, \"You will... let Draco believe that....\"

\"There is no proof such an attraction exists, Harry will simply be explaining his suspicions and motivations for leaving. What Draco believes is the truth of it is up to him. You will have your own opportunity to talk with Draco. You are not forbidden to visit with him, unless he doesn\'t wish to see you,\" said Dumbledore, looking rather interested in Snape\'s strange behavior. His eyes darted over to Harry, who seemed to be consoled. Whatever was going on, Harry seemed to certainly construe Snape as a threat. Though the teacher was acting somewhat suspicious, he was a peculiar man and in the end, there was nothing concrete.

Watching the elderly man\'s responses and apprehensive look, Snape decided that it was better to resign himself now rather than to risk a Potter-like display that would be telling and accomplish nothing. \"Very well,\" Snape said as he pulled the mug of potion to his lips and took the last swig. Leaning forward, he clapped the cup down and stood up. \"If that is all?\"

\"It is for now. I believe the rest of the story would come from Draco, who is not able to provide it. Unless... did either of you see anything when you entered the room?\" Dumbledore asked, although he was certain that if the two had come in before everyone was unconscious they would have acted.

\"No sir,\" Harry piped up, sounding almost chipper. Though he\'d been rather riddled with guilt for leaving Draco on such an irrational errand, he was heartened by how Dumbledore saw it. He really had been looking out for Draco\'s best interests. Harry simply didn\'t have all of the facts to know it was not only a red herring, but it was a distraction from the real danger. Only Snape knew everything, and he had gambled everyone\'s lives. Harry was a bit worried about breaking this news to Draco, however. He wasn\'t sure the boy would believe Snape\'s intentions. However, now Harry was wondering if it even mattered if Draco did. Snape had certainly defamed himself in Dumbledore\'s eyes with this ploy. Hopefully Draco would feel the same way. It saddened Harry that the boy would be losing another hero, but in the end, perhaps the lesson for Draco was to place your faith in better people. Harry vowed to himself to endeavor to be one of those people Draco could count on. \"They were both unconscious or dead when we got there. I heard a couple of Draco\'s screams as we were running up, but that was all.\"

Dumbledore nodded sadly and let out a long and sad breath. \"I know you both have Draco\'s best interests at heart. I would hope that you would do your best not to vent your frustrations with one another at him. He has now taken a human life. This is very serious, not only from a psychological standpoint, but also a legal one.\"

Harry\'s eyes widened at Dumbledore and he sat forward in his seat. Snape clutched the back of the chair that he\'d been sitting in as he leaned in. This was something they had not thought of in their bickering and hurt feelings. \"What do you mean, Headmaster?\" Harry asked barely above a whisper.

\"It will depend on how the Ministry sees it. Whether Lucius Malfoy was an actual threat to Draco when his life was taken. Given the position of his father with his wand out, it does lead to a scenario of self-defense. However, the brutal nature of how the man was killed, by hand no less, there will be questions of how Draco got so close and whether Lucius was an imminent threat,\" pointed out the aged wizard as his hand stroked his long, white beard thoughtfully. \"I shall do my best to sway the Ministry. Given Lucius\'s odd humor and erratic changing of instructions to Snape, going from greeting him as a friend and then torturing him after enacting the original plan, it should not be too difficult.\" The headmaster\'s eyes fixed on Snape who nodded and looked down. At least his bizarre plan and cover story would be good for something if it got Draco off the hook with the Ministry, Snape reasoned.

Sick with this new worry, Harry slowly stood and nodded to Dumbledore, sensing this was time for them to leave so Dumbledore could make his report to the Ministry. Again he felt the pang of guilt for leaving Draco alone to face his father as he pictured his lover\'s face as he tried to explain all of this. \"Remember, no matter what comes of the Ministry\'s findings, the bottom line when it comes to young Malfoy is that he has endured much loss, including having to kill his own father. His grief over this loss will be agonizing. The questions from the Ministry will likely frustrate him. I plead with you not to suffer him your petty bickering,\" said Dumbledore as he leaned forward and started to arrange the quill and parchment before him as he set himself to the task of writing his report. \"I shall be by the Infirmary in the morning to check on him. I bid you both a good evening.\"

With that final nod of dismissal, Harry and Severus silently left the office and without so much as an irritated glare at the other, went their separate ways. Both of them were riddled with guilt for the parts they played in the impossible situation Draco was in. They took up their stations: Harry by Draco\'s bed, Snape pacing in his chambers, to await the youthful Slytherin\'s awakening.