A Series of Connecting the Dots

Author's Note: Yay! It's my turn again! Thanks to my brilliant Laurel for beta-ing!

Chapter 9 Abandon

I paced the length of the Slytherin common room, unable to concentrate despite my earlier resolution to stick to my Malfoy breeding and not look back. I kept checking the clock on the wall and wishing that more time had passed so that I could get my confrontation with Potter over with, but it was not even time for dinner yet. I had no real idea about what he wanted to say to me, but after his silence in Potions it all seemed pretty clear. He wanted out.

Once again I had managed to foul up a perfectly good plan with my own emotions. I could have played the friend card from the start, perhaps even gotten further that way, except that once I was in the thick of it, all I wanted was to be alone with the ruffled Gryffindor. He was so unpolished, so hot-tempered and so perfectly ethical –nearly the exact opposite of me in every way and I was inexplicably drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

He always spoiled my plans though; I shouldn’t be surprised by it anymore.

Ever since first year Potter had inadvertently ruined me. Who could have anticipated him siding so loyally with a boy he’d only just met when I extended my own hand in friendship? When I caught him out at Hagrid’s hut and told his Head of House it came back to bite me, when I got a spot on the Slytherin Quidditch team he bested me, even when we dueled in front of the entire school he found a way to make himself the center of attention. I used to hate him for it with every fiber of my being but I was beginning to realize that it was mostly coincidence coupled with the fact that I simply wasn’t good enough. I spent so much time thinking that Potter courted fame that I never bothered to wonder if any of his ridiculous popularity before now had been actually deserved.

Regardless, I refused to let him continue on his lucky streak, deserved or not; he would not corrupt my plans again. I would go to dinner, then I would meet with Potter and I would make him mine. I had to, the longer it took for him to allow my touches the more I felt I needed to touch him; my desire was beginning to consume me and I needed to reign it in before I lost control of myself. The last thing I needed was for genuine feelings toward the Gryffindor Goodie-Two-Shoes to ruin my last ditch effort towards power and glory. It’s not as if a true alliance with Potter would yield results anywhere near to what I could get from turning the boy over to Voldemort.

I had already thought of where I would meet him, though I was curious how he would find me. His note seemed rather confident and my interest was peaked for certain. Did he have some sort of tracking spell cast on me, or perhaps the note he sent? No doubt he’d keep that tidbit of information from me even if I asked him about it directly –he was part Slytherin after all.

All I had to do now was get through dinner and then head toward my selected location. As I made my way to the Great Hall I almost wished I hadn’t skipped lunch there. I couldn’t leave my fellow Slytherins wondering where I was too often because I didn’t have time to do damage control on speculations about my absence. The last thing I needed was for Pansy to blather to her mother that I wasn’t paying her enough attention because I was now focused on Harry Potter. Gossip seemed to spread among adults almost as quickly as it did through the school.

I noticed at once that Potter was nowhere to be seen at the Gryffindor table and I wondered for a moment if he might stand me up tonight. It shouldn’t matter but it did. I had been anticipating our encounter since lunch and couldn’t bear to have the night end as anticlimactically as me sitting alone in a dusty old classroom.

Although, I wasn’t permitted to think on it for long after Pansy sidled up next to me and pulled me along to our usual seats. “So, Potter was late to lunch today and you were missing entirely,” she began, jumping right into the thick of her point.

“And?” I asked, though I could easily speculate on what perverted conclusion her mind must have drawn.

“Well, I simply wondered if he was good in bed. He must be rather quick at least,” she said, trying to tease me.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a roll from the basket in front of me. Pansy was a slag and a twit and it amused me to toy with her fragile little mind. “He’s fantastic,” I replied. “He adores it when I’m rough and screams quite a bit, which I love about him.” Her jaw dropped in disbelief and it was all I could do to maintain my composure. “His arse is so tight,” I continued and her face took on a greenish hue that rivaled the Slytherin banner hanging above our table.

“But Draco, you –you can’t be,” she stammered and my mouth curved into a vicious smirk.

“Pans, he’s having one over on you,” Blaise interjected, trying to sooth her.

“How do you know, Zabini? For all you know I could have had Potter bent over in a broom cupboard while you all enjoyed a nice stew,” I retorted, not liking that Blaise was trying to thwart my fun.

“First off, I can tell when you’re lying, Mate. Plus, you were far too cranky in Ancient Ruins this afternoon to have gotten laid at lunch,” he responded with his own smirk and I let it be. I had been rather on edge this afternoon. I hated being unsure of what Potter had planned for us tonight.

“But did you see Potter’s face when Corner confronted him about his absence? Potter looked guilty,” Pansy added in her defense.

“Did he now?” I mused. The only thing he would have had time to do was to write and send me that note… and that itself shouldn’t make him feel guilty… unless he were planning something untoward. I broke into a grin and patted Pansy on the back before stuffing the roll into my mouth and leaving the Great Hall.

I strode back to the Slytherin common room since it was far too early to meet Potter and I couldn’t remove the grin from my face. I just couldn’t contain my mirth at the idea of Harry having inappropriate designs for our date tonight. When I returned to my dorm I found a note folded gently on my pillow. It was from my father –that much I could tell from the writing of my name on the front and from the elegant parchment -which served to wipe the smile right from my face.

Did I want to open it? Did I want to ruin the elation I felt at that moment from the simple fact that my plot for Harry might just move forward tonight? It was from my father though; I couldn’t ignore it. With a sigh I reached for it and quickly scanned the contents. It was short –which wasn’t unusual for my father, but there was something ominous in the tone.

Draco,

Rumors have reached my ears of the goings on in our illustrious Hogwarts. I hope you’re not doing anything unwise.

Lucius

Pansy. I swear that girl is such a menace. I rolled my eyes and set the note aside, I couldn’t deal with it at the moment. I had no response for my father, no way to tell him not to worry, at least not right now. Who knows, my meeting with Potter tonight might change everything anyhow.

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I was spinning a decrepit desk chair around and around with my feet when I heard footsteps in the corridor; I looked at the door to see Potter standing in a mixture of light and shadow that did amazing things to his face. The anticipation was nearly choking me as I thought of what it might feel like to finally have Potter’s lips against mine.

“Hilarious, Malfoy,” he commented sarcastically and I grinned. I knew he’d appreciate my choice of meeting places. “You could have picked any room in the castle and you picked this one?”

“What can I say,” I replied with a casual shrug, hopping off the desk I had made my chair and striding calmly closer to him. “I didn’t want to pick somewhere too random; I wanted you to be able to find me after all. No sense in having you traipse all over the castle looking for me, not with Filch on the prowl.”

“How considerate,” he retorted, obviously meaning quite the opposite. It amused me that he was so uptight over the incident with Corner, as though he was embarrassed to relive it with me so close to him.

“Would you rather go somewhere else?” I suggested, shooting him a wry grin.

“No, here is fine,” he replied rather hastily. “I’ve already tested it for privacy and noise levels,” he added with a smile. I loved it when Harry smiled at me.

“Yes, and it didn’t do so well if I remember correctly,” I teased, my eyes automatically going to the desk where I had witnessed Potter’s debauchery.

“Pervert,” he joked and his blush was too adorable for words. Still, it made me wonder if he was simply thinking about Corner and their heated moment together. I didn’t want him dwelling on his boyfriend while he was there with me.

I made my way over to the dusty podium and sifted through several old discarded parchments and tried to let him have the floor, but he didn’t say anything more. “As much as I don’t mind being here either way, was there a purpose to this rendezvous?” I asked, trying to get Potter’s thoughts back on me.

He stared after me for a moment and I began to wonder if I would need to prompt him further. “We didn’t get to talk properly in class today,” he muttered at last.

“It can be difficult,” I agreed. “Did you want to yell at me properly this time without Snape watching so closely?”

“No!” he shouted before collecting himself once again. “I may have been a little harsher than necessary, I’m a little stressed and there’s a possibility I may have taken it out on you somewhat.”

I smirked lightly at his rambled admission of guilt. “Was that supposed to be an apology? Because if so-” I began but he quickly interrupted me with more shouting.

“Just shut up for once would you! I bet you’re worse at apologies than me! I bet the word-”

“Sorry?” I offered, cutting him off so abruptly that he looked as though he might have swallowed his tongue. Its multiple meanings weren’t lost on me as the single word acted as both a completion to his sentence as well as a quip to address his raised tone. I smirked, showing my amusement at his mild discomfort, but otherwise let the subject drop. “If you’re not here to yell, what did you want to say?” I asked trying once again to steer the conversation away from unpleasantness. He was looking so frazzled and delectable tonight that I could hardly restrain myself. Based on his slightly neurotic behavior I gathered this wasn’t going to be a ‘will you finally shag me’ speech and more of a ‘I don’t think we can be friends at all speech’, which was one I really didn’t want to hear.

“I wanted to say sorry for the ‘friends in secret’ thing. It’s not fair to you, but I think, after everything, that publicly allying myself with you might just be the end of me,” he replied finally.

So it was the break up speech I was being offered after all. I should have known better than to fill myself full of false expectations. I was so taken aback by his sentiment that I forgot to school my features and he must have seen how upset his comment made me before I was able to correct myself. “The end of Weasley maybe,” I offered casually, not willing to give Harry up without a fight. “He’s so weak he might keel over and die where he stood! Think how satisfying that would be to see!”

“Don’t you think I’ve hurt Ron enough by now?” he lectured sharply.

“Come on, Harry,” I scoffed. “You know I’m the wrong person to ask that question to, besides, what about how much he’s hurt you?”

“Regardless,” he countered. “I don’t think your father would approve of our friendship, surely you wouldn’t want him to know. He hates me!”

I was in no mood to discuss my father; especially not after the letter I had just received. “Have you heard the rumours circulating about us? After that tantrum your boyfriend threw the whole school knows I have designs on you – or at least they suspect it,” I replied easily. It mattered very little what my father thought at the moment; I would see this thing through with Harry –Father’s approval or no.

“Speaking of Mike,” he said changing the subject again, back to the person I wanted least to talk about. “Did you taunt him with your plans to steal me away from him?” His smile told me that I had very little to worry about on that particular front, but I needed Harry to see me as more than just a threat to his shoddy relationship with Corner; though it seemed no matter what I did, it always came back to that.

“He told on me, huh?” I sighed as if it were the end of the world. “Well, he’s lucky he’s got you to stand up for him if he can’t do it himself.”

“Stop teasing him,” he lectured me, but he couldn’t hide the mirth in his eyes. He knew his boyfriend was weak and I wanted to get him to admit that fact, perhaps then I would stand a better chance at winning him over.

“Why?” I asked, moving a bit closer to where Harry stood and he immediately sobered.

“Because it’s mean,” he replied, all laughter now removed from his piercing green eyes.

“I tease you all the time, is that mean?” I asked him in a soft whisper, I knew I’d get the answer I wanted –Harry teased me back as sharply as I teased him. In his eyes he and I were evenly matched; it was fair.

“No,” he replied quietly, his voice growing breathy and rapid like his pulse, which I could practically hear from where I stood.

“So why is Corner any different?” I asked bluntly.

He looked at me then, his gaze awash with emerald light and he sucked me in so far that I had forgotten what I’d asked him until he answered me. “Because I can hold my own with you.”

“And he can’t,” I agreed, not even bothering to make it sound like a question. We were both perfectly clear on the fact that I was more stable, more powerful, and better matched for the Gryffindor, but something told me that wouldn’t be enough –not yet. “That’s why we’re so good together,” I added cautiously and braced myself for him to flip out on me but he merely bit into his bottom lip. He was uncomfortable and I could stand to lose it all, but I couldn’t stop myself from challenging him further, all rational control seemed lost as I stared into his anxious eyes. “But we’re just friends and that’s all you want, isn’t it?”

“I can’t be with you, Malfoy,” he whispered, but I could tell from the way he broke my gaze that he didn’t want that to be true.

“Why not?” I pressed before closing the space between us. He didn’t resist as I lightly rested my palms on his narrow hips, or even when I let my forehead fall against his and our noses touch. I didn’t want to scare him away so I let that be the extent of our connection, but I felt him respond to me, which made my pulse take flight. I could feel his breath hitch, I could see his eyelids flutter shut as if waiting for me to press my luck, perhaps hoping I would so that he could deny me once more, but I refused to give him that pleasure.

I wanted to pull away myself first, gain the upper hand, but I couldn’t seem to muster the willpower to disentangle myself from Harry’s presence. Just when I thought I had mastered my power over him Harry leaned in and stole a chaste kiss, just a bare brush of lips really, but I could feel the desire in his breath just as surely as I could feel my own. I could practically feel his heart thumping in his chest now and I fancied that I knew where all his blood was going. I probably would have pushed further, pulling him into the deep and heated exchange I had always imagined between us, but he dropped his face to my shoulder and I tried not to show how much the gesture affected me.

If possible it felt even more intimate than his lips against mine had, and I had to resist all my instincts not to just fold him into a warm embrace. He seemed so suddenly sad and broken that my heart nearly broke along side him. For the first time it sunk in for me that Harry was mostly alone –and not by choice as it was for me. He leaned against me for a moment as if I was all he had in the entire world and for that brief moment that’s exactly what I wanted to be. His entire world.

“I have a boyfriend,” he muttered into my neck, breaking the sweet silence and reminding me that I wasn’t here to fall under Potter’s spell. I was here to make him fall under mine.

“That’s your choice,” I told him firmly, trying to make him realize he had another option, a tall, lithe and handsome option standing right in front of him. Still, I couldn’t keep my voice from shaking as I said it because I was still trying to recover from the effects of our close proximity.

He merely shook his head at me. “Even if I didn’t,” he lied, and I knew it was a lie. Harry wanted to be with me; he wanted to touch me as much as I wanted to touch him, he was just a coward, too afraid to take a chance with me.

“Am I not boyfriend material for you then?” I demanded, still angry at having been so easily cast aside.

“I just can’t,” he whispered, looking even more broken than before.

“Why?” I pried, trying very hard not to shout my frustration at him and make things worse.

“Come on, Malfoy, you’re not stupid!” he snapped back. “There’s a reason you sit so close to me, you know what you do to me!”

“Yeah, I know!” I snapped back at him. “You do the same to me. You set me on fire and I can’t think straight.” I don’t know why I told him that, but the moment I said it out loud I knew it was true. Potter did something to my senses that I couldn’t explain away with fancy words or Malfoy family obligation lectures. He was unkempt, stubborn, brash, and at the same time had the most beautiful soul. It was infuriating. “Can you imagine what that passion could feel like if we let ourselves explore it?” I asked him once his silence became too much.

“I should go,” he muttered and moved toward the door, but I followed swiftly and grabbed his shoulders, trying to maintain some semblance of control over the situation.

“Why are you fighting this so hard?” I shouted, trying to use my irrational pull toward him in some beneficial way, perhaps he would see it as genuine since it partially was.

“Because I don’t trust myself with you!” he screamed, pulling away from me and nearly sprinting down the hall. His swiftness was unnecessary though because my feet were quite firmly glued to the floor. Had he really said that? Had Harry Potter inadvertently confessed a weakness for me? I could hardly believe my own ears. The thought of eminent failure quickly drained away to be replaced with the sweet fragrance of victory, which smelled suspiciously of Harry’s innate scent –both sweet and spicy.

So the problems all boiled down to one, and that one minor casualty could be brushed aside easily enough. I would have to get rid of Corner, permanently if possible, but at least long enough for me to worm my way into Harry’s life –into his heart. We’d be an unconventional pair for sure, but he obviously wanted it, wanted more, wanted me –just as I wanted him.

I was close to chasing after Harry, tracking him down and pinning him to the wall in a searing kiss. That would surely prove to him that I was serious about us, but then I looked down and saw the glowing green tattoo on my arm and thanked Merlin that Harry had run out when he had. The soft light of the Dark Mark glistened against the gemstone in my ring and I sighed. “Duty first, Draco,” I whispered to myself as I padded quickly and quietly back to the Slytherin common room.

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Part one of my plan was simple enough and the best part of it was that it mattered very little what the outcome was. As breakfast ended the following morning I watched Corner and Harry shoot each other awkward smiles before Harry headed toward Defense Against the Dark Arts and I followed Corner. Once he turned down a sparsely populated corridor I made my move.

“Mike,” I called, watching him turn around expectantly and I smiled as his face fell when he saw who had summoned him.

“Malfoy, what the hell do you want now?” he demanded, quite rudely I might add.

I just sighed in response and shook my head sadly. “I think you and I got off on the wrong foot, Mike –can I call you Mike?”

“No,” he huffed.

“Fine, Corner then, sorry,” I replied carefully. “Look, here’s the deal. I like Harry, I really do, but he made it clear to me last night that you were the one for him, so I’m backing down.”

“You –last night… what?” he stammered, his face growing redder as his anger rose.

“Yeah, didn’t he tell you? Oh well, it was probably just because it was no big deal to him. I tried to persuade him to leave you for me, but he stubbornly refused, so here I am,” I offered, letting my face show the hurt and frustration I had felt last night before Harry’s little proclamation.

“Why are you telling me this?” he scoffed. He was clearly confused and probably angry with Harry for lying, though revealing Harry’s lie wasn’t my main objective since I already knew Corner was a tattletale and Harry would almost certainly find out.

“I’m telling you this because you won. I bow down to your solid relationship with Harry but I’d like to ask your permission to still be friends with him,” I requested. It didn’t matter what he said, the seed had been sewn and I was going to be in trouble with Harry either way, though my trouble would be minor in comparison to how much trouble Harry would be in with Corner. At this point the Ravenclaw could refuse me, which would serve one purpose or he could agree, which would give me more time with his boyfriend.

“Sod off, Malfoy,” he growled. “I don’t want you anywhere near my boyfriend.”

“I know it’s unconventional, but think of Harry. He has no one right now, are you really so selfish that you would refuse to let him be friends with anyone else?” I reasoned.

“He can be friends with whoever he wants so long as it’s not you,” Corner spat.

“Doesn’t it even matter what Harry wants?” I asked, trying to be diplomatic. “I’m coming to you because I don’t want to cause any more trouble between you and Harry, but we’re partners in Potions and have nearly every other class together, and now that the Gryffindors have abandoned him, you and I are all he has left,” I explained levelly.

Corner took a deep breath and seemed to think about it for a moment before finally shaking his head. “No. I don’t like it. I want you to stay away from him.”

“I see,” I grumbled. “Well you’re entitled to your opinion after all.”

“So you’ll leave him alone?” he asked skeptically.

“As much as I can,” I replied with an elegant shrug. “As I said, we’re partners in Potions, but otherwise I’ll keep away.”

“Fine,” he huffed. “I better not hear otherwise.”

I held up my hands in mock defeat and stepped away from Corner before turning and heading toward Defense Against the Dark Arts myself. When I walked in Harry had already garnered our usual table and looked at me both hesitantly and expectantly as if he wanted me to sit with him but didn’t want to want me to sit with him. Gryffindors.

With my saddest smile I stared at him for a moment and then tore myself away to take a seat at the opposite end of the room. Out of the corner of my eye I could see his surprised expression, but I didn’t look back over at him once the lesson began.

It broke my heart a little the next time I allowed myself to look over his direction. Harry sat with his books propped up and just stared at them vacantly. This was his favorite class and he wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention. Was having him all to myself really worth this? Technically I could probably just apparate him directly to the Manor and hand him over to the Dark Lord right this very moment, but then I would miss out on my hard earned reward.

With a sigh I began to fidget in my chair. Never before had anyone -not a fellow Slytherin, not my mother or father, not even Voldemort- made me feel so fucking conflicted. It should be simple enough; I was closing in on him more and more each day, so why did I feel as though I was committing the ultimate betrayal by leading Harry astray? Wasn’t my duty to my family and not this ragamuffin Gryffindor?

Once class was dismissed I hurried away, only to be caught by the sleeve and whipped around in a corridor outside the classroom. “Harry?” I asked quietly, not quite meeting his glare.

“Would you like to tell me what the hell is going on?” he demanded.

“You made your position clear last night. I’m not here to chase you,” I told him firmly.

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head at me. “No, I don’t believe that. Yesterday when I made myself clear you still wanted to be friends, so now you’ve changed your mind?”

“No!” I shouted, and then quickly regained composure and sighed. “I might as well ‘fess up,” I groaned aloud to myself. “No doubt Corner’s going to tell you all about it.”

His gaze grew menacing as he pulled us into a vacant hallway. “What. Did. You. Do?” he bit out.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I fucked up,” I admitted. “I thought I was doing the right thing, but I think I got you into trouble.”

“Malfoy,” he began, his voice holding a terrible warning, but I continued as if uninterrupted.

“I told him about last night, it was an accident really,” I told him quickly.

“An accident?” he scoffed. “How do you accidentally tell my boyfriend that I…” he said, but finished with a low frustrated growl instead of audible words. After a moment of teeth grinding and running his hands haphazardly through his thick black locks he just looked at me tiredly and waved for me to continue. “Go on,” he prompted. “How bad is it?”

I winced and shrunk down a bit. “I… I went to him to let him know the best man had won and that… this might be easier if I just let you see for yourself,” I offered. “You probably wouldn’t believe me anyway,” I muttered bitterly, to which he cringed slightly.

“How?” he asked, seemingly confused by my suggestion.

“Give me your hand,” I told him. He reluctantly placed his hand mine and I stared into his eyes before pulling the memory from my mind with the tip of my wand and letting it hover between us. “This is a bit faster than trying to locate a Pensieve,” I informed him softly before carefully enunciating a string of Latin and watched as my memory filtered in through his temple.

Harry closed his eyes tightly against what I knew would be mild discomfort as my memory worked its way slowly to the front of his conscious thought. I watched him play through it, his face shifting from concern to relief to anger and then he opened his eyes once more and looked at me fiercely. “How could he,” Harry sighed, sounding hurt.

“What?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“You were being perfectly civil and he just said no. He knows I have no one left,” he groaned, seemingly torn between staying there with me and running off to confront Corner.

“I know, but you can’t blame him, Harry. He’s just trying to look after your best interests and he probably thinks I’m trouble, and let’s face it, I am,” I sighed.

“But then why did you even ask him-“ he began and I shook my head.

“I thought I could do this, just be friends with you, but I can’t,” I sighed. “Seeing you in class today, you looked so sad and all I wanted to do was hold you,” I admitted.

Harry’s eyes went wide and he stepped toward me, seemingly unaware that he had done so. “Why are you being so nice?” he asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

“I’m not,” I scoffed. “If I were nice I would have just left you alone with your boyfriend. If I were nice I wouldn’t be thinking about you all the time, if I were nice I would disappear from your life altogether and let you be happy with the man you want.”

With a frustrated growl Harry sunk to the floor, banging his head slightly against the stone wall behind him. “I don’t know what I want,” he whispered at last and it was all I could do not to dance triumphantly in the corridor.

Instead I sighed and ran my fingers through his hair. “Well, you know how I feel about you. When you decide what you do want, you know where to find me.”

Harry glanced up at me, his emerald eyes looking on the verge of tears and, as much as I used to want to see Harry Potter weep, I couldn’t watch it. “Good bye, Harry,” I whispered before walking away as fast as my legs would carry me.

I was so torn in that moment, more than I ever had been before and when I walked toward the dungeons I was thinking of ending it all right there. I could just walk away, leave Harry his last few months or so of happiness with Corner before the inevitable war ripped them apart. No one would be the wiser, no one but Snape even suspected what I was up to, I could leave this thing unscathed. No harm, no foul.

But that was the problem. As much as I tried to guard myself against it, Harry was inside of me. Part of me fell for those jewel-toned eyes and that messy black hair and worse –that crooked smile he got when he looked at me sometimes. I wanted it -all of it- and I was far too selfish to give the idea up now.

The decision wasn’t easy, but I had already made up my mind when I arrived at Professor Snape’s doorway. After my persistent knocking he finally jerked the door open and scowled down at me. “I assume you have a good reason for interrupting my only free period?” he snarled.

“I need a favor,” I told him calmly and he simply rolled his eyes and ushered me into his quarters.

“Is there some message you need me to get to your father?” he asked when the door was securely shut.

“No,” I admitted. “This is a much larger favor.”

“Go on,” he instructed with hungry eyes. Snape loved being owed favors, especially from someone as powerful as the Malfoy family.

“I need more alone time with Potter,” I told him easily. “I need you to orchestrate a way for me to do that through Potions class.”

“And how would I manage that?” he replied, his voice the usual snarky tenor.

I rolled my eyes and waved casually. “Assign us difficult homework, tell Potter he’s failing and make me tutor him, give us a huge partnered assignment, I could care less how you manage it.”

“And why would I do this for you?” he asked wisely, and I batted my eyelashes coquettishly.

“Because you love me,” I offered demurely and in jest.

“Hardly,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes. “You’re my Godson, Draco, but love has little to do with that as you well know.”

“Yes, yes,” I sighed. “What do you want you greedy bastard.”

He simply chuckled and shook his head. “I think I’ll hold my favor in reserve, but you must swear you’ll do it, whatever it may be.”

“Fine,” I promised.

“Say it,” he demanded.

“I swear to do your bidding when you next ask me,” I replied and pursed my lips. “Do we have an agreement?”

“I think I can manage it, yes. How much extra time would you like?” he asked.

“As much as you can get me,” I replied quickly and headed for the door. It was better for people not to see me in Snape’s private quarters so I needed to slip out quickly.

“Has he gotten to you yet?” Snape asked as my palm touched the door handle.

“How do you mean?” I replied without turning around. Did he know about my growing feelings for Harry, had he been probing my mind while I stood there? I wouldn’t put it past the sallow man, I hadn’t felt anything if he did, but that didn’t mean much, Snape was a master at Legilimency.

“His eyes are haunting and wise, just like his mother’s,” Snape whispered distractedly and I wondered if he was even still speaking to me.

“What?” I asked, turning around to face him. His cold obsidian gaze pierced me and a shiver flew down my spine. Snape could be terrifying when he wanted to be.

“You seem to be going to a great deal of trouble to secure a deeper relationship with the boy,” Snape noted curiously.

“I need him to trust me so that-“ I began, but Snape cut me off.

“Yes, yes I know the tale you’ve woven, one of intrigue and deceit. But I warn you, Draco –and this warning is out of love- be careful what you wish for,” he told me vaguely. “Revenge is a petty thing and once it is done it cannot be undone.”

“I- I know what I’m doing,” I replied, taken completely off guard by my Godfather’s suddenly emotional speech. I’d never known him to give advice of any sort that didn’t pertain to potion making, nor had I ever seen him so contemplative and seemingly heartbroken before. It made me curious as to what memories he was reliving when he spoke.

“Then that is all I shall say on the matter,” he replied sullenly and turned away from me with a dismissive wave. I stood in the doorway and watched him for a moment before escaping into the dank dungeon corridor. Why was I now suddenly seeing the softer side of Snape? I had always looked upon him as pure Slytherin, possibly incapable of emotions of any kind, let alone love and regret. It made me curious to know more of the man’s past, having suddenly realized he hadn’t just sprung into existence as my Godfather and Head of House. He had his own memories from his own childhood and I realized he must have been through a lot to have been shaped the way he had. Even my Father, both a Malfoy and a Slytherin, was more compassionate and caring than Severus Snape –or so I had previously thought.

He had been right about one thing at least. Harry’s eyes haunted me wherever I went; even in slumber I saw them staring back at me with wide-eyed abandon. When this was all over I would make certain that I felt no regrets, I wouldn’t become the shell of a man that Snape seemed to be.

Author's Note: I can't resist a regretful Snape. I do adore him. My plan *cough* I mean Draco's plan to break Harry and Mike up has begun!!