Lucius was reminiscing, more than he was listening to the farce of a trial happening below him right now.
He'd always known Black was innocent, but hearing that timid little Peter Pettigrew wasn't actually had him stretching his memory to see if he could recall anything of that nature from back in his death eater days. To his chagrin he couldn't recall ever seeing the boy—man now, he supposed— at any meetings of a particular persuasion, but Lucius was loathe to admit the fact that he himself was not exactly an 'inner circle' sort of person. His value to the dark lord had been his wealth and his connections, and no one, not even him, was stupid enough to think otherwise. Even Narcissa, who had the blood of the Black family, was safer than he was in the dark lord's presence.
He'd never been at risk exactly since everyone knew his alliance belonged to the strongest tide—the clear victor. That the dark lord had actually fallen had been extremely surprising and unpleasant, as it'd ripped the rug out from under him and forced him and his family to go scrambling less he end up in Azkaban himself, but he also hadn't missed the monster either. He'd missed the power and protection being aligned with the 'winning side' had once given him, but the dark lord himself he could live without. Lucius hadn't loved serving someone like a house elf, but in a world where the powerful won he knew where his cards had lain and had chosen appropriately.
He had no qualms about his death eater past, but he felt no loyalty or nostalgia for those days either. The world had changed once the dark lord fell so he'd needed to learn a new set of rules to play by, and he had. The world as it had once been back then was gone so he'd put it from his mind and almost forgotten about the finer details of it since it was so irrelevant these days. Why remember the rules of a game no one played anymore?
Now though, he was trying to recall if Pettigrew and him had ever crossed paths and was coming up blank. Which implied the quivering little welp had probably been closer to the dark lord than Lucius himself had been.
Which pissed him off, frankly. He didn't want to be the best servant amongst a bunch of drooling lapdogs exactly, but he did like to win, and somehow he felt like he'd come second place to someone much less important than he himself was. It was annoying.
Not unexpected, as his own part of the dark lord's enterprise was pretty much entirely as the bank funding the entire operation. His role was never in doubt in that way so he was never really tasked with anything else but their finances, which also meant he was not actually involved in a lot of the more closely guarded information. Which meant he didn't even know who amongst their old ranks did know those things.
The most he'd ever known was that Severus was inner circle. While the man had never explicitly said it, Lucius honestly believed he was essentially the dark lord's right hand in many ways. That the potions master was now Dumbledore's right hand in many ways was precisely the reason Narcissa had made him Draco's godfather—that kind of protection from a man that devious was priceless.
Still.
Hearing that Pettigrew was most likely in the dark lord's inner circle made him realize just how little he'd actually known about the death eater ranks. If he'd been asked who he thought was inner circle, he would've been picking from the death eaters he already knew, but he was only just now realizing that the true inner circle was probably people he didn't know. Whiny little Gryffindors weren't even off the table apparently, which was kind of revolutionary.
But it yet again proved how right he'd been to follow the dark lord. Clearly the monster had been miles ahead of even his own imagination, only the great fluke that was Harry Potter having managed to suddenly end his reign out of the blue. If the dark lord hadn't anticipated that, then no one could've.
And it also proved how right he was to play his cards as carefully as he could. To be grey instead of simply abandoning the dark, of still taking care of the diary as asked of him, of still playing the part when he was in darker company… you never knew who was still out there, still loyal to a long-gone master. His fellows were one thing, but if pathetic little Pettigrew had been one of them, then no one was safe company to speak in front of: anyone could one day rat him out if he didn't keep on his toes.
As expected, Valencia had put on a marvelous show for an otherwise boring trial, and that closing statement had nearly gotten him to break his composure and give a chuckle. She had no stake in the British wizarding world after all and could return to any other country to continue her work, so she always did have a sharper tongue than most others who were stuck living in a society that unfortunately needed those in power to be on their side. Lucius would've loved to call Fudge a spineless freak to his face but would unfortunately need to resort himself to flattering the dunce over lunches where he paid the bill and more, in order to be in his good graces.
It wasn't just satisfying to witness though, it was also a good tactical move on Valencia's part to say something so dramatic right before the final vote, as the lingering indignation or shock would make it very hard for people to push the matter from their minds and think of something else while the vote was being tallied. He'd only attempted it a handful of times himself, as it was rather unpleasant and degrading to someone of his stature, to need to feign ignorance enough you could fool yourself into forgetting the truth and believing in the reality you wanted in order to manipulate a vote. To play dumb as it were, which was essentially lobotomizing yourself for a second into believing what you wanted instead of the truth.
Even if at times it was in his best interest, Lucius hated pretending to be that dumb he couldn't see the facts for what they were. Mainly because while he only did it to pretend, there were a lot of people in the Wizengamont who genuinely chose not to believe the hard fact and evidence in front of their faces, that were insanely talented at tuning out any information that didn't fit into their preconceived opinions and justifying literally anything no matter how insane or stupid the logic was, so long as it made their dumb little world make sense. To need to pretend to be one of those morons annoyed him to death.
Luckily today there was no need for those mental exercises. He'd always known Black was innocent so he didn't even really pay attention as Bennett raised his wand to draw in the tally.
The boy beside him though had his hands clenched in his robes and eyes screwed shut for a moment, so clearly he was trying extra hard to be sure his belief was heard. Which was entirely unnecessary, but children raised by muggles were surely uneducated.
One would think nearly two years of Hogwarts would've done something by now. He'd have to have a conversation with Draco about ensuring his friends acted more appropriately in the civil world, as being this ignorant about magic in the Wizengamont itself was rather embarrassing.
"For the murder of Peter Pettigrew, the Wizengamont finds Sirius Black innocent." Bennett suddenly announced, looking down at the parchment in his hand that was undoubtedly filling out as he kept his wand in the air to draw in the count. "For the murders of the twelve muggles on the morning of November 1st, 1981, the Wizengamont finds Sirius Black innocent. For the charge of being a death eater, the Wizengamont finds Sirius Black innocent." He concluded, a rather anticlimactic ending.
Lucius noted the boy beside him snap his head up. Did he not hear that this was a foregone conclusion? This was all just a farce for the public, Black was already going to be declared innocent since Narcissa had deemed it so months ago.
"For the counter charge of wrongful imprisonment, I declare the arrest to be lawful under the circumstances known to the aurors at the time, however the duration of imprisonment without trial despite having a completed auror investigation for over eleven years to be against the legal protections of wizarding charter citizens. A committee will be formed to determine the appropriate reparations owed to Mr. Black, and on behalf of the court you have my deepest apologies." Bennett showed a feign of remorse, but as he didn't lose his business-like attitude it came out rather rehearsed and obligatory than genuine.
Bennett probably was biased towards Black given he'd brought up Fudge's wrongful arrest of a werewolf at all, which was a pretty risky move for someone whose career was only just now taking off. The only way Bennett was safe enough to do so was most likely because he could sense Fudge's days were numbered in office after this and thought he could ride it out until a new Minister was named. Still, his show of being devoid of emotion even during an official apology was self-preservation, as everyone would be scrutinizing the man who'd judged the trial of the decade and any open display of bias would be picked apart by some party that wanted his budding career to take a stumble immediately.
He had brought up the werewolf in the first place, which was polarizing. He'd dropped it just as fast though, since even someone giving their all to be impartial knew that was a career sinker if he dwelled too long or deeply on the topic.
Bennett was an interesting one. He had the makings of being the next Barty Crouch someday, if not quite so fanatical, which was both a blessing and a curse to someone who might find themselves on both sides of the law like Lucius and his family may be. Someone who skewed light and made a big show of being an impartial judge, but who could play politics well enough to know when to leave lightness and impartiality behind. He could be useful, just as Lucius knew to be wary of him.
People like Bennett normally didn't like Slytherins that much since they bought the stereotypes without looking much deeper than that, but he clearly also didn't like Fudge a drop either. Unfortunately he was a prime target for Albus Dumbledore's manipulations, and it'd only be if he decided he didn't want to be in anybody's pocket would he go from a mildly interesting young judge, to someone of way more concern. To someone who was a proper player on this chaotic field they were playing on.
Lucius would wait and see. If he became popular enough with the common light masses he might become a more regular figure in the Wizengamont, and since he seemed to know good sense and have a lick of ambition to him, he might be someone worth having over for drinks sometime too.
"Thus concludes today's Wizengamont session, you are dismissed." Bennett tapped his pulpit sharply and people barely let him finish before the room exploded into chatter. Thankfully people were doing this chatter while standing and leaving the room, many moving rather quickly since they were clearly eager to share this breaking news to the army of reporters surely waiting outside to see if they couldn't grab a statement.
Lucius was under orders from his wife to not let any reporters see or speak to the boy beside him so they would wait a moment until the crowd had dispersed some before making for the exit, pretending to be interested in watching Black get whisked back off the side room by his auror escorts instead.
Harry didn't stand, thankfully following his lead.
Or, actually, his fists were white-knuckled on the robes over his knees once more and his head was bowed, a tension Lucius didn't understand racking his small frame. Was this not the outcome he wanted? He thought for sure it would be.
"What happens now." The boy got out, though clearly his jaw was clenched tight and the words barely made it through his teeth. Lucius raised a brow at him, unaware of where this… emotion was coming from. It seemed unnecessary.
"I assume Black will be in St. Mungos for a while yet, if that's what you mean." He answered in a bored drawl. "And you are expected back at Hogwarts soon." He reminded, wanting to nip any request that the boy go meet that newly freed godfather today. There was no chance they could do that without alerting half the Ministry that Harry Potter had actually attended this trial. He'd been giving his all in confounding anyone who looked their way twice and he would not have that effort ruined over some child's useless request. He could not imagine Black was going to be up for much conversing after all that anyway—Veritaserum tended to have some strange after-effects.
"I believe he might've been speaking to me, Lucius." A new voice spoke up from right behind them, and Lucius did not startle thankfully, but he was deeply disturbed someone had slipped past his own notice. Much less that a twelve-year-old Gryffindor, for some reason, had actually noticed this newcomer first.
And what an unwelcome intruder it was, as he glanced over his shoulder in distain to see Sebastian Greengrass in all his lackluster glory. The man would've been a respectable pureblood to give the Malfoy name a run for their money if he weren't unpredictable enough to immediately make Lucius' mood sour at the mere sight of him and his overly casual robes. He didn't even recognize the embroidery around the neck of the fabric, but knew it was likely some of the latest fashion in one of the least fashionable places in the world, or something equally ridiculous.
Lucius despised the way he smiled so casually, like he wasn't a Slytherin name worth fearing. Like he was some light-minded fool who could talk as easily to Arthur Weasley as he could the dark lord himself without a care in the world the person he was speaking to wasn't just a friend over a pint at some muggle pub.
The man had a charm that had even Albus Dumbledore believing his friendly laughs and odd jokes about muggle nonsense, but Lucius had also seen him sell the names of his own half-blood roommates from Hogwarts to the death eaters for a good deal on the fabric trade. His smile never once wavered.
"Sebastian. What a pleasure." He felt the need to be polite, but there was certainly an undercurrent of what the fuck.
The man had the audacity to laugh, chuckling heartily like this was all very funny. He had the laugh of a man with a large belly that overindulged in port, yet it wasn't to be trusted a second.
He wasn't the kind to indulge in anything.
"I see Narcissa left out our conversations then," He smiled, and Lucius just went blank. That answered enough, actually, as it also explained why Narcissa wanted this asshole for tea later. He would be keeping his nose out of this one for the time being since he liked sleeping in his own bed at night.
To the young red head beside him though, Sebastian inclined his head quite politely.
"Mr. Potter, an honor to meet you in person. To answer your question, reparations to Mr. Black will need to be discussed. Valencia will set a meeting within the week, with a committee we will work to hand pick, who will then determine what those reparations will be. I suspect that will take upwards of a month, but I promise you we will ensure the payment will be hefty, if not in wealth as the Black family is not in need of such things, then in political immunity and medical support, which will be of much more use to him." He lifted his chin, gesturing to Lucius graciously. "In the meantime Lucius is correct, he'll be sent to St. Mungos from here directly. We will need information on his health and mental state to be able to correctly determine what reparations and support he needs to recover from his ordeal, and from that point on a decision will be made on when he can be released to the public." He explained.
Lucius wanted to ask but knew better if this was something his wife had arranged. He was honestly just more incredulous about why the boy beside him seemed to not need an introduction to Greengrass, much less why he seemed so… angry.
"What about Remus." Came the terse reply. That's right, he cared about the werewolf for some reason. Did he not hear Bennett order him to be released? Why waste any more time on this? "Tell me you didn't set him up on purpose." Harry demanded as if trying to be restrained but not managing it at all. He spoke through clenched teeth after all, which ruined the mockery of the attempt.
Sebastian had the decency to place a hand over his chest in a show of apology that no one believed.
"What Fudge chose to do with him was out of my control," He shrugged half a shoulder.
"So the answer is yes, you did. You needed a scapegoat." The boy demanded.
Sebastian blinked as if it was only just now occurring to him that the child he was speaking to was upset, and he pressed his lips a bit guiltily. Lucius bought that a little more this time.
"Hm… I do understand then. Never fear Mr. Potter, I will finish what I started." Greengrass placed his hands together, giving a mock little bow.
"Sirius was innocent. How are you going to get a werewolf out of prison?"
"I have my ways. He's owed his own trial given he was just implicated in Mr. Black's testimony, so he'll need to be summoned for that." Sebastian allowed, blue eyes glancing out at the room and clearly already planning something.
"The full moon is in four days." Came the dead reply, and both adults paused a beat. The slouched man glanced at Lucius for a moment and it was clear he hadn't considered that in whatever plan he was concocting here. Just because Greengrass didn't care enough to hate werewolves—or anything really—didn't mean he cared enough to know much about them to the point he'd consider their transitions into his plots. Lucius didn't either, but then again this wasn't his plan—apparently it was Sebastian's and this was for some reason a mistake of his.
Because the tone Harry spoke in now was bordering on homicidal from his rage. Quiet still as they were in public, but Lucius was suddenly very concerned he was about to have a Gryffindor outburst and catch the attention of the crowd of reporters just outside the now-empty chamber doors.
"You're telling me he's going to live through a transformation in Azkaban? Because I know you're not telling me that hearing is happening tomorrow so— so he's going to have a full moon in a place they call hell, and he's actually going to survive it!?" The boy demanded, whipping around to face the man behind him fully.
Sebastian leaned back, pursing his lips.
Lucius thought he'd help defuse the situation since he did not want a little lion causing a scene right now.
"There are other werewolves in Azkaban, and have been for many years." He offered dryly.
"Werewolves who've locked themselves in tiny cage for their entire lives? Who hate themselves the way Remus hates himself? Who've ripped themselves apart to prevent ripping into others? Are you promising me that Remus will survive this?" Big, green, fiery eyes raced between the two adults but neither could do anything with those demands.
His wrath landed on Sebastian almost imploringly, but the man could only make a childish face. Like a kid who was annoyed to hear his poor test grade meant there would be no dessert with dinner this eve.
"Well, I can't promise you that. Life and death is, unfortunately, beyond my power." He tutted. "I can promise you however, that I will give as much effort to retrieve him as I have for Mr. Black. Bennett gave the order to release him but no one is going to follow up on that order willingly, so I'll be sure someone does. You have my word, Mr. Potter."
The boy stared at him only a moment longer before turning around in his seat to glare down at the now empty room below them. The glare would be ruined by the fact he was very clearly trying not to cry… if not for how both men immediately noticed the blood seeping around his lips as they pressed tight. Clearly he'd bitten his tongue to prevent himself from saying anything further.
Which was pretty admirable of a Gryffindor child, if not also exactly as dramatic as expected. They couldn't just shut their mouths, oh no they had to draw blood to prove the point.
Lucius rolled his eyes. As it was, even that bit of blood was probably not in the spirit of things when Narcissa told him to bring the boy back unharmed, so he mentally thanked Sebastian for getting him in trouble with his wife in this less-than five minute conversation somehow. He stood and ensured his robes were pristine as always, gesturing to the boy briskly to stand. He turned to Sebastian coldly.
"Well, with that done we should be going. Sebastian, it's been too long—Narcissa and I would love to have you over Easter if you're available."
Blue eyes glinted in the medium light of the court without bothering to stand or even correct his overly casual sprawl on the bench.
"That's a busy time for the trade, you know." He gave a cursory reminder that he would be neck deep in arranging the next tea tasting then, but as Lucius blank smile he got the message.
He had until Easter to give this boy an answer or Narcissa would gut him.
He gave in with a little chuckle—neither concerned nor overly happy either. Just a man who was quite busy getting another task added to his list and not bothering to even be surprised anymore.
"But of course, a drink or two couldn't hurt. We'll plan on it."
"Do let me know." Lucius deadpanned. "Mr. Potter I believe they expect you back at school post-haste."
He didn't really expect the boy to speak, so he didn't really wait for an answer as he led the way from the hall with a silent, neon red shadow close behind him.
With that over with, and the whirlwind of learning that Sirius Black would be re-entering the playing field shortly now officially in front of them, it was time to see if this could be used to his advantage. He'd be more concerned about the Black family returning to the stage if he didn't already know his wife's cousin would, undoubtedly, be very unwilling to play politics… and the key to forcing him was already trailing quietly in Lucius' wake.
000
They went right from the Ministry floo to McGonagall's office. She was there as if waiting for them, on her feet in a moment and coming around the desk to greet them in that stiff yet hasty manner she had that was the only hint of her anxiety.
It felt weird to be standing here again, almost exactly the same cast as when he'd left a couple days ago.
It felt like much longer though. It felt much worse since there was now one person very noticeably missing from this scene.
The adults were talking but Harry wasn't listening, too overwhelmed to handle this. Especially not when he saw McGonagall's face shatter.
She knew.
She'd known Sirius.
And Remus.
And Peter.
"Can I go?" He blurted out, whatever they'd been saying cut off and both adults looking down at him. His professor at least looked concerned while Mr. Malfoy seemed visibly insulted he'd been interrupted.
"Mr. Potter—"
"Please?" He begged her, and he knew he was her favorite because he could see her visibly debate it before giving in. No way on earth she'd ever let another student get away with interrupting much less running off while the school was still technically in a lock down.
"Straight to Gryffindor tower, there's still a monster on the loose, as well as aurors that need to complete their investigation uninterrupted. I will speak with you later."
"Thank you Professor," He got out hastily as he made for the door, ignoring the bit about them talking because he was absolutely not going to do that, but wasn't going to argue about it now. He left without a backwards glance and was making his way through the halls of Hogwarts briskly now.
To where?
He didn't know, but not Gryffindor tower, that was for sure.
He didn't even know what time it was or what was happening in the castle right now, he didn't know if classes were still in session or if they'd had a break for this craziness or if only his world was stopped right now and for everyone else this was a completely normal Monday.
McGonagall had a point though that there was a monster roaming around right now and if an auror saw him out unattended he'd probably be questioned which would not be happening right now, so he slipped his hood up and disappeared from the visible eye in the middle of the hallway. That gave him some breathing room but he was still moving quickly because he needed to get away from everything that just happened, he just… he didn't know where he was going to. Away, for one, but… he needed to think about the destination.
He would not cry.
Things had gone as expected once they got to the trial, in that Sirius was now officially a free man. That was all Mr. Greengrass had officially promised and he'd done so. Even more since it seemed he was now paying people off to be sure they got a good deal out of the reparations committee thing.
Harry really should've thanked him, having officially met him now, but he couldn't bring himself to. On one hand the man had come through, very much as promised, and Harry knew he was going to get a good deal. Sebastian would make sure Sirius could adopt him without issue before summer came, so all his fears about needing to ask Blaise for a favor (god forbid) or just drop out of Hogwarts eventually were finally put to rest. He'd never need to see the Dursleys again and that did make this silent knot in the pit of his stomach that he'd been carrying for months finally loosen and disappear. New anxieties were surfacing about what was to come, but the deepest one was finally loosened enough he felt like he could breath just a little more than he'd been able to in almost a year.
Even more than that, Harry had added to the deal in asking Remus to be freed as well. Or, Mr. Greengrass had picked up on it and easily agreed to get him out as well. Harry sincerely doubted there were many others out there who'd actually agree to help a werewolf, much less so casually as he had… and he'd already done it once with Sirius so it was pretty safe to say he'd get Remus out now too.
The Greengrass family had fulfilled its promises and more. Harry had gotten not just what he asked for, but everything he'd actually wanted out of the deal that he hadn't originally known in the beginning.
He still couldn't thank Mr. Greengrass. He knew it was beyond petty to be upset about how the man had gone about doing things, because he should've known by Daphne's reaction when he first offered the deal that it was too good to be true to just sell his name and trust everything would work out in the end.
I'm not going to thank him. He didn't do it out of the kindness of his heart, he's being paid well enough with an oath on my name, he doesn't need my gratitude too. He thought bitterly, steeling himself.
Gratitude meant nothing in a business like this. He would be paying in blood for this someday, and now he knew that a lethal snake like Mr. Greengrass would ask for anything without mercy or hesitation.
He wouldn't say thank you: the man was being paid enough.
He found himself in the entrance hall, pausing as he glanced around. There wasn't a soul in sight and it was quiet, so classes were probably still in session. He looked up the stairs, then at the front door, to the many entrances and exits that would take him anywhere in the castle he wanted to go right now… but suddenly it hit him where he needed to go first.
He walked this time, he didn't run, because chances were he would be in classes and he'd need to wait outside anyway but…
When he got in front of the wall where he knew the Slytherin common room door should be, he glanced around to be sure there were no portraits in sight and then lowered his hood. He wasn't a Slytherin so it wouldn't show for him but he figured he'd give it a shot.
"Isss anyone there?"
"You're not one of mine," A voice came, a door seeping into existence on the wall a little to the left of where Harry had been guessing, but he was right that the decals around the door were stone snakes with muted pearly eyes that he could speak to. "I'm not letting you in even if you can underssstand me,"
The snake that was speaking was curling over the top frame, but slithering down the side ledge, dipping in and out of the wall in a spiral pattern as if there were a pole there only it could wiggle around. It came down low enough to poke its diamond head out at him and flick a tongue out to inspect his scent.
"A ssspeaker yesss, but alssso a lion. Even if you knew the password I would not let you in." It told him snobbishly.
That was a pretty good security system, Harry had to admit.
"I'm not asssking to be let in, I was just wondering if you could get sssomeone for me? If he'sss in there he'll have white hair and grey eyesss, and be my age."
"I don't know how old humansss are," The snake didn't make a facial expression but Harry got the impression it was pouting. "You all look the sssame to me!"
That was a fair point. What did snakes differentiate people by? Other than scent he supposed, as he wouldn't be able to describe that to crown molding.
He perked up,
"You can tell how warm creaturesss are though, right? He'll be the coldessst human in this whole dorm."
It hummed a moment, then flicked its tongue out. "There isss a human that is not warm like the othersss… why should I get him for you?"
He was in a Hogwarts hallway and probably would get in a lot of trouble if there were dark magic wards about (which he was hoping there weren't since this was the Slytherin dorm and that might be a little too bit of a self-report) but he had rats on the brain and a coldness in his heart that had him forgetting to hesitate.
"Do you want a sssnack?"
He reached into his bag and pulled out some coals he's taken from an empty Gryffindor fireplace early one morning several weeks ago—just in case. With a twist of his wand suddenly it was a thrashing mouse that was squeaking in a panic at being clenched by a human hand out of nowhere.
Or perhaps it was mostly panicked about its sudden existence at all.
He hadn't gotten very far into the field of dark transfiguration, but this one he knew he could do even as he read the theory on it in his four poster bed when everyone else was still asleep. It was simple enough to do, anyone else his age could do it… but the idea of permanent transfiguration was a peculiar thing.
And by peculiar he meant extremely questionable, ethically speaking.
It was one thing if a pair of glasses could turn into a bird for a couple hours, another thing entirely if you permanently transfigured glasses into a living, breathing, genuine bird with sentience and life. Creating life without accountability definitely counted as something dark probably… though it was a dog-eat-rat kind of world they were living in and this coal-turned-mouse would have a short life in the name of giving a stone snake it's first meal in what was probably centuries.
Because it very much was interested as it lifted its head and hissed highly—several other snakes around the door writhing and poking their heads up now that he had fully gotten their attention. They were audibly upset they weren't in on this trade and complaining about it.
"Deal!" The first snake cried and Harry tossed the mouse. Stone jaws snapped out and it was gone in a couple seconds of swallowing; it was tiny mouse after all. "Ssso warm… I thank you for that, little lion. The cold one you sssaid? Jussst a moment,"
It disappeared into the wall along with the very door itself, theoretically going to uphold its end of the bargain.
Harry just wiped the remnants of soot from the coal off on his robes distractedly.
He realized he actually had no idea how it would get Draco's attention since the Malfoy couldn't speak snake but… guess he was about to find out. Hopefully it wasn't too dramatic that it caused a scene in the middle of the Slytherin common room.
Ah…maybe he should've thought this through a little more…
Well, it was too late clearly as it didn't take a minute for the door to reappear—this time because it was swinging open and he blinked at the sudden light compared to the dark hallway, the doorway revealing a very confused looking Draco.
In another situation Harry would've found the comical double-take he did to be laugh worthy. Even so, he was endeared by the look for belated realization that rippled across the blond's face.
"Right, who else can talk to stone snakes," He muttered rhetorically to himself, making Harry wonder just what the snake had done, and more importantly what on earth Draco had thought was happening before he remembered the only parselmouth at Hogwarts.
He saw several people (read: the entire snake house apparently) in the common room over Draco's shoulder and obviously looking their way. Clearly the snake had indeed caused a disturbance and given he was the man of the hour since Harry doubted even Slytherin parents had been able to get the news to their children just yet, they were dying to know.
He would deal with them later though, because he caught a small little flicker of Blaise and immediately knew he was not in the mood for all that. So he reached out and grabbed Draco's hand without hesitation, yanking him from the doorway hard enough the blond practically flew with a startled yelp. Thankfully he was athletic enough to catch himself as they got clear and the door closed, casting them into the shadow of the poorly lit dungeon hallway once more.
"Harry?" Draco was not dumb and didn't even object to the manhandling as he clued in immediately that something was wrong.
"Sirius was found innocent."
Draco audibly choked on air for a second, stunned to the core and grey eyes going wider than Harry could remember them being since the first weeks they'd known each other. "You're… wait really?"
Harry couldn't remember the last time Draco had looked so… what was the word he was looking for? Not naïve exactly, not even innocent as he wasn't sure he'd ever been those things. He was sheltered and spoiled but he wasn't stupid and it hadn't taken him long after being sorted into Slytherin for him to learn to shut up and go with the flow of things when he realized just how out of depth he was.
Still… Harry remembered eating ice cream in Diagon Alley with his brand new (first) friend and how everything he'd said seemed to be the first time Draco had ever heard those words before. How startled and aghast he was at a worldview so different than his own. And yes the sheltered child had found it a bit uncomfortable sometimes but Harry had mainly been just so entertained by how taken aback and wide-eyed Draco would get about the most mundane of things—like the mere idea not everyone grew up knowing Latin or that people weren't born knowing what a quaffle was.
He suspected Draco had gotten a lot of backlash for that kind of attitude once starting in the snake house, where every little thing he might've been surprised by was met with derision and condescension that he didn't already know things. Harry didn't quite notice when Draco had withdrawn his reactions to be a lot more like his mother's—calm and hidden behind a press of the lips and a glance to the side, and if something did surprise him he now kept it much closer to the chest so that people wouldn't think him dumb or naïve.
Harry hadn't even realized over the past several months how much Draco had calmed and become more… composed? He wasn't sure that was the right word either, but whatever it was there was much less honest reactions to things these days, to the point he couldn't remember the last time Draco had looked so confounded.
But it was just the two of them right now, and… Harry realized that just as he felt something unwind in his shoulders to have Draco in front of him right now, so too did Draco's front seem to drop away, and he didn't hesitate to show his honest reaction to news he found utterly shocking. Because it was just Harry here, and he knew he wouldn't be judged for being the boy he once was as they ate ice cream on a sunny summer day.
It felt like a lifetime since that day. They'd both learned so much since, become so much more since… but suddenly Harry was overwhelmed by the reminder that Draco had not changed from that earnest and clumsily arrogant boy he'd been back then. He might've learned skills to handle navigating his world better, but in his heart he hadn't changed at all from someone who just wanted to make a friend but had no fucking clue how to do that.
Unlike me, he thought blankly. What I wouldn't give to be that person again.
He was just… indescribably fond of this hopelessly earnest guy.
Draco grunted as he was suddenly being hugged within an inch of his life, but got with the program to put his hands up gently on his back to return it. He'd been getting better that that, still not used to be touchy-feely but less awkward and stiff about it by the day, particularly since Harry didn't give him a choice about it in situations like this… situations that unfortunately kept happening.
"It was all actually kind of horrific." He confessed into Draco's shoulder, feeling the blond tense and the hands on his back become pointedly tighter.
"Are you okay?" Came the instant question.
"…no." He admitted, because at this point there was no point. Not anymore. "…your dad saved me though."
"What!? From what? Or who?" Draco tried to pull back, probably to bodily inspect him for injuries again, but Harry refused to let go. He held on tight enough that he got another grunt of pain from his captured friend for his efforts. "Harry, are you okay!?"
"I'm not hurt." He reassured him but still didn't want to let go. He felt the blond pause as he evaluated that silently (probably wondering if he should believe him or not) … before gentle hands on his back pressed down more reassuringly.
"Right… so this is something I can't fix."
Harry gave a slightly wet laugh into his shoulder. This idiot… this uselessly kind idiot.
"I didn't come here so you could fix it."
"Oh. Then… what exactly…?"
Harry took another moment to collect himself before finally releasing him, a small smile tugging at corners of his lips even despite everything, but Draco's attempt really did sooth more than he was expecting it to. He took a breath.
"I didn't want to go back to Gryffindor and have everyone asking me all these questions I wouldn't be able to answer," He confessed.
"Understandable." Draco didn't even question it, focused elsewhere as his eyes scanned him over, clearly still not believing him that he wasn't injured going by his dubious frown. "Does that mean you don't want me to ask? Because I at least want to know how my father was involved in this."
"Are you busy right now?"
"No, I just have Herbology later but I'll skip it," He waved it off without hesitation. Harry really, really appreciated that even someone who played so uptight at the Slytherin lunch table knew exactly where his priorities really lay. And he couldn't really express what it meant to him that he was his priority.
He grabbed his hand tightly once more.
"Come on,"
The didn't go far, actually going deeper into the darker hallways of the dungeon and Draco not commenting but clearly not sure where he was leading them. Really the only thing this far down was a few empty classrooms, the actual dungeons where Filch kept threatening to hang students by their thumbs, and a whole lot of dead ends that were pretty fitting for an ancient magical castle that liked to confuse people.
There was one thing though that the twins had shown him with the map, that he was pretty sure no one else knew about, much less be able to find, that would be the perfect place to talk.
As he approached where the thought it was, he went to the side of the hallway and pressed a shoulder against it, sliding along the wall and Draco following his lead until—
They slipped around a corner that had not previously been there, a stone hallway unlike the rest of the dungeon makeup stretching out before them. Harry suspected this type of stone was as old as the castle itself, probably not having been touched since the founders themselves walked here—or the various dedicated pranksters who'd managed to stumble upon it by being creative with their exploration methods. Whatever the reason, despite how many centuries had passed very few feet had walked here and the air was stagnant as the rest of the lower levels, so the flat shale stones beneath their feet were un-eroded and the walls of a style that was very much purposeful but unlike anything else in Hogwarts right now. Harry suspected it was most likely what the original dungeon hallways had looked like, back when the castle was freshly built, but hidden away ever since.
Draco did a double take beside him, glancing back and seeing the seemingly open hallway intersection behind them but knowing nothing had been there a moment ago.
"Was this always here?"
"Yep. The twins showed it to me—I don't think anyone else knows about it though."
"Well that's handy," He glanced down the hallway that trailed into darkness—the torchlight from behind them illuminating the entrance way some but quickly fading out into nothingness ahead of them. "Where does it lead?"
"Edge of the lake, near where the boats land for first years."
"That's pretty cool, if even people walking by can't see this…" He grasped both the usefulness and the magic of it pretty quickly, but wasn't that distracted by it given he had more pressing matters on the mind. He gave a pointed look and took a seat against one of the walls, stretching out his legs some—and Harry didn't need more of an invitation to join him, pressed right up against his side and finally let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.
It was both comfortable and tense in the long moment that followed, but Draco didn't immediately break it. When it became clear Harry wasn't gushing to talk about it though, he started someplace easy, but not shying away from the main topic at hand that needed to be said.
"You were at the trial? That's what people were saying but we didn't know…"
"Yeah." He admitted, frowning at the far wall in front of them. He wanted to talk but realized there was a lot of background he had not told Draco before, so most of this was going to be news to him even if it wasn't what he wanted to talk about. Still… he had to start somewhere. "I… I didn't tell you a lot of things."
Draco rolled eyes with a light scoff.
"I don't tell you everything by a long shot. It's only fair you keep your own things to yourself." He dismissed the concern diplomatically. "I would hope you'd know that you don't have to trade information with me like you do everyone else though. You can just tell me things sometimes."
"Can I though? Mr. I can't fix this?"
He huffed in annoyance. "I've done so well this year! So long as you're not injured I haven't pushed anything, have I? I haven't demanded a single answer despite the fact I know you're full of shit half the time,"
"No, I guess you mostly bother Theo these days," Harry admitted, managing a small smile in spite of it all.
"Nott forgets to eat. That's different." He insisted, tilting his chin up defiantly..
Harry actually managed a tiny laugh… Draco had that way about it though. He made him feel like him being hesitant or uneasy was ridiculous, that he was blowing things out of proportion and that of course them talking was the most normal thing in the world. If Harry hesitated it was because of something he made up in his head, not because Draco himself didn't want to hear it.
It was comforting, though he bit his lip as he felt him needing to confirm it was actually true.
"Can I actually tell you things Draco? Like actually?"
"Of course!"
"Because this will be about Remus mostly," He expected to cut off the blond's casual attitude with a blunt retort, but Draco did not seize up or hesitate like Harry thought he would—he really just rolled his eyes and gave a rather impatient huffing sound as he glanced at him, unamused.
"We've been over that. Yes, you can tell me things, no I will not go about telling other people your business. You may not like how I act about things but that doesn't mean you can't tell me. Just because I have no interesting in being involved in your business does not mean I don't want to hear about them—like the football club and whatever nonsense you get up to." He dismissed the highly controversial topic of his werewolf godfather as nothing, like he'd be just as dismissive if Harry were suddenly nervous to talk to him about the weather or some other meaningless small talk topic.
Harry would be confused—only a couple days ago he'd maybe even get mad at the sudden tone shift compared to the last time they talked about werewolves back in the owlery—but after today he felt like he was waking up to something maybe Draco had already known, it was him who'd completely misunderstood his Slytherin friend.
The same coldness he'd felt talking to Mrs. Malfoy this morning… suddenly dealing with her was the least of his problems and her manipulations had taken a sharp backseat in his priorities. Yeah whatever, let's have dinner, it no longer mattered to him in the end so long as it meant his friends and family were safe.
At one point he'd hated the mere thought of sitting across from her at tea, wanting to crawl out of his skin rather than be cornered into a verbal corner like that. There'd been this ugly heat, this rage and frustration that had him clawing at the walls of his own mind to just get the fuck out. He couldn't stand it, to the point it felt like there was nothing worse than being trapped in Malfoy Manor with her deceptively warm smiles and glinting eye.
Now though, he could give a snitch. Being briefly inconvenienced that he was no match for her small talk was NOT the worst thing in the world and an hour of tea was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things. He would still not enjoy it at all but he had lost all of the heat his hatred once had, and now it was replaced by this slightly chilled apathy for some chore he knew was a necessary evil. It was like potions class—he did not enjoy the constant insults and threats from Snape, but he could keep his head down for a couple hours a week and get his potions done to save his grade. He hated how boring History was with Binns, but same thing he just bore it and took notes anyway because he wasn't going to be called dumb because he failed a test.
And just because he didn't like potions and the whole topic left a sour taste in his mouth since Snape had poisoned the entire field of study for him, did not mean he wouldn't listen to Draco—who loved potions—talk about it to his heart's content. He didn't like potions but seeing Draco's enthusiasm for them was nice in it's own way, because he loved his friend and seeing him happy over something so simple once in a while was nice.
And maybe… that was an attitude Draco had from the beginning.
Just because he refused to get involved with the football club did not mean he wouldn't listen to Harry talk about it, or even comment on it from the perspective of an outsider when Harry was struggling to make balanced teams for the next games. Similarly… just because he didn't want to deal with Remus personally did not mean he wouldn't listen.
Harry had assumed everyone felt the way he felt, but… that was an insanely Gryffindor mindset, wasn't it?
Draco really didn't care as deeply as he did about the things they didn't share, it didn't matter to him as much as the things they did share, and that… had always been enough for him. Harry was the only one worrying that it meant they weren't good friends or something.
Huh.
Maybe he just… didn't understand friends like he thought he did, despite claiming to have so many.
"Harry," Draco broke into his thoughts, when he'd been silent for a little too long. He pulled at his sleeve lightly, guiding him back down to earth with gentle prompting. "What happened?"
Harry just leaned his head on Draco's shoulder, took a breath, and started from the beginning.
000
Severus didn't knock as he swept into Minerva's office, barely keeping a lid on what felt like his blood pressure about to hit the roof after the day he'd just had. He really should've kept to breaking things in the privacy of his own office but this time… well, before he figured out who he needed to poison he needed more information.
"What do you know." He demanded acidly, not even sparing a 'good evening' to the woman sitting behind her desk.
She was always like that. Always working, spectacles perched on her nose as she glanced down at the situation before her sternly. He kind of hated how she looked up from the papers in front of her the same way she did when he was here to argue over some of their students fighting, or to hand over the Gryffindors' tests grades, even now when the topic was so heinously darker.
Right now they weren't colleagues or fellow schoolteachers, they were people who aligned under Dumbledore and did the Headmaster's dirty work. They both knew damn well this wasn't something any other teacher in this castle understood.
They'd had this sort of conversation before—many times. Though this was perhaps the first time it was so… personal.To the both of them.
"Severus," She greeted blankly, clearly having expected him.
"There's been no word from the headmaster but there is no way he didn't know. What do you know?" He demanded again, impatiently.
"Albus did not tell me anything related to Mr. Black." She set down her quill stiffly, but Severus just seethed.
"There is no way I'm stupid enough to believe that, Minerva."
She shot him a sharp look over her glasses. "Well perhaps you need to evaluate your intelligence if you can't accept the truth for what it is."
Severus paused a beat, kind of taken aback she'd actually gotten so sharp. Normally she stuck to sarcasm and dry wit if she were frustrated with him. "He really told you nothing?"
"Albus is not all-knowing. There is a chance he was not aware of this trial, or the situation in general, just as we were not." She clicked her tongue as she stood, brushing down her robes.
The potions master could only raise his brows at her in open disbelief. "Now that I will not believe, and there's no way you believe it either. Tell me you don't?" He gaped.
Her face twisted. Finally a crack in the façade as he knew there would be.
"Why exactly are you here, Severus? What is it you would like me to say to you? I am sure Lucius Malfoy has already given you all the details of the trial and more that will not be in the papers, so what exactly is it that I could say to you that would add to the conversation?" She beseeched kind of sharply.
"If you truly knew nothing then I would think we'd commiserate our distaste of the headmaster. He's not exactly here to hear my displeasure," He sneered, arms crossed and glancing to the side as if Dumbledore would be able to feel his glare from here.
"Oh, and it is my privilege then, to be the audience for your frustrations?" She raised a brow over her spectacles.
"You've only been offering to share a drink since I became a teacher, and if ever there was a night for such a thing this would be it." He complained but she was unamused. It was a Monday night, with classes and such tomorrow. "It was a joke." He deadpanned since clearly she was looking down at him.
"I've offered an ear to listen because I knew you were an unhappy man with many burdens and I wanted to help my colleague, but I'll admit tonight is not the night I'll be doing much listening. I have my own griefs to handle, thank you." She dismissed him summarily, turning back to her desk as if that were all, but a flare of anger had him opening his mouth before he could think better of it.
"Greif, yes. You call it mourning but in reality you celebrate the freedom of a lunatic so you could care less about how much it pisses me off," He snapped.
She shot him a look that boarded on a glare, which was rare for her. Normally she just looked down her nose with a stern look if his words toed the line for her.
"It's hard to celebrate anything given everything I have learned today. If you think I'm going to be tapdancing about the horrific truths that were just revealed then you truly do not know me at all, do you Severus." She defended coldly. "I did expect you here tonight, as I knew you'd be unable to keep your displeasure to yourself, but just because I am not surprised does not mean I am not disappointed."
"Oh yes, because I cannot find it in myself to lie and say I'm happy that the world's most reckless lunatic will be let loose on the streets once more," he drawled sarcastically and she pressed her lips into a line.
"I just wish you could be more charitable, given the situation. To either myself or to Mr. Black."
"Charitable?"
"I know you didn't like him but a man has spent eleven years in utter hell for no reason. Do you really hate him so much you feel nothing for the horror of that? No compassion at all?" Minerva demanded, abandoning her pretense of trying to end the conversation and squaring up against him properly now.
"Where was his compassion when he tortured me and my classmates for seven bloody years?" He shot back just as heatedly.
He saw her bite her tongue, and knew she wanted to press back on that—call what Potter and his cronies did just some petty pranks or whatever. She at least had sense not to do that though, since if she downplayed it yet again he was going to lose his temper for once and they both knew it.
Instead she reeled it in through much force of will and pressed on through nearly gritted teeth.
"Even if that were true, has he not paid enough? He lost the man he called a brother and has been with dementors ever since! Or, that's it then… you've never cared at all about what happened to them. Any of them."
Except Lily.
He wasn't sure he that's what she was imply, but Severus knew in the deepest part of the soul that the accusation was dead true. And you know what, he wasn't ashamed of it either. He would never be.
"Why would I care about what happens to my enemies beyond the fact they've been brought to justice," He retorted, unrepentant—and saw the way it made her temple twitch.
"Justice. Of course." She seethed, anger bubbling beneath her stern control, but it was there. "You see them as enemies but you've have never once acted like you've won anything despite the fact they have never stopped losing for over a decade now. All these years you've sulked and suffered whatever it is that haunts you, not even their misfortune brought you joy, so why act like any of it matters to you now? Why be angry that someone you claim to care nothing about is getting a brief moment of happiness?"
"Because they robbed me of mine," He hissed.
"Yet where have they been for eleven years? What has stopped you from being happy while they've been half dead and gone all this time!? Or did some inter-house quarrels really rob you of an entire life's worth of happiness? A man of your capability actually let it?"
"Don't pretend like you don't know what they did. Don't act innocent, you always favored them! Even when they were torturing Slytherins and calling it silly pranks you let them get away with it!"
"I did not."
"You did,"
"I did NOT, but I bloody well wish I had!" She burst out, voice finally breaking into a full yell and Severus actually stopped—taken aback that she'd actually said that.
"What!? How could you-"
"How could I!? How could I? Look in the mirror for once," She snapped as she took a very threatening step forward that had Severus realizing she had fully lost her temper now. He'd been so confident she'd never let her oh-so reasonable persona slip, that she'd never allow herself to be seen as anything than composed, that it genuine shocked him that the floodgates seemed to have finally burst open.
And that all that anger and conflict seemed to be aimed directly at him.
"Do you think I didn't see my own students leave my classroom and walk straight to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!? Children I helped raise and tried to do right by, only for them to torture and kill even more of my children!? Do you really think I didn't see them!? That I wouldn't recognize the people I taught for seven years!? Did you really think I didn't recognize you?!"
Severus caught his breath, not willing to move just then.
She was a smart woman, he'd always known that. It was just that she was so damn loyal and lion-like that he was… well he'd been sure that if she knew the truth about him she wouldn't treat him half so civilly, that she wouldn't try to be friendly with the invites to drinks that he'd never taken her up on. She was a proud lion after all, one of the most righteously insufferable one of them all: there was no scenario in which she'd ever be anything less than cold to a death eater. Even a reformed one, so he pretended to be.
Except… apparently she'd always known? He'd gotten Dumbledore's word that this was one of the things he'd never tell to his deputy, which meant she was probably telling the truth that she'd known—what, since he was still a student!?
He wasn't sure what to think of that.
"You went to the dogs before any of them, you joined those devils! You—you broke my heart before any of them did you hypocritical brat!" She burst out, and he looked down his expression as his own flare of anger rose to join hers. Because while whatever reason she had for trying to be civil all this time despite his past made little sense, those words were practically expected—he'd always known she'd eventually show her true colors in her hatred for snakes.
"Minerva," He tried to cut her off with no luck as she did not let him get a word in.
"I have done everything I could to be as impartial as humanly possible all this time, the key point being human! Which I am and yes, you're right, I've had favorites—but unlike you I always kept them to myself for their own good! Because in the end they are children who deserve the same chances as everyone else! I have done what I thought was best and tried to be unbiased but it was students like you who made it so impossibly difficult to maintain it! Sirius Black used to pull pranks but you—you have killed people in the dark lord's name and if you think me choosing to care for someone who never did me harm is unfair, then I don't know what to say to you Severus, I really don't."She took another step forward and he felt the instinct to back up, but forced himself not to and instead just return her truly impressive glare with one of his own.
She barred her teeth at him as if she really were a lion. "I never favored them, but I really wish I had. I wish I had been petty and unforgiving enough to treat children like they truly deserved for their choices, so that in a time of war I could've looked at those who I knew would eventually become Death Eaters and let my lions devour them before they'd ever get the chance. But I didn't, I tried to give children the chance to grow and see their full potential—even if in the end I only gave He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named more followers that I personally trained for him! I will never be able to live peacefully with that shame, yet you stand here as one of those very students who have hopelessly disappointed me and dare to talk about the injustice of life!?"
She let out a single humorless laugh.
"I know injustice, because if this world were just then none of my students would be dead—or worse, death eaters."
She practically spat the words at him and then fell silent, Severus letting her and the weight of her outburst making the air thick in the small office. He let it wash over him but his heart hardened for good this time as she sharply turned away with a shaky breath like she hadn't realized how upset she actually was, pressing a wrist to the corner of her eye hastily like he couldn't see her.
She was a Gryffindor, and one of the worst of them all. He'd known that as a student when she'd always let Potter get away with murder, and he'd known it even as he'd become a teacher and she'd given this weak attempt at being nice to him since they were 'equals' now.
But she was a Gryffindor and she never once thought they were equals. She'd looked down at him this entire time and he wasn't insane for never buying into it after all, since he'd been right.
He drew himself to his full height in the silence. He was taller than her now, significantly so when he didn't slouch so he looked down at her now with a knowing smirk.
"You've never cared about my history until now. It's not me, it's pathetic little Peter Pettigrew that really broke your heart, isn't it?"
He saw the words pierce her as if they were a physical blade, eyes betraying her own horror before she caught herself straightened up stiffly, regaining that annoying composure she always hid behind. Chin up, lips pressed into a thin line and eyes ice cold.
"I always cared, I was just giving you the benefit of the doubt. A wasted hope, I see." She got out bitterly.
"You want to say you could see my path because I was a Slytherin and all snakes are evil, isn't that right? But you had no idea one of your own would do it too. For as much as you trusted your little lions, it was one of your own who did this and you know it." He taunted, almost begging her to yell again because clearly she was the only one ashamed of it. He had never cared what she thought of him but it was amusing to see her so out of sorts.
Unfortunately she just closed her eyes briefly and seemed to summon some kind of strength to her aid just then.
"Is that all, Severus?" She did not take the bait, but her voice and posture were positively arctic. Oh she hated him, and she probably always had—she'd just stopped trying to hide it, which he found oddly funny. As if the pathetic attempts at pretending she didn't always loathe him had ever been believable.
"This is it then?" He sneered, annoyed by her questioning look that she didn't know what he was talking about. "The second Black is freed you've had it with me, is that it?"
She looked pissed a second before holding herself back once more. It took longer this time though, to find her composure before she spoke as stiffly as if she were made of wood.
"…fine then. Close your mind the way you always have, see whatever truth you need in order to live with yourself. If you think this conversation is about what Sirius Black didn't do, then I have no hope for you."
Severus rolled his eyes. "You're only getting the nerve to say all of this because he's in the conversation at all,"
"Perhaps I am." She didn't even deny it, and her eyes had hardened to stone so clearly she wasn't ashamed by it either. "But it doesn't make it untrue, Severus. Yes, you're right… I am devastated that a student I once cared about has been in Azkaban for eleven years. My heart is broken. I am human and I cannot act like none of this doesn't matter to me, no matter how much you'd like to pretend I'm just a teacher who failed you."
He snarled but she cut him off before he could open is mouth. "You're not a child anymore, I'm not going to hold your hand any longer in pretending like everything that happened between you and Sirius was my fault—I'm done acting in apology for your terrible time as a student when I did nothing but my best. You are the student who never tried in anything other than potions and then proceeded to betray any effort I gave to be a fair teacher. You were not worth it."
She turned from him sharply, body facing away from him as if she couldn't bear to even look at him now.
"If I got the chance to do it again I would let them get away with as much as you let your snakes get away with. Then… then maybe things would not be this way."
Even though he'd always known she was full of shit, it still kind of stung to hear that. He couldn't help the way his lips twisted.
"And this is hell for you then. This is all just so unbearable, to be near me?"
"That you are angry an innocent man is being let free? Yes, it is hell to see the man you've become. For ten years I've trusted you had the students' best interests at heart but this is too far, even for you."
"Even for me? So the truth is out then, finally admitting you never thought much of me," He scoffed.
Her face twisted in something close to agony before she corrected it into a deep, oddly sad frown.
"That is not, and has never been true. You know how much I supported your new leaf, your efforts in your own way… at least I thought you did." Minerva shook her head. "Now… you're right. I did think highly of you in some ways but I cannot condone it any longer."
"Is it me you trusted, or the headmaster?" Severus snipped, enjoying the way her shoulders tensed even if she wouldn't look at him. "I'm not fooled Minerva, the anger isn't just for me. Dumbledore didn't involve you in any of this either, and he isn't here to mediate between us anymore, is he? You're just upset you've been left out despite sucking up to him your whole life, always heeling like the good little guard cat you are. Seems he doesn't find you worth reciprocating."
She's said hurtful things, it was only fair he got a few licks in. Sucks for her he didn't give a shit about the respect that she claimed to once have for him, so clearly it hurt her more than she could ever manage to get to him. It was funny she thought she had a chance.
It took a long time this go around for her to gain her mask once again, as the anger was bubbling beneath the lip line of her lips all over again. This time though she managed to keep a lid on it, though he knew it was close. He was kind of disappointed, though entertained by how well this new taunt worked. Maybe she did like him like that, and if so wasn't that hilariously pathetic.
She didn't give him another opening though.
"I am not a woman that needs anyone's validation to know my own worth. The same cannot be said for you, given the headmaster's petty whim seems to be the only reason you are not in Azkaban yourself. Let's hope he never changes his mind, hm?" He couldn't help but be shocked at the sudden threat, and knew it reflected in his face enough for her to pick up on going by the triumphant glint in her eye. "If that'll be all, I'm going to ask you to leave, Severus. Do have a good night." She spoke in cold politeness that very clearly implied how little she actually meant it.
"Minerva-"
"There are still aurors in the castle. Perhaps you'd like to show them your arm." She deadpanned and he found his jaw clicking shut automatically. What the fuck was that!?
They had a brief stare off while he took a beat too long to think of some retort, but in that time she moved swiftly and sat down pointedly at her desk once more. "Goodnight, Mr. Snape." She declared once again, this time a little louder.
She spoke while looking down at the papers before her once more, tone just as condescending and no-nonsense as it'd been when he was a child who'd once stood in this very spot and tried talking to her about the pranks Potter had been targeting him with. He'd come to her for help back when he'd still thought maybe she'd be more than just another Gryffindor, but maybe a teacher who could help him, and no amount of arguing had ever been enough. Eventually he'd been shut down the same way, with her attention turning to something she deemed more important that him and primly wishing him a good night as an annoyingly, falsely polite way of saying 'get out'.
He wanted to get the last word in but as he opened his mouth he couldn't help but feel as if he were thirteen all over again and couldn't bring any words to his lips. It would feel far too humiliating and childish to need to beg for attention—he didn't need or want it so why was he even here?
He turned on his heel and swept out of the office without another word, considering that a win on his part since she'd retreated from the argument first.
As he made his way back down to his chambers he glowered at every painting he crossed, knowing Dumbledore wasn't here to get these paintings reports for once and being pissed off about the whole situation even more than he once was. Black was about to be out in the world again and god forbid he be forced to see his stupid face again, he might vomit. It just pissed him off even more that he knew it was practically an inevitability—Azkaban was the only place he knew for certain his old enemy would for sure never cross his path, but this era of peace was unfortunately over.
And if the Potter brat was going to be adopted finally then…
Well, he'd save breaking things for when he was back in his office, but the paintings thankfully reminded him of his promises to Dumbledore. He couldn't act too rashly even though he'd like nothing more than to fail the boy right here and now and never have to see him in his classes again, but there was no way he'd be able to get away with that. He needed to keep an eye on him or whatever, but knowing he was about to move in with Black of all people… maybe the boy wasn't an exact copy of James Potter given he has so much of Lily in him clearly, but he was close enough and now being exposed to Black… the boy was about to become insufferable.
And yeah, Severus was already suffering.
Still, that was for later, hopefully next school year at the earliest. Right now, Minerva's outburst just now deserved some of it's own attention for what it actually meant to his position here at Hogwarts. With or without Dumbledore, but without him and Minerva having gone insane by being so willing to hand him over to aurors the literal second the Headmaster wasn't around to vouch for him, he was feeling his position here become pretty vulnerable all of a sudden. While incredibly insulting, Minerva wasn't wrong exactly about him staying out of Azkaban pretty much entirely because Dumbledore had saved him in exchange for his loyalty as a spy. While he didn't exactly like the old headmaster, Severus knew he had a good deal here and didn't dare to mess it up, because without a dark lord around then Dumbledore was one of the strongest pieces on the chessboard that he wanted to be on good terms with, that he wanted to be useful to so that the protection continued.
But something had happened.
He wasn't sure what, but the balance of power had shifted somewhere and Severus did not enjoy how little he understood about the situation. Dumbledore was a conniving old man who had plenty of cards up his sleeves but at the heart of things he was still a bloody Gryffindor, and his sentimentality was painfully real sometimes. Minerva was a force to be reckoned with so it was just good business to keep her by his side, but Severus also knew there was genuine affection there too—and a blind spot because of it. The headmaster kept the heads of both Slytherin and Gryffindor houses on tight leashes because of their usefulness, but that didn't mean at the heart of things he didn't have favorites. Severus knew he himself was a means to an end and always would be, but Minerva was different. The two old bats had always genuinely liked each other too.
There were plenty of things Albus did not tell his deputy headmistress, for one reason or another. Darker things he needed an ex-death eater's opinion on, things Severus had demanded remain quiet and that the old man had honored. While he didn't know everything Dumbledore was up to and figured he probably never would, he did know that the things he didn't confide in Minerva about were few and far between. That never stopped him from giving half-truths or spinning things to cast himself in a positive light with other lions, all of which usually satisfied Minerva, but it was rare he didn't lean on his right hand woman to back himself up.
But Severus had never seen Minerva break character as badly as she just had. She'd lost her temper plenty at a student a time or two, but that was far beyond a temper.
That was grief.
Which, you know, proved Severus right all along. She did favor Potter and his moronic band of loons and she always had, to the point the mere mention of Black's name in the paper seems to have her coming apart at the seams. Had she been prepared for this at all she would be holding it together better, which meant she'd found out along with everyone else—with no Albus Dumbledore in the castle to run to and have the old man feed her some reassuring bullshit to placate her. No, she was without those pretty lies right now and dealing with several groundbreaking truths for her probably.
Black was innocent—no shit, Severus found it laughable anyone had tried to call him a death eater in the first place, but kept that humor to himself.
Pettigrew wasn't innocent—much more of a shock but he knew a thing or two about what being bullied was like and there was no way a mouse that pathetic was ever treated too kindly by the high and mighty James Potter and company.
The most damning of all though: Dumbledore's involvement in it all.
Because what Severus had said was true, there was no way the old man didn't know about this before it was brought to the Wizengamont—Lucius said it'd been in the works for months but kept getting delayed since clearly Fudge's career was basically over with this and everyone knew it. Which meant Dumbledore at least knew Sirius Black was about to get a trial—he at least knew that he'd never gotten a trial given the subject matter—but had not said anything to any of his teachers about it. Not telling Severus himself made a little sense—he probably didn't want to deal with his reaction to it. Not telling Minerva though was highly questionable.
Severus knew that the headmaster wasn't to be trusted, he knew that. It was still kind of hard to wrap his head around the only logical conclusion he could come up with though, in that the headmaster had always known Black was innocent too and hadn't moved to do anything about it. For fuck's sake, their entire relationship began when Severus begged for a second chance, renouncing his death eater ways and offering his service as a spy, yet Dumbledore had never asked him, the death eater, if he knew if Black was hanging out at any death eater meetings or not. Not that Severus would've had an answer since clearly he didn't know the real ranks that well as Pettigrew had really thrown him for a loop, but still… Albus had never asked.
Severus actually stopped walking in the middle of the hall when the truth hit him, as if he'd walked into a brick wall.
If Dumbledore had told Minerva, she would absolutely be the spearhead in championing her favored student's innocence. Even if she had doubts (placed there by the headmaster most likely) she would still be outraged at the realization Black never got a trial at all, and would at the very least seek to right that wrong. She was boneheaded in how black-and-white her sense of justice was, so even if she didn't believe in his innocence she'd still be a loud proponent of at least following the due process.
But she hadn't known, despite both Severus and Dumbledore very clearly knowing she would want to know the most out of anyone in the castle right now. Which meant the headmaster had, very much on purpose, hidden it from her.
Which would be stupid as hell, since obviously if the lunatic was truly innocent (which he clearly was) it would all undoubtedly come out in the trial and they'd be in this exact situation of Minerva losing her mind over the fact she'd failed her favorites so badly, but also most likely having a crisis of faith over Dumbledore not telling her about it. As a man who needed the heads of house on tight leashes, that was pretty damn stupid of the conniving coot. Even if he wasn't planning on being ousted from Hogwarts during all this, the headmaster still would've had to explain himself and his silence to Minerva even if he were here. Severus knew the man had a silver tongue as sharp as the worst of the snakes out there, but even he sincerely doubted Albus would've been able to get away with this. Minerva was not that dumb, even if she was painfully loyal and dense to his machinations.
Which meant… for one reason or another, Dumbledore had been planning on this never coming to light. If he'd for a second thought he'd get caught on the end of Minerva's ire, he'd have gotten ahead of it and brought her in some subtle way that would still make him seem like Black's savior, even if he wasn't actually contributing much to the situation. That he hadn't said anything made it abundantly clear to Severus that the headmaster had planned on Black never setting foot outside of Azkaban to give his game away.
According to Lucius, the process of getting the trial had been a mess and a half, with a lot of bribery happening on Fudge's part to do anything to prevent Black from getting his day in court. The Minister wasn't actually that competent and the Malfoys had severed their ties with the man since Narcissa wanted her cousin back or something stupid like that, so he wasn't getting much help to prevent the trial other than his own wits. Which, Severus took a moment to internally laugh at the idea that Fudge was clever enough to actually have held this up for what he was gathering was months of legal churn and whispers of corruption going around the ministry.
Which meant the oaf had help… and if it wasn't Lucius' pockets anymore, and Dumbledore had seemed oh-so confident that the trial wouldn't happen…
But that was insane. Dumbledore actually helped Fudge try to keep Black in prison?
No, fuck that, Dumbledore actually failed to keep Black in prison!?
Whether the headmaster knew of Black's innocence or not didn't matter, and neither did whatever the hell he was planning that required Sirius Black to be permanently out of the picture. Severus had always known the bastard was up to something and if he didn't need to be involved with either of them, the better.
No, what REALLY mattered a whole fucking lot, was that Dumbledore had failed.
It most certainly wasn't Fudge's brilliance that had gotten him so far but that… that meant someone else was playing this game and had been running in direct opposition to the headmaster— and won.
And that… was an omen if Severus had ever seen one.