Кассандра Клэр - Draco Veritas

"It is almost three in the morning, Severus."

"Ah. I seem to have lost track of the time. I have been working."

"I know." Dumbledore rested a hand on the wooden worktable nearest him. He was very tired but had resisted Madam Pomfreyś offer of a Pepperup Potion. "And how goes the work? Have you had any luck identifying the substance in young Malfoyś blood?"

Snape set the instrument he had been holding down on the worktable before him and regarded it grimly. "No great luck, no," he said. "There were only trace evidences of any substance whatsoever to be found. I have identified certain components — traces of asphodel, belladonna and monkshood. I suspect it might be unicorn blood or powdered horn which gives the affected blood such a unique color. But none of that explains the side effects. Nor can I be sure what other elements might have broken down in the blood since the poison was administered. It is most frustrating."

"You said 'poison,´" Dumbledore replied. "So you think it is a poison, then?"

"I cannot be sure entirely," said Snape. "I certainly know of no bane which takes so long to take effect, and which produces such peculiar effects. But I cannot imagine what else it might be."

"You may or may not be happy to know that Lucius Malfoy agrees with you on that score."

Snape squinted. "What do you mean?"

"Young Malfoy arrived here this evening in the company of Harry Potter,"

Dumbledore said. "They claim to have eluded a trap set by Lucius at the Manor, and have come here seeking sanctuary. Which, of course, I am happy to provide."

"Of course." Snape took up a beaker of purplish liquid and poured it into the cauldron. The substance within turned an unexpected gold color.

"Anything for Harry Potter," he muttered under his breath. "I suppose they had the usual entourage with them?"

"If you mean Miss Granger and Miss Weasley, yes. Rather unexpectedly, they also brought young Mister Finnegan. I shall have to owl his parents in the morning."

"Isn´t there one missing?" Snape had begun searching among his flasks and vials for something. Seen through the tinted liquids inside, his face took on an odd particolored appearance: a blue cheekbone, hooked green nose, and orange chin. "What of our erstwhile Head Boy?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Ronald Weasley is not with them."

"Unsurprising. If I were him I wouldn´t want to show my face around here either." Snape selected a vial of pink liquid and held it up to the faint overhead light. He poured some into a stone mortar filled with powder, picked up a pestle, and began to mix whatever was inside into a reddish paste. "Heś probably cowering somewhere, licking his wounds and feeling foolish."

Dumbledore made a noncommittal noise.

Snape looked at him sharply. "You don´t think so?"

"Not particularly, no, but that is not the issue at hand. We were speaking of the poison…"

"Yes. Lucius Malfoy knows of it?"

"Apparently he claims to have administered it," Dumbledore said quietly.

There was a short silence. Snape raised an eyebrow. "Poisoning his own son," he remarked finally. "Voldemort will be pleased with Lucius. Making the supreme sacrifice for the Dark Lord."

"Given what Lucius gave up to serve Voldemort, is it really all that much of a sacrifice?"

"For Lucius, yes. Draco is still his. Minted out of the same metal. Malfoy bones and Malfoy blood. And he is an exceptional child. Subsequent children might not be so…exceptional. I don´t suppose," Snape added, "that there is the slightest chance that Dracoś escape from the Manor will prove detrimental to Lucius´ public standing?"

"Unlikely." Dumbledoreś tone was flat and heavy. "Sirius and Remus have already begun contacting all the old crowd and the reports are coming in. It appears that the corruption at the Ministry is more deep-rooted than we had ever imagined. We have been blind and complacent indeed and we will pay a heavy price for it. I imagine that soon enough Lucius will be able to walk down any wizarding street performing Unforgivable Curses right and left with no fear of punishment."

"You paint a bleak picture," Snape said, some irony in his tone. "I thought that was my job."

Dumbledore sighed. "You are right, Severus. The hour is late and my mood is subsequently dark. I originally came down here to give you something, not to wallow in grim predictions."

"Oh, yes? What is it?"

"You said that you were surprised that Lucius would consent to the destruction of his son," said Dumbledore. "I am not entirely sure that he did. He may have been hoping to use the poison as a bargaining chip."

Snape, being Snape, twigged immediately. "There is an antidote, then," he said, setting down the pestle.

"There was an antidote." Dumbledore reached into his pocket and drew out a roll of scarlet cloth. He laid it down on the worktable in front of the Potions master. "Harry Potter gave me this. These are the broken fragments of a vial that supposedly held the anti-toxin to this poison."

With a long index finger, Snape flicked at the cloth, which unrolled itself along the table. All upon and down the cloth bright slivers of glass clung like tiny glittering stars. "There is blood on these fragments," Snape remarked.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "That is Harryś blood."

Snape looked up, his dark eyes hooded. "Such tiny slivers…"

"I know, Severus. But I recollect that during the Lestrange case you were able to detect the Stunning potion that was used on the Longbottoms from a fragment of a broken wineglass, and I have hope. I know that you will do everything that you can."

"Of course I will." Snapeś tone was flat. "Headmaster…how much time do I have?"

"Lucius apparently told Draco that he had a month. From the look of him, however, I would guess it to be a little less."

"Less than a month…" Inside the sleeve of his robe, Snape had balled his hand into a fist. "Should I go up and talk to him, then? He might want to see me. Draco, I mean."

"I know what you mean." Dumbledore spoke thoughtfully. "He is already asleep. They all are. I thought it best that he not sleep in the Slytherin dungeon tonight…"

"Headmaster, I object!" A muscle twitched in Snapeś cheek. "I know perfectly well that he has inexplicably befriended not just Potter but his entire crew of miscreants. I know that it would be impossible to pry him away from Potter with an Unbinding Hex. But no Slytherin student should sleep in Gryffindor Tower. It is more than just unseemly and against the rules, it is…it is traitorous!" Snapeś voice trembled with agitation.

"Whatever alliances he might have chosen, however ill he might be, Draco Malfoy remains a Slytherin!"

"Severus." Dumbledoreś tone was gentle. "I put him in the infirmary."

"Oh." Snape deflated immediately. "Oh, of course. Yes. Madam Pomfrey should look after him."

"Indeed." Dumbledore almost succeeded in keeping the amusement out of his voice. "Is there anything I can get for you, Severus, anything you require for your work?"

"Tea," said Snape, slightly plaintively. "I find myself in need of a stimulant."

"I shall have the house elves bring you some Lapsang Souchong,"

Dumbledore named the foul-smelling brew of which Snape was enamoured. "And Severus…thank you for your hard work."

Even after the dungeon door closed behind the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Snape stood for a long time lost in thought, staring down at the roll of cloth before him, starred all over with its silvers of bright greenish glass.

The scarlet of Gryffindor, the green of Slytherin. Potter blood and Malfoy poison. That Harry Potter had carried these fragments all the way to Hogwarts on the slim chance that they might prove useful surprised him.

He knew from observation that Draco adored the Potter boy, painfully and intently, but had not assumed that Harry felt much of anything but toleration in return. That there might be friendship on both sides was curious to him. Had it been James, of course, there would have been no question…