Better Angels

Better Angels

Chapter Six

Aftershocks

"Are you completely mad or just completely stupid?" Severus demanded, leaning over so that his nose nearly touched the Parkinson girl's.

She leaned back in her chair. "We were just having a little fun," she mumbled.

He slapped her.

"How dare you--" she whined.

"Shut up. The Dark Arts are not a toy for your amusement--yes, I know what you were doing, don't even try to deny it. You reek of Dark magic. Do you think your father--or anyone else--will be pleased to hear that you've gotten yourself expelled, and maybe even arrested, for the sake of some stupid, immature prank? I daresay he had other things in mind for you."

"Expelled?" Her voice held real terror now. "But--"

"Severus," Dumbledore said. "That will do. I think I should like to hear from the other parties to this incident before I make my final decision."

Severus hated to stop, but he did. He was having a difficult time holding onto his temper well enough to maintain his double cover--not acknowledging directly that he knew the children were Death Eaters, and not letting them guess that he wasn't. It was a tricky balance at the best of times.

So it was with mixed frustration and relief that he stepped back from Parkinson and said, "Yes, Headmaster. What would you like done with them in the meantime?"

"Send them out into the corridor. Professor McGonagall can watch them."

"Very well." With a flick of his wand, the ropes binding the six Slytherins to their chairs unwound. "Hands behind your backs," he ordered. "Manicae."

He motioned the six Slytherins down the staircase and followed them. IN the corridor, he looked over at Draco again. Was he all right? "Do you want me to put the full body bind on them?" He asked Professor McGonagall hopefully.

"I have their wands, Professor," she said sharply. "I daresay I can handle them."

"Suit yourself. But I wouldn't unfasten their hands if I were you." If she was thinking of them as schoolchildren, she was setting herself up for a rude surprise. "If one of them presents a compelling reason why you should do so, call for reinforcements. Don't trust them."

"Yes, Severus," she said indulgently. "We'll be fine."

He nodded. She had best not be humoring him--if any of them escaped, heads would roll. And he would do some damage after they'd been rounded up, as well. "Come on, then." Draco and the other children preceded him up the stairs, and sat in the chairs the Slytherins had just vacated.

"Brawling again, Draco?" Dumbledore asked him.

"It was an Inter-House Cooperative Brawl," Draco said hopefully.

"Indeed it was," Dumbledore agreed. "A most impressive display of teamwork, I must say, from what I've heard."

"We cleaned up," Draco agreed.

"Tell me what happened."

"Well, I got this note..."

Severus listened in horror as Draco explained the content of the note. "And you went?" he demanded, more harshly than he ought to have.

"I know, it was stupid. Can we talk about that part later?"

"You thought to tell someone--and it was them?" Draco ought to have told him. He could have set a spy in the Astronomy Tower.

"I didn't even really..." He looked embarrassed. "I didn't realize anything was wrong. I just mentioned it because Grumbine asked me to arrange some extra practices, and I said I'd be seeing Zenobia later..."

"And I was there," a girl--Violet Huffnargle--butted in. "So when I saw Zeno later--"

"We knew there was something underhanded going on," Zenobia finished.

Still. It should have been him.

Draco picked up the story, and told him what had happened when he got to the Tower.

"The Unfogivables?" he asked. Dangerously.

"Yes." Draco sat back in his chair and folded him arms across his chest.

Dumbledore wrote on a piece of parchment, sealed it, and put it in Fawkes's beak. The phoenix flew off.

"Aurors?" Severus asked.

"Yes."

Snape didn't like Aurors, but in this case he was willing to make an exception.

"So then we came in and rescued him," the Grumbine girl continued. The children went on for some time about their exploits, sounding like they'd had some great adventure.

Idiots. "You could have been killed. All of you."

They looked chastened, except Draco, who pointed out, "But they weren't."

Snape glared at him.

"It did look dicey for a minute," he admitted. "He's right, guys, it was pretty dangerous. If there's ever a next time, get a teacher right away, okay?"

They all nodded.

Then Draco added to him, "I don't know exactly what they had planned for a finale. If you want to try to get one of them to turn informer on the others, I'd start with Bulstrode. She didn't seem too amused by the jokes about how it took Imperius to get a man interested in her."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm halfway sure they were going to kill me," he added. "I don't see how they could have hoped to get away with it otherwise."

He had hoped Draco hadn't thought of that. "Yes," He agreed. There was one even less pleasant possibility, but he doubted they would have had the ability to keep Draco under Imperius long enough to get him to one of their parents.

Suddenly, he wanted, desperately, for the other children to be gone so that he could really talk to Draco. "Shouldn't the students go back to their..." Anywhere but here?

Dumbledore registered his distress. "Indeed. Ah, fifty House points for each of you, and Miss Zenobia, perhaps you'd like to visit some of your teammates in their common rooms until the situation is resolved? It shouldn't take more than a few hours."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll keep my head down and stay out of Slytherin territory until the smoke clears."

"We'll talk later," Draco said. "I'll have some advice for you."

They took a long time leaving--many of them insisted on hugging Draco on their way out.

Draco watched them go. "Did they have orders, or was that strictly extracurricular?" he asked, once the door had shut behind his teammates.

"Extracurricular, as far as I know. Their parents may have put them up to it." But Voldemort hadn't. "Are you all right? Really?"

He nodded. "Yes. They weren't very good. At the curses, I mean."

"It still couldn't have been easy." Draco had to be putting up a brave front--even if he was used to the Cruciatus curse, there were bound to be aftereffects.

"I've had worse," he elaborated. "Are they finally getting expelled now?"

"Yes. And arrested." He glanced over at Dumbledore. "They're already on their third or fourth chance, by my count," he said, daring the Headmaster to challenge him.

Dumbledore nodded solemnly.

"Good," Draco said.

"That is, if you won't let me kill them," Severus told Dumbledore.

"Severus!"

He hadn't really thought so--Dumbledore never let him kill anyone.

"There's always shot-while-attempting-escape," Draco pointed out.

But then he wouldn't get to do it. "Maybe the Dark Lord will let me kill them." He probably wouldn't; if anybody got to kill them, it would probably be their parents.

"You don't mean that," Dumbledore said reprovingly.

"I do," he admitted. But he didn't see how he could talk Voldemort into letting him do it. He'd be angry at them for doing such a stupid and obvious thing, ut even if he did decide they couldn't be trusted, he wouldn't let Snape kill them all. Maybe one. Maybe Parkinson. He imagined it for a second. He'd let her beg for her life. Then he'd kill her. Her life would drain out of her and into him, and it would be so good. He'd never gotten to kill anyone who deserved it before.

"Severus," Dumbledore said gently.

"I know." He was ashamed--he had to kill people, sometimes. He didn't have to want to.

But you still do, a part of him whispered.

"I'm sorry." He glanced over at Draco, who nodded. "I did get to slap Parkinson," he said. That was something.

"Really? I kicked her in the face," Draco said cheerfully.

"Good for you."

Fawkes flew about, another message clamped in his beak. Dumbledore read it, then told them, "The Ministry's sending Moody and Shacklebolt." He looked at Severus over his glasses. "You'll stay here until they arrive."

"You don't trust me?"

"Er...no, I don't believe I do."

"Probably wise," he admitted. He'd been hard-pressed to keep from wringing Parkinson's neck the few times he'd seen her since she left his Potions class. Now that he had a really good reason...

"Moody?" Draco said, sounding very worried.

"I won't let him do anything to you," Snape said. "If I even hear the word ferret..."

"That wasn't really him," Dumbledore reminded them.

"But you'll have noticed it didn't make anyone think it wasn't really him," Severus pointed out. He really didn't like Aurors.

"He does happen to know how to tell a hellhound from a bloodhound," Dumbledore pointed out.

"They all should," he mumbled. Then he told Draco, "Moody arrested me once. I don't like him any more than you do, but they deserve whatever he throws at them. He's on our side. This time."

"I hope they don't go quietly," Draco said.

"As do I."

Dumbledore looked at them disapprovingly, but didn't say anything. After a suitable interval, he said briskly, "Perhaps you'd like some hot chocolate. I know I could do with some."

"They're not Dementors," Draco pointed out, as they moved into the sitting room.

"Nevertheless." Dumbledore passed around cocoa and Chocolate Frogs.

As Draco unwrapped his Frog, his hands started to shake.

"Adrenaline's wearing off." Severus took the sweet from his hands and unwrapped it for him.

"I guess so," he agreed. He had been flushed from excitement before, but now his color had dropped past his usual pallor to a sickly transparency.

"It's all right. Here, drink this, then eat your chocolate." He found a vial of thick, bloodred liquid in one of his inner pockets and passed it to Draco.

"What is it?" he asked.

"A tonic that helps with some of the aftereffects of Cruciatus. Tastes about like you'd expect, but it helps."

Draco downed the potion in one gulp, wincing and shaking his head at the taste. Then he curled up in his chair, ate his chocolate frog, and then wrapped his hands around his mug of cocoa.

"Are you cold?"

He nodded. "A little."

Severus used his wand to light a fire in the grate and conjured up a rug for him. "I should have been there," he said apologetically. Leaving it to a group of schoolchildren to protect Draco from Dark wizards. Honestly. He should have been there.

"I didn't think to...I know it was stupid. I just didn't think."

"It's all right," Severus told him. The last thing he wanted was for Draco to blame himself.

But he sipped at his cocoa and repeated dully, "I just didn't think. Things have been so quiet."

"I know. This is your school. It isn't a war zone." Except it was, and Draco knew it.

"Should have known they had something big planned," he murmured. "Sorry."

He should have. "You're not to blame yourself."

Draco sighed, and rested his head in his hand.

"I'm sorry. That I wasn't there to help."

"I know." Draco shrugged.

Dumbledore interposed, "You're not to blame yourself, either, Severus."

"Why not?" He had plenty of things to blame himself for. One more wouldn't make much difference.

"Protecting Draco isn't your exclusive responsibility," Dumbledore pointed out.

Yes, it was. He was the only one who cared enough to take the job seriously.

"At least the kids came in time," Draco said uncertainly. "That was a nice surprise. S'pose they would have done it for anyone, but before I'd have said there weren't seven people in the school who'd piss on me if I were on fire. Seven people under thirty, anyway."

"True." That was good for him.

"I'm not surprised they came to your rescue,' Dumbledore said. "They like you."

"Mm." Draco looked a bit doubtful.

"Perhaps you'd like a bit of a rest," Dumbledore suggested.

He nodded. "I think perhaps I might."

#

The Aurors had commandeered several classrooms to use as holding cells and interrogation rooms. Dumbledore had somehow wangled him an interview with Bulstrode--after a stern, but unnecessary, warning not to harm her. He wasn't interested in Bulstrode. She was nothing but a pawn.

He drew up a chair in front of her. "Miss Bulstrode."

She snuffled into her sleeves. "I didn't know," she whined. "They said they were going to have some fun with Malfoy, I didn't know...I don't wanna go to j-hu-hu-aii-l-l-l!" she sobbed.

"For God's sake, stop being such a--pudding. If you didn't want to do it, why didn't you leave?"

Bulstrode didn't answer for a long time. Then she said, "They s-s-s-s-aid they could get m-m-me into the...yuh-you know."

"I realize we did careers advice last year," Severus said icily, "But perhaps you'll permit me to give you some more now. If your Housemates' mocking you about your weight and appearance causes you distress, perhaps a life in service to the Dark Lord is not for you."

Bulstrode looked up at him, her piggy little eyes wide. "B-b-bu-but..."

"This is an offer that will not be repeated," he warned her. "If you tell me exactly what your Housemates had planned--to the best of your knowledge--Dumbledore might be able to arrange for you to be treated with some leniency."

"But the Dark Lord--"

"Did not order this asinine caper. If those...people...told you that your participation would gain you points in that arena, they lied."

He waited. He'd thrown her a rope; now it was for her to decide if she wanted to grab it or drown.

She snuffled some more, and then said, "They said...they think it's fun to make boys pretend they like me. Almost every time somebody loses a bet, he has to kiss me, or take me on a date."

He knew that. "Why did you go along with it?" That wasn't really relevant to the case, but her answer might tell him something.

"B-b-because they won't be my friends if I don't."

"I see," he said contemptuously. "Go on."

"So they said...if I went up to the Astronomy Tower, they'd make Draco kiss me."

"And?"

"And I s-s-s-said he wouldn't. They said they could make it so he had to."

"Did you know what they meant?"

She hesitated, then said very quietly, "Yes."

"And you went along with it anyway."

"I..." She tried to break her eyes away from his. "I fancy him. I thought it would be...I couldn't have him any other way."

Pathetic. "Probably not," he agreed.

"I thought it would be different." She cried some more.

She had thought she'd be able to fool herself into thinking it was real.

Pathetic.

Against his will, Severus found himself sympathizing with her.

He could use that. If he was going to make her roll over on her friends, he had to use every tool he had. "What else were they going to do?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. They only wanted me for that part."

She was lying. "But you...overheard something, perhaps?"

"P-pansy said...her father hadn't let her do the Big One yet, except on a few dogs. She said she'd...show him she could do it."

"Did you know what she meant?"

"No," she lied.

"You fancy Draco--" he allowed his voice to drip with contempt "--and you let them lure him up there knowing--or at least suspecting--that Pansy was going to kill him."

"I didn't think she'd really do it!"

That was true--not for any particular reason. It was only that Bulstrode was an unimaginative girl, and she couldn't imagine her schoolmates really killing anyone. She'd willed herself to think of it was a harmless prank.

Could anyone be that stupid and live?

Evidently.

She was still talking. "He--you know--he'll get them out of jail, won't he?"

"If I were in their place, I'd beg the Ministry to stop them rescuing me. Prison is the least of the worries."

"W-what?" She seemed genuinely puzzled.

"Did you actually imagine that they could do dozens of Dark curses in Dumbledore's very stronghold and no one would notice? Are you that abysmally stupid? Or do you imagine that the Dark Lord encourages stupidity? What's more, there'll be a long and messy trial, in which they'll be asked to name names in exchange for leniency. Punishment aside, he'll have an interest in silencing them before it gets that far."

She shook her head. "I don't know."

"See that you never find out."

She talked some more, but she didn't know anything else.

"Tell the Aurors what you've told me," he advised her. "And ask for protective custody when you get to jail. Your participation was...minor...so if you cooperate now, you can expect a light sentence. Perhaps even probation."

Bulstrode sniffled some more. "Okay. T-thank you, sir."

He nodded crisply, and left.

He trudged upstairs to make his report to Dumbledore. When he got there, the Auror Moody was sitting in his inner office, in one of the chintz armchairs, sipping tea.

He turned to go, but Dumbledore waved to him. "Come in, Severus, and sit down."

Warily, he did, edging past Moody to take a chair at Dumbledore's left hand. At least Moody didn't look any more comfortable than he was. He put down his teacup and shoved it away when Snape sat down.

He reported quickly. "Bulstrode was a pawn. Not even that, more of a prop. She can give us Parkinson's stated intent to use him to practice Avada Kedavra, but she's convinced she wasn't really going to do it, so that could play either way in court."

Moody rumbled, "Since it was young Malfoy, it's possible the Minsitry will just decide to award the lot of them a medal. Or a rubbish disposal contract."

"Sit down Severus!" Dumbledore bellowed.

He had stood up and taken a step toward Moody without realizing it. Shooting a glance at the Auror--who had his wand out--he obeyed.

"Severus is...not in a position to find remarks of that sort amusing," Dumbledore said apologetically.

"My nerves are bad," Snape elaborated. Meaning, I just might kill you by "accident" if you drive me past my tolerance.

Moody, running his magical eye over him, nodded. "See he doesn't slip his lead, Albus," he growled.

"I trust him," Dumbledore pointed out.

"You're the only one who does."

"Not anymore," Snape said.

Moody looked at him quizzically.

"Malfoy," Dumbledore explained.

"Congratulations," Moody said dryly.

"Professor?" Draco stumbled out of Dumbledore's sitting room, rubbing his face. Spotting Malfoy, he narrowed his eyes in an expression of suspicion and dislike. "Thought I heard him. He isn't giving you a hard time, is he?"

Severus wondered what Draco planned to do about it if he said Moody was. But instead he said, "Everything's fine, Draco."

"Good." He perched on the arm of Severus's chair, since the Aurors was in his usual one. "If he even says the word 'ferret,' I expect him to be hexed into next week."

"Understood," Severus said.

"I'm not going to do anything to the boy," Moody said.

"What's happening now?" Draco asked.

"Shacklebolt's preparing the prisoners for transport," Moody answered. "We'll be taking them to Holding soon. Just need your evidence."

"I already told Dumbledore, McGonagall, and the Professor," Draco said, a touch of whine in his voice.

"It won't take long," Snape said, glaring at Moody.

"Right," the Auror agreed, rummaging in the pockets of his traveling cloak. Producing a vial, he said, "Drink up, and we'll get it over with."

"No," Severus and Draco said at the same time.

Dumbledore added, "I was not aware that the use of veritaserum had become standard procedure for interviewing victims, Alastor." Is tone was mild, but Severus felt that the situation was in good hands.

"It is when there's reason to believe the victim's testimony might be called into question."

"If Draco doesn't consent to the procedure--" Dumbledore looked a question at Draco, who nodded agreement, "--I'm afraid you will have to return with a warrant."

"If you're going to be difficult, I'll take him to Holding too, and straighten it out there," Moody threatened.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that either."

Snape added, "On top of the curses, he's had a potion I developed for dealing with the aftereffects of the Cruciatus curse. It hasn't been tested with veritaserum; there could be side effects. I can't allow it." Leaving aside that he wouldn't stand for treating Draco like a liar.

Moody looked at the bottle in his hand, then stuffed it back in his pocket. "All right. I'll hear his evidence now, and if we have to confirm it later..."

That was the best they were going to do. "I suggest you get started," Snape told him. If he was under the impression he was going to interview Draco alone, he'd best be disabused of that notion.

"Very well." Moody took out a notebook and a rumpled-looking quill. "What were you doing in the Astronomy Tower outside of class?"

Draco answered Moody's questions with no editorial additions, almost as though he had taken the veritaserum. He was, Snape thought, tired from his ordeal. Moody insisted on more details than Dumbledore had. When Draco talked about following Goyle around the room, trying to lick his boots after he had been hit with tarantallegra, the Auror let out a bark of laughter.

Draco flinched, Severus glared, and Dumbledore said, "Alastor!" reprovingly.

"Anyway," Draco said, "The kids stupefied them all, and then Longbottom and Huffnargle went to find a teacher. I got my wand back, and kicked them all--"

"You assaulted them after they'd been stupefied?" Moody interrupted.

"Oh, and your lot never do that," Snape said, his voice laden with sarcasm.

Moody glared at him. "Did you?"

"Yes," Draco said. "Seemed like they had it coming."

"Indeed," Snape told him, patting his arm.

"Anything you want to add?" Moody demanded.

Draco shook his head.

He closed his notebook. "Very well. We'll be in touch about the trials. You'll have to testify, of course."

Draco plainly hadn't thought of that.

"Yes," Severus answered for him, "You do that. Good day."

The Auror left.

"I'm sorry about that," Snape said.

"I doubt there's anything you could've done to stop him," Draco said resignedly, "Short of killing him."

"Won't say I wasn't tempted."

"So are that lot it for the Death Eater presence at Hogwarts?"

"Yes. Present company excepted, of course. I wouldn't let your guard down--many of the other Slytherins are sympathetic to the cause, and they're not likely to be happy about having half of their sixth year expelled."

"Will we have to do something about Zenobia, do you think?"

He kept forgetting about that girl. "We might."

"Wouldn't want anything to happen to her. Not before the match, anyway." Draco's tone was light, but Severus knew he now had another child to watch out for. "Not that she can't take care of herself," Draco continued, "But if it's a matter, of, say, six on one..."

"We'll do something." Severus looked at Dumbledore, who nodded.

"I'll have to have a talk with the others." Draco added. "Tell them to watch their backs. Their Housemates are likely to treat them like they've had a big adventure, and it might not occur to him that not everyone will regard their ridding the school of the Slytherin menace as praiseworthy."