Slugging It Out

Chapter 14 - A Twist of Happenstance

When he returned to school for his sixth year, Severus still harboured some painful hopes that Lily might come round towards him. After all, she and her Gryffindor friends had patched it up soon enough after he set her up. But Lily determinedly ignored him, sticking her nose in the air whenever they encountered each other and looking meaningfully in the other direction. She went out of her way to avoid walking past him. Other than that, she showed no sign of missing his company.

To rub salt into the wounds, he now had all classes apart from Charms with Lily. He sat alone, gazing gloomily across at her as she whispered with her girlfriends. Potter and Black were also his unwelcome classmates in Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Potter no longer attacked Severus publically, leaving his snide comments and occasional hexes to times when no one else was around. On a couple of occasions Black had gone to start something more openly, and Potter had pulled him away. If anything this made Severus loathe Potter more.

Because Severus knew that beneath Potter's new 'responsible' exterior there was still the same self-regarding bully and idiot as there'd always been, even if no one else could see it. And no one else did seem to see it. Over the year, Potter pulled off a remarkable image change. He had always been inexplicably popular with his peers, but he also started sucking up to the teachers something rotten. For instance, he started giving extra flying coaching for younger Muggleborn students, something which seemed to elevate him to the level of minor sainthood in the eyes of the rest of the school. Despite all his extra-curricular activities, somehow Potter also managed to top the class in everything. It was just too much.

More worrying still, as the year progressed there was a noticeable thaw in relations between Lily's group and that of Potter. The two separate groups of girls and boys seemed to merge. As far as Severus could tell, things were casual and purely friendly, but he didn't like it one bit.

With all of his old gang gone, he had no one to hang around with, and no one to prevent him devoting his free time to spying on Lily. In Potions, he heard her referring casually in conversation to 'James and Sirius', and his heart constricted and shrank. Then a few days later he saw her standing in a group of Gryffindors including Potter and his gang. She was handing round some sweets, and when Potter took one he saw the eye contact and the smiles. Severus slammed his hand into the wall, bruising his knuckles so badly that he couldn't straighten his fingers properly for days.

His corrosive hatred for Potter was so intense that what with that and his tumultuous feelings for Lily, it was all he could do to sit in the same room as them, let alone pay attention. His marks suffered as a result, and he withdrew more and more into his own world, ignoring the teachers and instead scribbling notes into his textbooks as ideas occurred to him. Often he would think of a good comment or joke, and make a mental note to tell Lily, before he remembered she wouldn't want to hear. So he wrote them down instead, his Potions textbook becoming a sort of proxy for Lily, for all the things he'd like to share with her but could not.

Sixth year magic was a lot more interesting that the OWL level stuff. There was an emphasis on non-verbal incantations, something Severus had already mastered through private study. He learned to perform all of his own spells non-verbally, determined to stop Potter learning any more of them. At the duelling club he earned the nickname 'silent assassin' for his ability to duel entirely silently, something that unnerved the majority of his opponents. But he gained no real pleasure from it, just a grim sense of it being something else he needed to do to fill in the empty chasms that Lily had left in his life.

In Defence Against the Dark Arts they were supposed to learn to produce Patronuses. Their latest teacher, a former Charms master hauled out of retirement, warned them how hard it would be. Severus smugly disregarded this, sure he would manage without too much difficulty. But Professor Happenstance was right. The incantation was simple enough, and the wand movement deceptively easy, but conjuring a Patronus was the hardest thing he'd ever tried.

'Think happy thoughts, everyone! Focus on your happiest memory!' Professor Happenstance entreated them, until Severus had to fight the urge to knock him out with a conventional Stunner just to shut him up.

By the end of the lesson, some of the class had managed to produce a silvery mist, which was the first step towards a full corporeal Patronus. Others, including Severus, had managed nothing at all. The more he tried and failed, the worse he felt and the harder it became. Professor Happenstance dismissed them, suggesting they practiced little and often. 'If you feel yourselves getting disheartened, stop and try again later,' he trilled after them.

Severus ignored this advice and spent hours in his dorm trying and failing to conjure a Patronus. It wasn't that he had no happy memories, it was just that they were all so tangled up in his unhappy ones he found it impossible to get any further than the 'mist' stage. He would eventually fall back onto his bed, tired and frustrated. By the third lesson on the subject, several of the class had managed a corporeal Patronus. Lily, always good at Charms, was one of the first to achieve it. Her Patronus, still rather indistinct, appeared to take the form of a horse.

To Severus' intense annoyance, Potter and Black also mastered the spell quickly. Potter's Patronus was unmistakable, a stag with spreading antlers, whilst Black's was a large dog of some kind. The two gambolled around the room, colliding with each other and knocking over piles of papers. Students squealed and scattered in their paths. Severus spent the rest of the lesson in a haze of fury and couldn't even produce any mist.

The next lesson they moved on to other work, but Severus continued to try and produce a Patronus in private. He mined his life for experiences that might be happy enough to work. He tried the memory of getting his Hogwarts letter, the day he saved Lucius' life, the time he first invented a spell, and the moment Lucius rescued him from jail. It was all in vain. At Christmas he complained to Lucius, who was typically full of incomprehension. 'I don't know why you're so bothered, old thing. Not thinking of become an Azkaban warden, are you?'

He carried on trying, despite Lucius' reassurance that he'd never been able to cast a Patronus and it hadn't affected his life so far. It bothered Severus to not be able to do a spell, especially one that Potter and Black had mastered. By the summer term he still hadn't managed it even once. Happenstance set them a project, an in depth piece of work on defence tactics. Glad of a chance to make up for his Patronus failure, Severus worked hard on it. Rather than going for a conventional topic, he chose his own, 'The Defence Challenge of Matching Advances in the Dark Arts'.

He was very proud of his piece of work. He wove in his knowledge of invention, including spells of his own design, as examples of ways in which the 'good guys' could keep one step ahead of dark wizards. In his personal opinion, the 'good guys' were always going to be on the back foot, simply because half of magic was automatically banned for them. But he suspected it wouldn't be politic to say as much. His reading and self-study was turning to increasingly dark subject matter, and he already knew he didn't agree with the Ministry's sanitised black-and-white view of what constituted 'dark' magic.

The lesson that they handed in their projects, he tailed Lily and her friend Morgana out of the class, surreptitiously casting his eavesdropping spell. He hoped to find out what Lily had submitted, but they weren't talking about that. 'I'm really worried, I just want to see her,' Morgana was saying plaintively. He almost ended the spell there and then, but curiosity made him hesitate.

'But the letter said she was all right, didn't it?' replied Lily, in a similarly low, urgent tone. 'We shouldn't go out of school, it's not safe.'

'I know, I know it's not safe!' Morgana's voice reached a pitch that he could hear it without his spell, and several people looked their way. She hastily lowered it again. 'That's the point, they're not safe, are they? They're out there all the time!'

'Morgana, going to see them isn't going to make them safer. What good's it going to do? You'll only upset yourself worse...'

'Lily, you don't understand. I just have to see them, to know they're OK. I can't quite believe it. What if they're keeping something from me? It's only Hogsmeade, Lily, it's not far. We can go now and be back by curfew. Please Lily?'

Lily looked around quickly before conceding. 'All right. But we leave before it's dark, OK?'

He could hardly believe his ears. Surely Lily wasn't going to leave Hogwarts grounds? Death Eater attacks were now a regular occurrence, and only Hogwarts seemed to be exempt. They were not even allowed to visit the village at weekends anymore, and a muggleborn like Lily had more to fear than most. Stupid Morgana, leading her astray on some wild goose chase!

Severus hid behind a suit of armour outside the Gryffindor quarters, and when the girls re-emerged he followed them, but it was difficult as the route crossed several areas of open ground. If they saw him, the game would be up, so he was forced to go a different route, through the woods. As a result, he lost them. He wandered the streets of Hogsmeade, his hood up, holding his wand ready. It was still light, and few a people were about. Despite the Death Eater threat, Hogsmeade didn't feel any scarier than it ever had.

The shadows were lengthening and it was getting distinctly dusky when he finally admitted to himself that he'd missed them completely. Lily wasn't stupid, she'd probably hustled Morgana straight back to school once she'd seen whoever she needed to see. Her stupid family, presumably. He was on the outskirts of the village, heading for the back way into Hogwarts, when he heard a blood chilling scream, female.

He began to run before he'd even consciously made a decision to move. Rounding the corner of a row of houses, he saw Morgana lying in the road, apparently unconscious. Lily was standing over her. Gliding towards them were three very tall, cloaked figures. He felt instantly sick as a wave of cold passed over him, seeming to suck all the strength from him. He'd never seen one before, but knew at once that these were Dementors.

'Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum!' Lily was gasping, but to no effect. 'Please! Please don't hurt us, we haven't done anything wrong. She's just a schoolgirl. Please!' she begged, as one reached out a single skeletal hand towards her.

He felt a sudden surge of love, for who but Lily would try to reason with a Dementor? The thought of Lily, his Lily, was enough to push away the chill of despair. He no longer felt cold or hopeless, he was filled him with colour and warmth again. He raised his wand, and the spell didn't seem difficult anymore. He simply visualised Lily, her laugh, her smile, her kindness, as he spoke the words. 'Expecto Patronum!' he cried, and a silvery creature burst from his wand. It charged straight towards the Dementors, which immediately turned and backed away. The Patronus chased them down the street.

'Lily!' Potter and Black emerged from a side street ahead of him, and Lily ran to them. Unable to believe his bad luck, Severus stared in horror. Potter was all testosterone, wand out, knees flexed like an action figure. He grabbed Lily and hugged her tightly. 'Are you all right? Thank goodness your Patronus drove them away!'

Black had run down to Morgana, who was beginning to stir, just as a panting Lupin and Pettigrew arrived on the scene. Lily had disentangled herself from Potter, looking rather embarrassed. 'It wasn't me,' she said. 'I didn't cast it.'

'But it was your Patronus, I recognised it. A deer,' said James, and that word seemed charged and full of meaning. Severus, having moved almost instinctively into the lee of the houses, felt the words like a blow.

'I know, but it really wasn't me,' repeated Lily, going over to put an arm around Morgana who was now on her feet again.

Potter looked around wildly, and Severus melted further back into the lengthening shadows. His moment of glory had been ruined. He wasn't going to emerge in front of Potter and his friends, giving them a chance to make him look bad somehow. They'd probably accuse him of having set the Dementors on Lily in the first place. 'Hello?' Potter called. 'Is anyone there?' After a moment he turned back to the girls. 'Come on, let's get out of here. We need to let Professor McGonagall know what happened.'

'But Prongs, we shouldn't have been in Hogsmeade!' exclaimed Pettigrew.

'For goodness sake, Wormtail, I think letting the teachers know that Dementors are attacking people is rather more important than us getting in detention for being out of bounds. Now come on; Sirius, Remus, you keep the rear and everyone keep their eyes peeled. They might come back.'

'What were you lot doing in Hogsmeade anyway?' he heard Lily ask.

'Pub of course,' said Potter quickly. 'Anyway, what about you? Not like you to be breaking the rules, Evans.'

The little knot of Gryffindors disappeared down the street, and rounded a corner. Severus stepped out, full of anger and regret that his best chance ever to make it up to Lily had been spoiled, and by Potter. He whispered the spell again, and once more the silver doe leapt from his wand. It gambolled round in front of him, then regarded him with its head on one side, before dissolving into silver mist.

So his Patronus took on the same form as Lily's. Was it a sign that they were meant to be together? But the fact that Potter's Patronus was also a deer - albeit a male one - made him feel uneasy. He couldn't let himself read too much into the Patronus link between him and Lily, without also wondering about the one between them both and Potter. He headed off back to school deep in confused thought. If only Lily had realised who'd cast the Patronus. Maybe then at least she'd understand that he really did care about her.

*****

After the Dementor incident Hogwarts was put on high alert. Some parents removed their children, but most stayed. There wasn't anywhere completely safe anymore. Everyone was forbidden to leave the grounds under any circumstances, and the security around the castle was tightened even further. Dumbledore spoke reassuring words, but they fell on deaf ears. Hysteria gripped many of the school's inhabitants.

Severus felt no fear for himself, but every time he thought of Lily his stomach knotted with tension. Despite his promise, he knew he couldn't protect her, not when she wasn't even speaking to him. The Dementor incident had been a very lucky coincidence, and he strongly suspected that his luck - never something he'd possessed in abundance - had already been exhausted. He knew he could look after himself, but Lily... Lily was brave, and her friends stupid. Wretched Morgana had already almost got her killed once.

However there was only so long that heightened tension could last. By June, with no more incidents in Hogsmeade, everyone began to forget about it. Professor Happenstance handed back their projects. Severus accepted his eagerly, looking forward to a high mark. When he saw the 'E' on the front he at first didn't think he was reading correctly. His temper worsened when Potter announced in an overloud casual voice to Black that he'd got an O.

Barely able to contain himself, Severus waited until the end of class before confronting Happenstance. 'Professor, I don't quite understand the mark you gave me.'

Happenstance took his project and scanned it. 'Ah yes, the one about innovation. Not a bad piece of work in itself, but rather missed the point I'm afraid. You must always answer the question posed, boy, not the one you wished was asked.'

'But there wasn't a question posed,' said Severus through gritted teeth. 'You said to write about an area of defensive magic that interested us. I did that.'

'Well, yes, but it's not an area we've studied. It's not on any marking scheme. This is a NEWT level project, Mr Snape, not a piece of academic research. You're overcomplicating things. I think 'E' was a fair grade, considered.'

'Fair!' spat Severus, furious. 'Fair! You gave Potter and Black both O's! How is that fair? They haven't had an original thought between them.'

'But as I said, Mr Snape, we're not giving out marks for originality. Now, perhaps you should be getting along.'

Incandescent with anger, he stormed out of the classroom, colliding with Potter and his gang who'd been listening at the door. They all burst out laughing at the sight of him. 'Poor little Snivelly, you mustn't overcomplicate things now!' crowed Black.

Severus lashed out and managed to bring three of them out in boils before Happenstance appeared and put him in detention. The Gryffindors left, still laughing despite the boils. Severus returned to his dormitory and smashed the mirror before hastily repairing it.

His detention was that evening. He sat in Happenstance's classroom, writing lines. His hand felt heavy, weighed down with hatred. 'I must not fight in the corridors. I must keep my temper under control,' he inscribed, pausing to cast an evil look at the Professor. 'I must not fight in the corridors. I must keep my temper under control.' He was pressing so hard that the quill tip cut through the parchment. He dragged it on savagely, letting the parchment crumple as he did so.

'Less of the heavy breathing, Severus,' said Happenstance, without looking up. 'You're writing lines, not running a race.'

A few sparks flew from Severus' wand, which wasn't even in his hand. He wished Happenstance dead with a vengeance. No wonder Potter and Black came top in everything. All the teachers were too stupid to realise that Severus' inventive brilliance was far above the by-the-book, run-of-the-mill nature of Potter and Black's supposed excellence. Oh how he hated those Gryffindors! How he hated them all.

When he'd finished, he left the classroom and started back for the Slytherin dormitories. As he left, he felt a sudden vicious urge to teach Happenstance a lesson. He placed a trip jinx on the doorway. Childish, he knew, but at least it made him feel a bit better. Satisfied, he made his way to the dungeons.

The following morning there was a commotion at breakfast when he arrived, bleary eyed and late after a bad night's sleep. 'What's the excitement?' he asked Regulus Black.

Reg's friend, Barty, leaned forward eagerly. 'It's Professor Happenstance. People are saying he's dead!'

Severus dropped his spoon with a clatter and looked up. 'Dead?' he repeated, heart in his mouth.

'Yeah, seems like the curse of the DADA job's got someone properly at last,' said Regulus with relish. 'Course, it's only a rumour. He might have just done a runner.'

'What happened?' asked Severus, putting his trembling hand under the table.

'Well, some people are saying he was found in the grounds after jumping off the Astronomy Tower-' began Regulus.

'Or getting pushed!' chimed in Barty excitably.

'And then others are saying he got impaled on that suit of armour just outside his classroom. Some people are saying it must have attacked him - the teachers are out testing every suit in the castle now.' He lowered his voice. 'People are saying it's the Dark Lord - that he's found a way to get at Hogwarts at last!'

Feeling very sick, Severus tried to fake unconcern. 'Well, we Slyths should be OK then,' he said rather faintly.

'Yeah, it's the mudbloods who'll have to watch out,' said Regulus, with relish. Severus cast a quick glance at Barty Crouch, whose father after all was the face of the fight against Voldemort. But the sharp faced boy looked just as pleased as Regulus at the thought of mudbloods in danger.

Happenstance did turn out to be dead, but of the undramatic cause of a banged head. It seemed he'd fallen over on the way out of his classroom, carrying a large pile of books. He'd struck his head on the stone floor, and then been hit by several falling textbooks. The flagstones outside the room were uneven, and Happenstance an elderly and not particularly agile man. The other teachers were quick to try and dispel the rumours that dark magic had somehow been responsible. No one even thought to question Severus. Everyone was keen to prove how very accidental it had been.

Outside Transfiguration the following day, Severus encountered the Gryffindor boys. He tried to pass them, but Potter stepped up and a moment later Severus was pinned to the wall, Black disarming him. 'Let me go!'

Potter's tone was not its usual casual gloat. He sounded very serious. 'Listen, Snape, we know you had something to do with Happenstance's death,' he hissed.

'Rubbish,' retorted Severus at once. 'Dumbledore said it was an accident, you heard him this morning.'

'Well, Dumbledore doesn't know what we know. You fell out with Happenstance, and you had detention with him that night. You know what I think? I think you pushed him.'

'Not everyone resorts to attempted murder when they don't like someone, Potter,' he replied, struggling to be free.

'No, but you're not everyone, are you, Snape? You're a nasty, devious little weasel who loves the dark arts more than his own mother. I know you did it.' He could see the blood vessels in Potter's eyes behind his smeared glasses.

'Run along and tell Dumbledore then,' sneered Severus, more bravely than he felt. 'We both know how seriously he takes allegations of attempted murder.'

'But it isn't attempted murder, is it? It's actual murder. And you did it. No way is it just coincidence that you argue with him one minute, and he's dead the next.'

'Listen, Potter, if I was going to go around killing people I didn't like, you and Black would have departed the mortal coil many years ago,' whispered Severus. 'Now let me go before I shout for help. You can explain your theory to McGonagall then, see what she thinks. I didn't do it, so I'm not worried. In fact, I'll call for her right now.' He took a deep breath, and Potter stepped back, releasing him.

'This isn't over, Snape,' he said, in what he probably thought was a menacing tone, and the four boys sloped away.

In fact, Severus spent the rest of the term in a state of deep unease. He wrestled with his conscience. At times, he convinced himself everything was OK. It was an accident. Perhaps Happenstance had tripped over his own feet before he even reached the jinx. And even if had been the trap that had caused him to fall, Severus hadn't meant to kill him. It was still an accident. It was nothing like as bad as what Black had done, and got away with more or less scot-free. But at other times, he remembered how fervently he'd wished Happenstance dead, how sparks had spat from his wand even though he wasn't holding it. Had he somehow managed to curse the Professor, inadvertently fating him to die? After all, he knew that he had a most unusual skill for making things happen without using specific spells.

Tormented by his thoughts, his marks plummeted to such a point he even began failing Potions. It didn't help that Potter and his gang kept looking at him meaningfully all the time. He could feel their eyes on him in classes, at dinner. They were watching him, just waiting for him to slip up. The school was in official mourning, and they held a memorial service for the dead Professor. As Dumbledore listed the many achievements of Happenstance, the countless students who'd loved him as their Charms teacher over the years, the guilt increased inside his head to a crescendo.

He couldn't eat, and sleep came little and fitfully. He began to think others were looking at him accusingly too. Had Potter been spreading rumours? He was sure people were whispering as he passed them in the corridor. He heard the name 'Happenstance' all the time, everywhere he turned. Whenever he entered the DADA classroom - where lessons were being covered by the rest of the faculty in shifts - he saw the flowers outside, the place where the stones had been re-laid, and felt sick.

Two weeks before the end of term, just after the end-of-year exams, things came to a head. He arrived at Defence Against the Dark Arts, and saw a sign above the door proclaiming it the 'Hector Happenstance Memorial Classroom'. He retched drily, his stomach empty. Swaying slightly, he made it into the classroom. His feet felt heavy as he crossed towards his desk, every step was like walking through concrete. He could hear the voices of the class in his ears as a dull whooshing. It sounded as though they were chanting, 'Happenstance, Happenstance, Happenstance,' over and over.

Professor McGonagall was taking the class that day. He was sure she was staring at him with her gimlet eyes. She knew the truth, he could tell. He glanced behind him, and straight into the cold blue stare of James Potter. Potter pointed to himself, then to his eyes, and then to Snape. I'm watching you. He turned back to his books, sickened.

McGonagall began the lesson. He didn't hear a word of it. Every little sound was oddly magnified, the sniffs and breathing of his classmates, scratches of quills. He saw Lily whisper something to Mary out of the corner of his eye, and he knew she was calling him a murderer. He began to feel a pressure building inside his head. He felt corroded by the burden of knowledge inside him. His heart began to flutter.

The thought entered his head that he might just as well stand up and announce his guilt to the whole room. It would end the torment of waiting, waiting for the metaphorical axe to fall. He tried to force the thought out of his mind, but it wouldn't budge. Panic rose like bile in his throat. The harder he tried to resist the urge, the more impossible it became.

He felt himself rising to his feet, swaying slightly. He put a hand out to steady himself. Things seemed to be happening very slowly. He saw himself from above, a mere observer powerless to intercede, to stop himself. The whole class was staring at him. He could see McGonagall's lips mouthing his name, but he couldn't hear any longer, just the rushing rasp of his own breath. He watched helpless as his mouth opened, to finally confess. Then everything went dark.

*****

When he regained his senses, he found he was lying down. He kept his eyes shut, appraising the situation. He was in bed, the sheets restricting his movement. He'd confessed, and now he was on his way to Azkaban, tied down. Drawing a ragged breath, he opened his eyes and focussed on the person sitting beside him. He spoke, his voice hoarse. 'Lucius? What... what are you doing here?'

Lucius looked just a little less poised than normal. 'The floo'd me.'

Adrenaline surged through him and he whispered, 'Lew, are they taking me to Azkaban? Lew, tell them I didn't do it.' He reached out to his friend, who recoiled slightly.

'For goodness sake, old thing,' hissed Lucius. 'What rubbish are you talking about Azkaban? You're in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, you've had some sort of nervous fainting fit.' The shrewd grey eyes bored into him, and Severus could see him putting two and two together.

'Lew, I've done something terrible,' he began, filling the horror threaten to overwhelm him again.

Lucius moved surprisingly fast, bringing his head very close to Severus'. 'Listen to me, you have not done anything terrible. Do you understand? You're ill and confused. I know that if you had done something, you would keep quiet about it. Because the wise man keeps his counsel. I've never yet known things improved by telling people about them. So you just do what I used to tell the Quidditch team; take any bad thoughts and put them in a box instead your head and lock them away.'

They were interrupted by Madam Pomfrey, who began fussing over Severus, shining lights in his eyes and asking him a string of questions which he answered in a half-hearted way. None of them related to the death of Professor Happenstance. Eventually he asked, 'What happened to me? I remember going into DADA, and that's it.'

'You passed out, dear,' said Madam Pomfrey, making some notes on a chart. 'Just keeled over in the middle of the lesson. Which is what happens to boys who sit up all night studying and skip meals! Your teachers have told me how highly strung you are.' She sounded disapproving, as though being highly strung was a serious character fault. She affixed the chart to the end of his bed. 'I'll let Professor Slughorn know you've woken up.'

He turned to Lucius, who was still staring at him like a dangerous wild animal. 'What are you doing here, Lucius?' he asked softly.

'I told you, they floo'd me. Something to do with their quill that lets them keep track of where students live. Apparently I'm your next of kin.' He shrugged at Severus' surprised look. 'Who else have you got?' he pointed out, running a hand through his hair. 'Honestly, Severus, you're a liability. If I'm not around to keep an eye on you, look at the state you get yourself into! And this isn't even your NEWTs. Merlin knows what you'll be like next year unless you learn to get a grip!'

'Sorry,' he muttered, embarrassed that Lucius had been called here, seen him like this. 'Things just... got on top of me.' He longed to tell Lucius about Happenstance, but he knew his friend would not want to hear it. 'Lew, I didn't know what to do...'

'Listen, I'll tell you what to do. First, stop thinking about things you might or might not have done. If no one knows then there's no need to tell. Second, remember to eat three times a day and sleep at night. Third, we're going to make sure you have some fun this holiday, stop you obsessing over your books all the time. It's not normal to study so much. Now, Sluggy will be here soon. Just remember, you're confused and irrational. Possibly even hallucinating. You don't want to go making any rash statements, so sit back and let me do the talking, all right? All right?'

Severus nodded, and sagged back onto his pillows with relief. Lucius was in charge now. Things were going to be all right.