'No,' said Harry, very coldly. 'Spell it out. Spell it out, Malfoy.
Because I don?t understand.'
'Look,' said Draco, 'it was just that once, I think she really felt bad about it afterwards. You know, it doesn?t mean she doesn?t love you.'
'If you?re saying what I think you?re saying,' said Harry in clipped tones, 'I don?t believe you.' He shrugged. 'I just don?t.'
'Really?' said Draco, smiling, catlike. 'Then why isn?t your little lie detector going off? Your… Sneakoscope?'
Harry looked down wildly. It was true. The Sneakoscope was completely silent.
'Sorry, Potter,' said Draco. 'These things happen.'
'Sorry?' said Harry in a strangled voice. 'Sorry? Is that all you have to say? Why didn?t — why didn?t one of you tell me?'
Draco shrugged. 'We just couldn?t agree on how to break it to you,' he said. 'Eventually Hermione decided you were just better off not knowing. Maybe she was right,' he added, looking at Harry dubiously. 'You don?t seem to be taking it all that well…'
Black spots were dancing in front of Harrys vision. He could remember being so angry only a few times before in his life, usually at Voldemort. Hes lying, he told himself — but then why didn?t the Sneakoscope go off? — Hermione wouldn?t do that — but then why didn?t the Sneakoscope go off? — I always thought I would be the first — the only — this explains why shes been writing to him all this time, a letter a day, I knew it wasn?t normal —
'Hey,' said Draco, and his voice sounded like it was coming from very far away. 'Remember, Potter. Control, control control —'
BANG!
The snow globe on the desk burst like a bomb, spraying water and bits of synthetic silver snow all over Lupins papers. The nymph inside the snow globe screamed. Draco grinned as the windows cracked, and the wineglass on the table shattered into shards. Let him be angry enough, he prayed. Let him be angry enough -
CRACK!
And Draco ducked his head as the adamantine case in his arms fissured and split in half with a sound like rending bones. It worked!
He dropped the case, and the sword with it, letting the fragments of adamantine shower to the floor around him like hail, and seized hold of the front of Harrys shirt.
'I?m lying!' he shouted, over the sound of shattering glass and howling wind. 'I?m lying!'
Harry looked at him wildly. 'You?re what?'
'I?m lying! Of course I?m lying! Now stop it!'
'You?re just scared,' said Harry, narrowing his eyes as a paperweight flew across the room and thunked into the wall beside Dracos head. Draco got the distinct impression that Harry was in some way enjoying the havoc he was wreaking.
'Don?t be an idiot!' howled Draco. 'You think if I slept with Hermione I wouldn?t have been gloating about it way before now?
And when would we have had the time? You two are always together. Be logical, Potter!'
'What about my Sneakoscope?' shouted Harry stubbornly. 'Why didn?t it go off?'
'Because its in your jacket upstairs!' yelled Draco. 'Pillock!'
There was a sudden silence, broken only by the faint tinkle of the last bits of broken glass settling on the floor, and the tiny, furious voice of the nymph in the snow globe cursing at both of them. Harry didn?t hear it; he was looking at Draco, shocked. 'But why-?' He followed Dracos gaze down to the floor of Lupins office, now covered with water, shredded bits of paper, and shards of broken casing. The sword lay at Dracos feet; gleaming and silver as it had been the night that they had found it. Draco bent down and picked it up in his left hand, curling his fingers around the hilt. He raised it and held it out, showing it to Harry, who stared at it. 'Oh,' said Harry, as realization dawned. 'Oh.' He looked wearily at Draco. 'You miserable bastard,' he said, but there wasn?t much energy in it.
'You couldn?t have thought of some other way?'
'Sorry,' said Draco unrepentantly. 'You said before we should use whatever means were to hand.'
Harry shook his head. 'I hate making things easy for you,' he said.
'I really hate it.'
'Like taking candy from a baby,' said Draco, grinning, then looked down at his hands, which were bleeding, shot through with bits of broken adamant from the shattered case. 'Well,' he amended, 'a very large, very angry baby.'
'I?m way too tired to start beating on you, Malfoy,' said Harry calmly. 'But rest assured I?ll get you back for this.'
Draco couldn?t tell whether he was kidding or not. 'I?ll look forward to it,' he replied. 'Now come on, lets get out of here before Lupin gets away from Fleur and comes back.' He shuddered. 'Or worse, they come back together.'
When they returned to their dormitory room, they found Ron and Ginny kneeling on the floor next to the cauldron. Ginny was carefully removing something from it. She turned, hearing them enter, and gestured them over.
The Charm she had made was nowhere near as beautiful or as deadly-looking as the one that Lucius had created. This one was a bit lopsided, not so much a perfect circle as something of an oblong.
Draco eyed it dubiously.
'Its not done yet,' said Ginny. 'Here.' She thrust it at Draco. 'You hold it. I?ve got to do the last bit of the
