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 Harrys 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.' Snapes 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 Snapes 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!' Snapes voice trembled with agitation.
'Whatever alliances he might have chosen, however ill he might be, Draco Malfoy remains a Slytherin!'
'Severus.' Dumbledores 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…
For the first time, Severus Snape began to consider the possibility that Harry Potter might not be just like his father.
As he considered, he very carefully began to brush the glass fragments into a small metal cauldron. The first identifiable substance on the glass turned out to be human blood, which did not surprise him: the second was tears. It would be a long time before he found out whose tears they were.
References:
The Knight, Death and the Devil: The Knight, Death and the Devil is a woodcut engraving by Albrecht Durer. It shows a Knight making his progress through the world, frightened by Death, tempted by the Devil.
The knight is meant to symbolize the faith within us all and ties in with Draco's statement in Hermione's dream that love is faith. Alternatively, I think of the Knight as being Harry, Death as Draco (because he is dying) and the Devil as Lucius, offering temptation to Our Hero.
The bit about Draco’s metallic beauty showing his cruelty was actually something Anthony Minghella said about why he cast Jude Law in The Talented Mister Ripley.
'The black winter sky fretted with icy fire': 'This majestical roof fretted with golden fire' is from Hamlet; the soliloquy that begins 'I have of late, though wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth.'
'Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions': what Augustus Caesar said when he learned that his most important general had lost a tenth of Rome s army in an ignominious defeat. 'Quintili Vare, legiones redde' is the Latin.
'I belong to Malfoy Manor': from Diana Wynne Jones’ Charmed Life, where the stolen books shout 'I belong to Chrestomanci!'
Liber-Damnatis: HP Lovecraft invented this tome of evil.
'I was pondering the immortal words of Socrates when he said 'I drank what? — Socrates died after being forced to swallow poison by the Athenian government. The quote comes from the movie Real Genius.
'Nobody likes a non-budger' — obligatory Buffy quote.
— william carlos williams
Although it was winter, the light that came through the infirmary window was deceptively clear and transparent gold: summer light. Dumbledore sat and looked at the fair-haired boy in the bed by the window, and sighed inwardly.
'Master Malfoy,' he said. 'I hope you know I am trying to help you. You are making it very difficult for me.'
The boy raised his eyes to Dumbledore's. Unusual eyes they were, the eyes that ran in the Malfoy family. His father had had the same eyes. Clear gray, untouched by hints of blue or green or hazel. 'I told you,' the boy said. 'I don't need help.'
Dumbledore sighed again, this time aloud. 'Lucius,' he said. 'Show me your arms, please.'
There was a short silence. Then, unwillingly, the boy stretched his arms out towards his Transfigurations professor. His chin was set, as if he were proud of his injuries, and perhaps he was. They were certainly dramatic: from wrist to elbow, on both arms, six parallel cuts were slashed into his skin. They were deep cuts, long and clean-edged, as if they had been made with a particularly sharp knife. Headmaster Dippet had nearly fallen out of his chair when he'd seen them. They looked bad, and Dippet was terrified of Lucius' family already.
'How did you get these, Lucius?' Dumbledore asked, knowing already what the response would be.
