Walk the Shadows

constructed.

Still, even with the bubble, it had still taken him no more than twenty minutes, with the judicious use of non-offensive Legilimency, to discern the origin of the man's recent odd behavior. Severus had berated himself since then for not attempting to figure out that oddness before being poisoned.

'Only . . . after . . . I hurt . . . him.' Harry tried to push himself upright, but Severus gently – but firmly – prevented him from doing so. Scowling, even as he leaned back again, Harry added, 'I weakened . . . his mind. He . . . couldn't fight him.'

Considering that revelation, Severus nodded slowly. Another mere half hour's careful searching through Albus' mind had uncovered memories of what the man had been up to for the last week, but not why the Dark Lord had been able to access his mind in the first place. He should have recognized the possibility of Albus' walls being weakened by the earlier attack. He should have taken steps to mitigate the damage. 'Be that as it may, I still left you to face him, as well as Lucius.'

'You were poisoned,' Harry said harshly, putting enough energy into the last word that it left him panting for breath. 'How . . . the . . . hell . . . would—'

Severus held up his hand, to make Harry stop speaking before he ran out of breath entirely. 'I know, I know. But I'm not always rational about you, if you'll recall.'

That got him an unexpected smile. Or a ghost of one, at least. Then, when he got his wind back, Harry whispered, 'And Lucius?'

'He will not trouble you again, you can count on that.'

'Did I—'

'He's alive.' Though Severus would have gladly killed him. He counted it as a personal moral victory that he had not taken advantage of the fact that the despicable man had been bound and helpless, in a sense almost begging to be disposed of. But he'd known that Harry would never believe it had not been his fault if Lucius died that night, and so he refrained. The self-restraint required to do nothing more to him had been nothing short of miraculous.

He went on, 'But he is a Squib now. His magic is gone for good. His family has foresworn him, as has the Dark Lord. He is penniless, powerless, and no better than a homeless Muggle.' Severus smiled, and it was not a pleasant smile. Lucius had many powerful enemies, most of whom would not show the restraint that Severus had, not by a long shot. The erstwhile paterfamilias of the Malfoy family would not survive the week. If he was lucky. 'A fitting end for him, I do believe.'

Harry closed his eyes and nodded, drawing a slow breath. 'That's good.'

'Yes,' Severus agreed. 'Yes, it is. You did very well, Harry.'

'I almost . . . killed him.' Harry swallowed and opened his eyes. 'I wanted to.'

'I know.' Severus offered him the goblet, and Harry drank a little more. 'But you didn't. Even though you wanted to. He would not have done you the same turn.'

Another swallow, more convulsive than the last, and Harry turned his head away, but not before Severus caught the flash of anguish in his eyes. 'They were . . . going to use . . . me again, . . . they said.' The words were no more than a whisper, but with such a vicious undertone that Severus' breath was caught in his throat, just hearing it. 'Had a . . . special cell . . . prepared. . . . And Lucius . . .' He swallowed and gritted his teeth, then, 'He was . . . so vile.'

Severus nodded. 'I'm sorry,' he offered again, knowing it was not likely to help at all, but feeling like he had to, all the same.

'Don't,' Harry said, looking back at him. Grim determination sparked in his