12 Grim Old Place

Chapter 13
Date Started: 03-11-07
Pairing: Remus and Snape. Snape and Draco if you so view it that way.
Disclaimer: Yep. Don't own them. Wish I did...but nope. The idea wasn't even mine. It was Yami Bakura's. I had thought of something like this... but my idea was a lot stickier so I knew deep down I'd never write it. XD http://hp.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=1296771786

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"Don't do it so fast."

"I'm not doing it too fast..."

"You're going to make a mess."

"I will not. I'm being careful..."

"It doesn't look that way from here. You're being clumsy at best."

"Do you want to do it?"

"I'd prefer, but you need to learn how to do it. I can't always do it for you."

"You're better at it..."

"So?" A dark brow raised.

The werewolf just gave a pout and tried to pour the potion just a little bit slower into the flask. It wasn't an easy task and he had the nagging feeling that Snape was inwardly laughing his head off. Remus never was fond of potions in school and as entertaining as watching Snape move confidently with each stage of the potion had been, getting anywhere near it to Remus meant risking ruining it. He couldn't handle that.

"There. That wasn't so difficult?"

Remus could almost swear that Snape was taunting him but he didn't say anything and just nodded. "Right..."

"Ready to go back, then? That's the last of them." Snape said airly, closing his eyes for a moment as if tired.

"I probably should be heading back so I can find a proper hiding place for these... but I'd rather stay here with you..."

"They are that bad?" The potions master tucked some of the long hair behind his ears and studied the werewolf for a few seconds.

"Of course. That's not the only reason, though."

"You don't owe me anything."

Remus sighed, feeling a little cheated in the grand scheme of things. He didn't feel that he owed Snape exactly, though he was infinitly grateful for the potion and companionship that Snape provided seemingly without a second thought. It touched Remus that even after everything this man still viewed him as something worthwhile. Not just a werewolf.

Snape had turned his head away and was staring at something on the other side of the room, his head tilted to the side slightly and he was breathing so evenly that it made him appear almost surreal. Like he was a statue of himself and not truely alive. The pale skin and stark contrast of black robes and hair didn't really help too much.

"Ready now?"

Remus nodded weakly while collecting the various bottles and placing them into the pockets of his shabby looking coat and standing, Snape following in motion.

***

Draco had taken up a new hobby in the past few days that involved silently crying and clinging to his pillow. While he would never openly admit that he had done it, the simple action helped greatly. He didn't feel so completely torn and hopeless with his situation. His mourning for his mother was subsiding and it was a lot easier to simple fall back into his habit of appearing to be the perfect little boy that parents loved and children hated for being what he was. He didn't have to force himself to feel calm and collected and put on a charming smile.

He supposed that he perhaps could think Harry for the revelation. Though, he would never openly admit to that either. Harry running off like he had the week before had scared Draco and shown him how much being off could harm those around him. He'd never hit Harry before. He'd never hit anyone. If something didn't go his way he'd just glare or run. Crabbe and Goyle would sometimes hit for him but he never asked them to. It was in his nature. Malfoy's demanded things with their presence, not their fists. It was almost a disgrace to touch Harry like that.

He figured that it was Harry's fault, touching on subjects that were still very sore. Draco would never go home after this. There would be no way that he could stomach it. He was weak and he knew it. A trapped animal could lash out if cornered. That was exactly what he'd done.

He sometimes, though not often even thought of his father in his moments of weakness. He didn't really cry for his father in his mind but he never made the effort to stop himself before hand. His Father seemed almost mental in his views and ways. He was the perfect picture of a contridiction. Draco didn't know that was the case yet it was.

It was maddening to think of how unstable his family had been before it's falling apart. His mother hadn't wanted him to become a Death Eater. Now he knew why. She knew exactly what being a Death Eater meant. She knew that it wasn't all laughing and talking about ridding the world of anything muggle. It was actually trying to do it. It was killing any witch or wizard that stood in your way.

Draco wasn't prepared to kill anyone or anything. His mother knew, his father may have known, but Draco hadn't.

Letting out a sigh, the young slytherin closed his eyes, feeling completely spent. He'd probably cried so much lately that he was dehydrated. That was a horrible thought but it seemed possible when he really thought about it. He pushed himself up sitting, rubbing a hand over his eyes when he heard a loud crack, turning his head to see his former professor standing there.

"You've been crying."

"I have not." He all but spat, turning his head away, feeling a little foolish.

"It's fine... after all. You've been through quite a bit lately." Snape said as he moved to sit on the bed, watching the boy frown and stare at the bedsheets. He moved a hand to rest on a smaller shoulder, thinking of something he could say encouraging. "Perhaps you should go for a walk... around the house. To cool off. It might do you some good. I'm sure that being left to your own defenses hasn't been easy."

Draco wanted to say something smart back but held it in. He instead shook his head to signal that he didn't want to do that. "I was just thinking of mother... and how foolish I had been."

"That wasn't your fault. Your father made everything seem different. I know he did but it was never my place to say anything to him about it. You were his son and he had every right to raise you how he saw fit." Snape spoke softly, looking to the side a moment before closing his eyes. "Don't dwell on it. Life isn't as horrible as it seems now."

"That's easy for someone like you to say..."

"Someone like me? Someone who could be caught by the ministry and sent to prison for murder any time that I dare to leave the safety of my home. The only place I feel truely welcome is with the Death Eaters. They simply adore the idea of what I've done."

"You killed the only person they were afraid of."

"Not entirely. I believe that Voldemort's choice of Harry is quite maddening. The boy should be dead by now and yet, he isn't."

"Cause he's stubborn..." Draco mumbled half heartedly.

"No... Because he believes. He knows that what Voldemort believes isn't true. He knows that way isn't the way to live. You shouldn't fear someone in a position higher than you." Snape said before lightly patted Draco's thigh. "I love your parents... They were wonderful people that were a little lost in their ways. It wasn't their fault."

Draco looked at the hand then back up, smiling weakly for a moment. "I don't blame them."

"I know... I love you, too... So don't be foolish and throw your life away. You have plenty of potiental. Don't forget that. You're an exceptional young wizard."

***

It was another week before Harry heard from Ron again. Harry was seriously doubting Hermione's friendship when he remembered the wedding. She probably had several things to do now that he thought about it. Weddings seemed fairly complicated things. Whether or not it was supposed to happen every pair had stepped at just the exact same time. Everything flowed perfectly, except for the desperate looks Ron kept giving.

Errol had come crashing through the window and Harry could bet that Pigwideon was getting upset about not getting to go anywhere. Harry was happy about the newspaper he had gotten as well. At least he would have a little bit of information on the wizarding world.

Harry

Hope that thing is still living. Don't get it wet. Fred told me that's how they are bred. Don't want you to end up hundreds of them things. You know the full moon's this weekend? Sorry I haven't been writing much. Mum told me to go help Fred and George with the store. Bloody mental that was. They've been trying to make me test the new things out.

I think Hermione's wedding is next week. She told me the date a while back but I think I lost the letter. Oh.

The cannons won a game! Their new seeker must be fast!

Ron

Harry had to smile and reached over for the newspaper, untieing it and flipping it open.

The Canons! ... won?

That's right! The Chudley Cannons team had actually won a game due to a fluke accident of their seeker falling off his broom and landing on the snitch.

"I hadn't even known it was flying down there. That's luck for ya, mate!" said Freddy Greengrass, the Cannon's seeker.

Harry paused a moment. Did Ron even read this? He skimmed the rest of the headlines before flipping through the pages. Why had Ron sent him this? He was about the toss the paper aside when a small insert fell from the middle of it.

Ministry's affair with the dark side... fact or fiction?

Harry knew at once that this couldn't really be from the paper and began looking through the small paper for something. He knew by the looks of a few of the other articles that this was the Quibbler but the cover was missing and maybe a few other pages. Maybe Ginny had it first.

Witnesses have noted several unauthorized visitors coming at periods of the day to visit the ministry. It's believed that they are in fact speaking of a bargin with Who-Know-Who. What will happen to the wizarding world if such a thing happens? Is the ministry actually preparing to bargin with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?

Thanks to a special inside scoop, Scrimgeour has been seen talking to suspected Death Eaters and looking a little more than nervous around them. Perhaps we'll just have to see how things turn out between the encounter with the Dark Side. It's highly believed that the wizarding world may be in more trouble than previously expected.

Although, sending Aurors to find and hunt down confirmed Death Eaters the ministry still has taken many unproven wizards and sent them to Azkaban. The smallest tip would seem to be setting them off in the aftermath of the attack on Diagon Alley. Many wizards fear to even return to their shops and the Alley is nearly deserted. At least Scrimgeour is taking notice of the second rise of Who-Know-Who.

This is a truely dark time for the Wizarding World.

Harry frowned and read over the short article again. Really something like this should be much bigger! Then again with the Quibbler's reputation and the lack of payment to journalists it did make a little sense to keep the article short. At least for someone like Rita Skeeter.

Head turning, Harry looked at the window where Errol had flown from a short while back. He turned his body and flopped onto the bed, sighing heavily and clutching the paper firmly in his hands. If the Ministry kept something like this up, surely the wizarding world could go into a sort of chaos.

That seemed like just the sort of thing Voldemort would want...

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A/N - HA...Filler chapters... gotta love them? Luckily I think this is the last chapter that doesn't show much progression...

Who wants to see more Voldemort action? A show of hands?

I love all you guy's reviews and all that good stuff. I actually wrote this before getting to my other story... and I have another one-shot that I need to write... like... within the next four days. I'm not too worried over that, though. Since it's a oneshot and all. I just have to sit and do it and stop playing with Harry and Draco for a few hours. They are so tempting, though...

Oh... and shame on you if you thought naughty things at the begining of this chapter.