What the Devil Wants

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“Impressive entrance, can I get an encore?” Snape glared through the settling soot cloud at the blonde sitting on the dusty old bar stool. With as much dignity as he could manage the professor picked himself up from the floor beside the fireplace and casually dusted himself free of dust and soot.

“What are you doing up?” Snape snapped ignoring Draco’s cheeky welcome. Draco shrugged his shoulders as he shook the bag of runes and chose another to add to the pattern he was creating on the bar top. “Where’s Potter?” When it was clear Draco wasn’t going to elaborate on his last answer, Snape inquired after the other boy.

“Tucked up safe and sound in bed.” Draco muttered sarcastically as he shuffled a few of his runes around on the bar. “I thought you were at deaths door?” Draco glanced away from his runes to look Snape up and down skeptically. Snape pursed his lips together tightly as he narrowed his gaze at the awkward blonde wizard.

“Never mind whose door I’m knocking on, what’s been going on?” Draco sighed heavily and threw the bag of runes onto the bar scattering the others already on top of it.

“Well, it’s been an action packed week here at prison cell number 1, Dumpsville. Yesterday we raced moth balls down the hall, and today we filled up empty bottles with water and practiced blowing them up with magic.” Draco continued with his sarcastic tone of voice. “I can only guess what thrilling activities we’re going to find tomorrow to do.”

“No need to be sharp with me Malfoy, the decision to bring you two here was not mine!” Losing his patience quickly Snape flicked his wand at Draco and gave him a sharp backhand across his cheek. Draco still looked peeved but the slap stayed his tongue from further insults. “Are you both well?” Snape shuffled weakly over to the stool beside Draco and gratefully propped himself up on it’s dusty cushion. He was exhausted, not to mention in pain but Snape knew better than to show his weaknesses. Draco shrugged his shoulders indifferently as he collected the runes back into the velvet pouch again. “You brought this on yourself Draco.” Draco looked up angrily from his bag of runes to glare at the pale-faced potion master.

“Everything is always my fault isn’t it? It’s so fucking easy to blame me but what else was I supposed to do?” Draco spat as he turned childishly on his stool, so that his back was to Snape. The move was partially to seem spiteful but most of all it was to avoid Snape seeing the tears glistening in the blonde’s eyes. “You didn’t put up much of a fight when you knew I was planning to dissolve the promise between my father and you with Potter did you? You knew all along this was what would happen if the promise was broken, you could have stopped me!” Draco closed his eyes as Snape dragged the blonde back around on the stool so that he could see his face. Draco looked pale, sad and completely devoid of hope. Snape knew the signs, had seen the changes in himself as he now saw in Draco. The dark mark was taking hold and the blonde had only had it a week.

“You reminded me constantly that you were never happy Draco and I can assure you I was far from ecstatic about having myself bound to a child who had not yet left his mothers breast! Sixteen years I put up with you, and I can hardly say I wasn’t tolerant of your childish antics. I let you walk all over me Draco, I gave you the better part of my life yet you were determined to get as far away from me as possible.” Snape sighed as he watched a single tear begin rolling down Draco’s cheek. “I could have protected you from this Draco, but you made a choice and now you have to live with it just as the rest of us do.” Snape watched as Draco wiped the tears from his cheeks, still not meeting his elder straight in the eye. Reaching into his cloak pocket Snape drew out an inconspicuous looking fountain pen and held it out in front of the young blonde wizard. “You need to grow up Draco Malfoy because I don’t have the strength to shield you from him or this war any longer. You make a decision here and now, to which side of this war you are loyal, make the right decision and I’ll do my best to help you, make the wrong one and you’re on your own.” Snape carefully put the fountain pen down on the bar beside Draco’s runes before sliding carefully from his own stool and shuffling towards the rickety looking staircase on the far side of the room. “The pen will take you to a place where some of my associates will take care of you until I can get there myself other than that there is some floo powder left in the jar above the fireplace you know your way home through the network.” With a stern but confident smile at Draco Snape turned and made his way up the darkened staircase, not even stopping to look back when he felt the swirl of wind as the port key was activated. At the top of the stairs, Snape closed his eyes and sighed with relief at Draco’s choice but quickly refocused himself on the task that was still to come.

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