y Malfoy's t hanks. "I did know your grandfather, after all...." "He always spoke very highly of you, sir," said Malfoy quickly. "Said you were the best potion-maker he'd ever known. ..." Harry stared at Malfoy. It was not the sucking-up that intrigued him; he had watched Malfoy do that to Snape for a long time. It was the fact that Malfoy did, after all, look a little ill. This was the first time he had seen Malfoy close up for ages; he now saw that Malfoy had dark shadows under his eyes and a distinctly grayish tinge to his skin. "I'd like a word with you, Draco," said Snape suddenly. "Now , Severus," said Slughorn, hiccuping again, "it's Christ mas, do n't be too hard -"
"I am his Head of House, and I shall decide how hard, or other-wise, to be," said Snape curtly. "Follow me, Draco." They left, Snape leading the way, Malfoy looking resentful. Harry stood there for a moment, irresolute, then said, "I'll be back in a bit, Luna - er - bathroom." "All right," she said cheerfully, and he thought he heard her, as he hurried off into the crowd, resume the subject of the Rotfang Conspiracy with Professor Trelawney, who seemed sincerely in terested. It was easy, once out of the party, to pull his Invisibility Cloak out of his pocket and throw it over himself, for the corridor was quite deserted. What was more difficult was finding Snape and Malfoy. Harry ran down the corridor, the noise of his feet masked by the music and loud talk still issuing from Slughorn's office behind him. Perhaps Snape had taken Malfoy to his office in the dungeons ... or perhaps he was escorting him back to the Slyt herin common room. . . . Harry pressed his ear against door after door as he dashed down the corridor until, with a great jolt of excitement, he crouched down to the keyhole of the last classroom in the corridor and heard voices. " . . . cannot afford mistakes, Draco, because if you are expelled -"
"I didn't have anything to do with it, all right?" "I hope you are telling the truth, because it was both clumsy a nd foolish. Already you are suspected of having a hand in it." "Who suspects me?" said Malfoy angrily. "For the last time, I didn't do it, okay? That Bell girl must ' ve had an enemy no on e knows about - don't look at me like that! I know what you're do-ing, I'm not stupid, but it won't work - I can stop you!" There was a pause and then Snape said quietly, "Ah . . . Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, I see. What thoughts are you trying to conceal from your master, Draco?" "I'm not trying to conceal anything from him, I just don't want you butting in !" Harry pressed his ear still more closely against the keyhole. . . . What had happened to make Malfoy speak to Snape like this - Snape, toward whom he had always shown respect, even liking? "So that is why you have been avoiding me this term? You have feared my interference? You realize that, had anybody else failed to come to my office when I had told them repeatedly to be there, Draco -"
"So put me in detention! Report me to Dumbledore!" jeered Malfoy. There was another pause. Then Snape said, "You know perfectly well that I do not wish to do either of those things ." "You'd better stop telling me to come to your office then!" "Listen to me," said Snape, his voice so low now that Harry had to push his ear very hard against the keyhole to hear. "I am trying to help you. I swore to your mother I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow, Draco -" "Looks like you'll have to break it, then, because I don't need your protection! It's my job, he gave it to me and I'm doing it, I've got a plan and it's going to work, it's just taking a bit longer than I thought it would!" "What is your plan ?" "It's none of your business !" " If you tell me what you are trying to do, I can assist you ..." "I have all the assistance I need, thanks, I'm not alone!" "You were certainly alone tonight, which was foolish in the ex-treme, wandering the corridors without lookouts or backup, these are elementary mistakes -"
"I would've had Crabbe and Goyle with me if you hadn't put them in detention!" "Keep your voice down!" spat Snape, for Malfoy ' s voice had risen excitedly. "If your friends Crabbe and Goyle intend to pass their Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL this time around, they will need to work a little harder than they are doing at pres -" "What does it matter?" said Malfoy. "Defense Against the Dark Arts - its all just a joke, isn't it, an act? Like any of us need pro-tecting against the Dark Arts -" "It is an act that is crucial to success, Draco!" said Snape. "Where do you think I would have been all these years, if I had not known how to act? Now listen to me! You are being incautious, wandering around at night, getting yourself caught, and if you are placing your reliance in assistants like Crabbe and Goyle -" "They're not the only ones, I've got other people on my side, better people!" "Then why not confide in me, and I can -" "I know what you're up to! You want to steal my glory!"
There was another pause, then Snape said coldly, "You are speaking like a child. I quite understand that your fathers capture and imprisonment has upset you, but -" Harry had barely a second ' s warning; he heard Malfoy's footsteps on the other side of the door and flung himself out of the way just as it burst open . Malfoy was striding away down the corridor, past the open door of Slughorns office, around the distant corner, and out of sight. Hardly daring to breathe, Harry remained crouched down as Snape emerged slowly from the classroom. His expression unfath-omable, he returned to the party. Harry remained on the floor, hid-den beneath the cloak, his mind racing. Chapter 16: AVeryFrosty Christmas "So Snape was offering to help him? He was definitely offering to help him?" "If you ask. that once more," said Harry, "I'm going to stick this sprout -" "I'm only checking!" said Ron. They were standing alone at the Burrow's kitchen sink, peeling a mountain of sprouts for Mrs. Weasley. Snow was drifting past the window in front of them. "Yes, Snape was offering to help him!" said Harry. "He said he'd promised Malfoy's mother to protect him, that he'd made an Un-breakable Oath or something -"
"An Unbreakable Vow?" said Ron, looking stunned. "Nah, he can't have. . . . Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm sure," said Harry. "Why, what does it mean?" "Well, you can't break an Unbreakable Vow. . . ." "I'd worked that much out for myself, funnily enough. What happens if you break it, then?" "You die," said Ron simply. "Fred and George tried to get me to make one when I was about five. I nearly did too, I was holding hands with Fred and everything when Dad found us. He went mental," said Ron, with a reminiscent gleam in his eyes. "Only time I've ever seen Dad as angry as Mum, Fred reckons his left but-tock has never been the same since." "Yeah, well, passing over Fred's left buttock -" "I beg your pardon?" said Fred's voice as the twins entered the kitchen. "Aaah, George, look at this. They're using knives and everything. Bless them." "I'll be seventeen in two and a bit months' time," said Ron grumpily, "and then I'll be able to do it by magic!"
"But meanwhile," said George, sitting down at the kitchen table and putting his feet up on it, "we can enjoy watching you demon-strate the correct use of a - whoops-a-daisy!" "You made me do that!" said Ron angrily, sucking his cut thumb. "You wait, when I'm seventeen -" "I'm sure you'll dazzle us all with hitherto unsuspected magical skills," yawned Fred. "And speaking of hitherto unsuspected skills, Ronald," said George, "what is this we hear from Ginny about you and a young lady called - unless our information is faulty - Lavender Brown?" Ron turned a little pink, but did not look displeased as he turned back to the sprouts. "Mind your own business." "What a snappy retort," said Fred. "I really don't know how you think of them. No, what we wanted to know was... how did it happen?" "What d'you mean?" "Did she have an accident or something?" "What?" ..¦; "Well, how did she sustain such extensive brain damage? Care-ful, now!"
Mrs. Weasley entered the room just in time to see Ron throw the sprout knife at Fred, who had turned it into a paper airplane with one lazy flick of his wand, "Ron!" she said furiously. "Don't you ever let me see you throw-ing knives again!" "I wont," said Ron, "let you see," he added under his breath, as he turned back to the sprout mountain. "Fred, George, I'm sorry, dears, but Remus is arriving tonight, so Bill will have to squeeze in with you two." ; "No problem," said George. - "Then, as Charlie isn't coming home, that just leaves Harry and ;¦/ Ron in the attic, and if Fleur shares with Ginny -" "- that'll make Ginny's Christmas -" muttered Fred. "- everyone should be comfortable. Well, they'll have a bed, anyway," said Mrs. Weasley, sounding slightly harassed. "Percy definitely not showing his ugly face, then?" asked Fred. Mrs. Weasley turned away before she answered. "No, he's busy, I expect, at the Ministry." "Or he's the world's biggest prat," said Fred, as Mrs. Weasley left the kitchen. "One of the two. "Well, let's get going, then, George."
"What are you two up to?" asked Ron. "Cant you help us with these sprouts? You could just use your wand and then we'll be free too!" "No, I don't think we can do that," said Fred seriously. "It's very character-building stuff, learning to peel sprouts without magic, makes you appreciate how difficult it is for Muggles and Squibs -" "- and if you want people to help you, Ron," added George, throwing the paper airplane at him, "I wouldn't chuck knives at them. Just a little hint. We're off to the village, there's a very pretty girl working in the paper shop who thinks my card tricks are some-thing marvelous . . , almost like real magic. ..." "Gits," said Ron darkly, watching Fred and George setting off across the snowy yard. "Would've only taken them ten seconds and then we could've gone too." 