but the forest wasn’t so bad, ohe more hostile reatures had figured out that you ould aptly protet yourself at a you hose to. the entaurs were, well, they were quite weird at times, yet helpful at others. they were muh more open to him now that he was seen as ahe forest’s reatures and not just a rogue wizard ehe viinity. this attitude irked drao for some reason, but it dider, he deided. yes, it would be iier finally figured out that he would have t arou fredients…srath that, most of the ihis ould have some iier all.
luius paed up and down in front rily. up. down. up. doe had ever wathed muggle tennis, he would have beeo make a omparison, but si make a point of wathis, he ould only wath as luius walked from one end e of visioher and bak again with a foreful stride.
“stop paing luius, y me a headahe.” he spoke finally.
the elder malfoy stopped aurh the slightly gree were rakling noisily in the fire pe.
& get it yet.” luius spoke finally. “he reoupied over that potions assig you gave him to thi all.”
“it might not be as bad—”
luius turo fix the other slytherih a gre. s up quikly.
“not as bad. just wait until the rumets w. by m, the least desriptive story will be something along the lihe dark l to ome up with the perfet mix of bli and so his most trusted family deided to experiment with their own son’ and that will probably ome from the slytherins who have known drao.”
“the gryffindors will merely stop at ‘he’s a freak.’” s in helpfully.
“and the ravenant to study him,” luius snapped. “if i did t weasley’s nek, i surely would now!”
“whih one?” sially. “beause i’ll help.” he paused to hand luius a gss of brandy, whih the elder malfoy promptly dra. “luius, drao may be the talk of the shool tomorrow, but he’ll ha. he’ll probably enjely e real hao use the full reputation of the malfoy family, you an’t tell me he woo its full pote be drao if he didn’t.”
anything else severus would have added was ut off by a burning pain on his arm. he hissed, at the same time as luius did, and while his hao his arm io numb the burning feeling, luius was busy w something off the middle finger ht hand. severus bliever luius was w on ame off ao nd on the floor with a tter. small, golden, and irur. s luius in surprise as he reogale rest of the malfoy family that was ethed iohe bk sto was glht red.
“i’m having another o will take a month or so.” luius spoke, ahe uion. “u would be unbeoming of the head of the malfoy household he sig ring, don’t you thiraveled to luius’s hand where he ould see a band of sar tissue that marked the spot on luius’s fial had met skin.
“are you going?”
“no.”
“i’ll have to tell him then.”
“five me f i’m gd it’s you and not me.”
snape smiled ruefully as he made his way towards the door.
“do you wa up for you?” the questioly, but firmly from in front of the firepe.
“some brandy would be nie,” snape replied equally as softly before he left.
“what are you still doing up, hermione?” a somewhat tired voie asked. hermione looked up from where she had been urled up in an armhair, reading.
“’t sleep. you?”
&er meeting. he’s feeliive tonight. i wo made him so a was sarasti.
“do you think malfoy didn’t go?” hermioly.
“the marauder’s map states quite learly that luius malfoy is urrently sitting in snape’s offie. a anywhere rounds.”
hermiofully as harry sat down on the sofa near her. his eyes flikered to a bk objet oable. “why do you have that, hermione?”
“researh purposes. be areful, harry. it’s sharp enough th sto was jello.”
harry frowned. “and malfoy keeps wings of these in his bak?” he piked up the feather gingerly. ““mione? are you sure this is that sharp?”
“yes. malfoy was angry, ergo his feathers .”
& seem sharp to me.”
hermione’s eyes widened as she looked at the feather. sure eher harry held in his hands was ned, but silken. frowning, she reahed for it but jerked her hand away whe losest to her reverted bak to its razor state when her ha.
“maybe it doesn’t thi to drao,” she suggested.
“hermioryihat these feathers an think?”
“no, but they ahey are the veriae’s link to the magial urrents running through the veriae’s body.”
“so these are like the veriae form of wands?”
“right.”
“found ahat i should know?” transted: should i be wathing if i annoy malfoy?
“i don’t k, harry. there are painfully few books about veriae in the library. this ohe restrited setion.”