Both blonds’ expressions were schooled into arrogant-but-attempting-pleasant masks, although Lucius still managed to project just a hint of cultured menace that Severus had on occasion wished he could duplicate. “I didn’t expect to meet you here today,” Severus said, keeping his tone even. If I had, I’d have put off our trip or sent someone else with the venom.

“I had an errand to run, and my son chose to accompany me,” Lucius returned smoothly, gesturing at Draco.

While Severus had no love for the older Malfoy—any admiration of Lucius that he might have had back when he was a student at Hogwarts had long since faded—he was rather fond of the younger, something of an honorary uncle to the boy. He highly doubted that Draco had been given a choice this morning. In fact, the boy looked decidedly more pale than usual, and his eyes were carefully blank. Still, Severus was more concerned with the predatory look the older wizard was aiming at the Harry. He’s going to invite us to a meal, and no blather about what the headmaster expects is going to deter him. No doubt it’s going to be in one of the back alleys, small and secluded…I can think of three offhand where a kidnapping would go wholly unremarked. Where is a nice, distracting Auror when you need one?

“Perhaps you and Mr. Potter would like to join my son and myself for lunch? I’ve heard the new restaurant on Belborne Street is palatable,” Lucius offered, with a smile that showed just a few more teeth than was strictly polite.

Damn. For once he wouldn’t have objected to being wrong. If he’d been alone he’d have been more than willing to keep the elder Malfoy distracted, remove his focus from his son while the boy recovered from whatever trauma he’d been subjected to this morning, but with Harry along….

Before he could say anything, Harry interrupted. “I’m not really hungry, Professor.”

What was the brat, suicidal? The less attention he drew to himself the better, particularly if he was doing something to irritate the elder Malfoy. And when you consider the fact that his very existence is an irritant…. “Mr. Potter, should I ever desire your views on a particular subject—as unlikely as that scenario is—I assure you that I will ask. Until such a time, kindly remember that no one is interested in your opinions and you would do better not to interrupt your elders.” He made a dismissive gesture in the boy’s direction and noted the matching smirks on the Malfoys’ faces. Not that either of them were going to be happy with what he was about to say, but there was no way he could accept the invitation and expect to get his pupil back to Hogwarts in one piece. “Unfortunately, we have already eaten, so I’m afraid we will have to decline your invitation.”

Lucius’ expression darkened considerably. “Just a drink, then, perhaps?”

“I have very little time left before Albus sends someone looking for him,” Severus said dryly, indicating Harry. “The man’s being more paranoid than usual of late.” Albus would cheerfully forgive him the lie, but he didn’t want to think about what this was going to mean the next time he was called before the Dark Lord. Lucius had the creature’s ear in a way no one else did, and if he cared to plant suggestions that Severus’ wasn’t working towards the Dark Lord’s objective as hard as he should be….

“I insist,” Lucius pressed. “It will be my treat. I had of course heard of your disappearance down at the Ministry, and it sounds like you had quite an experience.”

“That’s certainly one way of putting it,” Severus said dryly, scanning the crowd surrounding them. All he needed was one person who knew him who’d be willing to interrupt and he might be able to get them out of the situation without causing a stir. Unfortunately Malfoy’s reputation was well known and other shoppers were giving the little group quite a wide berth.

“We’d love to hear about it. After all, it isn’t every day that you get to visit another continent. The Bottomless Barrel just down the block.”

Down the block and half-a-dozen shops into Knockturn Alley. Lucius is usually smoother than that. “I still have errands I must complete this afternoon, and the shadows seem to be catching up with us today.” He flicked his eyes to the side, hoping that Lucius would take his comment and accompanying gesture to mean that he and Potter had someone trailing them rather than an obscure way to say that it was getting late. Neither statement was true, but it was the best he could manage on short notice. A muscle twitched in the other man’s jaw, and Severus kept his expression carefully even.

“Malfoy, there you a—Snape, good to see you.” A short, stocky man with graying hair approached at a quick trot.

Reginald Davis was another member of the Dark Lord’s inner circle, Severus recognized with a sinking heart. There was Muggle blood in his family only a generation back, but, as with Severus himself, the Dark Lord was willing enough to overlook such matters for the services the man provided. Most of which Severus didn’t personally care to contemplate. Surely they can’t plan to abduct him in the middle of Diagon Alley…they can’t even have known we were coming! In one of the less-reputable locations it might be possible to find a few accomplices on short notice, but not here. His half sarcastic wish for an Auror or two a few moments ago was rapidly becoming a genuine desire. Perhaps I should have firecalled Alastor and told him about our errand—he would have assigned someone to follow us even if he couldn’t come himself, and we would have a shadow in truth.

The man nodded jerkily to Severus, but clearly his business was with the Malfoys—he didn’t even spare a glance for Harry—and equally clearly he was impatient. “Lucius, if I could have a word?”

So it wasn’t Potter they were after just now. The thought wasn’t as reassuring as it should have been. When Lucius shot an irritated look at his son, Severus decided that he could at least offer the child an excuse to remove himself from his father’s company for a short period. “Dumbledore seems to feel that this one—” he jerked an arm carelessly at Potter—“needs his broom replaced with the utmost haste, and as such I’ve been detailed to escort him to the Quidditch shop before we return to Hogwarts. Perhaps Draco would care to accompany us now and you two could conduct your business privately?”

“Yes, yes, fine,” Lucius waved his hand, dismissing his son with a brusque order to “Meet me at Twilfitt and Tatting’s in half an hour,” and turning with Davis toward Knockturn Alley without a second glance.

“Have you eaten?” Severus asked Draco quietly as he departed. “As I said, we don’t have time to stop for a formal lunch, but you could certainly pick up a snack.”

“I’m not hungry, sir.”

Curiosity and animosity seemed to be warring in Harry’s eyes as he and Draco traded glares, but wonder of wonders he managed to keep his mouth shut when the blond didn’t offer immediate provocation. The three of them made their way to the Quidditch shop fairly quickly and with no more conversation. “Potter, go find yourself something acceptable and don’t be all day about it,” Severus snapped. The boy opened his mouth to protest, but a sharp look sent him on his way. Draco was making a show of examining one of the broom repair kits along the store wall—and no doubt seeing none of them since the day Lucius allowed his son to be seen on a broom that was in less-than-perfect condition was the day that the Dark Lord and Albus would sit down to tea—and after ensuring that Potter would be spending the next while immersed in a comparison of broom styles Severus went to Draco’s side. “It appears you’ve had an eventful morning,” he commented.

The boy seemed willing to take him up on the offer of conversation. “Father wished me to accompany him to a business meeting.”

“It didn’t go well?” ‘Business meeting’ could mean anything from discussing the next year’s financial moves to a torture-and-murder session with a family of muggles, but he couldn’t precisely come out and ask. As far as he knew the boy wasn’t yet directly privy to any of the Deatheaters’ activities, but realistically it was only a matter of time. Not enough time. Not nearly enough.

“Father was attempting to purchase some rather rare potions’ ingredients and got upset when the negotiations weren’t as successful as he had hoped.”

Well, compared to what he could have been viewing, the fact that it had been simple negotiations was a relief. Although…Severus had known for some time that the Dark Lord was interested in having the younger Malfoy pursue a Mastery in potions, but whether as an apprentice to or a replacement for himself remained to be seen. If Draco was going to be the recipient of rare and apparently expensive potions’ ingredients without Severus supervising his potion-making attempts—so far he hadn’t been asked, or rather told, to do so—replacement seemed the more likely alternative. As long as he served a purpose for the creature Severus knew that he probably wouldn’t be dispensed with in a fit of rage, but if there was another Master available to take his position, even an inexperienced one….

He forced himself to banish the thoughts, at least temporarily. At his current level of competency there wasn’t a great deal that Draco could accomplish that another member of the Dark Lord’s circle couldn’t manage just as well, although to be sure there were some fairly simple potions that could be made immensely powerful with specific ingredients. As to the future…Severus had known since before the pain of the Mark had first faded from his arm that his lifespan was likely to be cut short, and while he could at least temporarily bar his student from a Mastery, in the end it would do neither of them any good. Merlin, let this farce be over before it comes to that. He has another two years at Hogwarts and then three at minimum for a Mastery. Draco is a good student, but not good enough to have it done sooner. We can’t let the war drag on that long. Not if I am to remain sane, at least. Another train of thought he was accustomed to forcing aside, and he brought himself back to the present with a slight shake. Right now his purposes would be better served by determining what ingredients Lucius had been trying to acquire and figuring out what the Dark Lord had wished the teenager to make. Best to assume that Draco had been given access to some of the unicorn blood as well. Plan for the worst, and then assume it’s twice as bad as that. And it might not be as bad as he feared—after all, Draco had made no attempt to conceal the topic of negotiations from him so the Dark Lord might have simply not gotten around to sending the order.

As he was determining how best to phrase his question, the boy seemed to recognize what he was looking at and jerked his arm back as if burned. “I need new riding gloves.”

He turned for the shelves in the rear as Potter came back towards Severus with what appeared to be a new broom in his hands. Severus didn’t recognize the type offhand, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything—he might be capable of casual conversation about the current Quidditch season but that didn’t mean that he in any way kept up with equipment trends and the like. “I’m ready, Professor.”

“Amuse yourself for a bit longer—I assume there is something in here that will hold your attention.”

“Professor?” He blinked at Severus’ glare. “Yes, sir.”

But it seemed the moment had been broken, and when he approached Draco again he wasn’t able to engage the boy in anything beyond a superficial conversation about the different glove styles. Eventually the half-hour Lucius had allotted his son had passed, and Severus and Harry detoured slightly from their trip to Shara’s Splendid Sensory Sensations—just thinking that made Severus’ teeth hurt—to escort him to the clothing shop. He left them with a stiff nod for Severus and a glare for Harry.

“Prat,” Harry muttered.

“I’m sure he feels much the same,” Severus returned quietly before raising his voice for the benefit of the people around them. “What, your ego can’t handle the fact that there are at least a few students in the school who haven’t joined your little fan club?”

“He’s the one who walks around with his nose in the air acting like we should all bow down before him.”

“He carries himself like a proper wizard, unlike you and your little friends who insist on lurking in the corridors after curfew, doing your best to break every rule at Hogwarts.” Two children in blue and bronze badges skittered out of their way. “And you call him arrogant? Typical Gryffindor.”

Green eyes glittered. “Lurking? We aren’t the ones with our rooms in the dun—.”

“That will be enough out of you! I have work to do back at Hogwarts and your errands have wasted enough of my time.” Technically this was Sybil’s errand, but he was annoyed enough at using ‘lurking,’ a bad selection of words considering the argument, that he didn’t feel like splitting hairs. It certainly wasn’t his errand after all. “I’ve told you multiple times today that you will keep a civil tongue in your head; if you can’t manage that I’ll see that you won’t speak for the rest of the day.” He gestured menacingly with his wand. “Am I understood?”

“Fine, Professor.”

Loud disagreement in the middle of Diagon Alley concluded, the two of them continued on in silence. Shara’s Splendid Sensory Stupidity was at the far end of the alley, and as the crowd began to thin the instincts that had saved Severus more than once in the past started sounding warnings. There was no way that Lucius could have known where they were going—or even if they would still be in the alley at all after visiting the Quidditch shop—but Severus wouldn’t put it past him to ask a few of the others supporting the Dark Lord to do a little window shopping on the off chance that they might get another chance at Harry. It stood to reason that several of them would have been in the vicinity of Tatting’s since escorting Draco there after having invited him to join them was only courteous. A casual scan didn’t reveal any immediately familiar faces, but then there was no guarantee it would. Not all of the Dark Lord’s followers took the Dark Mark or even reported to him directly, and of those there were at least two that he’d never seen without a mask on. He stepped sideways, neatly shifting positions to put Harry on the inside and himself on the street-side. Right after he confessed to Albus about joining the Dark Lord he'd had several nightmares like this, feelings of eyes on him with no way to determine just who they were or what they were planning to do to him. It was unsettling to say the least.

“Professor?” Harry asked quietly.

This was neither the time nor the place for a discussion of tactics. “Eyes forward and keep walking.” There wasn’t anywhere near enough cover down here, and he was tempted to simply grab the boy and apparate them both back to Hogwarts immediately. Unfortunately, if I do that, I might as well send the Dark Lord a Howler to tell him my actual opinion of him and his plans for the Wizarding world. My credibility is going to be low enough after the scene earlier. While Harry’s safety might be paramount and if they were truly threatened he wouldn’t hesitate to get them out however necessary, it would be idiotic to sacrifice his own position in the Dark Lord’s ranks for nothing.

“Professor?”

This time the question was asked more quietly, and a casual glance down showed the boy’s wand tucked up in his sleeve with only the point visible. He’d dropped his own into a similar position, and when he spoke his voice was just loud enough to be audible to the child beside him. “Tell me, Mr. Potter, have you learned how to apparate?”

“No, sir. We can’t even take lessons until sixth year.”

So much for suggesting that he take himself back and Severus could continue on. I should have brought a portkey. He had several specially—and quite illegally—prepared that he took with him when the Dark Lord was having a meeting outside his apparition range, but it hadn’t occurred to him that he might need one on a simple errand. Well, there’s a mistake I won’t make a second time. Assuming I live long enough to get the chance. The shops they were passing were nothing special, family-owned, mostly, and he racked his brain trying to figure out which ones belonged to Wizards definitely on the side of light. Unfortunately the more popular shops, the ones that everyone frequented and thus the most was known about, were in the opposite direction and he couldn’t think of the last time he’d come this far out. Kestral…Stein…Zeller—Zeller? The name was familiar, but he couldn’t immediately place it until a rather round girl in a yellow and black robe darted into the alley with a package clutched under her arm. Zeller, Rose. First year Hufflepuff. While there was no absolute guarantee that her parents weren’t Voldemort supporters, Hufflepuff was by and large the most tolerant house and it was more likely than not that they’d be neutral at worst. And their options were becoming more and more limited; he didn’t like the look of one of the men lurking at the window of the next shop up at all. He stepped sideways and neatly shoved Harry through the door.

“Can I help you?” a woman at the counter asked.

“Uh…I was looking for a new cage for my owl,” Harry fumbled.

The brat wasn’t a particularly good actor, Severus decided, but since he didn’t have anything offhand that he needed to purchase in a store offering, ‘the best supplies available for your feathered, furred, and scaled Wizarding friends,’ it would do as an explanation for their presence. If he buys something here, I can legitimately apparate us back to Hogwarts with the excuse we’ve completed our errands. Not that Lucius—and by extension the Dark Lord—wouldn’t be furious that the plan to capture Harry hadn’t worked, but at least it wouldn’t be quite so obvious that it was Severus’ doing. Harry was browsing the shelves with the woman pointing out various features in different cage styles. “Today, Mr. Potter.”

“Yes, Professor. I’d like this one, please.”

At least the boy had the galleons on him to pay for the thing, and if the woman took far too long to wrap it for his tastes it did give him time to survey the alley through the window. A man across the street was watching the door with what appeared to be rather too much intensity for his tastes, and another man a few doors down looked naggingly familiar. In the other direction—he averted his eyes quickly, hopefully before a certain blond caught him looking. Draco was nowhere in sight, but it was highly unlikely that Lucius was waiting outside a cosmetics shop because he was interested in the merchandise. Harry finally collected his purchase, and Severus put a hand on his shoulder to apparate them both to relative safety only to be met with a block. Bloody hell, anti-apparition wards. If Lucius or one of the other supporters of the Dark Lord had set them they were doomed, but that amount of magic took a great deal of focus and energy…Albus was the only wizard he knew of who could set them at will without a great deal of preparation. There is an apartment above the shop. Merlin, let that be the cause. It was rude to apparate directly into a dwelling, and setting up anti-apparition wards around one’s house wasn’t uncommon. With a building like this doing both stories would actually have taken less energy than one so it was a likely possibility. There had been time and line-of-sight enough while they were walking to have cast it upon them then, but spellcasting like that in the middle of Diagon Alley where anyone could have seen them—or stepped between them and the spell—wasn’t something he thought Lucius would chance.

“Professor? What’s wrong?”

He glanced back and found the shopkeeper otherwise occupied. “We’ve been followed, and I’d say there are at least three wizards ready to ambush us outside.”

Harry’s eyes widened and his wand dropped further into his hand. “Malfoy?”

The shopkeeper turned towards them slightly, and Severus glared. “Keep your voice down.”

“What do we do? Can we go out the back?”

It wouldn’t have been a bad suggestion if, of course, the store had had a back exit. “Miss Granger does most of your planning, doesn’t she?” He waved at hand and the frown that crossed Harry’s face. “Later.” A quick survey of the shop didn’t reveal any more doors. Not even a stockroom. No doubt Ms. Zeller would object to me blasting a hole through her wall. Pity. He was half-tempted to try anyway, but the odds of it working were minuscule at best. Not to mention that it would make coming in here in the first place completely pointless as far as misleading the Dark Lord went. “We’re apparating the moment we’re out the door. Let me go first.”

“Ready.” Harry had his new broom tucked up under one arm and the cage he’d just purchased hanging from his fingers awkwardly, leaving his wand hand free.

Not that it would do him any good against those wizards. Severus snorted slightly and then stepped confidently towards the door. Harry was quite literally on his heels; normally he’d have had something to say about that but this was hardly the time. It was possible that the ones lying in wait would simply stun him and grab the boy, but hopefully they still believed he was on their side and would allow them both to make it past the wards. And to enhance the deception…. “Mr. Potter, I swear you quite possibly the most insufferable pupil I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet!” He heard rustle as the shopkeeper spun at his sudden outburst, and there was a squeak as a girl ducked back out the door—apparently the young Miss Zeller had finished her errand—but his attention was focused on the forward.

Harry was silent for a long moment, but as Severus continued walking he found his voice. “I’m insufferable? Me? You’re the one whose lives in a dungeon and gets his amusement by torturing teenagers! I mean, couldn’t you find anyone your own—”

Severus crossed the threshold and stepped sideways slightly to allow Harry out as well, reaching quickly for the boy’s shoulder. “That is enough out of you! We are leaving!” His hand made contact with Harry’s shoulder, and he crunched them down immediately. Tried to, anyway; there was a horrible tug and he felt his body start to separate. No! No, this is not happening! Something had struck him in the midst of disapparation, something he had been in no way prepared for. Apparition was a tricky thing, you had to know where you were—your parts as well as physical location—and where you were going…side-along was worse because you had to be equally aware of your passenger or you could both end up splinched. Or, what was worse in his mind, melded. There was a particularly gruesome story about a woman who’d tried to side along with her owl and had ended up exchanging several major internal organs with the thing. She hadn’t lived long enough to even attempt a reversal. This seemed to be the opposite of melding, though; it was a fierce fight to hold himself and Harry together. He wasn’t sure it was a battle he could win. He could probably quit now and return them to Diagon Alley, but that would leave them in the same situation that they’d left. Possibly worse without knowing what this thing is. With my luck it would truly tear us apart given half a chance.

He could feel his strength waning quickly. If I have to, I’ll drop the boy, get myself to Hogwarts, and notify the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad. ‘Dropping’ a passenger halfway was guaranteed to leave them in pieces, but Harry was better off splinched than in the Dark Lord’s hands. As far as he knew Lucius had few or no friends on the Reversal Squad—it was considered something of a ‘low class’ occupation—but even if he did by the time he’d be able to contact them Harry would be back in one piece in the castle and it wouldn’t matter. Severus wasn’t going to give up quite that easily, though. He’d apparated himself back to the edge of the Hogwarts’ wards only partially conscious and in screaming pain more than once, and he should damn well be able to manage this now with his full attention on the task. He put all the magic he could draw into one final pull, and the world went black for a moment.

“Relashio! Petrificus Totalus!”

Severus twisted, shaking off the effects of the forced-apparition to bring his own wand to bear, only to find an…arm?...lying on the ground several meters away, apparently petrified. Harry was staring at it as well, his wand still outstretched . “What is that thing?”

“I think it’s part of the man who tried to snatch me. I followed you out the door, and you started to disapparate us, and then this man grabbed my other shoulder. I tried to shake him off, but everything was pulling in different directions….”

A side-along apparition when he didn’t even know he had a second passenger. No wonder it had been so difficult. No wonder he hadn’t recognized it as well—it wasn’t a stunt any sane wizard or witch would even consider trying. It’s lucky that any of us made it through unsplinched. He considered the arm for a moment. No distinguishing features, and it wasn’t the arm that would hold the Dark Mark to determine if its owner was a Deatheater. I wonder, if I hid it, would it keep them from reconstituting him?

“What should we do about that?” Harry asked with a nod towards the limb.

“I suppose I’ll notify the Ministry when we get back to the castle.” As amusing as it would be to leave the man with one arm, it would be more useful to find out who he was. Of course, Severus also planned to report the attempted kidnapping, not that that charge would stick with the idiots running the Ministry now especially if Lucius got involved, but he could suggest that Kingsley get the man’s name and see about a little discrete—or not so discrete, if Alastor decided to become involved—questioning would reveal. “Are you certain that you’re in one piece?”

Harry was decidedly pale, but his breathing was even and his wand had disappeared. “Yes, sir. Can I fly back?”

“Certainly.” Two more steps and they'd be through the wards, but even so the faster the boy could get to the castle itself the better. A thought came to him, and even with what had just occurred Severus had to smile. “In fact, you may locate Sybil for me and let her know that we weren’t able to complete her little errand.” And I may be spared that woman’s company for at least a few more hours.

Harry glared. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell her yourself?”

His smile morphed into a smirk. “Quite. I will notify the Ministry and then be in my workroom until dinner.” He’d also pass a message on to the rest of the staff that Harry shouldn’t be taken off Hogwarts grounds at any point in the near future.

The teenager grumbled a bit more but swung onto his broom with the new cage in one hand and sent it zipping towards the castle without further argument. Severus kept an eye on it just in case.

He was surprised at dinner when Harry didn’t put in an appearance—teenagers were always hungry in his experience, and teenage males in particular—but then the brat had just gotten a new broom and was probably eager to make up for lost time on his rule-breaking. He made a mental note to put a temporary locating spell or two on the broom when Harry returned to his quarters. No doubt I’ll be blamed if the child manages to get himself killed on one ridiculous stunt or another. Almost all of the staff was back now—neither Albus nor Hagrid were in their usual seats, but other than them the only missing figures were Sybil and Devon. Devon because he was still visiting with his new niece, and Sybil probably because she’d forgotten what time they ate. It wouldn’t be the first time.

There was an owl waiting for him in his quarters, a coded message from Alastor, and with a scrawled note for the teenager he headed back upstairs to the floo. The code wasn’t one for particular urgency, but it wasn’t a when-you-have-leisure-time message either. Probably because he knows I’m not likely to have leisure time for the next three months. This is quicker than I expected, though. He’d thought it would be a day or two before they would get together and discuss the kidnapping attempt, at least long enough for the man who’d splinched himself to be thoroughly interrogated under one pretense or another. Regardless, it needed to be discussed, and needed to pass on what the younger Malfoy had revealed as well. One of the other members might be able to track down what rare potions’ ingredients had been traded recently…another clue as to the Dark Lord’s plans if he neglected to reveal them to Severus directly.