“What do you recon’s going to happen?” asked Draco, miserably, as he mopped up his egg yolk with a bit of muffin.

“Don’t know. I mean, we broke at least three school rules and a dozen Slytherin ones.” Harry said nervously.

“Including the one about not being total Gryffindorks. Ah!” Draco put his head in his hands “Dad’s going to kill me.”

“It… it probably won’t be that bad, Dray… I mean, they won’t beat us or anything?” Harry said, a little uncertainly. He put down the remains of his muffin, all apatite now gone.

“No, of course not” Draco grumbled, looking at Harry as if he was mad “We’ll lose points and probably be given detentions. Hogwarts hasn’t used corporal punishment for yonks.”

“But… what about our parents?” Harry asked, tremulously.

“I’d prefer a beating” moaned Draco “I hate it when Dad’s disappointed in me!”

Although Harry knew that Draco was exaggerating, he couldn't help but nod in agreement. The thought that Severus, who had always been so proud of Harry, would be saddened and disappointed made Harry feel very small indeed.

OoOoO

The dreaded interview, however, did not take place until one o’clock because Lucius and Severus, assured of their sons’ wellbeing, had pressing matters which urgently required their attention.

Draco and Harry also devoted their morning to serious business: in imagining their fathers’ lectures, the boys realised how reckless they had been and, indeed, how close to the wind they had sailed on numerous occasions. Fluffy might have woken up, the Devil’s Snare could have strangled them, they might have fallen off their brooms, the chessmen were within an inch of smashing their brains in on numerous occasions and the less said about running into the lair of a troll, the better.

And, given that they had also broken curfew, disobeyed a direct order from the Headmaster and ventured out of bounds, the boys knew that their honourable motives would be of very little weight, as would the excuse that they didn’t know who they could trust. Thus, Draco had suggested that, if they could show their parents that, in hindsight, they understood how reckless they had been, they might gain a little ground in their estimation. Or, as the young scion of the House of Malfoy eloquently phrased it “They’ll not have to shout at us about how reckless we were because we’ve shown them that we already know!”

Therefore, the rest of the morning was spent in compiling a careful list of rules that they had broken, mistakes they had made and the possible consequences of breaking them. Harry’s list was by far the longest and two glaring mistakes; not considering either owling his father or contacting Mr Malfoy, practically burnt in the page. Harry did not regret what he had done, not at all, but he did regret being so thick about it. Especially as they had been found out.

oOoOo

As Harry and Draco were pushing their lunches around their plates, too nervous to eat more than the barest nibble of the delicious coq au vin and mashed potatoes, Lucius, Narcissa and Severus walked slowly and sadly towards the dormitory. Narcissa walked apart from her concerned husband, her arms folded and jaw clenched, in an attempt to keep the tears from trickling down her cheeks. As a mother and wife, herself, she could not be left unmoved after completing such a task as the one which had filled her morning. Nothing less could have kept her from her son, nothing more, save being in the same position herself, could have discomposed her so badly.

Hearing their approach, Madam Pomfrey stepped outside, pre-prepared speech already on her lips “The poor little loves have spent all morning writing essays, listing their mistakes. They’re too upset to eat. I really think… Narcissa? What’s wrong?” the kindly matron cried, on noticing Madam Malfoy’s pale, tearstained face.

“We have been dealing with the Granger situation.” Severus said solemnly.

“Oh!”

Granger Residence: June 4th: 8.42 am.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright, Jeanie?” William Granger asked his wife, handing her a plate of marmite on toast, crusts cut off, and a cup of peppermint tea.

“I’ll be fine, Will” Jean sniffed, attempting to smile through her cracked lips “Just a cold. I’ll be bedder in no… attishoo!”

William kissed his wife on the forehead, tucked the bedcovers around her, then stood up, smoothing his bushy, russet beard, which had gone static in the dry, summer air.

Jean chuckled “You look like Owen Lawgoch” she said teasingly, her warm brown eyes alight with laughter

“So you always say.” William smiled, blue eyes twinkling. “I’d better be off, the Practice won’t open itself.”

“Have a good day, dear.” Jean said, blowing her nose “And be careful crossing the roads; you’ll meet your death, one day, with the way you dodge traffic.”

“I’ll be back at lunchtime. Thai curry soup, right?”

But William Granger did not return at noon and, when Jean Granger traipsed downstairs to answer the door that afternoon, grumbling about her husband’s inability to remember such simple things such as time and keys, it was to find a grim-faced Severus Snape.

oOoOo

When Draco saw his mother’s tearstained face, he cringed. Yes, he'd known that his parents would be disappointed in him; Draco had always been a show-off and, for much of his youth, the incorrigible child had been on a first name basis with the nice Healers at St Mungo’s Accident and Emergency ward. Many a time his mother had scolded him for taking a foolish risk and, worse still, his father sighed, shaken his head and wondered whether there was a Slyherin brain under that Gryffindor ego. Draco had stamped his foot and harrumphed and insisted that he was a Slytherin: he had known exactly what he was doing and had taken a carefully calculated risk which had only gone wrong because of someone else’s fault. So there!

However, before leaving for Hogwarts, Draco had promised his father that, if he did get into Slytherin, he would try to obey the ancient House Rules; unity, decorum and, most importantly, don’t risk your life, let alone the lives of your friends, when the odds are against you. Although he knew that they’d pretty much completely shattered the final rule, Draco hadn’t realised that his mother would be so upset, nor that his father would look quite so solemn and serious.

Summoning up his courage, Harry spoke “Dad, I… I decided to do it. When I heard Voldemort ordering Professor Quirrell, he didn’t want to, you see, he tried to resist but Voldemort was too powerful, but, when I head that they were going to steal the Philosopher’s Stone tonight, I tried to find you and Dumbledore but you’d both gone and I didn’t know if any of the other teachers were in league with him, well, obviously not Madam Pomfrey or Hagrid… or Professor Kettleburn but they’d just tell Professor McGonagall and I… well, I just didn’t know who to trust so I decided to handle the situation myself. I took the cloak from your bedroom, I know I shouldn’t and that it was wrong and I’m really sorry but I had to. Then Hermione, she was sitting up in the common room and Heidi, her owl, flew into me and pulled off my cloak and she tried to convince me not to go, they all did but I just… I just couldn’t let Voldemort return. It’s all my fault, they were just helping me, so they shouldn’t get into trouble…”

“Harry! Slow down!” insisted Severus. Blushing, Harry paused, knowing that he’d started to burble somewhere after his first sentence. The child bit his lip and hesitantly passed a rather long scroll to his father, upon which was crammed an essay headed “Why I Shouldn’t Have Done What I Did Last Night.”

In the bed beside Harry, a tearful Draco was being embraced by his parents, who were too emotionally overwrought to say anything more than that he was never to scare them like that again.

Severus looked down at the essay, then over at his son, who was watching him with enormous, anxious green eyes. “Oh, Harry” he sighed, wrapping his arms around the boy “Your life is worth so much more than the Philosopher’s Stone”

“I know” Harry sniffed, burying his face into Severus’ shoulder “I just didn’t want Voldemort to come back because, if he did, he might try to hurt you.”

Severus looked up, blinking tears out of his eyes. When he’d first heard of his son’s exploits, Severus had been furious but, as he knew a father should, he’d held his tongue and concentrated on returning the foolish child to health. This morning, Severus had woken up angry and worked himself up into a fine temper before breakfast, only to have the Headmaster inform him that he, Professor Dumbledore, would deal with Messrs Nott and Zabini, as Severus had a more pressing duty.

And standing silently by Narcissa as she’d broken the news of William Granger’s death, thus shattering the blissful, happy world of a girl whose only fault was that she let her heart overrule her head, has quenched what remained of Severus’ ire.

Now, holding his foolish, infinitely brave son, Severus felt nothing but sadness: life was so fleeing, so fragile, so finite and, now that Voldemort had returned, those attributes were emphasised. Their time together might be short, so why waste it on anger?

“I’m sorry Dad!” Harry whispered “Sorry for making you worry about me.”

“I am sorry too, Harry” Severus replied, tightening his embrace, “I should have realised that, in such a circumstance, you might not have known who you could trust.”

Harry heard Draco anxiously say to his father “What’s going to happen, Daddy? We broke loads of rules!”

Harry tensed in Severus’s arms and Severus, releasing his son, looked over to Lucius, who nodded.

“The Headmaster” Severus said slowly “has decided that, although broke three, very serious rules, thereby endangering your lives and the lives your housemates, you did so with the most honourable and selfless of intentions and, therefore, you should all forgo any official punishment on this occasion. However” Severus paused significantly “Further heroics will be punished with a proportionate number of detentions and loss of points.”

Harry and Draco nodded, wide eyed.

“As your parents and Godparents, Mr and Mrs Malfoy and I have agreed that the most effective form of discipline would be to require you to write an essay explaining your actions, highlighting mistakes and the possible consequences, including the effect that your or your friends’ death or injury would have on their acquaintances, friends and relatives.”

“We’ve done that! We wrote all about it this morning.” cried Draco, relief creeping over his countenance.

“Not the last part, though” Harry reminded him, conscientiously.

“I am pleased to see that you have been seriously reflecting upon this” Severus said seriously “We will read your first drafts now and you can add to them this evening.”

As Severus paused, taking a moment to form his words into careful sentences.  Noticing the anxiety on his father’s face, Harry burst out “Dad? What’s wrong?”

“Yesterday” Narcissa said quietly “Mr and Mrs Granger’s Healing Practice was, it is believed from witness accounts that a blasting curse was used, a very powerful one. Mr Granger and a number of other muggles, his patients I believe, were killed instantly.”

Harry and Draco’s faces fell. “But… what about her mother?” Draco asked finally.

“Fortunately, she remained at home yesterday due to a severe cold” Severus explained “So as to ensure her safety, I removed Mrs Granger to Uroborus last night. The mode of attack suggested that she may also have been a target.”

Sadness and confusion creased Draco’s countenance “Why would anyone do something like that?”

“We are not, as yet, certain, but enquires are ongoing” Lucius replied sadly.

“Did they… do you think they wanted you and Professor Dumbledore out of the castle” Harry asked his father, a horrible idea blossoming in his mind.

“Possibly, Harry.” Severus said, quickly adding “Professor Quirrell, however, was teaching his NEWT students throughout the morning and, therefore, has a strong alibi.”

“Where is Hermione? Can we see her?” asked Draco earnestly "We should be with her, we're her friends!"

“She is with her mother, at Uroborus” Severus explained "I believe that she would appreciate some letters, however."

"Can we... can we go back to the Serpent's Nest, Dad?" Harry asked, knuckling tears from his eye.

"Of course, Harry. Or, perhaps you might prefer to invite your friends to stay in my quarters. I have rooms enough."

Harry nodded but Draco seemed uncertain.

"We're staying in Hogwarts, for the time being" Narcissa said gently. "The Headmaster has kindly offered us a suite of rooms next to Severus'."

Draco gave a watery smile and rested his head upon his father's shoulder. The world had shifted on it's axis, dawning on a sadder, darker world, where smiles had dissolved into tears. However, surrounded by Lucius, Narcissa and Severus, Harry and Draco were, indeed, amongst the deadliest of serpents but, whilst a viper pit may be terrifying to a stranger, there are no creatures more secure in their safety than the hatchlings within.