And Then There Were Three

Chapter 25

After a long moment, Draco pulled away and dropped his gaze to the floor as he asked, "What happens now?" Draco could hear the strain in his voice, and though he wanted to sound unworried and grown up, he felt much more like a small child. He had really mucked things up today— over the last few days, to be honest. He hoped Sirius was right about everything, but he wouldn't blame Snape if he was through with him.

"Now," Snape said calmly, "we are going to eat dinner, and afterward you are going to your room. And you're going to stay there this time until I come up to talk. And we will talk," he added sternly.

Draco nodded. "Yes, sir."

Snape moved to the doorway and called the others to eat while Draco sat down in his usual place. Then the table was filled with roast beef, potatoes, and a salad, and suddenly Draco realized just how hungry he was. He'd barely touched his breakfast and skipped lunch all together.

Snape must have known because he insisted on second helpings before he let Draco push his plate away. When the table was cleared of everything except the cups of tea that sat in front of the adults, Snape cleared his throat and quietly told Draco to go on to his room.

Draco stood without a word and pushed his chair in, but as he picked up his broom which had been left by the door, Snape stopped him.

"You can leave that here," he said without even looking up at him.

Draco's brows furrowed in confusion, and then in realization that Snape had lost trust in him. He tried not to look at the others at the table as he said, "I won't go anywhere." His voice sounded small even to himself.

Snape nodded. "Even still, it will stay down here."

Draco bit his bottom lip as he left the broom leaning against the wall and walked out of the room.

He went upstairs to his room and closed the door softly behind him. He let out a sigh when he saw the mess he had yet to clean up. Honestly, what had he been thinking?

Draco knew, though he didn't want to admit it, that it was all because he knew it would bother Snape. Snape had a thing about everything being neat and tidy. He wasn't obsessive about it, and he and Harry had both been known to let their rooms get a little messy from time to time, but this was different and he and Snape both knew it. Draco had intentionally thrown things about purely to piss off his guardian. He had wanted to get a reaction out of him and he knew that would do it.

Except it hadn't. Not really. Just like none of the other things he'd done had gotten a reaction from him.

Sirius had been right. Draco had been testing Snape for a while now— being more and more of a prat just to see what Snape would do. Because everything was different now and he just needed something to be the same, but it wasn't! Snape had barely cared about any of it and it had all just escalated until today, because Draco knew without a doubt that there was simply no way that Snape could overlook this. No way he could let this go with a lecture and a stern reminder to do better.

Deciding that he might as well do something while he waited for Snape to come, Draco set about cleaning his room. He started with the desk and began straightening up the books and parchment into a neat pile and cleaning up the overturned ink pots.

By the time he heard the soft knock on his door, Draco had picked up everything from the floor and was now folding the clothes that lay in a pile on his bed.

"I told you it wouldn't take long once you got started," Snape said from where he stood leaning against the door frame.

Draco looked up at him sheepishly. "Yeah, I know."