Draco sat down and gathered his courage to sneak a glance at the large portrait behind the Headmistress' desk, only to discover that it had moved a fair bit to the left to make room for another portrait. He could have sworn that his heart skipped a beat as he stared up in disbelief and surprise.
A thin man with a hooked nose and greasy, black, shoulder-length hair stared right back at him with dark, penetrating eyes, and Draco inhaled sharply.
"Professor Snape," he breathed in shock.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Granger's head snap up to stare at the portrait as well. The former Head of Slytherin House spared her no glance and his eyes remained fixed on his former pupil.
"Well, well…" he drawled with a soft sneer. "Against all odds you've made it through the War alive. I'm pleased to see that I didn't take that Vow for nothing. I see you even got an honourable badge out of it."
Somehow, Draco felt much smaller than he had ten minutes ago. Severus Snape had done everything he could to help him out during his mission, even going as far as taking an Unbreakable Vow at the request of his mother and lying to the Dark Lord about what happened atop the Astronomy Tower.
Instead of sharing the burden of his impossible mission, Draco had accused the man of trying to take away his chance of redeeming his father and using the mission for his own gain. He felt foolish, knowing now that his former teacher had only ever looked out for him. He wanted to say something, offer his apologies, anything, but he could only shift uncomfortably in his seat and avoid direct eye contact.
"Pull yourself together, boy," said Snape softly, his tone surprisingly gentle. "I accept. Now, stop acting like a snivelling fool."
A weight lifted from his shoulders and Draco quickly glanced up at Snape's portrait and gave the former Potions Master a grateful nod. The man returned the gesture, cast a disdainful glance at Granger and then disappeared from the portrait, his black robes flowing behind him.
Dumbledore sat quite still in his own portrait, his eyes closed and his hands folded together in his lap, but Draco doubted whether the old wizard was really asleep. He was quite sure he saw a pleased smile tug at the corners of the former Headmaster's lips, but he kept up the pretence.
From Exceeding Expectations, chapter 26 | read the rest here: [FFN]
