MADAM POMFREY did not allow Saros to run off to the Headmaster during the night, forcing him to try and sleep while he healed. But after he drifted off, she kept her promise to deliver the message to Dumbledore. The Headmaster seemed more than intrigued by Saros' request and told Pomfrey that he would be in the Hospital Wing first thing in the morning. She only nodded her head in response, but deep down she felt quite nervous.

Saros had been through quite a lot, his mental health definitely taking a toll around every twist and bend. It seemed something new presented itself as a challenge while he attempted to heal. She was worried about him, worried that in his fragile state he was prone to making rather rash decisions. He was unable to think things through entirely because he was so wrapped up in his emotions.

So before Dumbledore was set to arrive, Madam Pomfrey took it upon herself to wake Saros up and speak with him. The bags under his eyes as he sat up were an indicator that he was suffering from restless nights of sleep. She thought about giving him a sleeping draught to take with him back to the dorms when it came time.

"I informed the Headmaster of your request last night as you asked," she told him as she sat at his bedside, "but I wanted to discuss something with you further."

He met her gaze for a moment before nodding, silently telling her to continue.

"You are in the process of healing right now," she continued, " and you should be aware that you won't be in the best mind about things. I understand that getting your memories back might leave you wanting to do so many things, to act now and question things later. I simply don't want you making any mistakes. Sometimes, it's best if we take a step back from everything, rest and sleep on it, and then look into it again."

Saros understood what Madam Pomfrey was telling him and he appreciated her effort of looking after him during such a time.

"I understand what you're saying," he said, " I know I have to take things one step at a time. But I don't think this can wait much longer. Something has to be done before they get worse. I can't afford to have my family get hurt and staying silent is just as bad as being the one who hurts them."

The two of them were interrupted by the clearing of a throat, leaving them to look over and see Professor Dumbledore. Quickly, Madam Pomfrey excused herself, pretending she had some business to tend to. With the two alone, Dumbledore invited himself to sit down while Saros adjusted his pillows behind him to prop himself up.

"Madam Pomfrey informed me that you had a request," Dumbledore began, " is that-"

"Before we get started with anything," Saros interjected, " I need to know why I should trust you."

There was a flicker in Dumbledore's gaze, perhaps a hint of surprise that Saros had dared to start off their discussion in such a way. But the rest of his facial expression did not falter, he remained calm.

"You are the one who requested my presence."

"To give you a chance to prove yourself," Saros said. " You hold the power to do things, that's why I called upon you but you've never given me any reason to trust you. I don't want to make a mistake. I don't want something with good intentions to backfire on me."

"If you would, Mr Malfoy, please offer some reason as to why you don't trust me."

"Well, for starters, you put my cousin away in Azkaban without giving him a fair trial. He was loyal to you and you didn't even give him the chance to defend himself."

"It was a situation in the hands of the Ministry-"

"And you have plenty of influence within the Ministry! Maybe not now, but you did!" Saros argued. "But you didn't bother. You let an innocent man go to prison without even a second thought. Do you regret it? Do you have any regrets?"

"I have plenty, Mr Malfoy. Is that why you called me here, to go over my regrets?"

"Why did you ignore Sirius and defend Snape?" Saros questioned him, ignoring Dumbledore's earlier question. "Sirius was loyal to you through the Order, Snape was a Death Eater."

"Mr Malfoy-"

"Don't even try to lie for him, I've learned plenty through the circles of my family. I know things that others don't inside these castle walls. I know he was a Death Eater, but you came to his defence, you even hired him. You hired someone who was fighting against you for years. And not only that, you put him in the position to be around children. Children that he bullies on a day to day basis, facing no consequence. You have to be aware of that. This is your school at the end of the day, you have to be responsible for your faculty and student body."

It grew quiet with the exception of something crashing in the background and Madam Pomfrey calling out an apology.

"No grown man should insult a student to her face after she's been hexed. I was there for that, it was my own brother's doing and there was no consequence even though Snape clearly saw what happened. Hermione Granger is only one of the victims. And for the longest time, I couldn't understand how you allowed this behaviour. No matter how insults or fearful students were of this man, he remained."

"Professor Snape is-"

"A pawn," Saros interjected, " yes, I know now."

"A pawn?"

"Yeah, that's what everyone is to you. A piece on a chessboard. I figured it out. Everyone you keep close to you serves the role of a pawn or another piece on the board depending on how much they can do for you. Meanwhile, you're not even on the board, you're the player. You are a strategist. You plan where each piece will go and where it will fall. The sacrifices are planned. You let Sirius take the fall without question because it would cost you more to try and save him."

"What would it cost me?"

"The Order. The trust of the Order. If they all suspected it to be Sirius, you would have lost the support, so you let Sirius go. The evidence was stacked against him, he would only have been met with mercy if you stepped in. But you decided against it. Why? Because you took in another pawn...Snape. He knew things that you needed, so he took Sirius' spot on your board."

"Mr Malfoy, it seems you are quite the strategic thinker yourself, to put together such an elaborate theory-"

"Don't patronise me," Saros said, " I don't need it. I'm letting you know now, that confiding in you doesn't mean I'm going to become one of the pieces on your board. I've seen how you play your games. I've seen the other pieces on your boards, whether they know they are pieces or not.  I'm not doing this for you or your cause, I'm doing this for me and my family."

"And now we come to the topic of your father," Dumbledore said, " you wish to testify against him?"

Saros became silent before taking a deep breath and shaking his head.

" I want to save him."

Saros remembered when he was younger and became a big brother. The title didn't mean much to him in the beginning but as he grew older, he made a promise to look after Draco and protect him. However, now that he was even older, Saros realised that as the eldest son, he had to look after his family when his parents were unable to do so.

Perhaps deep down, Lucius held plenty of regret over becoming a Death Eater, especially when it came to the idea of any harm coming to his family. But he felt it was too late to run away, he was too much of a coward to try and seek outside help. As for Narcissa, Saros knew his mother loved her family more than anything else. After being brainwashed by her family for years, she believed what she was doing would result in the safety of her loved ones over anything else.

"My father is in too deep now," Saros said quietly, "he's too frightened to think of any other option. But if he keeps doing what he's doing, he's going to get himself killed and worse, he's going to get our family killed."

Dumbledore straightened his robes as he adjusted in his chair. "Mr Malfoy, before we proceed any further, I want you to understand the consequences of what your testimony will do. There is a large possibility of your father going to Azkaban for his crimes. If what you're saying is true-"

"Oh come off it," he scoffed, "you know what I'm saying is true. Did anyone really ever believe the story that my father was under the Imperius Curse during his time under the Dark Lord? I don't think so, he just had enough money to make everyone look the other way. And I understand what's going to happen but it needs to happen. It's not just for our safety but his safety too. My father is going to end up getting himself killed, whether it's by the hands of the Dark Lord and his followers, or by your pawns, Professor."

He looked away from the Headmaster. As angry as he was with his father for what he had done to him, Saros couldn't help but fear for Lucius' life. There was no telling if he was doing the best thing by putting his father in Azkaban but he hoped it was the right thing to do.

"He was there that night in the graveyard with Harry and me. He was summoned after the Dark Lord returned. And he was ordered to kill me for being a blood-traitor. Part of me believed he was going to do it but now I know he couldn't bring himself to do it. He thinks he's protecting me, he thinks he's protecting our family. He doesn't understand that he's hurting us. All of us."

"As of right now, Mr Malfoy, the Ministry is in denial of any return," Dumbledore said, " whether it's out of fear of ignorance. They may not be prone to believing you or your claims against your father."

"What reason would I have for making it up?"

"They won't look into that. They will blame it on your being disoriented or discredit you based on your current state of healing. My word doesn't carry as far as it once did as you stated earlier. Arresting Lucius Malfoy would be their way of admitting Voldemort's return and they are not open to that idea."

"So there was no point in me telling you that I was ready to testify? Nothing is going to be done about it if the Ministry is in denial. This was all for nothing?"

"I wouldn't necessarily say it was for nothing, Mr Malfoy. Now you understand how far you will go to protect the ones you care for. Testifying against your own father is not something that many would be willing to do."

"Well, if that's not going to work, what else can I do to ensure their protection?"

A/N: Sometimes when I'm writing Saros, I think of his career and I only see him as a Headmaster or Minister. Dream big, Saros.