"What I said to Harry was a judgment based on facts. He is a Parselmouth, he has Slytherin blood, and he refuses to use his own abilities. All of that is true. As for how others interpret it—that is not something you or I can control, is it?"
The fingers gripping the doorknob turned white in an instant. Severus remained silent for a long time, and in the end, he chose not to answer.
The door opened, then closed. A draft from the corridor poured through the crack beneath it, rustling the parchment on the desk. Lockhart stood where he was, watching the closed door as the smile at the corner of his mouth slowly vanished without a trace, like an actor removing his mask after the curtain fell.
He walked to the desk, picked up the cup of tea that had gone cold, and took a sip. The tea had turned astringent, but he did not frown. Setting down the cup, he waved his wand and cast a series of layered silencing and defensive charms around the office. Then he took a small silver badge of unknown material from a drawer.
A raven clutching a snake was engraved on the front of the badge.
His thumb gently stroked the snake's body, and the badge lit up with a faint, dark-silver glow.
"Lord Madara," he said in a voice so low it was almost as if he were speaking to himself. "Professor Snape just left. He suspects I leaked the matter to the Daily Prophet, but he has no concrete evidence. He thinks I am using Harry, that I am taking Draco's side. He does not know our plan."
No sound came back from the badge, but the dark-silver light flashed twice before going out.
Lockhart put it back in