"Groundskeeper..." Draco mused, pouring out two glass of Scotch and bringing one to Greg. The glasses were thick crystal, obviously expensive, and, like most things, Draco didn't think about that as he handed it over and then moved to sit down with his own. "Keeping the animals and dragging in the Christmas tree, all that?"
He'd have been happy to go on talking about that, because it was mundane and ridiculous and he didn't know what Snape was thinking, but of course Goyle had to bring up what he was dreading. Draco's mouth drew into a tight line, and he looked down into his glass for a moment, then up to his friend, because if he was going to answer he ought to be facing Goyle like a man and looking him in the eye when he did.
Of course, he had to lie. But that didn't mean he couldn't look him in the eyes while he lied to him. Draco was, as it came to it, very good at that.
"It wasn't a deal with Potter. Would I have made a plan with Potter and his ilk? A deal? But I could see things were going badly, and I had what he wanted. I did it to protect myself, and I'd like to think anyone else might have done the same thing. As for..." Here he faltered for as second, the truth getting in the way of covering up for hismelf. "I was sorry for what happened to you and Vincent. My father tried to keep you from Azkaban, but at the time our name wasn't worth what it had been with the new Ministry, it didn't work."