"Then I can only imagine they're growing increasingly frustrated." He was sure she knew it couldn't end well, but neither of them really needed to waste time dwelling on the inevitable. It was good to be able to deal with someone who valued directness, for once.
And it was nice to be able to provide it, too. "Dumbledore ran afoul of some curse he chose not to explain to me, last summer. You remember - his hand." Severus leaned forward a little in his chair. "It was bound to kill him eventually, which he found convenient. Draco Malfoy had been assigned to murder him, and he had no intention of allowing that to happen. And so when the opportunity presented itself - the night he knew I would be at the Ministry with the other Death Eaters - Dumbledore made sure to put himself in my path, and we executed our agreement." Unfortunate language, perhaps. "There was never to be any attack on the school. The Dark Lord wanted the Ministry, and that was all. Dumbledore knew that, and why he didn't see fit to share it with you, I don't precisely know. - He wanted to be able to carry out his plan in peace, perhaps. I'm not sure." As he had already explained - and she no doubt knew without him saying so - Dumbledore could be distressingly cagey.