He tries again: "– I am too valuable a source of information for the Order to lose, with Severus dead. With what I can give the Order, they are able to make strikes that damage my master's efforts greatly. Infrequent, yes, because otherwise he would know there was a rat, and soon discover it was me, but still. I am an...asset to your precious Potter." The venom in Malfoy's voice is overwhelming; all resigned, hateful bitterness, and Hermione finds herself wanting to recoil from it. She doesn't.