Burning Serpent

A/N: Okay. kno know how this goes… I don’t own any of the Harry Potter characters; they belong to J.K. Rowling. [looks sad. sniffs] OH…There are *SPOILERS* ahead!!! If youe noe not read the fifth book, don’t read this if you don’t want to know things.
ALSO: This is not an hp/ss couple, although I do love the pairing.
The talk about how Snape looked sexy and Harry being a boy and not a young man in this chapter are not to be taken as sexual; however, they are kind of backward set offs for this & future chapters… and, I should warn everyone there is a big surprise about Snape! If you like Snape being the sexy god we all love… this is not the fic for you. In this fic: Harry, Snape, Sirius (Voldemort brings him back), Gilderoy (yes, you heard me. Gilderoy!) And Remus are all loyal to the Dark Lord!!! And Dumbledore is NUTS and PURE EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MWHAHAHAHAHAHA…..

BURNING SERPENT
By: Raniyah Tahira

Prologue

DIES IRAE, DIES ILLA
SOLVET SAECLUM IN FAVILLA
TESTE DAVID CUM SYBILLA

The dark sounds of Verdi’s ‘Requiem’ filled the room, and the emerald green eyes of Harry James Potter were closed as the chords washed over him.

It had been over two months and the Gryffindor was still furious with the world and everyone who had been involved in his life for the last year. He could not seem to let go of the hateful grudge that was caused by the death of his godfather, Sirius. He blamed the world for this. He blamed Voldemort. He blamed his relatives. He blamed his friends. He blamed his professors. He blamed Dumbledore… He blamed himself.

The dark haired boy fisted his hands in the sheets. He would not cry. He would not cry! If he cried, he doubted he could stop… And then he would have no one to blame for Sirius’ death; he wouldn’t be able to hate anyone for the unfair situation he found himself facing.

“POTTER!!!”

It was his Dudley. And he sounded thoroughly disgusted.

He growled angrily.

Harry had told the Dursleys at the beginning of the summer that the most important person in his life had been murdered, and that that if they bother him for any reason, rules or no rules, he would blow them all to hell… It was understandable that, between the threats of those of his friends at King’s Crossing and his own, the Dursleys had not even dared breathe whenever Harry entered a room.

When the aforementioned Harry appeared at the bottom of the stairs, he glared. “What. Do. You. Want?”

Dudley, who for the longest time had been the bully, was now trembling. His cousin, Harry, had gone from a weak, humble boy to something dark, angry and dangerous. He knew better than to mess with whoever, or whatever, Harry had become. Instead of speaking, he just stepped aside to reveal an open doorway.

“Snape…”

The man’s hair was longer than when Harry had last seen him, and he was not wearing his typical robes. Instead, he wore black chinos, a long sleeve, black silk shirt, and with two fingers, he held a black leather jacket over his shoulder… He was, in fact, the epitome of sexy right now.

“Dumbledore wanted to come and collect you, but I had a suspicion that he was one of the last people you would want to see right now.” Snape’s face did not show any emotion.

Harry gave the man a nasty smile. “You’re right. And guess what? You are actually the last person that I wanted to see!”

“My, my, my. Albus’ golden boy is rather naughty behind closed doors, isn’t he?” Snape smiled, almost teasingly, but his smile was wiped from his face when the Boy-Who-Lived snapped like a rapid dog.

“More than you know.” His growl was low and threatening. “Now… If you do not tell me why you are here then leave my house, will turn you into a moldy sock and burn you in the back garden.”

Snape raised an eyebrow. “As interesting as that sounds, Mister Potter, I want you to know that I do not find this little situation amusing or funny in the slightest bit. Albus, again, feels that Occlumency lessons are in order and, as much as I hate to admit it, I am inclined to agree with him.”

Harry made a crude noise. “And is our oh-so-wise Headmaster going to teach me himself this time?”

“He wanted to, but I felt that the Headmaster has enough to deal with right now. Plus, though Albus is far more powerful than I or the Dark Lord, he is, by nature, a kind and good person… He cannot fully understand the extent of the Dark Lord’s evil and cruelty as I do.” Snape stared down at the young man. Young man? When did it become young man? No, Potter is a boy.

“That is why,” Snape continued, “with Dumbledore’s permission, I have been allowed to offer you an invitation to Snape Hall. If you agree, you can leave these Muggles and spend the rest of the summer in private. You will have six hours worth of lessons spread throughout each day, and at the times when you are not studying you will be allowed to do whatever pleases you. You will have access to the entire mansion and its adjoining grounds; you can go wherever you want. I will also allow you to have friends over one day out of the week, minding you stay out of my way.” Snape smiled nastily. “Your other option is to stay inside Hogwarts, where your freedom is limited, and where you will have to face all of the professors every day when you are made to attend meals.”

Harry sneered. “What if I refuse both options?”

“Then I am afraid that I would have the distinct pleasure of subduing you in a duel; after which I would take you to the one of my choosing.”

It was on the tip of Harry’s tongue to say something snide, but instead he took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Fine.” When Snape’s lips curled in an evil sneer, Harry spun on his heel and stomped up the stairs.

“Where do you think you are going, Potter?”

“To pack my bloody trunk… Snape!”

Trunk? Did he not mean trunks?

A snicker behind him made Snape turn to see the fat boy he now knew as Dudley Dursley. With a grin that was pure evil, Snape hissed. “So… You are the nasty pig that I saw in Potter’s mind. I must say, I think Hagrid did a marvelous job on your tail?” He leaned in closer in a threatening manner.

With a squeak, Dudley whirled around and ran as fast as his fat legs would carry him.

Snape was still laughing evilly when Harry came down the steps. “What is so funny?”

The evil smile became an amused one. “Your cousin. He is much fatter than the image I saw in your mind a few months ago.”
Harry grimaced. “Yes.” He reached down to pick up his trunk again, when Snape waved his wand at it. Harry stared at his professor for a moment. “Thanks.”

“This is all you have?”

“Yup. I am a freak in this house, so I was never given much.”

Snape’s eyes seemed to change; Harry saw something odd in them, but they immediately changed back. Harry was waiting for the man to make some kind of mean or cutting remark, but Snape and Harry’s trunk just led the way out of the door.
Harry Potter silently contemplated what was happening. He was following one of the men he hated most in the world out of the door, going to his home to study Occlumency again…

Something strange was going on, and right now was not the time. He was still angry and any little wrong move Snape, or anyone else, made would set him off…


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