Now it is time for something a little different. This is my response to Harry the Snake Challenge on HPFC. The challenge was to write a fic where LV turns Harry into a snake and makes him his pet for a form of torture. It is dark and not pleasant. The very idea is to humiliate his enemy and ensure his loyalty, though more about motivation will be revealed when we get to Voldemort's pov next chapter. It will be short with the aim to focus on the points of change.

This will also be gen! There will be no ships and especially no Harry/Voldemort. If Voldemort tortures Harry it will be by curses and certainly no rape.

As well, I think the strangest part about this fic is me not only writing Harry pov, but enjoying it!

Finally, you may notice that the first line is directly from the Forest Scene in Deathly Hallows. This is the AU point and more details about this change will be revealed as the story goes on.

Enjoy!

He saw the mouth move and a flash of red light, and everything was gone.

Everything reappeared as Harry came back into the conscious world. It was all cold. The stone below sent chills through him as his groggy mind tried to focus on any coherent thoughts.

It soon recognised the pain. Vibrations of red hot agony swept up and down his body. Automatically he tried to flinch. As he attempted to move his body, something struck him: He could not feel his arms.

His brain sent out waves to make them move, but nothing seemed to respond.

Instead, panic set in.

Harry tried to flail his legs, but even that seemed wrong. Something moved, but it was awkward. His joints just did not work and it felt like his legs were tied together. The last thing he remembered was being in the forest and Voldemort and his Death Eaters before him. He had expected a Killing Curse would have been unleashed, though the jet of red fired seemed more like a Stunning Spell. Did that mean he was now imprisoned by Voldemort?

He opened his eyes. It should have been pointless. He could feel his glasses were not on his face. He expected to be rendered blind.

He was not.

The room was almost entirely pitch black, but somehow he could see everything. The wall in front was lined with stone complete with deep etchings and blood stains.

For several moments Harry could not take his eyes off the marks until he finally turned to stare at the limbs he assumed were bound and the limbs he could not feel.

His neck seemed to twist more than usual to stare at the side of his body.

There were no arms.

There were no legs.

There was no chest.

There were no ribs.

There was no trace of anything human.

All he could see was the smooth and scaled body of a snake.

He would have screamed, but the only voice that escaped him was a long pained hiss.

Panic flared through him again.

He flayed widely. The long trail of his body flicked and flared. He circled the room frantically, but all that was there were four walls and stone floors.

He was trapped.

He was trapped as a snake.

Lucky, or perhaps unlucky for Harry, he was only left alone for a few hours.

In that short time he had not adapted to his body. However, when the hard wooden door slid open with a high pitched squeak, pure instinct and the little knowledge he had grasped, were enough to spring him into action. Raising his head, he opened his jaw wide and barred his fangs with a loud threatening hiss.

It did not have the desired impact. There was no fear or uncertainty expressed by the other man.

There was only a cold chilling chuckle.

"Still as fierce as ever, Harry," Lord Voldemort said softly in a language Harry could understand as he stepped silently into the dungeon. "I am not at all surprised."

Harry did not dignify him with a response. Lashing out, with little grace, he thrust himself forward and tried to sink his teeth into his enemy's leg.

He did not get very far.

When he was only a foot away, a curse hit his serpentine body and he was hurled into the back wall.

The contact vibrated through his body and knocked the breath from him as he fell in a tangled heap. He was tempted to attack again, but his beady eyes were focused on the knobbly elder wand. Instead he hissed softly in a clear threat.

He could have predicted the monster in front of him would not be impacted, but he had to try. He could not take this lying down.

"Now, Harry, behave. We might be spending quite a bit of time together from now on." The Dark Lord's thin lips curled upwards in what might have been considered a smile only if someone had no idea what such an expression should look like. "Your friends have made sure of that."

The problem Harry had always faced was, no matter the circumstances, he always had a certain level of curiosity. He wished he could ignore Voldemort's words but a part of him longed for additional information. However, the difference was, he had no intention of admitting or revealing that to the other man.

Other than hissing softly in anger he remained silent.

"So are you going to be like that, Harry? Tut tut." Voldemort did not seem at all bothered. In fact he seemed rather at ease as he twirled his wand skilfully between long pale fingers like spider's legs. His good mood only made Harry more concerned. "Hiding away your curiosity. I know you want to know. Even in the body of a snake you cannot hide anything from Lord Voldemort. Ask and I may tell you."

Harry would not play this game. He refused to bend down to this monster's wishes. Instead he pulled himself up and lashed out again.

The result was the same.

He was thrown against the wall by the force of Voldemort's spell.

This time it felt like his scales were in fire. He twisted and hissed with pain as he tried to get away. Nothing worked until, suddenly, it felt like a bucket of water had been thrown over him and relief finally started to flitter through his body.

Blood red eyes that had previously been amused hardened into a furious glare that highlighted the extent of the Dark Lord's ability. "Be careful. We will be spending a lot of time together now. It is wise for you not to anger me. Do you think it is coincidence you are in your current condition?" He crouched down to his level. Harry longed for Voldemort to draw closer, but he kept a wise amount of space between them. "I'll let you in on a secret- It is not. Your little friend Longbottom destroyed my precious Nagini and how could I last without a snake by my side? You will help me with that won't you Harry?"

Too quick for Harry to react, Voldemort reached out and touched the top of his triangle head. Before Harry could even move to strike, the hand was away and Voldemort was half way to the door.

"I will see you again soon, my pet, and, at that time, I hope you are better behaved."

With one piercing red eyed glare, Voldemort closed the door filling the room in darkness once again.

Harry was alone and even more confused than before.

He was left to his own worries and woes for a whole other day.

Nothing ever changed. The darkness remained still as stifling as ever. It was silent within, though, outside, he occasionally heard the shuffling of people. He assumed he must have a guard outside his cell, but he was not sure why.

He also started to grow hungry. He was not knowledgeable about how often serpents needed to eat or drink, yet his body seemed to be telling him the gap was going on too long. The gnawing feeling continued though he tried to ignore it. He could not imagine Voldemort wanted him dead by starvation.

He would have more sinister intentions.

Harry was not wrong.

Harry was not sure exactly how long he had waited, perhaps it had been a day, but, after that time, the door opened to reveal Voldemort.

Just like before, he slid inside like a shadow with considerable comfort and ease.

Despite how tempted he was, Harry did not strike out. With his serpentine body curled in a ball that seemed comfortable, he raised his head and hissed in warning.

"At least some improvement," Voldemort murmured softly in Parseltongue as he stepped closer to the serpentine body of Harry. He tensed ready to strike. "Are you going to behave?"

The only answer he received was a furious glare.

Voldemort did not seem at all worried. "No matter you will learn in time. Now."A pale hand slipped inside the black fabric before something was extracted. It was small a little fury and, before he could help himself, Harry focused on it more intently: A mouse. "I am sure you will be hungry."

Disgust filled Harry. Did he expect him to eat a mouse? He would not. He was still a man. He was not a snake no matter what he looked like. He especially would not play Voldemort's game.

He stayed silent.

The man laughed darkly. "Such defiance. How long do you think you will last without food? All you need to do is ask. Ask and you shall receive."'

The silence continued.

"If you insist." There was just icy coldness between Voldemort who turned and left.

Harry would be strong. He swore he would.

For five days Harry kept his vow.

His knowledge of the time was still limited, but, from the large gaps and his increasing hunger, he assumed Voldemort must come every day. Voldemort always did the same thing. He was always icy cool and he would offer him a mouse.

Every time, Harry rejected him.

He still refused to speak. He wanted to beat down Voldemort's will even if he was not sure how long he could go without food.

Steadily Voldemort grew more frustrated.

Still, neither side relented.

At least until that fifth day.

"Now, Harry," Voldemort greatened, his voice filled with more tension as the door slammed closed behind him with a bang. "Will you behave today?"

Harry longed to refuse him. He wished he could stay there and sustain himself on his own will. However, every day he grew weaker and his worry increased for the others. Could he really stay here? All he had to do was ask. It was such a small thing to do.

He tried to glare at him. He tried to stare him down, but red eyes would never lose the battle so, instead, the triangle head of the snake moved up and down slowly.

Watching a vicious smile drift over his enemies face did not ease his misgivings. Unhurriedly Voldemort removed a nice plump mouse. Harry was sure if he was still a human he would be dribbling.

"Just ask, Harry. Ask me for the mouse and you shall receive it."

Harry had never actually spoken as a serpent. He had refused to say anything to Voldemort and he was the only one he saw. He had stubbornly refused.

Now he had given in.

"I want the mouse," Harry hissed as if on instinct. It came out easier than he would have thought. It did not even sound foreign. He supposed it was because he always had spoken Parseltongue.

His eyes remained rooted on the mouse rather than look up at Voldemort's smug face.

"Say please," he ordered his voice considerably more pleased.

Harry would have preferred to bite him. Instead he allowed the instinct to take over to gain what he needed. "Please give me the rat."

"Good pet."

The mouse dropped from Voldemort's hand and Harry latched onto it before it even reached the ground. In that moment he did not care that it was a mouse. He did not care that Voldemort called him a pet or treated him like one. He only cared about how the bones crushed between his sharp teeth, how the blood slid down his throat and then how the feeling of contentment settled over him when he swallowed.

It was not the only one.

"Would you like another?"

Having once tasted what he desired, he did not want to lose the feeling straight away.

"Yes please."

Mouse after mouse was thrown at Harry and he eagerly devoured each one on cue. By the end when he allowed Voldemort to tap the top of his head, his serpentine body was filled with mice and shame.