I initially wrote this out for my own benefit so that I could get in Harry's head, and originally wasn't planning to post it, but then I changed my mind. (Wow, way to state the obvious – clearly I made a different move, as you're reading this now…)

Trigger warning: A child is held down by two adults and forced to drink something that makes him fall just short of unconscious. If you have issues with any part of that, please turn around or this story will greatly disturb you.

This can be a bit disturbing even to someone without triggering issues, so if you think you might be troubled, turn back. Just know that he is not physically harmed – only very scared.

It does take a slightly different tone from the main fic, but this is just how it came out. I hope you enjoy it!

…

Silas felt heavy. That was the first thing he registered. It was like the time he had gotten stuck in a snake burrow too narrow for his body, and he'd felt the pressure closing in on all sides. But he didn't remember going in any hole, and besides – he felt…different.

He realized a moment later it was because he was in his human form. That was why it was so dark, too – he had eyelids in human form, and they were closed.

He worked to open them, struggling with great difficulty and registering a strange and unfamiliar smell as he did so. It didn't smell clean – not like the forest. In fact, it smelled a bit like stone, but where could he be that had so many stones he couldn't smell the trees and the soil?

Not having an answer for these questions and still having difficulty opening his eyes, he began to panic. Why couldn't he remember? Where was Sadi?

:Sadi!: he called through a dry mouth.

:Silas!: he felt her body slither up his chest, her tongue flicking out to touch his chin. :Are you okay? You wouldn't wake up when I called you!:

Sleep…

Then he remembered.

He supposed that the twins with red hair were alright. They hadn't hurt Sadi, and gave her over to him soon after he demanded it, so he supposed they meant her no harm. He wasn't sure why they would want a snake if not for their bones or other body parts, but he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. They had even given him some delicious food he'd never tried before.

"Hey – mate?" one of them said, and he looked up at them to see their expressions changed – eyes widened, mouths slack, faces pale. He was instantly wary again – he didn't know what that expression meant, but he did know that something in the air had shifted, and he felt suddenly hunted.

He said nothing – while the Parseltongue had slipped out when he threatened them for touching Sadi, instinct told him to hide that he was a snake. So even though it was illogical considering they'd already heard it, he made no more sound to connect him to being a snake.

"We"—the twins glanced at each other—"We have other food, up at the castle. You can follow us on back up and the house elves can get you whatever you want."

While the offer was tempting, Silas had grown up in the forest. He knew that things that appeared an amazing opportunity on the outside was frequently just a trap once you got closer. Seeing clearly the change in their expressions had already put him on his guard, but now he was sure that they were as conniving as foxes, and he wasn't going to accept anything they offered.

He didn't know how to deny their offer without words, so he simply began walking away and let that do the talking for him.

He heard feet crunching quickly on the leaves and branches behind him, and quickly whirled around, expecting an attack, and almost falling over. (He still wasn't too strong on his feet.)

They stopped when they saw him turn around, and one said, "Why not? You liked the chicken – I'm sure you'll like even more stuff at Hogwarts. The house elves will get you anything you want!"

He was even more suspicious of their words now that they were insisting, and once again turned and began walking away, more quickly this time.

For a few moments he thought he'd been successful, but then he heard the crunch of twigs behind him again and whirled around, meaning to convince them that he'd be on his way and they should be, too.

This time though, both of them had – sticks? – in their hands, pointing at him. Somehow he instinctively knew that these were no ordinary sticks – not with the way they were pointing at him in a very obviously threatening manner.

"Sorry, mate," one said apologetically.

He had no time to defend himself or get away, even though he didn't know what they could do. They chanted something, and twin beams of red light came at him from the ends of their sticks.

His entire field of vision flashed red as the light was all his eyes saw – and then instantly darkened into black nothingness.

He finally succeeded in opening his eyes, though that did nothing to help as he didn't recognize where he was. He couldn't see the sky above him – it was a large expanse of white-grey stone, and it surrounded him on all sides as well.

:Sadi, where am I?: Silas said, frightened, eyes darting about the space. He was lying on something soft and springy, and he saw several of the same things he lied on about the large room. There were a few large windows on one wall, letting him see foggily outside, but it only served to remind him of how trapped he was. He sat up, holding Sadi's curled form in his palms.

:I don't know,: Sadi said, much calmer than Silas but still afraid. :I'm just glad you're awake now. The twins did something to you that wouldn't let you wake up and then took you in here. Another female had a stick that shone some lights too, but I don't know what those lights did – they were all different colors. I didn't know what to do.:

:We're getting out of here,: Silas told her firmly, throwing off the fabric that had been spread over him in his forced sleep. He swung his legs over the side of the soft thing, realizing he was dressed in white clothes with blue stripes but not caring for the discomfort of the fabric against his skin at the moment.

As soon as he rose to his feet however, he heard a loud sound he would later recognize as an alarm. He jumped in surprise, and then a door he hadn't noticed at the end of the room opened and a large woman came hurrying out.

Eyes widening, he backed a step and fell back on the bed, causing the alarm to stop blaring.

"Mr. Potter!" the woman said, coming closer. "What are you doing out of bed? Get right back in there – you need some sleep and warming up after your jaunt in the forest at the end of November! Dearie me, do you want to get pneumonia?"

Silas didn't hear any of what she said – he saw her mouth moving, but he was too scared to bother listening, especially as she kept coming closer.

:Get away from me!: he cried, eyes wide. :You can't make me sleep again!:

She stopped short in surprise, but before she could say a word, another door in the room opened again and a male with white hair and a long white beard came strolling in.

"Ah, Harry, my boy!" the male exclaimed. "I see you're doing better already! The new hair cut suits you I think, though of course I prefer mine a bit longer." He chuckled, eyes twinkling behind his glasses as he gazed on the haircut that fell just short of the boy's shoulders.

But Silas didn't hear what he said, either. No, he was staring at the door, scared that someone else was going to come in, too – and then he would be in even more danger, and it would be that much harder to get away.

He knew that now was the time. So, when he saw the slightest opportunity, he bolted to his feet and made a dash for the door, knowing that if he could just get out the door, he could go back to the forest.

The old male made a small sound of surprise as he rushed toward him, and in an instant his stick was out from the folds of his clothes and pointing at him. This time though, Silas knew what to expect and leapt aside an instant before the beam of white light would have hit him. He kept running, almost stumbling as he couldn't go as fast as he wanted, still just learning to walk properly.

Then he felt something hit his back, and suddenly his movements slowed to almost nothing. He felt himself lifted in the air, struggling against whatever was keeping his movements sluggish. He faintly heard Sadi hissing furious threats from her spot around his wrist, but he was more focused on getting away at the moment.

He found himself deposited on the bed, and just as he thought the effect of that light was wearing off, the old male shot another light from the end of his wand to reinforce it. It only made him fight that much harder, knowing that it could wear off quickly and wanting to escape as soon as he was able.

"We know you're confused, my boy," the old man said, and Silas caught a strong whiff of honey coming from him. "And that's to be expected, considering the life I suspect you've lived. All will be explained in time, however. There are things you need to know before you decide to run off again, and I know your g…"

The man hadn't been keeping an eye on the time, and suddenly Silas was springing up again, almost colliding heads with the man at the abrupt movement. A wrinkled hand grabbed his forearm before he could run again, and instinctively, forgetting he wasn't in snake form, he turned his head and bit the wrist of the offending hand as hard as he could. With a shocked sound, the man let go, but then the woman was standing in front of him, preventing his escape.

"You'll be alright here, Mr. Potter…" she tried, but when he tried to push past her, she grabbed him about the waist and deposited him right back on the bed. The old man had recovered from his shock and was now holding him down bodily while the woman reached for a small purple bottle, apparently neither having time for magic now.

The woman tried to push the bottle to his mouth, but he pressed his lips tightly together, keeping any of the nasty smelling liquid from getting inside. She waved her wand again, and suddenly his lips opened just slightly, against his will. He tried closing them again, but she was already pressing the bottle to his lips again, tipping the contents inside, heedless of his violent struggles and kicking legs that tried to hit either of them. He didn't know why they were making him drink this, but he was sure it would be nothing good, especially with how vehemently they were trying to get him to drink it.

The nasty concoction touched his tongue, and he immediately tried spewing it back out. Most of it dribbled from his mouth and down his neck, but then another bottle was summoned to replace what was lost, and before he could spit it out again, the woman's hand clamped over his mouth and his nose, preventing him from drawing air and forcing him to swallow instinctively.

Poppy almost stopped breathing when bright green eyes spilling with terrified tears focused on her. In the boy's eyes she could see the overwhelming fear, along with a healthy dose of confusion mixed with desperation. She felt him swallow finally, and immediately backed away, removing her hand and feeling awful that the scared boy had to go through that. But he needed to sleep, not just be unconscious, and he needed to be awake when the potion was taken or it wouldn't work properly. She just hadn't expected it to be so hard emotionally to put him through that.

As soon as Silas swallowed the horrible liquid, the man and the woman let go of him, backing away. He sucked in large gulps of air to make up for what was lost in those panicked moments.

But he was suddenly too lethargic to move, too tired, and he knew that it was because of the thing they'd forced him to drink. He couldn't help the tears spilling from his eyes – what did they want with him? Why were they keeping him here and making him go to sleep? Were they going to cut him up for his body parts? Or Sadi?

:Sadi,: he said sluggishly, tearfully.

:Silas!: Sadi exclaimed. :I'm sorry – I couldn't do anything! The man waved his hand over me and I couldn't move! I'm sorry I couldn't protect you!:

Silas hardly heard what his sister said. :Sadi,: he said, more drowsily than before, shiny green eyes darting about as he tried to resist the effects of whatever he'd been given. :Need…t' ge' out…o' here.:

:Silas? Silas!: Sadi's voice was alarmed, but Silas no longer heard it. The dark and dreamless world had pulled him back under.

…

Of course, we all know he turns out okay, so no need to worry too much about that. My heart is just currently hurting for him. I need to go write some fluff now.

Thanks for reading!