Serpentine

I do not own anything Harry Potter related, I just happen to play around with him sometimes.

Warning: THIS IS A SLASH/SNARRY FIC! DO NOT READ IF THIS OFFENDS YOU! I use flames to make smores deal with it. Possible lemons later on. I'm honestly sorry if future content upsets you but don't say I didn't warn you.

Full Summary: After an normal Death Eater meeting Severus is led to the Dark Lord's personal library to study an ancient scroll with details for a dark potion. The creation of Salazar Slytherin himself. The Dark Lord expects Snape to brew the potion from a translated version of the scroll. The original is unreadable to the Professor as it is in a strange unfamiliar language. Severus duplicates the original scroll and the 11 others in the series to show the Headmaster when left alone. The Dark Lord is planning something nefarious, and is steadily becoming more interested in the Potions Master in a completely diffent nature. The key to the plans that may tilt the war firmly in Voldemort's hands are locked with-in the scrolls ancient pages. Meanwhile Harry suffers from never ending chores, ghost pains, and a lacking appetite caused from continued nightmares concerning Sirius over the summer before his sixth year. The Headmaster and Severus will soon realize they need boy wonder, and he in turn needs them. As the Potion's Master and the Boy-Who-Lived truly get to know each other sparks will fly. Perhaps they need each other far more than they thought.(Compliant with cannon until HBP.)

Chapter One- Scrolls of Salazar

Flickering torches threw the skeletal man's face into shadow. Hands like long pale spiders caressed the sinuous length of a serpent that curled into the man's lap. Lord Voldemort's nostrils flared as he gazed impassively at the dark revels taking place in front of him. Red silted eye's trailing the semi-circle of devotes kneeling in front of him. A muggle women whimpered in the center of the chamber, blood pooling where she had been bitten by the serpent. She had slowly been dying and tortured for the better part of an hour, as the circle of Death Eaters watched. Some with rapt attention, others boredom, and a select few (mostly of the younger variety) with horror. Their expressions fortunately for them were hidden by the skeletal masks they wore. With a sigh the snake like man raised his wand his voice high and cold as he uttered the curse.

"Avada Kedavra!" Sickly green light enveloped the women. She passed on instantly with an open mouthed but silent scream. Equally silent and quick, though not without a great deal of shaking, two of the younger initiates removed the body at the bored flick of their lord's hand. Voldemort waited for them to stumble back into their places kneeling once again before he spoke. Voice still high and cold, with a hint of boredom.

"I am… displeased. I asked to be entertained and yet…my friends have made so little effort for someone they profess undying loyalty. Which one of you brought the women, speak up quickly…and I will be lenient." There was a brief scuffle as two of the shadowed Death Eaters crawled forward to press their lips to the edge of the dark lords robes. Sinking backwards at the low hiss Nagini gave, her reptilian eyes eyeing them with predatory interest.

"My lord…forgive me my lord." They begged bowing lowly to the powerful man. Voldemort sighed resting his elbow against the arm of the elegant thrown he sat on, cupping his too thin cheek in his palm as he gazed at the two shivering masses on the floor.

"Macnair, Avery, why am I not surprised?"

"My lord." They cried in unison kissing the cold floor beneath his feet. With another sigh the cold man pointed lazily to one of the smaller masses in the crowd.

"Pettigrew, you are well acquainted with what happens when I am displeased. Come forward." The rat scuffled forward wringing his hands together his head bowed as his shoulder's shook.

"Yes, my lord…ye…yes."

"You have done well keeping an eye on those blood traitors have you not?"

"O…only if m….my lord is….pleased…" The scared man stuttered shaking, his eyes on the two shadows still kneeling in front of the dark lord. As if wishing the scrutiny back on them.

"I am….satisfied. As a treat for your loyalty if you be so kind as to do me a special favor."

"A…a favor…my lord…of course my lord."

"Acquaint them with my displeasure…now!" Delight washed over the rat like man's face, his wand suddenly appearing in his magical silver hand.

"Crucio!" The rat man held the spell for a long time as the two men quivered and screamed until the dark lord flapped his hand to stop. Sending the three hurtling back to their positions with the simple force of his scarlet glare.

"Let this be a warning for all. I grow weary of this hiding but it is necessary. Potter-" Voldemort spit the name as if it was acid though the rest of the sentence had been a quiet whispery sound. "is well protected as of far. We must not give that sniveling order any reason to strengthen their guard. Our strike against the light's poetic fool's will come. In the meantime do try to keep me entertained…I'm sure you know what happens when I get bored…" The snake trailed off his scarlet eyes flashing delightedly.

"Dismissed….No…Not you Severus- I have need of you." The shapes of men disappeared quickly, fleeing from the dark man with relief. Only one remained in the empty tomb like cavern.

"Come forward." Voldemort ordered his hand going back to its gentle stroking of the serpent. The masked man stood gracefully. Still slightly bent at the waist he moved forward. After pressing a kiss to the dark lord's robes he leaned back onto his knee, black obsidian eyes focused respectfully downward. He had not been called forward that night to give his report, a vague unease curled in his stomach as he forcefully kept himself from shivering from the dank frosty air. Or perhaps just from dread.

"We are friends are we not Severus? Do please rid yourself of your mask I wish to see your face." The evil man whispered softly. Severus forced his face to remain in impassive as he removed the mask, and allowed it to be torn from his hands and tossed haphazardly across the floor. Cold fingers gripped his chin tightly and tilted his head upwards, cold red eyes boring into obsidian. Severus suppressed the urge to wrench himself from the monsters grasp and held still. He felt his mind breached, his defenses remained strong though only the harmless memories accessible in front of the invisible wall of the Occulmens. A smile spread across the cold face as he came across a dream of the potions master. One involving the Boy-Who-Lived in a great deal of pain and humiliation. This seemed to be enough for the man and he ceased the search of the mind actively.

"Now Severus that dream was hardly kind to the boy. We must play nice for a while yet, however your vision has merit…perhaps an arrangement can be worked out when the time comes… You've had to suffer the boy so much more than all the rest of us. I will think on it." Cold tapered fingers stroked the gaunt cheek of the kneeling man.

"You are gracious my Lord. What is that my lord requires of me, so I may attend to it in my gratitude." The silky voice spoke for the first time, still caught in the black hole of the monsters gaze.

"Is not your presence enough Severus? Oh very well, what happenings go one in the mudblood infested nest? Is the old fool still keeping an eye on you? If so you must attend to your task in utmost secrecy right under the fool's nose."

"The castle is empty yet the old man keeps the staff very close to his side. He seems…frightened. He might be suspicious but I do not think he know which of us he does not trust. I believe I may still be able to come to you if I take great precaution. However, my lord if I may be so bold. If it is a potions research you seek it would be best if it stayed stationary lest the changing conditions alter the effects."

"You are bold, but it is not unwelcome. You, Severus, as my most skilled potions master know best how to serve me and protect my interest in all ways. You will conduct your experimentation at the school then. Follow me." Nagini wound her way up onto Voldemort's thin shoulders while Severus moved back to allow his dark master to stand. Only standing himself when the man touched his shoulder. With the cold fingers clasped tightly around his wrist Severus was led though a maze of hall ways. The only sounds the whispers of the two men's dark robes, and the soft hisses of the green hooded serpent. A door was opened with the seductive hissing language of parseltongue into an echoing room. Its walls filled with shelves that held dusty scrolls, dark tomes, and evil soaked pages. The dark lord beckoned his servant to look around, pleased at the rapture and awe on display in the dark eyes. Emotions not even faked; there was power in the room. Severus Snape had always had a weak spot for power, dark power in particular.

"Impressed old friend? It's a sort of collection I've been building up since I was a child. I recently was indulging in some light reading when I came across a scroll, written by none other than the great Salazar Slytherin, he had some interesting ideals on several…shall we say interesting potions. One in particular I was quite fond seeing made a special treat for Potter." Very thin lips lifted at the corners, and his eyes glazed over in pleasure for moment.

"I have translated it for you there. The original scroll is beside it, you will not be able to read it but I thought perhaps it might enable some understanding into the creator's brilliant mind."

"Do you wish for me to make only the one potion, master?" Severus asked fighting the urge to pull his wrist from the cold clamp of the monster.

"Severus, do not question me." The dark lord warned lightly, his grip tightening. The potions master muttered apologies bowing to the man, if only to hide the disgust clear in his eyes.

"Yes, only the one. However if you have any ideas of similarity and they pan out feel free to bring them to me. I shall leave you to your devices for an hour to study the original scroll alongside my translation. I will be back to free you. Feel free to browse for material if you feel so inclined, I have a vast array of potions text on the far wall. However, do not forget you task. I will not be pleased. Good luck Severus." With one more final grip on the thin wrist of his servant Voldemort walked slowly towards the door. His fingertips grazing the mans lower back sensually, causing the potions master to tense. Luckily soon after the click of the lock resounded through the echoing room signaling the man was alone.

Severus Snape allowed himself half a moment's time to calm his racing heart, and rub his sweaty palms against his black robes. The chamber was lit with only sparsely placed candles leaving the sallow faced man in shadow. The man had a hooked nose, very thin lips pressed into a firm line, obsidian bottomless eyes, and thick greasy hair that brushed his shoulder blades. He was not a good looking man and he knew it, yet he also knew if the dark lord wanted him in his bed. He would find himself there, and even his greasy and overall detestable aura would not save him if his dark master was so inclined. So far it had only been casual touches, and the occasional leer but the potions masters fear steadily inclined with each meeting with the twisted snake.

Shaking his head Snape strode forward to investigate the scroll. His quick mind turning over several facts at once. The dark lord was taking the time to lock and unlock the chamber himself, which would naturally mean there was something of importance hidden with in. That he also didn't want Severus to spend overly long with in the chamber either. Original Scrolls of Slytherin would be priceless and leaded with dark knowledge but the fact it was with in the dark lord's domain would be a safe guard enough for them. Or so the dark master would think, arrogantly sure of his loyalty and fear of him. Why would he be incapable of reading the original scrolls besides? He was a talented translator of a great many ancient and current languages. Why should these scrolls pose a difficulty even at their age? Something else disturbed him. The dark lord did not participate in "light reading" nor did he do anything purposeless. He had been searching for something particular and Severus felt in his gut it was more than a nasty surprise for Potter.

Nasty indeed, Severus didn't even bother to read the description of the potion. Just looking at the ingredients tipped him off that the potion was steeped in dark magic. He skimmed over the translation in the curling script of the dark master before turning to the yellowing ancient scroll considerably thicker lay delicately beside it. On the outside the image of red silted eyes stared at the potions master. His long graceful but potion stained fingers unrolled the script. The expressionless man stared in disbelief at the sinuous writing on the page. The dark lord had been correct when he said he couldn't read it. It was little more than curling symbols which had no semblance to any kind the man had ever seen before. While there was several Latin phrases intermixed nothing made much sense.

He traced his lips with his index finger before turning the scroll in several different directions aware that the time was ticking away. Albus would kill to have his greedy knowledge seeking fingers on this and any other scrolls in the library. Snape turned slowly his dark eyes darting around seeking out red reptilian eyes. He found them winking at him from a far darkened corner.

Acting with fear thrumming through his veins he strode quickly over to the floor level shelf and pulled the nearest one out opening it with deft movements. This one to was full of the strange markings and Latin phrases. The potions master closed his eyes warring with himself; finally he withdrew his wand and with bated breath tapped the scroll twice and muttered the charm that would make a perfect double of it. When no alarms went off, nor was there any other magic in the air other than his own he let out a relieved breath before shrinking the copy and doing the same with all of the 11 other including the one on the desk. His fingers shake so badly he uses a nonverbal spell to release the buttons on his robes. Shoving the shrunken but precious scrolls in his trouser pockets hidden beneath the padded length of his impressive black robes another spell re-buttons his clothes.

He has mere moments to calm himself and look over the translated scroll when the door opens. Voldemort once again insists on clamping his manacle grip around the greasy haired mans wrist to lead him back to where he would once again be able to Apparate back to Hogwarts. Once again fingers grazed over his back before he was allowed to flee from the evil soaked cavern.

"You missssed a sssspot." A sleep whispery voice called to the dirt streaked boy as he kneeled in the hot sweltering flower bed. Harry Potter looked up at the garden snake that was baking on a flat rock near by pushing his sweaty black fridge away from his forehead. Briefly uncovering the striking lightening bolt scar that marked him as the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Thanksss." The 15 year old answered in his soft parseltongue to his new found friend. His bright emerald eyes slightly lacking their normal happy brilliance. With a groan he reached his blistered hands to continue weeding the flowerbed. So far that summer had been under an imposed chore marathon. Even with the Orders warnings his relatives told him they were well within their rights to insist he pay for his upkeep with chores. His body was strained from it's continued abuse added to the still fading ache from Voldemort's failed attempt at possession he was not free from aches and pain for the past two weeks. Not only from the physical either. Siri… his godfather was dead, and it was his fault. Harry paused in his weeding his eyes closing against the painful memories that threatened to overwhelm him. What was it all worth, a bloody prophecy that didn't change a damn and that Dumbledore was in full possession of. If they had just told him….if they had considered for one moment that out of all people he should be the one to know. If he had known that the cost was….well he would have given the bloody prophecy to the snake himself. He was still trying to kill him either way, what did it matter.

"Don't think about it young one. Thinking doessss nothing after the fact." The snake advised sagely, one eye on him lazily the forked tongue flicking out tasting the air.

"It'ssss hard." Harry confessed his fingers once again taking up there task. He winced when one of the blisters burst once again cursing the Dursley's for not allowing him to use gloves while he worked.

"Life issss hard." The snake commented flicking its tongue out once again. Harry kept silent seriously considering nick naming the snake Dumbledore for his habit of handing out coined phrases by the bucket full. Harry continued to work until his Aunt called him in to eat. That was one of the surprising parts of his summer so far. Though Aunt Petunia was no where kind to him, she seemed to have…softened a bit. Instead of forcing the short stature teen to make the Dursley's food at watch the two gluttons eat it all she had taken to doing the task herself and saving him (albeit a small amount) some. It didn't matter really; Harry hardly had an appetite anymore. Only his Aunts disapproving gaze made him eat anything at all. After stretching his sore back he reached out and rubbed the snake knobby head. The garden snake allowed the caressing flicking his tongue against Harry's wrist.

"Ssssee you tomorrow, young one." Harry returned the sentiment and dragged himself to the table, snickering a little when Dudley edged away from him his fat bum thumping upstairs to his bedroom at top speed. He ate quickly under the steady glare of his Aunt daring him not to finish.

A/N This Fic is in for the long hall, PWP people I'm afraid you've chosen the wrong fic, however please do enjoy. Review are always welcome...flamers beware...I hate homophobe's and you will be destoryed for all my readers to see.