Summary: What if Snape had threatened Harry with Basilisk venom instead of veritaserum? How could that change events?
Warning: Snape will be a bit OOC, if you don't like it then don't read it. I do not appreciate comments that are unnecessarily critical of my story. You can make suggestions and say what you don't like politely but I will not tolerate unneeded swearing and/or degrading comments. Like I said previously if you don't like it then why are you reading it?
Disclaimer: I am not earning any money out of this and I do not own Harry Potter (but I can always dream).
AN/: I hope you liked the last chapter and I hope you will like this one as well. Sorry I took so long on this but I get easily distracted and I'm much more suited for doing drabbles.
'Hello' – Thoughts
"Hello" – Speech
"Hello" – Parseltongue
-HP- - Shows whose point of view it is (SPOW is stranger's point of view)
*Chapter 2* - SS-
Snape looked down the very long, dimly lit chamber. He thought that it looked a bit creepy because, although he liked snakes, having the rope like creatures entwined around the pillars that held up the chamber ceiling, disappearing into the darkness was a bit too much. The pillars cast long black shadows that almost blended in with the greenish gloom that filled the room. Through the gloom he could just make out a giant statue that he concluded must have been the face of Salazar Slytherin, the once pale, white marble now a dirty grey and the fine details of the face eroded by time. He wondered why big chunks of the statue were broken off and lying on the flooded floor in front of the statue.
He couldn't quite believe his eyes when he saw the great shape that was the Basilisk, now illuminated by the light from Harry's wand. He hadn't even seen the boy pull out his wand, let alone cast a spell. He cursed his lack of attention, as he walked towards the corpse of the basilisk, that could have gotten him killed had it still have been the war.
He walked over to the basilisk and started to inspect how much the body had deteriorated over time, while Potter wandered off to a spot just in front of the statue. Snape wasn't interested until Potter bent down to pick something up.
"What is that, Potter?" he asked with a slight tone to his voice that said 'tell me now, or else'.
Potter flinched slightly and held out the object and said "It's the fang I got stabbed with… I…well, I was thinking of keeping it. Might as well, I mean I have a souvenir from every other time good old Voldie has tried to kill me." (1) Snape stared for a few seconds, before it registered in his brain that Potter was holding the fang with out gloves and that the venom on the fang would go through his skin and kill him. He would be in a lot of trouble if he let the boy die. He stepped forward and knocked the fang out of his hands and sent it clattering to the floor. But not before some of the venom got on to the younger wizard's hands. 'Shit'
-HP-
Harry shivered as Snape looked over towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin. It was dark. He had never been afraid of the dark, in fact he loved it. For him dark meant safety, an instinct that had developed at the Dursley's in his childhood, in the darkness of his cupboard. However, the chamber was filled with a suppressing gloom that made him feel suffocated, as he remembered the horrific events that had taken place not two years before. He drew his wand and whispered "lumos". The light pushed back the shadows, but the gloom seemed to threaten to close back in.
Snape seemed pre-occupied, so Harry wandered over to the spot that Ginny had been laying in when he came into the chamber. He looked up at the marble head and felt like hexing the man the statue was portraying. 'Why did he have to be such a stuck up prick and put a dangerous, highly magical and almost impossible to kill snake inside a school full of innocent children'. He stepped forward a bit get a better view of the mouth, out of which the basilisk had slithered, when he felt something touch his foot. Looking down he saw a fang of the basilisk. And not just any fang, it was the one that had stabbed his arm and got ripped out along with the sword. He bent over and grabbed the fang from the floor noting that it still had remnants of the basilisk venom coating the yellowy,, white enamel.
"What is that, Potter?" Snape asked causing Harry to finch slightly at the unexpected sound.
"It's the fang I got stabbed with… I…well, I was thinking of keeping it. Might as well, I mean I have a souvenir from every other time good old Voldie has tried to kill me." Harry said, with a sheepish tone, looking away from Snape. He therefore did not see the potions professor move and was surprised when he felt the fang get batted away from his hand and said hand to be snatched up by Snape. His head snapped around to look at the professor's expression, which seemed to be suggesting that Harry had done something incredibly stupid and dangerous. Again.
"You stupid boy! Do you not listen to any of my lessons? Basilisk venom is extremely poisonous, so much so that even the smallest drop on your skin could kill you! And you went and touched a fang covered in the bloody stuff!"
Harry had never seen his potions professor lose his cool and show so much emotion before. Hell, many students of Hogwarts thought that Snape either did not have emotions or was incapable of feeling them. Either way, they still would have been shocked at his reaction to Harry's apparent, soon coming death by poisoning.
'Speaking of my coming trip to the afterlife, I don't feel any of the effects of basilisk venom poisoning. Maybe…'His thoughts were cut off by Snape's voice.
"Come we must go to the Headmaster's office, we can get some phoenix tears from his ruddy bird." Snape insisted, but Harry snatched his hand away before he could be dragged out of the chamber. Snape seemed angered at this but Harry cut off any arguments.
"I'm fine; I can't feel the effects of the venom. Maybe I didn't get any on m- Aaagh" Harry hissed, as his right arm burned, and collapsed to his knees. He clutched his right arm where the burn had originated from, the scar caused by the basilisk fang, which had once again poisoned him with venom. He fought hard to bite back a scream of pain and was mildly successful as all that came out was a whimper. In his pain induced mind he did not register that he subconsciously called for Fawkes or that Snape was trying his hardest to keep Harry from thrashing around and hurting himself even more. However he did register the bright flash of flames that signified that Fawkes had arrived.
-SS-
Snape swore as he tried to hold Potter still. He was actually surprised that it was as difficult as it was. Potter was not known for his muscles or strength, in fact most people referred to him as scrawny. He was also grateful that the brat hadn't started screaming or anything of the sort. That would have been annoying,
A flash in his peripheral vision caused him to turn to see that Fawkes had shown up. 'At last'
He watched as he saw Fawkes start to cry on the ring shaped scar on Potter's arm, where the bite from two years ago had obviously been. A number of unexpected things happened while the expected didn't. One Potter's screaming and thrashing got even worse, two Fawkes started trilling (a song that brought forth many emotions that Severus couldn't identify) and thirdly the basilisk corpse started moving…
Wait… What?
-SPOW-
Darkness… Never ending Darkness… Wait, Light, I see Light… Who am I?… What am I?...
Should I go towards this Light? I didn't like the Dark. But Light is weird, strange, scary, bright, pain, knowing, unusual and new. What if Light is worse? What then…
I don't want Light! Leave me be! But can't stop moving towards it, too late to stop. Maybe it will be better? Maybe it will be worse. Maybe…
Stop. No use for maybes. Got to keep my wits. No good if I ain't got them. Thinking… hmmm that's new too. Never realised. I like thinking… and Light is making me think more… Light is good. I'll go towards the Light.
Towards life…
AN/: I know it's short but I wanted to get what I had actually got around to doing out there. I'm really sorry for the long wait and I'm afraid to say it will probably be another long wait for the next bit. I'm really not cut out for the long haul that is a constant in long chaptered stories. But I've started chapter 3, so don't despair! Until next time.