Chapter 4: A Surprise.

A/N: Sorry that it took a while to update – but here you are…. Chapter 4! Please review and tell me what you think! Grins

The beautiful sky that did descend upon them made no mention of giving them light for the rest of the night. Thus evening struck, and Harry Potter The-Boy-Who-Lived was startled out of his thoughts, not only because of the fiery sunset but because he heard this…..

"Yeah- well, Hermione if your friggin' horse didn't run off we'd of got here quicker!"

"Oh Ronald, you scared my horse off – how many times do I have to tell you?"

"I did not scare your horse away!"

"Well, Ron you did try to feed it a rock." rang one of the twin's voices

"Yeah – by throwing it at him." rang the other's.

"I thought it was an apple! IT WAS RIGHT NEXT TO A BLOODY APPLE! I picked it up by mistake!"

Harry then heard Hermione 'tut' and was sure that she had rolled her eyes.

Harry smirked, and then smiled….. he had friends, good friends, that would climb up a mountain to save him. He was grateful.

"Oh how touching, Potter, your cavalry's arrived." sneered Snape, hearing the voices as well. Seeing as how Harry in the dim light left looked about to shout down to them Snape uttered, "Silencio." A second later, not realizing what had transpired, Harry opened his mouth and looked rather comical, first wide mouthed in yelling and then gritted teeth and shocked eye balls. "Oh no, Potter, you will not get us killed today."

Harry looked at Snape, confused. "Well, Potter, use your head. Don't you think your little friends would try to shoot us down if you shouted 'help' at them?" Harry mouthed a few inappropriate phrases, and sulkily returned his gaze to what was in front of them.

It was completely dark by the time they landed at the cabin. Kip had lit a few tiki torches and stuck them in the lawn so that Snape would know where to land and wouldn't pull a 'Santa'.

Kip remembered the time that he had told Severus of the muggle 'Santa'. Snape had raised a trademark sarcasm eyebrow and had said, "And a fat man does all that?" Kip had laughed and then shook his head. These were much the same motions that had accompanied his body as he had laid the tiki torches out earlier this evening. Kip now watched from the window as the two made their dissent on the broom. He walked out onto the lawn and was greeted with a stunning hex. He dodged it by jumping six feet in the air. Harry was struck still in awe. It was an amazing display of human muscle. Snape took the opportunity to snatch Harry's wand away from him and to charm binds around him. Harry wriggled and shouted, surprising Snape that his 'silencio' had worn off already. Eventually Harry tried hopping in vigorous fury, toppling himself almost the instant he tried. "Idiot." He heard Snape growl as Snape picked him up by the scruff of his neck and dragged him inside.

"How marvelous, Severus – you look like a mother cat with her young when you do that!" Snape dropped Harry immediately onto the kitchen floor. A muffled 'ow' rang through the room. Kip grinned brilliantly at Severus and picked Harry up from the floor. He dusted him off and propped him against the swirled gray marble counter. "Don't worry, Harry, you are in good hands. You are in the hands of the light." Harry snorted, disbelieving through his gag. It was an odd sensation and he began to choke. Kip, removed the gag hastily. "Harry please, it was on Dumbledore's orders that - "

"In case you haven't noticed, Dumbledore's dead!" shouted Harry, causing Severus to think that it may have been better to just leave the gag on and let the coughing subside on its own.

"Oh no, Harry, that would've been very hard to miss. Considering I was his cousin." Kip replied, sadly. Snape, however, was looking quite shocked. He hadn't known that Albus had any family members other than his brother. Then again, Kip did possess that damn eye twinkle ability…. occasionally.

Harry, however, was glaring at Kip with uncertainty. 'If he really is Dumbledore's cousin,' thought Harry, 'then why would he harbor Snape? Unless, no – he must be as big a fool as Dumbledore to trust Snape. Or even better, he's a Death Eater.'

"No, Mr. Potter – I am not a Death Eater." smiled Kip kindly, showing Harry his left forearm.

"Then why the fuck do you trust this man!" shrieked Harry, nodding towards Snape in frustration.

"The same reason, my dear boy, that my cousin trusted him."

"Oh WHAT! Because he felt remorse for telling the prophecy to Dumbledore! Because that sad pathetic coward came crawling back!"

Snape was gritting his teeth and turning a deadly shade of red during this little speech. It seemed as if he was doing his best not to rip the boy to shreds. Did this child think it was easy for him to kill his only mentor, the only person that truly knew him, his only friend? Why was he so evil for following Albus's orders? Surely no one would've blamed Potter if the poison he fed Albus on Albus's orders killed him – so why were people so willing to damn him and think no thoughts to his innocence. Then again, he knew the answer to that question – it was easier to believe the "boy hero", than to believe an Ex-Death Eater, turned spy, turned dungeon potions bat. No, the golden boy would get off, and Harry was too arrogant even now, to even consider him able to be innocent.

"No, Harry that is not the reason Albus trusted Severus," Kip replied calmly, snapping Severus out of his thoughts and silencing Potter. "It was due to Severus coming back that we were able to protect your parents with the Secret Keeper, had they not been betrayed - "

"Had HE NOT TOLD VOLDEMORT IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU MEAN!" cut in Harry. Kip sighed in exasperation and Snape took over, slightly calmer than he had been moments before.

"Potter, listen to me closely – your parents were already prime targets. The knowledge of the prophecy merely set the due date to kill your parents earlier."

"So? What the hell, Snape, why did you even bother – YOU HATED THEM! It was everything you wanted, wasn't it? To get James Potter, the arrogant one, and his Mudblood wife into graves!" Harry was crying, his voice hoarse by now from all the shouting. "The only reason you came back was because this prime piece of information gave you an easy seat in Dumbledore's lap! To spy on the Order, to torture students ever so subtly – you're an ass Snape, you know that! One BIG SMELLY ASS!"

"Who has a big smelly ass?" asked Fred, stepping through the doorway and freezing abruptly – he had not expected the sight that met his eyes. After all, it had only been a loose tip that Snape was up here.

"Expelliarmus!" Fred's wand slipped through his fingers and came to rest in Snape's open hand.

"Shit!" cursed Fed, "Guys, come quick, Harry's in here and Snape's with him!" It wasn't long before a stunning spell hit Fred squarely in the chest and the others rushed in.

"Fred!" cried George, "I'll get you for this, I will – you greasy bastard!"

Snape sneered, "Really, Weasley, you may have a successful business, but you cannot tell death from stunning, tut, tut." Snape conjured a lasso, whipping it around the group, including Fred, and set them struggling next to Harry against the counter.

"Now that I have all of your attention I will continue with my explanations…."