Disclaimer: Was never mine, is not mine, will never be mine – except for the plot ^-^

Thanks to:

Eav, GoddessMoonLady (if I try to update sooner it wouldn't be regular! I don't have the time for weekly updates, sorry!) JaCee, Can You See, Xirleb70, Mikee, Grinners

Next update: Friday 2nd April … or so…

"spoken"

'thought'

~parseltongue~

//~Mind-link conversation between Saskia and Harry~//

:: Part III ::

[ 11th August 1996 ]

Harry scowled as he stood in front of the heads of the house elves. Dumbledore was really beginning to get on his nerves despite only being back at Grimmauld Place less than ten minutes. This was adding to the headache he really did have. Didn't the headmaster remember that Voldemort had been almost possessing him last year? Manipulating him to believe that Sirius was about to be killed?

Harry's ears twitched as he heard a muffled snigger coming from the room to the right of him.

//~Massster, I sssmell two humansss~// Saskia hissed to him.

//~Asss do I. I think it might be Fred and George, how about we play a little prank on them?~// Harry hissed back.

The snake hissed her agreement and Harry jumped up, and using the narrow width of the ceiling, he stretched out, holding him in place. Counting under his breath, Harry started searching for the hidden triggers that the Weasley twins had set up.

//~Interesssting, a spell that causes you to only be able to sssay a word or a few wordsss chosen by the cassster. They ssseem to have chosssen the wordsss 'bullssshit', 'Gred'n'Forge rule' and 'I love Professsor Ssserevusss Sssnape'~// Saskia hissed.

Harry shuddered //~I wonder how they will like it if they get hit be the ssspell~.// Harry hissed back.

A twitch from Harry's wrist added to the hissing laughter Harry heard in his mind. Murmuring under his breath Harry started the incantation that would backfire the curse to the twins. Grinning, he jumping elegantly back to the ground and 'tripped' the trigger.

A loud voice called up the stairs, "Dinner's ready."

The twins exited the room that they had been hiding in and waved at Harry, smiling. Harry grinned and shouted "Gred'n'Forge rule!" The twins grinned evilly at Harry and vanished with loud pops to the kitchen. Harry hurried down in time to hear Mrs Weasley said in a suffering tone, "Boys, you do not need to use magic every time that you do something."

"Gred'n'Forge rule!" They both replied as Harry entered the kitchen.

"If you insist," Bill said cheerfully, not noticing their horrified looks as they stared at one another and then at Harry who was looking innocently at them.

A loud crash cause every to jump.

Hermione and Ginny had dropped the plates that they had been carrying.

"Harry- What- Your- When-" Hermione spluttered unintelligently.

"Sorry Hermione? What are you trying to say?" Harry said with a politely puzzled look on his innocent face.

"You look different Harry," Charlie said easily as he helped repair the plates with a quick 'reparo'.

"That's Australia for you," Harry said sitting between Fred, George and Bill at the end of the table, diagonally opposite from Dumbledore and from Remus, an empty seat between them.

Bill regarded Harry for a moment before saying, "Harry, I'm disappointed in you." He paused and Harry just stared at him.

"As am I, Bill dear," Mrs Weasley said, "piercing your body at such a young age, it's a waste, but don't worry, I can use a spell to make the hole disappear."

"Mum! You can't do that! Harry looks good like that!" Bill protested as Harry seethed silently to Saskia. He turned back to Harry and said seriously, "But really Harry, I am very disappointed in you." Another pause, "You have Slytherin colours and Ravenclaw colours in your hair, but no Gryffindor colours!"

Harry laughed lightly, "Come of I, can you really see my hair with red or gold? It just wouldn't suit me, now would it?"  

"Nah, maybe not then," Bill said. Bill looked at his twin brothers, a curious expression on his face. "What's up with you two? You're looking at that parchment like it's possessed or something."

Harry felt a twitch from Saskia and a hissing voice was voice with laughter in his head. //~I added a little sssomething extra to their ssspell. Whatever they write comesss out asss one of their little phrasssesss~//  

//~Nice one, my ssslippery friend~// Harry hissed back.

"Bullshit." The twins replied in unison, clamping their hands over their mouths.

The whole table seemed to freeze and Fred and George paled and shook their heads and pointed to their wands and then their mouths. However, Mrs Weasley exploded before any guesses could be made to what they were gesturing about. 

Before she could really get into the full swing of shouting at the boys however, Snape walked into the kitchen and sneered at everyone seated, especially at the back of Harry's head as he was grinning at the twins.

"Good evening Severus," Dumbledore greeted, "Would you care for some dinner?"

The man nodded curtly and sat down in front of Harry and next to Dumbledore.

Harry grinned evilly at the twins and said, "You know, it's polite to greet your ex-professor, especially one so esteemed as Professor Snape, wouldn't you say Fred, George?"

They shook they heads violently at Harry even as they said, "I love Professor Severus Snape."

Once again the kitchen filled with a deathly silence as the greasy git, er Potions Master surveyed the two flame-red boys with a cold sneer. Snape turned back to the aging headmaster whose blue eyes were twinkling madly.

"Now, Severus, it isn't polite to ignore such a declaration of adoration," He said merrily.

"Of course not headmaster," Severus turned back to Fred and George and said, "Your school-boy crushes will eventually fade in time."

Towards the end of the main course Harry said thoughtfully, "Y'know, I reckon that Fred and George might be under some sort of spell if all the can say and write is bullshit, Gred'n'Forge rule and that they love Professor Snape." The twins nodded their heads frantically.

"Indeed, that might be true, Harry." Dumbledore said and waved his wand at them, muttering 'Finite Incantatem.'

Harry smirked as he noticed that the light from the candles were glittering on his eyebrow piercings, and then reflecting on Snape's face. Grinning, he reached up and started playing lightly with the bar. Harry turned to face Charlie and started up a discussion on Hungarian Horntails.

The twins, Bill and Charlie noticed the irritated look on Snape's face as he continued to mutter quietly with Dumbledore. Fred and George stared in wonder at Harry as he idly continued playing with the metal bars as if he was doing nothing, they then grinned evilly at each other. The eldest Weasley son's looked at their friend in shock and then at Snape who was trying to ignore the annoying flickering light. 

Snape's right temple twitched each time Harry flashed the light across his eye. All through the meal Snape suffered in silence as Harry dared the man to scream in frustration. As the plates were finally cleared away Harry excused himself, being that exhausted and all.

The twitching of the temple increased as Snape finally surveyed the Gryffindor. He opened his mouth to speak but Harry cut across him saying, "There's no rule that says a student cannot wear earrings, Snape, and besides we're not in school."

"Well then, I look forward to school. The number of points that can be taken for disrespect to a professor is remarkable," the Potions Master drawled softly.

"Indeed, but you can't take points for anything done in the summer because after all, we are not in school and so it would not be fair." Harry replied just as softly, but somehow slightly menacing it seemed.

~ * ~ = ~ * ~

In the peace of the room that he was to share with Ron, Harry sat on his bed with Saskia curled up in front of him.

~I love annoying Sssnape; it's one of the few joysss in life~ Harry hissed.

Saskia hissed her agreement.

~Ok, let'sss try thisss again and hope it worksss~ Harry hissed and repositioned himself so that he was sitting with his legs crossed. Harry focused his breathing and lifted his hands in front of him in the shape of a ball.

~It will work thisss time young massster. There isss a high concentration of magic in thisss houssse, I know you can do thisss~ Saskia encouraged.

A ball of emerald light filled the space in his hands, which grew in size as Harry increased the circle.

The light blurred. Harry focused his mind on achieving the connection and was finally rewarded. The middle of the light became like a television screen, framed in emerald light. People moved in black robes across the screen.

~Mirror, mirror on the wall, what isss old Sssnake-Face up to today?~ Harry hissed.

~Congratulationsss young massster, I knew you would be able to do it. Now focusss your mind on Voldemort and you will sssee him~ Saskia hissed.

~ * ~ = ~ * ~

Fred and George Weasley knocked quietly on Harry's door. Their friend had changed; his whole demeanour was drastically different from the last time they had met at Kings Cross Station. The kitchen was filled with people gossiping on this and whether Harry had finally gone insane under all the pressure that he had been put under.

The somewhat complex prank they had put on Harry was foolproof yet somehow he had managed to deflect it back to them when he had triggered it.

After receiving no answer they assumed that he was asleep. "Maybe we should just talk to him tomorrow," Fred said.

George nodded, then grinned evilly and said, "Or maybe we should prank him, seeing as though he pranked us."

"Yes, I suppose it's only fair, after all, one prank deserves another prank." Fred grinned back.

Quietly they opened the door, and quickly shut it just as quietly. The twins looked at each other with pale faces.

"That wa-was You-Know-Who," George said shakily.

"Never mind that, that was powerful magic," Fred said just as shakily.

"And you notice that the Ministry isn't swooping down on him," George said.

"And we know that it's not anything to do with the wards around here, Dumbledore would now if he was practicing magic and he would put a stop to it," Fred said.

Silence reigned over them, "What exactly was Harry doing with You-Know-Who?" Fred asked quietly.

"I don't know, it looked like they arguing," George said.

Quietly, they opened the door again and listened to the conversation between the two wizards.

"You know, Harry, you will always have a place in my army. You only have to say, and you will be mine," Voldemort said.

"I highly doubt that MoldyWarts, you killed my parents and Sirius, why in Salazar's name do you think I would join you?" Harry retorted.

"Because I know that you have darkness in your heart wanting to be set free."

"I may have that darkness but why do you think you can unlock it? And why do you think I would use it to help you defeat the world and send it into your own little hell?" Harry replied.

"And you have the power to unlock that darkness?" Voldemort said with something akin to amusement.

"I guess you'll have to find out then later MoldyWarts," Harry replied and smirked at the Dark Lord's face.

The white face of the Dark Lord screwed up in frustration and then he smirked back.

The connection between them abruptly faltered and Harry was thrown back against the wall swearing violently in parseltongue.