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KEY

blah- Narration
blah Character Thoughts
blah Sound Effects
'Text' Sarcasm, Saying's, and/or so-called... quotes

- Night Terrors -

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--- Chapter 15 ---

-- Not All is Lost --

Last Time

Vernon!" Screeched Petunia near the door. "The shrubbery hasn't been cut, it's starting to grow uneven." Saying it as if it was a federal offense and the local authorities would be by soon to take care of the matter.

The overly beefy man placed his meat hooks... er hands on his wife's back as she clung to his front and choked back tears. "There, there dear." He soothed. "I'm going to give that worthless nephew of ours a strong lesson. Been too soft on the boy, he's disrespecting us."

Dudley had meanwhile gone to the door and opened it eager to get to his room so he could go on the internet to look at po... that is to do his homework, yeah let's go with that. Suddenly he came running back out yelling. "Dad you're not gonna believe what the freak did!" In glee of a good thrashing.

The overly large young boy that answers to the name of Dudley and sometimes to Big D with his gang couldn't wait until the outcome when his father saw what that freak did.

With a grim air about him Vernon dislodged himself from his wife and walked up to the door where his son waited. "What is it Dudley, what has that disrespectful boy done this time?" He asked, hoping it was nothing like the old days were they would find the little bugger on top of buildings or vanishing glass. Thankfully it seemed that whatever abnormality was being performed it was at least inside the safety and privacy of the house. He shuddered to think how his lovely wife would handle having those black arts being displayed for all the neighbors to see. It brought a rise to his anger and blood pressure just thinking about it.

Dudley may not have been too high in the intelligence spectrum for book smarts or very quick witted, but he was able to play his parents to anything he desired. Not knowing how his father would react if he appeared too eager he adopted an anxious manner and said uncertainly. "You'd best see it for yourself dad."

Not in the least heartened by this the head of the house of number four Privet drive entered his front door. Eyes nervously looking around the home for any voodoo or witchcraft he at first saw nothing. The lights were on and everything was in the same condition as when they left. As he walked from the hall into the living room he saw it.

There the boy was on the floor laying down face first, small pieces of glass on his person and around him. What the ruddy hell did that piece of trash do now. The director of Grunnings thought to himself, putting his anger, at having his nice normal day ruined so horribly, up a couple more notches.

Same as with Dudley, it never even occurred to Vernon that he should see if Harry was alright. All he acknowledged was that the plague on his house had created another mess and didn't finish the chores he was assigned.

"Get up boy." He said in a forced tone of civility. Not garnering any response he tried again. "I said to get up Potter, now." With a few light nudges of his foot added for good measure. That caused the lump to squirm a little bit, but still nothing to the effect he was expecting. Trying to reign in his temper he was interrupted by the loud wail of his wife.

Petunia had by this time followed her husband and little Dudders into her living room. On seeing her nephew on the ground and not responding to her surprisingly restrained beau's efforts she simply gave a little disdainful sniff. Disgraceful that nephew of mine. Just as she was about to leave the room and leave her husband to it she noticed the broken pieces of glass littered around the unmoving form. Is that my.. She thought to herself in disbelief. Looking up from where he was lain to the armoire above she noticed the distinct lack of expensive finery. "Aaahhh" Screamed the giraffe necked woman before fainting away at the sight.

This resulted in being the turning point of the situation. Up until now Vernon was trying his level best to not blow up and get some answers out of the boy, besides he wanted him in good condition to still work. At hearing his delicate wife suffering from the sight of her occult practicing relative his thinly veiled patience strand snapped once more.

To Dudley who had been watching things it was like the countdown to a great theater show. His worry that things wouldn't reach this point when his father was acting unlike himself by trying to start off nice was quickly assuaged with the now familiar deepening colors of his dads face and the heavier breathing he let out when dealing with Dudley's cousin.

Reaching down, the large beefy man, with a solid grip onto Harry's frame through the oversized clothes hauled him upright forcefully. "Get up now boy!" He hollered. "If'n you got even the smallest sense boy you will upright yourself now." Shaking his hold on the boy violently as if designed to shake out the devilry.

"Whuh I d'n wha'sa?" The boy being shook mumbled out as his brain tried to understand the situation he now found himself in. He remembered pushing his endurance beyond its limits dusting off some woodwork that was high up, then in what must have been a combination of cleaner fumes and fatigue passed out only to regain consciousness now.

Satisfied that the boy was at least up now Vernon started in on his reprimanding. "You miserable little freak." He said to him angrily. "Your aunt is kind enough to give you a free day with only a few chores to do and this is how you repay her?" Poking the teenager harshly, causing him to stumble back a few steps. "You skive off nearly every task and then have the nerve to smash poor Petunia's cherished fragile's."

The rattling of his insides from being shook like a ragdoll only made the situation worse as his sense was off causing him to say. "That frumpy bint is never kind." A moment too late he realized what he said. Oh great merlin! Where the hell did that come from. His eyes widened in horror as his uncle's face splotches reached a shade of deepest red and seemed ready to burst several blood vessels all over the forehead.

Unfortunately for the teenaged wizard his uncle did not keel over dead or develop a major headache and need to lie down. Seeming too angry for words Vernon carelessly hauled up his nephew again and frogmarched him out the back door not caring if he 'accidentally' banged his captive into the walls or door.

Opening up the garden shed Vernon released the boy into the wall, hard.

Letting out a pained groan Harry turned himself around from being forcefully smashed into the garden shed's far wall only to meet a solid fist to the face. Crying out in pain that was muffled from the outside the spent raven haired youth fell in a heap backwards.

A loud meaty thwack could be heard in the small space as Vernon let loose with a vicious right hook. "Now you remember that next time you think to speak ill of your dear aunt." He told the boy in chastisement. Taking the painful sounds coming from the freak on the ground as a sign he was being punished right Vernon left to go back in the house. "We'll just see if you can learn to get a civil tongue then won't we. Let's see if a few days without food will learn you any manners." Locking the door heavily from the other side he returned to the house, but not before saying. "That's if I remember you're in there, you right little waste of space."

Off to the side Dudley had seen the whole thing. While not as satisfying as some of his dad's previous explosions he was still entertained nicely by that little display, anything to watch the freak get put down. Knowing his father went inside to wake up his mum and sort her out Dudley had time before he was called for.

Peeking through window he could see his cousin still there lying down on the ground. "Hey freak are you hungry?" He called in after tapping on the window. "Don't worry I'll eat your portions and all the dessert." Not gaining a response he grew annoyed. "Maybe I'll give you some of my table scraps if you put on a show for me." He said in hopes of either making his cousin humiliate himself or get riled up. When nothing happened though he quickly grew bored and left.

Inside the shed still on the ground from where he was hit to Harry was fuming in anger at everything. It was an impudent anger as he was in pain and couldn't even move currently. That stupid bastard punched me damn fucking hard. The whole damn town is so full of nosy munters, why couldn't one have seen uncle Vernon attacking me and called the police. He was capitally pissed off and didn't care what anyone would say, muggle or otherwise, if his guardians were arrested for abuse. The magical world can go fornicate itself, if I get a way out.. any way then I'm taking it. If my magic finally decides to surge in a helpful manner and gets me out or takes down Vernon then screw that secrecy crap I'm gone. There was a time he would bear the burden and hold a pray out that Dumbledore or the Weasleys or even Granger would discover something was wrong and bail him out. Now he was sure those dolts wouldn't lift a finger to help.

Time passed unnoticed by the shed's captive. Lost in thoughts of revenge and imagining painful ways to kill his so called family. He had reached the thought of an idea involving a full body bind, poisoned food and an engorgement charm when a very slight sound reached his ears. rustle.

There was a rustling noise coming from behind him. Feeling good enough to move a little now he turned his body around to face the noise. There was a small pile of discarded papers in the corner and it was moving. Reaching his hand cautiously out to the paper he lifted it up. There to his surprise was a small reddish brown snake with orange eyes and a round black pupil.

The snake froze when it was uncovered and seemed to be in an indecision to flee or not. Flicking out its red-brown tongue the snake hissed out. "Danger... enemy... " When Harry stayed as he was just looking at the snake in surprise it started to move away slowly.

Recovering from his surprise of finding a snake of all things here and hearing it speak he called out to it's leaving form. "Wait!" As always he couldn't tell if he was speaking english or not, but from the sudden jerking stop motion the snake just made Harry assumed he was speaking parseltongue.

The snake turned it's roundish brown head, with black-brown stripes on the side, around to face Harry again. It then proceeded to flick out it's tongue several times in rapid succession in such a way that he thought it was trying to make sense of what it was noticing. "It speaks?" He heard the snake say in a confused way.

Now encouraged that he had the snake's attention the young wizard tried to open a line of communication. He was hoping that this was that opportunity he was waiting for.

"I'm not an enemy." Harry said to the snake with care.

"Not enemy.. no strike?" It replied in dawning comprehension.

Feeling quite proud of himself for not screwing up so far he asked. "Can you help me?"

The snake had by now turned completely around and was giving the boy its more or less complete attention even if was still sticking it's tongue out more then usual. "Help?"

"My uncle Vernon locked me in here, I need to get a message for help." The snake looked like it didn't understand what he was saying so he tried something simpler. "My family bad, I need protection."

The snake seemed to understand what was said as it hissed out. "It need Sylssra." Then before Harry had a chance to ask it what was meant by that short remark the snake went out through a small hole in the ground.

"What's that snake doing now." Harry wondered out loud. A side bonus to that little talk was it had distracted him from his pains, and now that Harry was alone again things didn't seem quite so bad. He still wanted revenge and worse on anyone and everyone, but there was a feeling of anticipation now. A feeling that there was a way. He fell asleep to a dreamless slumber speculating on how he could turn his snake speaking abilities to his advantage.

Time passes...

Harry Potter was experiencing something he had precious little of lately, a restful deep sleep. It was broken abruptly when an insistent ticking sensation on his face wouldn't leave him be. Opening his eyes he saw the snake he met earlier touching his nose with it's tongue. Startled he jerked his head back saying. "Wha-what are you doing?"

The snake stopped its ministrations and said. "Sylssra.. bring Sylssra." Then it motioned with its head slightly off to the side.

Following the direction indicated with his eyes Harry saw a much larger snake with a dark blue skin color. It's golden eye slits stared at him with it's raised head towering over his lain down form. "Sylssra?" He asked hesitantly.

Drawing itself up even taller the new snake hissed out in what sounded to Harry's ears as a highly cultured feminine voice. "I am indeed Sylssra young one, and what is your name talking human?"

Such a difference from that other snake. He marveled to himself. "My name is Harry Potter." He softly answered, relieved when there was no big deal made from his name. Then thinking of what was just said by what he assumed was a female snake he asked with confusion overlaying his words. "What do you mean by talking human? All humans talk."

"Do they?" Sylssra said back to the boy skeptically. "What a silly thing to say. There is only one human who speaks I knew of before today."

"Voldemort." Harry said to himself quietly without meaning to.

His words weren't quiet enough as Sylssra asked with a reverent tone. "You know the Great One?"

At that he felt like he should be deeply offended or even worried that this magical snake would take him away to be captured by the Death Eaters. Strangely the feeling just didn't come, no worry for his life, just a feeling of annoyance that Voldemort was looked upon so highly by the only being he's been able to speak with in polite conversation lately. I should be the one looked upon with awe. He thought in a moment of resolution.

Still with those thoughts in his mind he asked her somewhat petulantly. "The Great One? Voldemort? What makes him so great?" Sounding like a sulking child even to his own ears.

She let out a long hissing laugh finding amusement in the young boy's words. "You really know nothing." She told him in the way of speaking to a newborn. "The Great One kills the ruin bringers."

After hearing a statement like that he felt the only thing he could do was parrot her words right back. "Ruin bringers?"

With a look of exasperation Sylssra told him. "Surely you know of them. They look just like you but do not speak. They destroy our homes and kill us." Nodding in the other one's direction she continued. "This young snake here tells me they even locked you in here." Done with her say for the moment she locked her penetrating gaze onto the young wizard waiting for his reply.

He had never thought about the effect humans had on nature. Hearing it now from a snakes point of view he found himself sympathizing, he always had felt detached from the rest of the people.

Harry found himself in an odd situation. Here he was locked away and hurt by his relatives and being ignored by his so-called friends and the 'light' side, yet a saving grace had presented itself to him from the most unlikely of sources. How is it that a couple of snakes that worship Voldemort can be the only thing to show me even a shred of kindness. "Can you help me?" He asked after a bit of thought.

From what he could see he would swear the snake just smiled at him, however absurd the thought may be nonetheless.

"You wish to join us under the Great One yes?" She asked as her long sinuous body moved from side to side in emotion.

The very idea that he Harry Potter would be excited at the thought of joining Voldemort would have been laughable and downright offensive to anyone who knew him being asked from off the streets. Yet here he was, the golden boy himself seriously considering it.

Didn't I tell myself earlier that any chance for revenge I would take it, to hell with Dumbledore or anyone. He pondered. It was true, earlier while laying in pain he vowed to take the first chance that presented itself. Here I am, a perfect time to get help and all I got to do is get along with some snakes. Just cause I tell her I'm in that doesn't mean I really am... Convincing himself to take this olive branch and damn the consequences proved extraordinarily easy for once. Usually he would have brow beaten such thoughts away, now he found he didn't care.

"Yes." He said resolutely. "I want to help you and your kind anyway I can." Feeling the least he could do after being shown such consideration in his time of need.

"Yes... you will be another Great One." Sylssra said profoundly. "We will help you yes.."

To Be Cont'd...

Lunarian: I apoligize for the lateness... I find myself with no sounding board so I agonize over small details forever... that, and I'm lazy.