It's Just a Nightmare 7

"Alex, where are you?" asked Voldermort in a singsong voice. "Come out, daddy's got lots of nice things to eat." Harry didn't move, it was the most obvious thing to do but he couldn't. He sat paralised under the bed hoping that Voldermort might not find him. It was stupid really; it was only a matter of time before Voldermort found him. He had to MOVE! And NOW too. Harry got himself together and crawled at breakneck speed toward the end of the bed. He was nearly there, two feet. one foot. Suddenly two wires like arms grabbed his waist and hauled him out. Voldermort abviously couldn't see him but being part snake he could sense where Harry was. Voldermort easliy overpowered the struggling, invisible baby. He conjured up some vines, tied Harry up. He put the visibility charm onto Harry; untied him and laid him in a cot, which he had prepared for Harry.

Snape hurried down the hallways to his lab. He needed to find out what went wrong with the potion. After all potion mistakes often had more than one side effect. He was so sure that he had done it right. The only thing that could possibly reverse the effects of belladonna, which he used to make sure the Imperius Potion didn't work, was lansumi-ushi a rare oriental potion ingredient used only to make Invisibility Potions. Snape's eyes suddenly lit up with his "putting-two-and-two-together" look. Yes, that was it! Someone wearing a leaky invisibility pendant was in his lab at the time he made the potion. That same person must have tried to wreck the potion by adding sugar but it only worked on the Proxium potion and not the Imperius potion. However some of the invisibility potion must have leaked into the potions, which made the Imperius potion work and made Harry invisible, but who would do that. Of course, Lucius Malfoy. Snape's brow darkened as he stepped into his lab, he needed to make another Proxium potion for Harry. He somehow had to make sure that Harry acted like he'd had his memory modified after he took the potion because he needed to smuggle Harry out of the castle. The best thing to do was to make sure he got Harry alone sometime and explain to him. However he wasn't sure at was possible, Voldermort seemed to be very protective of his so. Well, he could obviously offer to baby-sit Harry but that would make Voldermort very suspicious of him. Snape suddenly felt he had met a very ugly dead end. How was he going to get Harry out of the stupid mess the little brat had got himself into this time? Snape sighed and started to work on his potion.

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At the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters Sirius Black stared out of the large rectangular window. It had been three weeks and not further new had come form Snape or any other sources about Harry and Sirius was beginning to think that maybe Snape wasn't as trustworthy as Dumbledore made him out to be. The weather was bleak outside, the wind howled and snatched dying, browny-green leaves of trees. The ominous grey clouds hung over the tense countryside. A gust of wind surged through the open window and blew the paper off his cluttered desk. Sirius didn't even bother to pick them up but continued to stare into the bleak sky. Remus Lupin was seriously beginning to worry about his friend. Sirius hadn't eaten anything for days and he had acquired the haunted look that he had in Azkaban. Remus was also worried about Snape and Harry. No news had come for weeks from him. Could it have been possible that Snape has been caught? He hoped not anyway. However he knew just as well as everyone else that Voldermort was no fool and conning him was more dangerous than plunging your hand into a pond full of ravenous piranha. Voldermort wasn't the most merciful person on earth either and was probably torturing Harry right now. Remus didn't want to break it to Sirius but he knew that if they didn't rescue Harry quickly he might just be dead. Remus really didn't want to think about what Sirius would do if Harry died, after all Harry was what Sirius lived for. Remus signed and found himself wishing that Voldermort didn't exist, life would have been so much better. What could have been was no more.

Professor Severus Snape, potions adept, potions master at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry was having a mental block. It wasn't the type when you forget how to spell what and then your best friend tells you. Apart from the fact that Snape had no friends; he had no intention of making any he couldn't ask anyone for help either because they would probably tell the Dark Lord. He wanted to escape with Harry from the hellhole that Voldermort called home. It wasn't the Riddle Mansion; it was a castle in the east midlands near Nottingham. Snape need to get out and tell Dumbledore the new developments and rescue Harry but he hadn't been able to come up with a sufficient excuse yet. The Dark Lord didn't fall for the I-left my-potions-ingredients-at Hogwarts excuse. Snape knew that Harry was okay, after all Voldermort did seem pretty fond of his son. Snape didn't have time to tell Dumbledore in the last conversation who Harry really was before some stupid new recruit had interrupted him. Snape sat stirring another batch of the potion Malfoy had wrecked. He need to get Harry alone when he drinks the potion or else the stupid boy would probably started blabbering about how nasty his dad was. Snape decided that he would tell Voldermort the effect of the potions and persuade him to leave Harry with Snape so that he could "fill" Harry's mind.

Harry hissed in parsletongue at his father,

"You cheating scum! I never thought you would sink so low! All because you can't stop the order! You are totally pathetic! I hate you!" Voldermort, however was unmoved by all this because plainly, he wasn't listening. He was thinking about the effects growing older would have on a person's memory. If he left Alex as he was now than Alex would probably forget everything by the time he was two. Natural memory modification would be a lot more effective than any spell or potion. Besides Voldermort felt that he already had enough support to hold the order at bay; he could easily outsmart those doddering fools at the ministry. He would tell the world that he had killed the famous Harry Potter and present them with the fake head of their "saviour"; that would dampen public moral. Meanwhile he would raise Alex to be his heir. Voldermort knew quite well that the road to immortality was a very long one and he might not reach the end so he needed Alex to carry on his work, to make the Slytherins rule supreme. It was the perfect plan and of course only his most trusted servants, Snape and Malfoy would know, as he didn't want some meagre spy to report it to the order.

"Summon Snape and Malfoy," said Voldermort to Nagini. The poisonous green snake slithered off into the vast labyrinth of corridors. "So Alex how are we?" Baby Harry gurgled and spat at him. "Ah, I see you can't speak parslemouth unless you are within hearing distance of a snake. Well, you need more practise," cooed Voldermort. Harry continued to spit and Voldermort decided that he would rather have Alex spitting at him than cursing him in words. Suddenly two consecutive knocks were heard. "Come in," commanded Voldermort. Snape in his usual bat suit stepped in followed by a splendidly dressed Malfoy. He was wearing silk robes of Slytherin green, decorated with silver snakes embroidered with sliver thread.

"Master," they both mumbled as they knelt down.

"Rise men. I have a mission for you. I have decided that I shall keep Alex the way he is and let him grow out of it so Severus there is no need for you brew any more of your potion. Your task is to broadcast to the entire world that I have killed Harry Potter. Make sure the order and ministry know. Be ready with any proof they might want such as the body or head. Do not fail me!" instructed Voldermort.

"Yes master," they both said in unison and hurried out of the room.

"So, looks like we're stuck together again, Severus," commented Malfoy with a smirk.

"No Lucius, I will go my way and you go yours," snapped Snape.

"My, my you're very antisocial today. What's up old pal?" laughed Malfoy.

"Mind your own business Malfoy," hissed Snape, his nostrils quivering.

"Alright Severus, alright. You go blow you're top and I'll go get things started. See you around," with that Malfoy strutted down the hall. Snape made a dash for his dungeons, now that he had got rid of Malfoy he could talk in peace. He dashed down the cold stone corridors and paintings on the walls gave his suspicious looks. Snape kept his eyes peeled and his ears pricked for any sounds but he didn't hear or notice the black shadow that stalked him as he flew down the steps. Snape ran into his dungeon and opened a new pot of floo, his last. It was very dangerous to talk to the order here but it was the safest place in the castle. Every Death Eater knew that Snape didn't like intruders. His hand shook as he undid the lid, spilling some powered as he did so. He silently cursed himself for being so stupid. There was no one here but why did he have that horrible feeling that someone was watching his form the shadows. Snape looked around wildly but there was nothing out of the ordinary there. He turned back to the fire and through some floo in. The fireplaces in Voldermort's castle were talk only ones, which meant that no one could use them to come in or get out.

"The order's headquarters," whispered Snape. Immediately he saw Sirius' head; Dumbledore's head and Remus' head appear in he view range. " Dumbledore Harry is Voldermort's son I couldn't tell you last time because." Snape was cut off as a thin white, manicured Hand grabbed his shoulder.

"I always knew you weren't as loyal as you made yourself out to be!"

AN: Cliffhanger! What's going to happen to poor Snape? Will he die? Will the order rescue Harry or will he save himself? Please R+R, thanks