Tommy's eye colors:

Blue-grey - fear/terror

CHAPTER 14 - SEVERUS SNAPE

Potions Master and Professor Severus Snape glowered at Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

"Come now, Severus," Dumbledore said. "You know we need him."

"Potter is nothing but an obnoxious spoiled brat!" Severus returned in a soft angry tone.

"You have not yet met Harry Potter. Give the boy a chance. No one will meet him if you do not go."

"Send someone else. Any of his admirers would gladly retrieve him. I have-"

"He is not at his aunt's house," Dumbledore admitted softly, the twinkle missing from his eyes. Snape fell silent. "No one has seen him there in years. I need someone that can move in the muggle world."

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Severus Snape appeared on Privet Drive dressed as a muggle, in black pants, black shirt, black trench coat flapping behind him. Glowering, he stalked over to number 4 and rang the doorbell.

"Just a minute!" a shrill voice cried. The door opened, a horse faced woman smiling falsely. The fake smile fell as her eyes swept over him. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"Harry Potter," Severus stated.

"I don't know anyone by that name. This is the Dursley residence, not Potter."

"The boy was left here. He lived here for years. Where is he now, Mrs. Petunia Dursley?" he hissed.

"He's not here," she spat. "the ungrateful freak disappeared years ago. If there's any justice, he's got himself killed off by now." She started to slam the door but Snape stopped it easily, cast a wordless Legilimens. Without another word, he stalked off, apparating away as soon as possible, partly to stop himself from killing the woman. Her death would be too noticeable, too traceable.

He had slavers to find.

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Sometime and several dead slavers later, found Severus Snape in America, the city of New Orleans in Louisiana, speaking to a most vile man called Seetha. The actual conversation was unimportant, Snape knew the man wouldn't tell him what he wanted. But finally, something made the man remember the boy, and the memory made Snape's blood boil.

"No!" another boy yelled, trying to enter the room where Seetha was beating the defenseless Harry Potter. The boy was held back by three grown men. "SEETHA! STOP!"

Seetha let Harry fall to the ground and slowly turned to face the other boy. He stalked forward, his eyes locked on those of the boy. The child didn't say another word, didn't try to escape the arms holding him, and didn't drop his blue-gray gaze. Snape felt a strange mixture of pride and fear for this child he didn't know.

"T'omas," Seetha said in a soft and deadly tone as he reached up to cup the boy's cheek in his hand, Harry's blood covering it and staining Thomas's cheek. Thomas didn't flinch from the touch or react in any way. After a moment, Thomas lowered his gaze and breathed, "Please, master."

"What does dis boy mean t' y'?" Seetha demanded.

"Nothin'," Thomas responded, sounding truthful but Snape immediately recognized the lie. "It's jus' dat … Master, it was m'."

"You? Y' spilled de food?"

"I - I was in a hurry," Thomas stammered. "It took longer in de kitchens dan it shoulda an' I had de … appointment."

"An' why are y' no dere, now?"

"I had t' … it's dat … I had t' come back, t' confess t' y'," he breathed finally. Snape was almost laughing aloud as he watched the memory play out, watched his foolish man fall for every word this boy Thomas said.

Snape followed through a few other connected memories until he knew everything Seetha did about the two boys' escape. When he left that place, Seetha and those men that helped him hurt those boys were dead.

The boys were more difficult to follow after that point, but Snape managed to piece together their path. It was humorous to see how every person they interacted with saw a different version of Thomas, as was the ease in which the boy answered to whatever name he gave for himself. Most that tried to use an alias gave themselves away by not responding naturally. Harry they mostly remembered as Thomas's shy little brother or not at all, so it was a good thing for Snape that Seetha had remembered Thomas so clearly.

Snape was less than pleased when that path led him to the vampire. But after a rather tense confrontation, the vampire decided the wizard meant the boys no harm and told Snape what he knew. Snape was rather surprised that the creature seemed to be trying to protect the boys.

It was the vampire's information that sent him to California, and a quick flash of a face quickly turned from the camera in the background of a news report that led him to Angel Grove.

Things grew rather interesting after that.

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Continued - Let me know what you think. Review