Shocking Revelations

The unpleasant sensation of having the breath squeezed out of him and being compressed beyond endurance seemed to go on forever when suddenly he felt released. Starring around the deserted street, Harry took in the abysmal scene surrounding him. They stood at the end of a mossy cobblestone road in front of the last house on the street. All the neighboring ones were either bordered up or had broken windows except for the one before them and the musty smell of a dirty river surrounded them.

Jerking on Harry's arm, Snape began to walk towards the dark house, their footsteps echoing eerily around them. Every window had the curtains drawn and there were no plants or porch decorations giving the house a gloomy, abandoned look. Reaching the door Snape did a complicated flick of his wand and muttered something quietly. With a click, the door unlocked and Snape slowly pushed it inward with a low creek.

Starring around in surprise, Harry looked at the interior of what must be Snape's home. Still gripping him tightly, Snape led him through a tiny sitting room that was lined with black and brown leather bound books. Shadows consumed everything, but Harry could dimly make out a lamp hanging from the ceiling over a small sofa and old armchair which sat next to a rickety table that had one bare cup on it. The whole house itself had the feel of neglect and the air seemed stale, as if the doors and windows were never opened.

They left the room and approached a dark, narrow staircase. With a rough shove, Harry was forced to mount the steps; slowly walking into what he thought would for sure be death. The stairs protested beneath them with each step until they finally reached the top which was as void of light as the bottom half of the house.

Steering Harry towards an open door directly to their right, Harry entered a completely bare room. A single lamp hung down from the ceiling, but otherwise there was no furniture and no windows.

Next to him Snape raised his wand and a light suddenly burst forth from the lamp showering the room in a dim glow. He then turned and pulled off the invisibility cloak. "I have to take care of some business before we have our discussion," Snape said flatly. "I would recommend that you get some sleep. Don't bother trying to get out, I assure you that you won't."

Turning on his heels Snape left the room with his cloak waving behind him. The door snapped shut and Harry was left alone. Walking slowly to the door, Harry tried a half hearted tug but had known that it would be magically sealed before he had grabbed the knob. Sighing, he turned around and walked the perimeter of the room, inspecting it for anything that might help him.

After about ten minutes of hopeless searching, Harry plopped down in the corner dejectedly, his bound hands resting on his drawn up knees. He was really in a mess now, he thought dully. He had no idea where he was and had even less of an idea on how he could escape without his wand. How Snape had been able to breach the protection he had no idea, but Snape had and now he had to concentrate on staying alive. Snape had said that he wasn't going to give him to Voldemort, but he knew he couldn't trust anything that lying traitor said. Misplaced trust had gotten Dumbledore killed and Harry was not going to make the same mistake and die from Snape's treachery as well.

Many hours later Harry had finally dozed off when a click in the distance brought him fully awake. Glancing to the door, Harry watched as Snape entered. He had finally shed his hood revealing the long black hair, sallow face and black eyes of the man who had tried to torment every waking moment of Harry's life while at Hogwarts.

"Get up, it is time we talked," he said, glaring down at Harry, arms crossed.

Raising his eye brows, Hairy took a deep breath then leaned his head back against the wall. Watching him, Harry waited for a response.

"I'm warning you Potter, do not play your arrogant little games with me. We are no longer at Hogwarts and you are not protected by anyone here." Snape said nastily.

"Yeah," growled Harry, realizing that Snape must have taken off the silencing spell, "you made sure of that didn't you? By killing Dumbledore you made sure that no one would be protected."

"Do not talk like you know something when you haven't got a clue," Snape snapped, his eyes flashing dangerously as he advanced a step.

"Oh so I suppose it's alright that you murdered him then," yelled Harry, straightening up from the wall. Stopping himself, he clinched his teeth, biting off the rest of what he wanted to say. What he said didn't matter now. It would not bring Dumbledore back and it would not help Harry's situations. He would not lower himself to just yelling at Snape as he sat there in the corner of a room on the floor, a prisoner to the man.

"You are finally learning some control," Snape said mockingly, his lips drawn into a sneer. "It took you seventeen years though so I can't say that I'm very impressed."

Staring up at him, Harry realized that today was his birthday. He had to have been locked in the room for over three hours. By how rested he felt it was probably morning. Great, he thought dryly, each birthday gets better than the rest. Instead of the Dursley's he gets to spend it with Snape, the best birthday present in the world.

"Now will you be able to remember this new found talent or will I have to silence you again?" Snape asked disturbing Harry's miserable thoughts.

Harry glared up at him. "So you expect me to believe that you kidnapped me just to have a conversation and that you are not about to hand me over to Voldemort?"

"I told you that you will not say the Dark Lords name in my presence," Snape said angrily. "This is the last time I will tell you, if you do not heed this warning then there will be severe consequences. You are of age today so you no longer have your parents' protection and I cam make things extremely rough on you, understand?"

"Why would it matter if the protections gone?" Harry asked in confusion. "You seemed perfectly able to get me last night when it was supposed to still be working."

Snape smirked lazily. "Last night you did have the protection. I could not have harmed you" he said.

"But you-" Harry began but was cut off.

"Potter if you do not begin to use your brain then you will find yourself dead very quickly," he said tonelessly. Harry wasn't sure if he was trying to insult him or not. "Quite frankly I am amazed that you have lasted this long." He paused as if to relish in the thought of Harry dying as Harry scowled back. "The protection is that you can not be harmed while in the house of your mother's blood and I arrived without the intention of harming you and never actually did bring you any harm. I took your wand but that is all. You freely gave yourself up and left with me without a struggle, remember?"

Harry opened his mouth, but shut it quickly. Snape was absolutely right. He had been an idiot and just freely given himself to the enemy. He didn't know whether he should be laughing or crying. "But what about the Order, didn't they have someone watching the front door?" He asked at last.

"Yes, but they are stretched very thin right now and have no one to organize them or tell them what to do. They are like chickens with their heads caught off, just running around in every direction with out any real goal. They had one man stationed there but he was ill equipped and unprepared. Unfortunately for him he probably awoke this morning with a fierce headache.

"And in response to your earlier question, yes I only want to talk with you," he said. "Since you are so content to sit on the floor then we shall talk here," puling out his wand he conjured up a chair and sat down before Harry.

"Now," he continued. "You need to be informed about what took place that night that I am sure you vividly remember."

Harry opened his mouth to tell him he knew exactly what had happened that night, but Snape held up a hand forestalling him. "Listen Potter, I did not bring you back here to just recap what happened, I came to explain it."

Frowning, Harry stared hard at Snape before giving him a slight nod. He would listen to what he had to say but only because he couldn't see anyway around it.

"Good," said Snape. "Now I am going to start from the beginning and do not interrupt until I am through. I do not need you dim witted input with ever sentence.

"As I'm sure you knew, Dumbledore had me serving the Order by acting as a Death Eater and leaking information about what the Dark Lord had planned," Harry let out a humph but did not speak. Snape's 'acting' had been a little to believable in his mind. Ignoring him, Snape continued. "The other Death Eaters did not trust me and one day before term last year I had an unexpected visit from two of them. I believe you have met them both, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange," he smiled tightly at the evil gleam that Harry knew had appeared in his eyes. Bellatrix had been responsible for Sirius' death but Snape continued on as if he had just mentioned someone unworthy any response. "The Dark Lord had given Narcissa's son Draco the task of killing Dumbledore, which of course he would not be able to complete, which would mean his death. It was his way of punishing Lucius for being caught.

"They came to me that night in search of help. Narcissa did anyways; Bellatrix did not believe that I was loyal to their cause. Narcissa asked me to watched over Draco and try and help him so that he would not displease the Dark Lord. In the end I had been persuaded to give a Wizards Oath or else risk Bellatrix going to the Dark Lord and revealing my less than eager participation to see the death of Dumbledore."

"You seemed eager enough in the tower," Harry spat. He had no idea why Snape would bring him to wherever here was to tell him this. Maybe Snape had finally lost it.

Surprisingly Snape nodded his head, "yes I did my job." He said quietly. "But only because Dumbledore had ordered me to."

"What?" Exclaimed Harry in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that Dumbledore told you to kill him?"

"I do not expect anything of you," Snape said mockingly. "Your lack of ability has prevented me from having any expectations of you for some time. But that is the truth; you can accept what you wish.

"I had told Dumbledore about the Oath immediately and even offered to give up my own life and not see it carried however he wished otherwise. As you must have noticed, he had sustained a serious injury to his hand. I do not know the full extent of what happened, he refused to tell me and I did not pry, but what ever caused that injury was slowly killing him. Through my potions and his powers we were able to delay it, but death was inevitable.

"He told me that since he would die anyways, that it would be better if I stayed undercover and by me actually doing the deed then I would gain the Dark Lord's trust completely." He paused, staring intently at Harry.

"I do not know what you two were doing that night, but whatever it was the Dark Lord is impatient to find out. He suspects that the two of you have found a way to get around the many steps that he has taken to become immortal. Now that the protection is gone, he will stop at nothing to have you brought to him. And he still does not know the entire prophesy."

"The Prophesy was smashed in the Department of Mysteries," Harry said tightly, looking away from Snape's eyes. He had been practicing Occlumency everyday since returning to the Dursley's but he still did not feel confident he could block someone as skilled at Legilimency as Snape. He knew he had improved at blocking his mind, but he also knew that he still had a long way to go.

Snape laughed softly. "I know that Dumbledore was the one to hear the entire prophesy and I feel fairly certain that he passed it on to you." Clinching his fists as best he could while being tied up, Harry scowled up at his former potions professor. How cold he have forgotten? Snape had been the one responsible for Voldemort going after his parents, because of him his parents were dead; because of him Sirius was dead and now because of him Dumbledore was dead.

"Why should I believe anything you say?" Asked Harry quietly, barely containing his rage. "Because of you everyone who has ever cared about me is dead. Why should I believe that you were acting under Dumbledore's orders when it would be so much easier for a cowardly man like you to just hide behind your precious Dark Lord? That's all you do Snape, you backstab others then run away like a coward!"

Snape stood up so quickly that the chair overturned making a loud crash. There was a wild look in his eyes as he pointed his shaking wand at Harry. "DO NOT EVER SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" He roared advancing towards him. Leaning back against the wall, Harry stared wide eyed at the man. He had never scene him lose such complete control except for right after Dumbledore died. He had called him a coward then too.

Suddenly Harry felt pain that felt like a thousands deaths. His whole body was jerking uncontrollably as the Cruciatus Curse filled him like needles, stabbing at every point imaginable. He knew he was withering on the ground, but he didn't care, he only wanted it to stop. Surely he would die if he was forced to feel such pain any longer. And blissfully it finally did.

He looked up at Snape through squinting eyes, sometime during the curse his glassed had fallen off. He could barely move, only able to grasp one shallow breath at a time. His body was still shaking from the pain and his cheek was pressed harshly against the grown.

Before him Snape was breathing roughly, wand still outstretched. "Do not ever speak to me like that again Potter, understood?" He whispered.

Glaring up at him, Harry nodded silently. He had no intention of bringing that upon himself again.

"You have no idea what I have been through and have done in my life," Snape continued in the same deadly whisper. "I have put everything at stake to help Dumbledore and you. You may know what it feels like to have someone close to you die, but have you ever had to stand by and let them die when you could have done something to help them but to act would hurt the cause you had been fighting for? Have you ever had to kill someone you care for more than yourself just to help that cause? Do not call me a coward while you sit around watching the world pass you by and watching others make all of the sacrifices." He suddenly cut off as if he hadn't meant to say that. He pressed his lips tightly together as he took a step away from Harry.

The silence was so thick that Harry felt as if he could reach out and touch it. He stared hard at Snape, truly seeing the man for the first time. After the last six years of knowing him, Snape had never shown Harry any emotions besides hatred and contempt. This sudden burst of raw feelings caught Harry so off guard that all he could do was stare. Neither seemed able to talk as the minutes slowly slipped by. It was Harry who finally recovered first.

"Your right," he said softly, but he was talking more to himself than to Snape. "I haven't had to experience any of that." He pushed himself slowly to a sitting position. His muscles screamed in protests but he ignored them. He found his glasses and awkwardly put them back on then, starring at the poorly tiled floor shook his head. "But how can I trust you? You have despised me from the first day we meant and, even if ordered to, have taken away the only person who could help me with what I have to do." He looked back up at Snape, searching his eyes for any sign that anything he had said was true. A few minutes ago he would have refused to believe any of it but now, after what Snape had said, he just didn't know. He had never felt so confused and alone in his life.

Suddenly Snape let out a hiss of pain and gripped his arm tightly. Harry stared at him in confusion, not knowing what was going on. "The Dark Lord calls," Snape said. "He will be upset that his attempt to capture you last night to did not work."

"He was going to try and get me last night?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Yes," said Snape, rubbing his arm. "As soon as your escort arrived at eleven thirty Death Eaters were going to appear and surround the house. They would have threatened to kill those muggles you live with and all the ones who live on that street if you did not surrender yourself."

"How did they know I was leaving at that exact time?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"There's a spy in the Order. I do not know who yet." Snape replied. "I have to go or he will grow suspicious. I will give you the choice to leave now or wait until I return and we can talk more. You must choose now."

Biting his lip in frustration, Harry stared up at Snape. If he was serious then Harry would be able to get away now but not learn anymore information. If he stayed then he risked Snape being caught or changing his mind and that would bring Voldemort directly to him.

"Choose now Potter," Snape said urgently.

Harry sighed. It was time that he took matters into his own hand and started learning information himself. With a nod Harry answered Snape. "I will stay," he said. The words seemed so final, like he was pronouncing his own death sentence, but it was a risk he felt he had to take.

Snape nodded as if that was what he had expected. "You must remain in here, I can't have you rummaging around my house, there are dangerous objects lying around." He said. Harry nodded once. With a flick of his wand, Snape cut the ropes binding Harry's wrists. Angry red marks itched violently as the ropes fell away, his skin had been ripped too and slowly droplets of blood formed from when he had been struggling against the Cruciatus Curse.

"I will return when I can and then we will finish talking," he said as he left the room, shutting the door with a soft click behind him. Sitting there on the ground, rubbing his sore wrists, Harry stared silently at the back of the door wondering if he had just made the worse mistake of his life.

(Author – hope you liked that! I will try to get the next chapter up soon. Please review; it motivates me to write faster! lol )