Harry Potter and all the characters involved do not belong to me, they belong to J K Rowling.


"Normal speech"

'Thinking'

Flashback

"Parseltongue"


It was the summer after what would have been Harry's seventh year if he hadn't been on the run while trying to hunt down Horcruxes and Harry was staying at Hogwarts. He couldn't go back to the Dursleys anymore, and he didn't want to go to Grimauld Place, because it reminded him of Sirius, and also because Sirius was at Hogwarts, in the Hospital Wing, and Harry wanted to be nearby in case he woke up. He had talked to Madam Pomfrey, and she had told him that Sirius was not under a curse, but a self-induced healing coma, so he would indeed wake up once he was ready.

In the meantime, Harry was helping out with the restoration of Hogwarts, since there were a few wings of the castle that needed to be rebuilt, and the grounds needed to be cleared, and because the reporters who wanted to speak to Harry weren't allowed onto Hogwarts. The damage wasn't too bad anymore, since between Dumbledore, Flitwick, and McGonagall, most of the damage had been repaired, except for one wing of the castle, which was expected to be finished by the end of the week.

Harry had been helping Hagrid out with the grounds for three weeks since the start of July; banishing the rubble and casting spells to help the plants regrow. Professor Sprout was also helping; once she had restored her greenhouses to their former state, she was able to help the restoration of the flora and speed things up, since Herbology was her specialty.

That day, Harry had been wandering the grounds, looking at how things had changed and yet were still the same. The Giant Squid was still in the lake, and could occasionally be seen waving its tentacles; the thestrals and centaurs were still living in the Forbidden Forest, and Harry had helped Hagrid feed them a few days ago. He frequently wandered around the castle, and he never usually saw any animals, except for the occasional owl, except for today. When he was walking by the Forest, he noticed a black snake with a white belly and a blue stripe down its back curled up by a rock. There was some blood on the rock and the snake wasn't moving, and looked like it was hurt.

Harry walked to the snake, and bent down to get a closer look. The snake's eyes blinked open, and its tongue darted out, but it didn't do anything else, which Harry found strange. He expected it to hiss at him at least.

"Are you okay?" Harry hissed at the snake, using Parseltongue to find out if it needed help.

"No, I sssssimply decided that curling up on thissss rock while I am bleeding would be fun."

Harry decided to ignore the sarcasm, and asked "Isssss there any way I can help?"

"Yessssss. Bring me to Hagrid."

Harry was taken aback and asked the snake "You know Hagrid?"

"If I did not know Hagrid, why would I have used hisssss name when I assssked you to bring me to him?"

"Oh. Right." Harry replied, feeling rather foolish, that the snake needed to point out the obvious. "How ssssshould I carry you?"

"I can wrap myssssself around your neck and chessst."

"Alright." Harry picked up the snake and helped it wrap itself around him, before walking quickly to Hagrid's hut. He would have run, but he was afraid that the movement would jar the snake and cause it pain.

When he got to Hagrid's hut, he knocked on the door and said "Hagrid, I need your help. I found and injured snake and he told me to bring him to you."

" 'Ello 'Arry. You have an injured snake ye say? Bring 'im in," Hagrid said as he opened the door.

Harry walked into the hut and helped the snake unwrap itself from around him and curl up on the table.

"Thanksssss," the snake hissed. "You were nice to carry me. Very warm asssssss well."

"No problem," Harry replied.

"Now, what have we here?" Hagrid asked, seating himself at the table as he took a closer look at the snake.

"He has a gash in his side that's bleeding," Harry replied. "I found him near the Forbidden Forest."

"Hmmm… Well the blood is congealing, so the Professor will be ok." Hagrid rummaged around in his pockets for a bit before pulling out a tube. He handed it to Harry and said " 'Ere. This will prevent infection, and it jus' needs teh spread it on the gash every day."

Harry took the tube, and then he realized what Hagrid had called the snake. "Er, Hagrid, what did you mean when you said Professor?"

Hagrid chuckled and said "Tha's Professor Snape 'Arry." When he saw Harry gaping in shock, he couldn't help but add "Make sure yeh look after 'im. He'll pro'ly try teh sneak off teh 'is chambers once he feels better. Make sure he doesn't until he changes back from a snake."

"Professor Snape changes into a snake? Why? And what did he even do to get hurt?"

"Iunno 'Arry, you'll have to ask 'him yerself. Now take good care of 'im and keep 'im near you at all times. Oh and also try not to move 'im too much."

"Er, alright. Thanks Hagrid," Harry replied, still processing that he helped Snape, who was a snake at the time. "Um, Professssssssor?" Harry hissed, "Are you well enough to wrap yourssssself around me again ssssso I can carry you?"

"I might need your help again," Snape hissed, "but I ssshould be able to. I will tell you if it hurtsssss too much."

'Which means he won't tell me at all' Harry thought as he carefully picked Snape up and wrapped him around his neck and chest once more. Once Snape was comfortably situated, Harry asked "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Snape replied.

"Thanks again Hagrid," Harry called as he headed back to the castle with Snape.