Title: Harry Potter and the Summer From Hell

Author: Ladye Black

Warnings: tweaking the timeline, and this is all you get to know about Snape for now, more will be revealed later.

Disclaimer: YES! I do own them! Okay?! (...or not)

Notes: Sorry for the last one being short. I just felt like I really owed you all something. Well, this is out a lot faster now, so perhaps you won't be too mad at me anymore...

Chapter 11

"You remember when I asked you what made you think I was Wizard-born?" Snape asked. Harry nodded. "Well, I want you to think carefully on that, and also what you have learned about the Wizarding World."

"Okay," Harry answered, confused about where this was going.

"Good. Now, take it and forget most of it. The only things you need to remember are that anything can happen, and Voldemort is menace to all of society."

Harry smiled briefly, "Alright."

"Good. Now then, I shall begin," settling back, Snape spoke.

"A long time ago, boy was born to a Wizard and a Muggle. This boy grew to be very powerful and also very angry. Within him, was a deep set hatred towards all Muggles. This boy was named Tom Marvolo Riddle, or Lord Voldemort."

"But, I already know that!" Harry protested.

Snape glared. "Do you want to hear this or not, Potter?"

Calming down, Harry indicated that 'yes', he would very much like to hear the story.

"As I was saying, there was a boy who grew up to become Voldemort.

At the same time that Voldemort tried to rid the world of Muggles and the like, James Potter was born. His parents were famous Aurors, dedicated to destroying Voldemort and his followers." Snape glanced at Harry, warning him not to interrupt.

"Then, too, was also born a boy you know in the same year along with some others you already have met. But, unlike those others, this boy didn't have any parents. He was an orphan. The Snapes, who took him in and were a pureblooded family, were in desperate need of a child. They needed something to show that they were loyal to Voldemort, someone to sacrifice. Unfortunately, they had only one child, their son, Esmero.

Esmero was needed to carry on the family name, he could not be given to Voldemort as a toy. So, by some strange luck, they found the boy. He was dark-haired and had the Snape nose, no one would dispute that he was their child.

They took him in, raised him as if he was their own, then at the age of eleven they gave him to Voldemort." Harry gasped. Snape had been with Voldemort since he was that young?

"He was delighted. A child of Snape, one of the most powerful families, under his watchful gaze. At first, it was fine. Voldemort's mind was still intact, he hadn't sunken into depravity, yet. He always left the boy in his room when he went off to kill Muggles, not ready for his...protégé to be exposed to the horrors of death.

Unfortunately, one night, the boy became curious. Where did his master go on such nights? Why did he always come back looking so tired and torn up? So, the boy followed his master to a Muggle town and watched as Voldemort massacred hundreds of innocent people on Christmas Eve.

The boy was shocked. How could this man, the man who had taken him to get his wand, the man who gave him money to buy his Hogwart's books, how could this man be so cold-blooded? But, that was not the worst of it. When Voldemort was done, he had begun to laugh, so happy in his destruction was he." Harry stared at Snape, wide-eyed. This had really happened? It seemed so unreal.

"By that time, the boy had been with Voldemort for two years, and now his innocence was completely shattered. He left quickly, afraid to be caught out in the night. He made it back to the mansion before his master and the followers arrived. Three days later, he was back at Hogwart's.

He was changed, though. No longer did he joke with his friends, or play stupid pranks on the Gryffindors. He kept to himself, afraid someone would find out his secret. That he was living with a murderer. Everyone who knew the boy noted the change, and some even tried to remain friends with him but, after a few scathing comments and hexes they left the boy alone.

Someone else noted the change in the boy's behavior also, Headmaster Dumbledore. One day, he called the boy up to office and asked him what was wrong. The boy refused to say. Every day after that, the boy was called up to the Headmaster's office, but he was never asked again what had changed him.

And then, after almost two months, the boy blurted it out. 'My master has been killing people!' he said. And then the boy became frightened. What if the Headmaster did not believe him? What if Voldemort found out?

But, the Headmaster calmed the boy's fears, and listened to the boy's story. When the boy had finished, the Headmaster nodded sadly and then asked the most damning question of all. 'Would you like to help stop this from happening again?' he asked. And the boy, maintaining a belief that Headmaster Dumbledore was a good, kind man said 'yes'." Snape opened his eyes, unaware that he had closed them. He saw Harry staring at him, seeming to be in a daze. "And then the boy became a spy, and has been so since he was thirteen. That is all you need to know," he finished dispassionately.

"All I need to know?!" Harry exclaimed. "What about the rest of it?! Your parents, when Voldemort started to become crazy. If he was still around, then how did he fall that time?!"

"You can read about that in any history book, boy." Snape said coldly. "Now please vacate my room. I wish to sleep."

"No! And don't call me 'boy'. What the hell happened when you were spying on Voldemort?! Why did Dumbledore allow a thirteen-year-old child do such a thing? How could he ask that?" Harry asked while being pushed towards the door.

Snape stopped. "Because Albus Dumbledore is a cold, manipulative bastard, and the sooner you learn that boy the sooner you can get on with your life," and he pushed Harry out the door.

Harry glared at the door. "Don't call me boy!" he yelled at it ineffectually. Frustrated he headed for his own room, intent on getting some sleep. However, when he laid down, all he could think about was Snape's story. It circled around and around in his head not allowing him to sleep.

Finally, sometime around dawn, he drifted off. 'And that wasn't even the half of it,' he realized just before he fell asleep.

TBC...

There, how was that? And a lot shorter time, too.