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Warning: This is a Dark Harry fic so if you don't like, then don't read.

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"Talking"

Thinking

"Parseltongue"

"?"

Book Titles

Chapter One

An old, tall, thin, man stood in the ruins of a house. He had silver hair with twinkling blue eyes, half moon glasses, and a beard that went down to his waist. He was wearing purple robes that swept the ground with long and shiny boots.

The house used to contain a family of three, a mother, a father, and their child. The man made his way to the stairs, giving a passing glance of sadness as he past the father's body, he was here for a reason after all; he couldn't let his grief control him. "I'm sorry James." he told the body, he took a nearby blanket and covered the body.

He continued up until he came across the baby room. The door was open, revealing the mother's dead form, a nasty gash laid across her chest that ended at her face. "I knew you wouldn't let him past you without paying for your life Lily." Figuring there wouldn't be a blanket big enough nearby, he pulled out a long stick from his sleeve and with a wave, a blanket appeared and covered her body. He turned toward the crib, fearing the worst for the baby. His eyes widened in surprise. "Harry." The child was alive. Crying, but alive. Using the stick again, he checked Harry's diagnosis. He had slight blood loss, but he would survive. He stepped toward the child and stepped on something soft. He looked down and saw a black cloak. When he picked it up, he noticed a circle beneath it. Strange symbols outlined the circle at five points. He memorized it the best he could, so he could look back in a pensieve later, perhaps he would show Severus, he knows more about dark magic then him.

Letting the cloak fall back down he went to Harry and picked him up. "Ready to go to your new home?" With a wave and a few words, a silver phoenix emitted from his wand. "Hagrid, meet me at Godric's Hollow." It recorded his message and flew away.

Twenty minutes later, a large man appeared, he was as tall as two men and five times as wide, his hair was unruly and his eyes were red with tears. "I came as quickly as I coul' professor Dumbledore, sir. Took the Knight Bus."

"I am glad you could come so quickly Hagrid. I need you to take Harry here to his relatives for me. He is too young for me to apparate with."

"O' course Professor, I'd be gla' too." The large man said.

Dumbledore handed him the small child. "I'll see you soon." He disappeared with a small pop.

He appeared in a castle called Hogwarts. Walking to his fireplace, he threw in a pinch of glittery powder and called out "Severus Snape's quarters!" He stepped through and ended up at his destination. "Severus."

"Headmaster." He looked horrible, his hair was a mess, and his skin was waxy. Shadows plagued his eyes. "What do I owe this honor?"

"I want you too look at something for me from a memory, I am in need your knowledge of the dark arts. It may be of the blackest." He told the potions master.

Severus simply nodded. He stood and walked to a cabinet, inside was a stone bowl with runes etched around it. "Put the memory in here and I will look at it."

Dumbledore put the tip of his wand to his head and pulled out a blue-silver strand. He moved it to the bowl. "It is urgent that you find out about this as quickly as possible."

Snape turned toward the bowl, his back to the headmaster. "The dark mark has faded. It's not gone though, not completely."

"No trace of him is left, besides what resides in that pensieve."

He swallowed his unease. "Is she fine? Did she survive?"

Dumbledore sighed. "He found a way. James and Lily are dead." Severus said nothing. "Her child survived. Lily gave her life to save him."

"Leave, headmaster." Snape said slowly.

"Severus-"

"LEAVE!" The headmaster knew he was wallowing in misery and left without another word. He had, after all, broke his promise to keep Lily safe. He popped away again.

Severus fell to his knees. She was dead. Lily, sweet, precious, Lily. Dead. He wanted to drown in a bottle of fire whisky. He wanted to forget everything, how he ran to the dark lord, that he had called Lily that horrible word, that she was dead. Dead, because of him.

A small pop appeared in the room. "Mr. Severus, sir?" The little house elf looked worse than he did. Its big eyes were wet with tears; it looked like it had hurt itself recently. "Mistress Lily is telling Pixy to give Mr. Severus, sir this note when she…" the elf started crying again. Severus took the note and left the elf alone who popped away afterwards.

Dear Severus,

If you are reading this, then I did not survive. Don't blame yourself. I'm sure he would have succeeded eventually anyway. It was only a matter of time before he found us.

I'm sorry I couldn't do this in real life, but I do forgive you. I'm sorry it took me this long to realize what was important. I know you didn't mean to call me such a horrible word. Forgive me Severus?

There is something I wish to ask of you, I know you could never take Harry for me, but could you watch over him? Protect him when he needs it most? If he somehow survives that is. I'm sure he will, that prophecy is most likely about him. I just wish I could have watched him grow up.

Please, Severus, as my last wish, watch over Harry.

Love,

Lily

Severus would. He owed it to Lily, her last request. He stood and walked to the pensieve, determined. He would protect Lily's child, even at the cost of his own life. He delved into the memory Dumbledore had left.

He choked when he recognized the circle. "Impossible. Why would he even dare summon a devil? An heir of all things." the circle had five runes around it. Even without the circle there, he could feel the devil magic lingering behind, the dark lord's magic as well. "What have you done?" Lily's blood had entered the circle; it was the only reason it went wrong. Severus couldn't even begin to imagine why he would want to summon such a vile thing. However, he could not help but feel relieved that it had failed.

*else where*

A tabby cat sat on a brick wall as if it was waiting for something to happen. It watched unblinking at the far corner of a place called Privit Drive; a place that valued normalcy.

Suddenly Dumbledore appeared. If the neighbors had been up they would have scowled at the old man, he was anything but normal. He looked at the cat and chuckled. Reaching into his pocket and he brought out a silver lighter and clicked it twelve times until the street was too dark to see. "Hello Professor McGonagall," he smiled at the cat, which was now a stern-looking woman wearing an emerald cloak with her black hair in a tight bun.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"I have never seen a cat sit so stiffly," Dumbledore chuckled. "And I recognized your form. Your cat animagus is not much of a secret around Hogwarts."

She huffed. "So, is it true? That he-who-must-not-be-named is… is gone?"

"Yes. I'm surprised you haven't been celebrating as well. It is a joyous occasion after all."

McGonagall frowned. "They are being so careless! Even the muggles have noticed all the owls about. Some not even wearing the proper clothes in front of muggles!"

"You can not blame them," Dumbledore said with a sigh.

She sighed as well. "Is the other true? That a mere child killed you-know-who? And that the Potters are... Dead?" He nodded sadly. "After all that he's done, the darkest of magic he must have learned, he couldn't kill a baby? How did little Harry survive?"

"I do not know." He popped a lemon drop into his mouth.

The professor changed the subject, knowing that she wouldn't get an answer. "Why did you want to meet here of all places?"

"I plan to give Harry to his only living relatives."

McGonagall was shocked. "You can't mean the people who live here? They are the worst type of muggles you will ever find, certainly there are people in our world who would gladly take him?"

"It would be better for his relatives to take him," he told her.

"There's no changing your mind about this is there Albus?" She gave up, defeated. "How will he get here?"

"Hagrid is bringing him."

"Do you think it's wise to trust him with something so important? I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place, but the man is careless."

"I would trust him with my life." A low rumbling came from the sky, seconds later a motorcycle came into view before it landed in front of them. "Hello Hagrid. Where did you get the motorcycle?" Dumbledore asked, he didn't have it before he left.

"Borrowed it from young Sirius Black, professor Dumbledore, sir," he said. "He came by when you left."

"Any problems?" He asked.

"Nope, been quiet mostly."

Dumbledore took the child in the blankets away from Hagrid and saw a lighting bolt scar on the child's forehead where Voldemort had tried to kill him. He conjured up a basket with a flick of his wand and put the child inside along with a letter he took from his robes. He took the child up to the doorstep and left him there for his relatives to find, and left, taking Hagrid with him. McGonagall close behind.

If they had been there just a few seconds longer, he would have felt intense hatred and the darkest magic known to wizarding kind surrounding Harry before disappearing like it was never there.

Dumbledore reappeared right outside Severus' room. He knocked on the door softly. It creaked slowly. "Yes?" Severus asked.

"I'm sorry to bother you in your grieving Severus, but it's urgent to know what that circle was."

He didn't move for a short while. "I looked at it, it was only magical backlash, nothing important. For some reason his spell failed. You know how magic sometimes leaves visible traces behind."

He frowned. "I do, but I do not recognize the pattern."

"You most likely wouldn't, it was strong dark magic. If that is all headmaster." He shut the door, not giving him a chance to respond.

End of Chapter One