The Boy: Brandon Dursely

Chapter 19: Snow!

"Harry, love..." a woman he knew, who smelled, felt and sounded familiar, with flaming red hair, and a man with jet black hair just like his own, looking and smiling down at him with love and life. He reached out a hand and they enclosed theirs with his. He was safe....

The woman, the same woman who had flaming red hair. He looked around, trying to find the bespectacled man, his father. He was nowhere, and here she was, crying, trying to reassure him. Trying to convince herself, too.

"Be safe, my Harry, be safe..." she whispered, her voice trembling as she knelt in front of his cot...

"Jusssst give him to me, woman. Give me Harry Potter!" A dark, hooded man bellowed, and the woman shielded him from the intruder.

"No, not Harry. Not my baby!" She pleaded at him, but the man only screamed, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" He watched as a green light emerged from the tip of the man's wand, then a flash. And silence...

A man in dark robes came in and he reached out to him, trying to ask what had happened. What was happening? WHAT IS HAPPENING?! The man cried and screamed his Mother's name, and when he let out a whimper, the man turned to look at him for long, long moments, but then finally turned away. He kissed the dead woman's cheek, moved a hand to close her eyes. The man stayed there for a long while. And Harry- him, he stared at the man. The man just stood, turned around and left.

Harry begged and screamed for the man to come back...

---

"Potter?" A magical residue had startled Snape from looking over his steaming cauldron. It was a vibratimg, physical force and it tumbled back and forth through the wards. It was not so powerful, but enough for the prescence to be known.

It hummed, buzzed and played with the wards. What was happening?!

And then, just as it came in an instant, so did it instantly disappeared. Snape stood there, frozen and bewildered. There was, after all, no other living being in his house other than Potter. Was it Potter's doing?

He hurriedly waved his wand to put the potion under statis, then proceeded towards the boy's room. It was silent, then a rustle of sheets was heard. Heavy breathing, then panting. Small footsteps.

The boy was awake.

Snape did not hesitate to enter the room.

Oh you little brat! What are you playing at?!

Was the boy playing with magic? But still...

The boy was sitting on the floor, legs crisscrossed and eyes shut. The boy was visibly trying to calm himself, beads of sweat forming on his little brows. His hands were gripping his pajamas and his shirt was visibly wet.

When the boy opened his eyes, there was nothing there. It was a blank stare of green hue and Snape's skin crawled.

A nightmare?!

"Potter? Potter!" Severus called out and then the boy snapped back to reality.

"Sir?"

"What are you doing?"

----

Would he tell the truth? Or not?

It is Snape, after all....

And he is his guardian. He owed it to him, at least!

"I... I just dreamt sir."

"Was it horrible?" It was curious rather than gentle.