After twenty minutes, Snape had 14 rats on the ground. None of them were dead, unfortunately. It seemed the class had done the potion right after all. All of them were Petrified. Well, they weren't, but they might have been, for all the movement they made. Snape advanced on the last student with glittering eyes, holding out a potion.

"Drink up, Potter," he purred. 

Snape's lips curled into a satisfied smirk. "Good boy." He watched as the boy shrunk into a rodent. "Don't even think about moving," he warned.

He plucked Potter up and put him in the nearest cage. He placed the other rats into cages as well.

The brilliance of his plan was that, as rodents, none of them could tell who was being put in which cages. A perfect way to take Potter for what he needed.

Giving the rest of the rats a grim smile, he took Potter's cage. "I'll be back soon, children," he said, before taking Harry to his quarters. 

Snape could just hear the thoughts whizzing in Harry's head. "Not just yet," he sneered. "I'll tell you in a secure place." He continued walking, when he was suddenly stopped.

"Severus!"

He growled, and then turned to see Sybill Trelawney approaching him, looking slightly drunk. When she came close, he smelled the cooking sherry on her.

"What is it, Sybill?" he asked curtly. He shifted slightly so his body was hiding as much of Harry's cage as possible.

"You've got a rat, Sevvy," she blinked, her eyes wide.

Severus cursed and threw her a disgusted look at the nickname. "Yes, I do. Why?"

"Are you going to use it as potions ingredients?"

"Yes." That last word was said as a snarl. Trelawney ignored it.

"You mustn't, Sevvy! It's...cursed!" she exclaimed, her voice shrill. 

Snape turned. "Goodbye, Sybill." He ignored her last cries, before turning the corner and entering his quarters.

Taking out his wand, he cast the same charms on his door and all exits so that Harry couldn't leave. Then, he took a vial out of his pocket and forced it into the cage.

"Lap it up, boy," he growled. "It's the antidote." 

Harry stared at the vial for a few moments before edging forward on his little feet and lapping at the antidote, his beady black eyes focused onto the tall, dark, and creepy teacher that had brought him here. He then inched forward, just so that it would be easier to get him out of the cage once the antidote kicked in.

What the hell was snape doing with him in his quarters? 

Snape unlocked the cage when he saw Potter lick up the antidote. He then grabbed the boy roughly and placed him on the floor, waiting for the antidote to work. His eyes glinted.

"You won't be having fun for a while, boy," Snape said, smiling coldly.  

Harry immediately scurried over to the farthest wall he could, pressing himself against it. Alright, he had to admit that he was a little scared now. What was he up to...? Was he going to be in here the rest of the day? Did Snape have some sort of sadistic torture in mind for him?

He really did wonder why the hell Snape was out to get him. If it wasn't because of his parents, then what had he done to tick the Bat off so much? He was at a loss, unfortunately. 

"Scared, Potter?" Snape asked softly. He looked into the boy's eyes, feeling comforted at the familiar green.

When the boy's transformation was complete, he pointed his wand at him and muttered a spell, resulting in shackles being fastened to his wrists and ankles.

"Don't move," he hissed, "or it will hurt." 

"Sit still, Potter!" Snape snarled. "And shut up!" He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and rubbed his nose. Then his eyes flew open again, but he was calmer.

"You won't be leaving my quarters for a while," he said, his voice back to the velvety tone it usually had. "I need you for a few...tasks I must complete." He looked at the clock on his wall. "It is lunch time, and I must go. Do not attempt to get help, or I'll snap your wand. Dobby!"

The elf appeared with a crack and cowered. Snape addressed him without looking at him.

"Keep Mr. Potter fed while he is here. Do not tell anyone he is here. I repeat. Do not tell anyone. Not even the Headmaster."

And he left in a billow of robes. 

Harry's gaze followed Snape as he left, narrowing slightly. "What is he planning...?" he mumbled before he looked back over at Dobby. The poor house elf looked rather terrified. So he moved over the best he could, considering his bindings, and crouched down in front of him.

"You wouldn't happen to know, would you Dobby?" he asked, his voice kind towards the scared little elf. Snape must be a cruel person...if this elf is that afraid of him. And now Harry got to wondering just how long a while would be...if he was gone longer than a day people would start to wonder, wouldn't they? 

Snape entered the Great Hall with his usual snarls and deduction of points for smiling students. He stalked to the High Table and took his seat next to Minerva.

"You seem to be in a darker mood than usual, Severus," Minerva observed in her Scottish lilt. "You might scare the children."

"To hell with the children," Snape sneered, and he turned to his food. Minerva ignored him.

"The 7th Years seem to be missing," she said looking around. Her eyes narrowed. "Theo nes in your NEWTs class, I believe."

Snape couldn't hide a smile. "They are still suffering from the effects of a potion I had them brew. They should be back by dinner."

He noticed Minerva looked very worried. "If you've hurt those poor children, Severus..." she warned, rolling her 'r' angrily. Snape smirked.

"As much as I'd love to, I haven't done a thing but turn them into rats, Minerva," he replied smoothly. "Nothing any different from usual."

"That is preposterous!" Minerva exclaimed, but Snape only smiled.

"Albus gave me leave to do it."

That stopped the Deputy Headmistress. "Well, if Albus said it... but if you've hurt a hair on their heads, I will pay you a visit!" She turned back to her food with a huff. 

Snape chuckled coldly at her, and returned to his dinner. Tonight, he'd put his plan into action... He briefly wondered how Potter was eating, but dismissed the thought in favour of glaring at staring students.

Harry sighed as he sat within Snape's quarters, his eyes closed and his back against the wall. He just wanted to know what the heck Snape had brought him in here for... He had been singled out time and time again by him...was he finally going to learn why? Was he finally going to learn just why he was the ob
ject of torment, why Snape seemed to hate the fact that he was alive?

((-failure-)) 

After finishing his rare steak, Snape wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Excuse me," he said curtly to Albus, who nodded. He then stood up and strode out of the Great Hall.

On the way to his quarters, he went over the incantations for the spell he was going to use on Potter, so that he would finally have what he had wanted since he was a small boy. At least, it wouldn't be as good as the original, but it would be close enough.

((Lolol, this spell he's going to use is going to be a bit weird. xD)) 

By this point in time, Harry had nodded off, his head lowered and his glasses down his nose slightly. He'd been thinking with his eyes closed the whole time and after a while it had just drifted off into dreaming. His dreams were of his past, of his life witht he Dursleys and how things had changed when Hagrid found him and told him he was a wizard. He was awfully relaxed at this point, despite the shackles.

((Wheee. o3o)) 

"Wake up, boy," Snape growled, slapping him firmly around the head. "You need to be fully aware. Or else. You. Will. Die." He glared at Harry, and was about to give in to his urge to kick him awake when he remembered that in addition to being fully aware, he had to be alive. Bugger.

While Harry got up, he moved to the rows of books overflowing in his room. He rummaged through ancient book after ancient book until he found the one he was looking for. Blowing gently on the cover, the inion on the front read in swirly gold lettering 'Secrets of the Darkest Art'. 

"Yes," Snape said shortly. He turned to the boy, book in hand, and flicked his wand, unfastening the shackles around Harry's wrists. "This spell is a very dark one." He gave Harry a cold smile. "But it will give me what I want, so I will use it." 

He flipped to the page he wanted in the book. "I think it might be time for a history lesson." Conjuring a chair, he sat down. "Your father and I, as you know, hated each other, but your mother was my dearest friend, and I loved her." His ex
pression was sardonic. "And then she married Potter and got herself killed. I will have her now, though. You, Potter, are the crucial element in her resurrection. It is a slightly unconventional method of resurrection, but it shall work anyway."

((Sorry, the next post will have what will actually happen to Harry, and it might be a bit creepy. xD))