Hate Is a Powerful Thing

What am I going to do without you?

How am I going to be happy again?

Your smile was like the morning sun,

Your eyes were like the stars in the night sky,

But now you are gone and

All the stars have disappeared from the sky,

And now the sun's warmth is cold to me.

I sit around all day staring into the darkness.

You were my light, but now the light has died.

Everything that was once beautiful

Now only is used to decorate your grave.

I lay and sleep

Now I leave this world.

The world that brought you such joy

Only gave me sadness

In a cold, dark, silent world

Nothing is beautiful,

Nothing is joyful

Nothing is the same

-MostEvilKitten "Nothing is the Same"

Hate is A Powerful Thing

Chapter One: Our Potions Master

By: MostEvilKitten

Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, ex-death eater, and current spy against Voldemort for Dumbledore and his secret Order against the Dark Lord, the Order of the Phoenix, was busy in his dungeon making some more healing potions for Madam Pomfrey yet again. He had used up the entire stock of potion that counteracted the Cruico curse for the second time that month, and the school nurse was in need of more.

Professor Snape was not having the best of summers. Being a spy had its downfalls, especially when you were spying against Voldemort. Voldemort was the darkness wizard seen in centuries, and most people feared to speak his name, but Snape had to actually be in his presents.

Voldemort didn't look as bad as he did when he was seen by Harry Potter at the rebirth ritual a couple of months before. He now looked like any other human; in fact he looked like he did when he was thirty, all except for his eyes.

His eyes were blood red in color, and looked like a pair of snake eyes. They were once green like Harry Potter's, in fact, Voldemort, when he was Tom Riddle, looked exactly like Harry Potter at that age, or so everyone says, which disturbed Snape a bit. The boy looked exactly like the Dark Lord when he was young, and that couldn't be good thing. Snape had been thinking long and hard over this. Harry looked like the Dark Lord and they both had the same ability to speak to snakes, they both were orphaned when they were young. What other things did they have in common? Was Harry really a dark lord in the making? Well Voldemort thought so.

That was the reason Snape had been to this last Death Eater meeting. They were discussing how Voldemort was going to go about capturing the ebony haired boy. Severus was shaken when he found out that Voldemort had found out where the boy was living. The only good thing that he found out from the meeting was that Voldemort didn't know how to get past the many powerful wards that Dumbledore had put up around the boy's relative's house.

Dumbledore had placed wards around the Dursley's house to protect the boy since even before the boy was ever there, and they were complex wards using old magics that he hadn't even heard of before he researched them after the Headmaster talk about them one day to the transfiguration professor, Minvera McGonagall.

These wards are very hard to break down, even for someone as strong as Voldemort, and the Death Eaters have been failing since Voldemort first told them to get the boy from his relative's house over a month ago, when the summer holidays started. Voldemort had asked Severus to try and find out actually which wards were around the house, but Severus couldn't get the old man to tell him, or so he told Voldemort.

Actually Severus knew exactly which wards where up around the house and how to get around them. In fact he wanted to go and get the boy out of that house as fast as possible, but he had to wait. Why? He didn't know. He had told Dumbledore about Voldemort knowing where Harry was and that he was looking for ways around the wards, but the Headmaster told him that he would have to wait until the end of July in order to take the boy out of the house.

Severus hated waiting, he was never a patient person and he had a sneaky suspicion that the old man was cooking up some plan that Severus was going to regret, but there was nothing that he could do. He was just another one of Dumbledore's pawns in this war, just like the boy, and he had to do whatever the Headmaster said, because Dumbledore had both of their lives in his hands.

He respected the Headmaster for some of the things that he as done in the past, but in his later years he man had started to go a little crazy and get very manipulative. Make no mistake, Albus Dumbledore was always manipulative, hell he got Severus to be a spy even after the rebirth, but lately it was worst. He was a grown man and knew that he was being manipulated, but he was playing with the lives of children.

He had been playing with Harry's life since the boy was one and his parents were killed, but Severus had another sneaky suspicion that the old man had been planning the boy's life long before that. If that was the case then he really didn't want to know what the older man had actually planed for Harry, but something was telling Severus that it wasn't something that he would like, just like what the old man had planed for Lily, his Lily.

Severus Snape had loved Lily. Yes, Severus could love someone. He wasn't always the greasy bastard that walked the halls of Hogwarts. He was once kind of nice to people, but after people took his Lily away from him; he began to get biter and hate life. Lily was the first person he met on the train to Hogwarts.

No one, not even Lucius Malfoy, could tell that she was a Muggle-born just by talking to her. She seemed as pureblood as even the Malfoys, but Severus had never cared about the purity of blood, even through his family tried to drill it into him. It just didn't seem important to him, especially when it came to his Lily. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen and the most loving person as well.

She was the type of person who tried to see the person behind all the masks they put up to hide themselves from the world and anything that might hurt them. Severus had tried to get her to give up on him. He wasn't worth anyone's time and effort to get to know, but she ever gave up on him, that was the first time that he felt friendship like that. She was his first true friend that he had, and he loved her, more than just a friend or even a sister. He loved her like a man loves a woman, but their love was never suppose to be. Fate, and Dumbledore were too cruel to let him be happy.

He and Lily had actually gone out, albeit in secret, in their sixth year, but something happened, and Dumbledore and the Marauders found of about it. The next day Lily came to him with tears in her eyes and told him that they had to stop seeing each other. She never told him why she broke off their relationship, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with Dumbledore and his pet Gryffindors.

It wasn't long after Lily broke off their relationship that she started seeing James Potter, but he knew that that relationship was a sham, because Lily never really liked that infamous Gryffindor. Severus knew this because Lily used to tell him how they would never leave her alone and James in particular was always asking her to go on a date with him.

She would tell Severus that James was arrogant, because he was the bloody Golden Boy of Gryffindor and the Headmaster's favorite little pet. If you were in Gryffindor and went against James Potter and the Marauders it was like being a Muggle-lover and in Slytherin. Life would get very hard, so to everyone who didn't know what exactly was going on, James and Lily were the perfect couple. They loved each other and all that garbage, but Severus knew better. He knew that Lily was the best actress he had ever seen, because she had even those fool best friends of James, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin and sometimes he was sure that she even had James, himself, fooled.

The day that they were married was the day that he became a Death Eater. He was so angry with Dumbledore and those fool Marauders for taking his Lily away from him that it drove him to Voldemort, the promise of power and anything else he would want.

The day that he heard the plot against Lily and James' life was the day that he became a spy. When he heard Voldemort talking about letting Malfoy rape his beautiful flower, he had gotten so angry that he cursed Malfoy with his first Unforgivable. After the meeting with Voldemort he and Lucius went out for drinks. Malfoy sat there in front of him and talked about exactly how he was going to make the Mudblood scream. It made Severus so mad that he used the Cruico curse on the elder Malfoy. When anyone questioned him about it later he would say that he wanted to be the one to make her scream, which was true in a way just not in pain (A/N: hehe), but he would never admit that part.

After that day he was Dumbledore's spy against Voldemort. When Lily died he mourned more than anyone, because the only person he had ever loved was gone, leaving only a child that should have been his and Lily's, but it wasn't. He made a silent promise to Lily the day she died to protect her son, like he could never protect her. He would watch after Harry as best he could, but for the first eleven years he couldn't get close to the boy. He wanted to check up on him, but there were to many wards around the house and he would be detected if he got to close.

Now that the Death Eaters knew where the boy lived, he was in danger, even if Voldemort wanted the boy alive. He knew how over-jealous some of the Death Eaters were and that they would sometimes read more into the order than they should. They probably would think that Voldemort wanted the boy so that he could torture and eventually kill him, but in truth no one really knew what the Dark Lord wanted with the boy.

So he was going to have to watch Lily's child closely, the lovely flower that he had lost. When Harry had come to Hogwarts looking like James, but having Lily's beautiful green eyes, it was like someone put the Cruico curse on him and then kicked him in the stomach.

He knew he was being unfair to Lily's son when he would make funny and put him down, but it truly hurt Severus. He wouldn't go so far as to wish any true harm on the boy, and that was making him so anxious lately. The boy was in danger with just being at his relative's house, so why was everyone just sitting around waiting for Voldemort to get the boy.

He was thinking this over while he was making the healing potions for Madam Pomfrey. No, it was more like an internal argument. Part of him wanted to go that very moment to get the boy, but part of him, the part that was the spy, was telling him to listen to the Headmaster. He must have a good reason to keep him there.

With a heavy sigh he bottled the potions and headed towards the hospital wing still having the argument with himself. He was stalking through the halls heading for the hospital wing when he heard someone talking in the hall just ahead of him. It sounded as if they were heading his way. Not wanting to be noticed by anyone at the moment he carefully hid in the shadows of the halls and waited for whoever it was to pass.

As the voices got closer he could tell that there were two people arguing about something. By the sound of their voices they were both students, but what were two students doing at Hogwarts during the summer holidays. When the two students came into view he was surprised to see Weasley and Granger arguing and heading for the Headmaster's office. Well maybe not surprised about the arguing part, but what were they doing at Hogwarts any ways? He was about to ask them when he heard Weasley speak.

"But Hermione he hasn't answered any of our owls." Said Ron and Severus' eyebrow arched in interest.

"Maybe he is just out and hasn't gotten them Ron." Replied Hermione trying to find some logical answer. "Besides if Harry was in trouble the Headmaster would know and get Harry out of there." With that Ron stopped only feet away from where Snape stood listening.

"But Hermione Harry doesn't tell anyone about that kind of thing. You know how he gets when people worry over him like that. You know he hates his fame." Snape laughed mentally at the thought.

'Sure the boy didn't like his fame and Dumbledore wasn't an old manipulative bastard!' thought Snape.

"I know Ron, but Dumbledore wouldn't let Harry go back to the Dursley's if he was in danger there." Said Hermione.

"I know 'Mione, but I am just worried. You know that his family doesn't like him, because he is a wizard. I mean the summer before second year they put bars over his windows and locked him in his room without any food, and that he lived in the cupboard under the stairs for the first eleven years of his live." Said Ron and Snape's head jerked up at this.

'Could the boys family be that vile?'

"I mean Hermione Harry got his Hogwarts letter and it was addressed to him... in his cupboard under the stairs. That means someone must of know that he was living like that. That room is so small 'Mione, I have seen it while I was there last year getting him to come to the Burrow. That is another reason why I am worried."

"Why is that Ron?" Hermione asked, she had forgotten.

"Don't you remember us telling you 'Mione. You remember Fred and George's stupid little joke don't you. They gave Harry's cousin one of their joke candies. It made that fat cousin of his tongue blowup. I mean it was funny at the time, but what do you think his Aunt and Uncle will do to him as punishment for that, 'Mione? That's why I am so worried!" Ron finished and Hermione looked pale.

"Oh Merlin, Ron, I wasn't thinking about that." Snape smirked at Hermione as she admitted that she didn't think about something, but his smirk quickly disappeared into a worried expression with this new information. Now not only was Voldemort a threat to Harry, but there was his own family and the abuse, if not physical but mental abuse, that he was taking.

'Mordrid, what was Dumbledore doing to this child.' Thought Snape, because he knew the wards around the house and what things they alerted the Headmaster to and abuse of any sort including that from his family would be known, so the Headmaster must have known if the boy's family was starving him or even hitting him. That was the reason why he thought the boy had such a pampered life.

He never thought the Headmaster would willingly let the boy's own family to treat the Golden Boy of Gryffindor like that, but obviously the old man was more sadistic than he thought.

'Mordrid! I have to do something even if the Headmaster says no!' Snape concluded and as the two students went off to the Headmaster's office Snape quickly went to the hospital wing and dropped off the potions before getting what he needed to rescue Harry.

He had to think quickly. If the boy was indeed being mentally abused this would be really bad, not just for the boy's health, but there are reasons why dark wizards become dark. One of the most powerful reasons is because they were abused as children. This was the reason why he was sorted into the Slytherin House. Severus had a very abusive father and found out that he wasn't alone when he got to Hogwarts.

It seemed like everyone in the Slytherin House were abused as children in one form or another. This was a little known fact to everyone outside of Slytherin, except for a couple of the Professors who had heard the stories told to them by the portraits. This was the reason why sorting the children into the correct houses were so important, especially for the ones who were to be sorted into Slytherin.

The Slytherin House was more of a support group and protection to the members of the house. They knew what it was like to be in pain and the way the other Slytherins thought. If a person who was suppose to be sorted into Slytherin was sorted into another house, say Gryffindor, he or she would not get the support that they needed, and would most times come every self destructive. They were known to been suicidal; this was the thing most on Snape's mind as he was heading for the road to Hogsmeade just outside Hogwarts grounds and the Apparating wards. As he was leaving the grounds he heard a very upset Hermione speak.

"Ron he said that Harry is fine." She said trying to control a sob.

"But it isn't like him not to answer our letters. I don't see why he won't let us take Harry to the Burrow." Ron said and there was a long moment of silence before Ron spoken again. "I just have a bad feeling 'Mione. Something's wrong."

"I know, Ron, I know." Was the last thing Snape heard from the two Gryffindors before Apparating away. He reappeared just outside of the Apparating wards around the Dursley's. Then he very carefully made his way around the wards protecting the boy. The house was dark, as the sun had gone down while he was making his way around the wards undetected. He silently made his way into the house when he closed the door he stood in the entryway for a moment listening to what was happening in the house. Everything was quiet telling him that the Dursley's were out.

Snape quietly walked up the stairs. The first door that he opened seemed to be an empty master bedroom, the next room was a spare bedroom, then there was a bathroom and a rather large room full of toys and other things that Snape would have thought that this was Harry's room, but then he saw the last door in the hall. There were five different locks on the outside of the door, as if to keep something or someone inside the room. On a hook outside the room was a ring of five keys that he could only guess was the keys to unlock the door. Not wanting to alert anyone to his presents by using magic to open the door.

When he opened the door he was met with black. He could see anything more than a few feet into the room, but he could hear a weak voice whispering on the other side of the room. The voice was repeating something over and over again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'll be good."

"Harry?" called Snape. The only answer he got was the repeating chant. Worried, his hand went to the wall next to the door, in order to turn the light on in the room. When the light switched on he was blind for a moment before his eyes got used to the light. "BY THE GODS!" gasped Snape at what he saw. He had to get Harry out of this hell, now, before anyone came. Seeing that the house was clear of anyone, who would stop him, he set to work.

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TBC...