Harry was brought out of his light slumber when he felt himself getting put down. He blearily opened his eyes only to realize that Snape, the person he figured hated him the most, besides Jeb, had been carrying him. ‘That’s weird.’ he thought. He also noticed that Jeb was no where in sight, thankfully. The man was really beginning to annoy him, among other things. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Snape spoke.

“Alright, we’re at the pond, Potter. Will you be alright if I leave you here to get yourself cleaned up?” he asked.

“Where’s Jeb?” he asked before he could stop himself, and noticed with a tinge of annoyance that fear had filtered through in his voice.

Severus looked at the younger man beside him in contemplation. “He’s still on the trail, which is about fifty feet from here. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” he replied quickly, too quickly.

“Really?” asked Snape, drawing out the word. “Why don’t you tell me what actually happened with the snake. You and I both know you wouldn’t be frightened of a snake. You can speak to them, for crying out loud. What happened?” he demanded.

Harry looked away, not wanting to tell the older man what had actually transpired. He suddenly noticed that he was looking at the pond, and nearly laughed.

“What?” asked Snape, not finding what was so funny.

“He calls this a pond?” he asked, looking at the water that was probably no more than three feet deep and quite possibly the size of Dudley’s second bedroom. In other words it was very small. “It’s a creek, if that.” he stated, trying to change the subject. Successfully, he noted.

“Yes well, the man does seem to be a bit oblivious to the obvious.” remarked Snape, knowing Harry was changing the subject, but he wasn’t about to forget about it. He’d just bring it up later, when the younger one wanted to talk about it.

“I can’t believe how muddy I am.” said Harry, looking down at his now very disgusting clothes. Where’s my bag, I’m going to need a change of clothes.” he remarked, knowing the ones he had on wouldn’t be used in a while.

“Well, oddly, Jeb had your bag. Do you know why he was carrying your belongings, Potter?” he asked, also knowing he wouldn’t get a straight answer.

“No idea, sir.” he said, once again averting his eyes. He looked up in surprise when Snape held out his bag to him. “Thank you.” he said, taking the bag slowly from his professor.

“Anytime, Potter.” he said. “I’ll just go now so you can have some privacy. I’m going to look for some rare plants that are growing on this mountain. I’ll be nearby.” he added, and walked away.

Harry suddenly realized his Professor was looking out for him, and wasn’t going far to make sure he was safe. With this freaky tid-bit, he dug out some clean clothes, a towel, and a bar of soap. Since this was probably the last time he’d get a good bath, he figured he’d take advantage of it. Otherwise, he’d just be using a good old cleansing spell. Removing his clothes, he stepped into the water and suddenly wished Snape had stuck around. The water was freezing, but he couldn’t use any magic without permission. Damn. He wasn’t about to call him back, as his bruises would draw some unwanted questions.

He decided he’d have to live with freezing his bum off and quickly and thoroughly washed himself of all the mud and grime that had accumulated. He dried himself off with the towel and then quickly got dressed. As soon as that was accomplished, he went off in search of Snape, hoping he was still nearby. He definitely didn’t want to go wait with Jeb.

***************

Snape had only gone about twenty feet into the forest, far enough away that he couldn’t see Harry, due to the thick groups of trees, but close enough to hear him if he was in trouble. There really weren’t any rare plants growing on this particular mountain, but he couldn’t come up with any other viable reason for sticking close. And besides that, he didn’t want to have to wait with Jeb.

He briefly wondered if the man wasn’t leading them in the wrong direction, or worse, that he was under instruction from Voldemort. He knew he’d have to tell Harry where they were going, but he’d prefer to put it off for a while longer. He wasn’t sure how he would take it, but he could almost guarantee he knew what the first question out of the boy’s mouth would be. And he honestly didn’t know how he could shoot the question down without hurting him. But the boy was strong; he’d know he was telling him the truth and move on. He decided he should tell the boy sooner, rather than later, so he wouldn’t be totally unprepared. ‘Perhaps tonight.’ he thought to himself.

He started walking back in the direction he had come, figuring the boy would be done by now and practically walked right into him.

“Potter!” he yelled, startled out of his thinking. His voice softened when he saw the almost imperceptible flinch. “I didn’t realize you were there. Are you ready to go back?” he asked.

“Yeah.” said Harry.

They walked back to the trail in a comfortable silence.

******************

Jeb was waiting impatiently back by the trail. Since it was taking them so dratted long, he decided he was going to go ahead and set up camp. The sun was already setting in the horizon, though he could hardly see it, and soon there would be no light left. He had hoped to get to the caves in the next day or two, but at this rate, it would be longer.

“Curse that stupid child.” he hissed, suddenly wishing he just would have drowned in that mud. What that boy hadn’t known was how close he actually had come to drowning. Once his head had gone completely under, he would have been lost. The ‘mud’ that the kid had fallen into had been spelled to suck whoever was in it deep down into it’s depths, and once completely submerged, there was no way to survive, as the clutching mud would never let go. It had been an idea from the witches and wizards who came from Salem, still fearing for their lives. If need be, they would draw their pursuers into the forest, to one of the ‘mud’ pits, and they would be lost. The wizards and witches had only planned on using them if they were in dire circumstances, but most had forgotten they even existed. The only reason Jeb knew of them was because he had had an unfortunate accident with one a few years back.

He was about to openly curse children in general when he heard the other two approaching to his left.

“Ah, so you finally decided to join me?” he spat, letting his anger come off of him in waves.

Snape immediately went into defensive mode. “If you hadn’t failed to inform us of that damn mud hole, we wouldn’t be in this position at all, now would we?” he hissed, glaring deadly at the man.

Jeb backed off at the tone the younger man was using with him and went to finish making his own supper. Those two could starve for all he cared.

Snape threw one last glare at the man and went to prepare their supper. He rummaged through their food bag, as he had dubbed it, and found the makings for a small, but generous salad and a pizza. He removed the freezing spell that kept it fresh, and did a quick heating spell. Handing the pizza to the young man, he prepared the salad for himself. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jeb was eyeing the food hungrily. However, he wasn’t about to share, not with the likes of him. The man should have known to bring better rations.

He knew from a talk with Deliverance that the man was a wizard, if not a little out of practice. He was apparently the great, great, great, grandchild of Laila Gill, one of the witches who had escaped from Salem and came here. She, along with many of the others, had long since passed away. His cousin, Deliverance, along with only four others had managed to live this long. He still wasn’t entirely sure how they did it, but knew asking was futile, as no one ever spoke of it.

********************

Hours later found most of the company sound asleep. All but one, who lay restless in his makeshift bed. He had tossed and turned almost non stop, and couldn’t figure out why. He was dead tired, but unable to find sleep.

Just as he had started to drift off, the sudden urge to use the bathroom hit him. He was about to just forget about it, and go to sleep anyways, when he realized that wouldn’t work. He really had to go. Grumbling to himself, he slipped out of the covers and headed back into the forest. He was dimly aware that he was very close to the creek he had bathed in earlier, but dismissed it as he silently relieved himself. Feeling much better, he turned to go back to their camp site. Seeing the one person he really didn’t want to see standing just a few feet away, was definitely not what he had been expecting.

***************

Jeb silently got up to follow after he watched the young man head swiftly into the woods. He stood just off to the side, watching the boy as he went to the bathroom. He had heard things about this boy. How he was the ‘savior’ of the wizarding world, how he had defeated some dark wizard named Voldemort and all that nonsence. Standing so close to the boy, he didn’t see what was so bloody amazing about him. He didn’t look all that great to him, in fact, he just looked small and insignificant, especially when compared to the larger form standing beside him. Jeb smiled viciously as the young man turned and finally noticed him.

He watched as first surprise and then fear registered in the big green eyes. The boy took an involuntary step backwards, only to find himself pressed up against a tree. The look of panic suddenly surfacing on his face made the older man laugh in sadistic glee.

*****************

“What do you want?” sputtered Harry, trying to edge away from the tree he found himself trapped against.

“What do you think stupid child.” he spat, shoving Harry painfully in the chest, which sent him colliding into the tree.

Harry could only assume he wanted his money, but was afraid to voice his opinion. He in turn shoved the man back and tried to make a run for it. He was only feet away when Jeb grabbed his hair and roughly pulled him back. A hand was quickly clamped over his mouth and he found himself immobilized.

Tears of fear and frustration leaked out of Harry’s eyes, but he didn’t have any way of wiping them away. He knew the older man had felt them on his hand when he wiped one away with his thumb, none too gently. Harry shuddered violently.

“All you brats are the same.” spat Jeb. “Ya’ll go crying and whimpering for your momma’s when you’re in any kind of fix.” Harry’s eyes hardened, but Jeb couldn’t see that particular fact. “Ya’ll ain’t nothing but stupid little shits, only out to take us older folks out.” he hissed, and Harry suddenly realized this man was nuts.

“One of these days I’ll take ya all down, I promise you that. We’d all be better off without ya, anyhow.” he added, his eyes glazing as he remembered a distant memory.

“What are you on about?” asked Harry, incredulous, as Jeb’s hand suddenly slipped away from his mouth. His fear of the older man had left him shortly at his inability to believe this man’s words. The thought that this man was a complete idiot almost had him laughing.

Jeb’s hand quickly found Harry’s mouth again and he was silenced. “It’s because of little shits like you that I almost died!” he hissed, raging with anger. “You remember that little dip you took in the mud, boy?” he asked, roughly digging his other hand into the bruises that still littered the boy’s arm. Harry cried out through the hand, but nodded, fear suddenly refilling him. “Two bratty little boys, just like you, thought they’d play a joke on ole Jeb, when I killed their damn mutt, trespassing on my property.” He pressed harder into Harry’s arm and he whimpered around the hand covering his mouth. “They managed to steal me dog, and I followed after ‘em, only to end up in one of those confounded mud pits. Almost died, I did, but luckily I escaped, since I knew what they were.” he said, as if he were the only one who did know how to escape. “But I made them boys pay, just like you’re going to pay!” he hissed into Harry’s ear, before he dragged him further into the forest.

Harry’s mind was working overtime. What had he done to incur this man’s psychotic wrath, was he not after his money, and how the hell was he going to escape, were at the forefront of his mind. He tried kicking, he tried biting, he tried just about everything, but nothing worked. The older man held firm, and he realized with dread where they were going. He saw the creek looming just ahead of them. ‘He’s going to drown me.’ His struggles began again, and tears of fear alone streamed down his face. He couldn’t believe this was happening. ‘Where the hell was Severus?’ was his last thought before Jeb plunged his head under the water.

********************

Severus Snape woke from a deep sleep with a very violent start. “What the hell was that?” he asked himself, sitting up. He knew something was wrong before he was even completely awake. He surveyed his surroundings and realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach that neither Harry nor Jeb were anywhere in sight. “Oh shit!” he said, and ran off in the direction he believed they would be.

As he got closer, he thought he could hear splashing sounds, but couldn’t figure out what they were. He came out into the clearing where the creek was and nearly stopped in shock. However, anger and a weird protective feeling took over and he attacked.

*******************

Harry felt himself breaking the surface of the water and desperately breathed in the air. He tried punching Jeb in the face, but soon found himself submerged once again. He knew he was kicking and flailing his arms at the man holding him under, but his struggles soon became weakened as he was cut off from his much needed oxygen. Every time Jeb would raise his head above the water, it became more difficult, as his suffering was prolonged when he was shoved back under. He weakly scratched at the hands holding him, but suddenly they were gone, and then new hands had grabbed him and pulled him out of the water. Only when he was on dry land did he realize what was happening. From his perspective down on the ground, he watched as Snape violently attacked the bastard. He was slightly surprised when his professor didn’t use any spells, but had resorted to physical fighting. He was beating the shit out of Jeb. Soon after, Harry passed out from exhaustion.

****************

“Harry, Harry, wake up!” He couldn’t seem to comprehend what wake up meant, so he continued to drift between sleep and wakefulness. Too bad the voice wouldn’t leave him alone. “Harry, you need to get up, now!”

Resentfully, he opened an eye, only to shut it again at the bright light that suddenly assaulted his vision. Through his closed eye, he could tell someone had moved to block out what he could only assume was the sunlight. Again, he opened an eye, and yawned, which caused him to start coughing violently. He realized he was coughing up water when his memories hit him from all sides. He sat up quickly, looking around wildly for his tormentor.

“Where is he?” gasped Harry, who had finally quit coughing.

“I took care of him, don’t worry.” said Snape, keeping his voice calm.

“What do you mean, you took care of him?” he asked, wearily. “You need him to guide you, remember?” he asked.

“I was able to pry that bit of information out of him before he…left.” said Snape.

“Left? You… you just let him leave?” he asked, fearing the man would be lurking behind the nearest tree, ready to pounce on him again.

Snape eyed the boy for a moment before deciding he would have to be truthful with the boy, just to ease his mind. “He won’t be disturbing us, if that’s what you think.” he started. “He is currently tied to a tree, five feet up, with indestructible rope, which he won’t be able to get out of, unless he suddenly grows another wand,” at this point he waved a wand carelessly around in front of him, “and there also happens to be a spell placed on the tree that will attract every dangerous, and hopefully rabid, animal in the vicinity, as his ‘body guard’.” he said.

Harry visibly relaxed after hearing this, and even smiled grimly at the thought of that hateful man tied to a tree, where those animals could reach him.

“Now, why don’t you get into some dry clothes.” said Severus, handing him a pair out of his bag. “I’ll leave you to your privacy. Just yell if you need anything.” Harry nodded, and then Severus walked into the wooded area. Snape had only gone a few feet when he realized he still had the boy’s glasses in his pocket, where he had put them for safe keeping after taking them off of the slumbering boy. He was surprised Harry hadn’t asked for them directly. He turned back, figuring he wouldn’t have had time to get more than possibly his shirt off, and walked back into the clearing where they had set up camp. He once again was brought up short at the site that greeted him, and his anger at the man tied to a tree grew in strength. He had known there had been a struggle, but most of those bruises were old, he could tell by the color. He suddenly grew angry at himself for not realizing earlier that that bastard had been hurting the boy right underneath his nose. He knew without a doubt now what had happened the other morning with the snake. Jeb had hurt Harry, causing him to cry out. He watched as Harry’s body shook in silent torment.

*************

Harry sat, oblivious to Snape’s presence, and gingerly rubbed at his arms, one which had slightly fading bruises, and the other which had even darker ones from Jeb’s harsh hands. He suddenly felt very alone, and despair crashed down on him. Why did this kind of thing always happen to him? He didn’t understand why no one cared for him. His only living relatives hated him, just because he was different in their standards. He wanted to scream at the injustice of his entire life, he knew his friends and the Weasley’s cared about him, but he had never known what love felt like, at last that he could remember. He knew his mum and dad had loved him, but he would never feel that particular feeling again. Harry continued to unconsciously rub his arms, shaking from the cold and his own feeling, hoping the pain would go away.

He was therefore shocked when Severus sat down next to him and draped his arm around Harry’s shoulders.

Severus motioned to his arms with his eyes, and Harry suddenly wished he hadn’t spent so much time dawdling on his feelings, and had just gotten dressed. “You could have told me, you know.” he said, getting a real good look at the bruises. Harry’s arms seemed so small, and the bruised shape of fingers on his skin looked so big. He was considering going back and doing some more permanent damage to their ‘guide.’

Harry just shrugged. “I didn’t want to cause any trouble.” he said, knowing complaining usually wasn’t a good idea.

“You’re not any trouble.” said Snape, and truly meant it, for probably the first time in his life.

Harry smiled. Maybe Snape wasn’t such a great git after all.