Harry emerged from the other side of the painting and looked around the room he now stood in. It looked sort of like the Gryffindor common room except it was smaller and done in Slytherin colors. It was still cold and Harry shivered a bit as he walked around the room. There were chairs and a couch in front of a fireplace and a bookshelf nearby. Harry walked up to the shelf and looked at some of the book titles.

“Most Potente Potions, Brewing the Unspeakable, Potions of the Dark Arts? This has got to be Snape’s rooms! This is perfect, I’ll just wait for Snape to come here.”

Harry walked over to the couch and sat, except he fell right through it.

“Ok, I’ll just have to wait on the floor.”

Harry sat near the portrait. “I wish I could light a fire,” he muttered as his teeth started to chatter.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Snape was walking down the halls of Hogwarts towards the Great Hall to wait for Harry. Halfway there he started to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He kept walking, only now a bit faster.

He stopped abruptly. “What am I doing? I’m starting to act like Longbottom!”

He turned around and scanned the hall. Nothing was there.

‘I believe I am going insane.’ Snape thought to himself as he turned and started walking again. He continued on for a few more minutes, but stopped again when he reached the hallway to his private rooms.

“Knowing how long it takes Potter to figure things out, I should probably get something to do. Then again, I don’t want to miss him.”

Before Snape could make up his mind, something hit him hard in the back and knocked him to the ground. He scrambled to his feet and looked around. Nothing was there.

“The Occisor.” Snape mumbled under his breath. He turned around and ran the opposite way the attack had come from, which was also the direction in which his rooms were.

He was finding it hard to run because of a pain in his back. He reached up and touched the back of his robes and found that they were wet with blood. He turned a corner right into a door.

“Alohomora!” The door flew open and Snape ran up to the one portrait in the hall. The only problem was that no one was there.

“Baler! Where are you?! BALER!”

Just then Snape saw something out of the corner of his eye. The Occisor had appeared by the door.

Snape turned back towards the painting. “SIR AVERY BALER!” Finally a chubby little man trudged into the frame, yawning.

“What do ye want? I was tryin’ to get some sleep.”

“Abduco!”

“Fine, fine. Ye don’t have to be so snippy all the time.”

The portrait swung open and Snape jumped in slamming it behind him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry jumped to his feet when he heard shouting outside the portrait. A few seconds later it swung open and Professor Snape dived inside. Harry let out a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to wait any longer for him. Then he noticed Snape’s back. There were long claw marks down his back and they were seeping blood. Snape didn’t seem to notice though. He started pacing around his room frantically mumbling, “What am I going to do? What am I going to do?” over and over again.

Harry turned his head toward the portrait when someone screamed from that direction. Right after there was ripping of what sounded like claws on the painting. Harry scrambled behind the couch as the Occisor burst into the room. It had a mad gleam in its eyes and was panting heavily. Its attention was on Snape and it started towards him. Snape backed up to the wall and was looking around for something. Then Harry realized what he was looking for. Snape’s wand was on the floor near the entrance to the room.

‘I need to distract the Occisor so Snape can get his wand.’

Harry jumped out from behind the couch and shouted at the Occisor. It spun around and stared at Harry. It stood frozen as if trying to figure out what to do. Harry took a chance to glance at Snape. He was still standing against the wall.

“Come on you greasy git, get your wand!”

Harry turned his attention back to the Occisor just in time to see it lunge directly at him.