The Prophecy:
When the darkness rises again, then shall the Serpent fall. But if the Serpent and the Griffin have reconciled, then the Serpent shall be returned from the darkness. Together, they shall restore the light to the world and vanquish the present darkness for once and eternity. The Griffin will have the power to defeat the dark lord, but the Griffin will require the Serpent to fully awaken his powers. If the Serpent falls, the light falls, and the
darkness shall reign for the rest of time.

Rowena Ravenclaw, The Prophecy of the Serpent and the Griffin

Chapter One: Fetching Harry

Severus Snape appeared with a *Pop!* at the end of Privet Drive. As he looked around to ensure that he was not being watched, he grumbled to himself about eccentric headmasters who always got their way. Then he stalked to Number Four and knocked on the door.

The door was opened by a boy, at least, Severus assumed it was a boy, as in reality he resembled a small killer whale. "Hello," said the thing that Severus assumed was a boy.

Severus wasn't one for pleasantries, he skipped the greeting and went straight into, "Where is Mr Potter?"

The boy, for that is what Severus had decided it must be, for killer whales can't talk, and they certainly can't answer doors, said, or more accurately, yelled, "Father!"

Severus sighed in exasperation, this was turning out to be far more difficult than it had any right to be. Just then, Severus was saved from anymore of his musings on mad Headmasters as a rather large man appeared in the doorway. "Hello," the man said.

Severus suppressed the urge to yell out in frustration. Once again he skipped the pleasantries and went straight into, "Where is your nephew, Mr Potter?"

"Haven't got a nephew, and there's no one here with the name Potter," said the man.

The man was severely testing Severus' patience now and it was all he could do to stop from taking his wand out. "Of course you have a nephew, Mr Dursley," he said through gritted teeth, "I teach him, hopeless student that he is."

Vernon Dursley bristled at that. "You're one of those freaks," he said, narrowing his eyes, "Your kind isn't welcome here; go away."

Severus lost his battle and pulled out his wand, pointing it straight into Vernon's face he repeated himself, "Where is Mr Potter?" Wisely, Vernon gave up. "Upstairs in his room," he said.

"That wasn't so difficult, now was it, Mr Dursley?" Severus asked as he put down his wand and swept past Vernon and into the house.

Severus walked up the stairs and soon came face to face with a shocking sight. A door. What made this particular door so shocking, however, was the fact that it had several bolts on it. Apparently, the Dursleys were very protective of whatever lay behind this door. So, naturally, Severus completely disregarded their desire for a modicum of privacy, and took out his wand again. A command of "Alohomora" took care of the locks and he walked in where he was greeted by yet another shocking sight.

This time the shocking sight was not of an object, but of a person, more specifically,that of a certain boy known as Harry Potter. He was in bed. His face was flushed and it looked as if he were laboring to breathe. Occasionally, he would cough until he was gasping for air.

Severus went to the boy's side and felt his forehead, not surprisingly, Harry was very warm, he had a high fever. Severus frowned and turned to the doorway where a woman had suddenly appeared. Obviously the woman was Harry's aunt and she was staring at the two occupants of the smallest bedroom with a certain look of disdain upon her horsey face. "Has he seen a doctor?" was Severus' question.

The woman sniffed and shook her head, "Of course, not!" she said, "Do you really expect us to take him to a doctor?"

"Yes!" shouted Severus.

The woman simply looked at him in shock. Severus sighed and looked around, "Where are Potter's things?" he asked.

"Downstairs, in the cupboard," the woman said in a rather unpleasant tone of voice.

Severus glared at her and hurried down the stairs. In a few moments he returned with Harry's trunk and broom. He cast a quick spell to look for anything magical in the room that Harry might had hidden. It showed that something was hidden under a loose floorboard under the bed. He pulled it up and took out Harry's invisibility cloak, photo album, and wand. He packed them up and walked over to Hedwig, he let her out and sent her to Hogwarts. Then he shrunk Harry's things and turned his attention back to Harry.

Sighing, he gathered Harry into his arms and apparated to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Then he hurried to Hogwarts and into the infirmary. "Pomfrey! Pomfrey! Merlin's sake, woman, where are you?! Pomfrey!"

With that last shout an elderly woman finally appeared, "Severus Snape! I heard you the first time! Now what is it...?" her voice trailed off as she recognized his burden. "Oh, Harry! Quickly, put him down. On a bed, Severus!" she yelled as she saw that Severus had no intention of putting him on a bed, "What's wrong, do you know?"

Severus sighed and settled his burden down, "He's ill-"

Poppy Pomfrey interrupted him saying, "I can see that, Severus! With what is the question!"

Severus glared at her, "I was getting to that, woman," he said, "It would appear to be pneumonia."

Poppy frowned, "Well? Why are you still standing here? I don't keep a potion around for this sort of illness! Especially not during the summer holidays. Hurry up! Go on!" Poppy shooed Severus out of the infirmary and down to his dungeons to make the potion that Harry would need. In the mean time, she had to see to it that Harry was as comfortable as he could be while in this state.

A few hours later, a very annoyed looking Severus returned with Harry's potion. He handed it to Poppy who went over to Harry and helped him sit up. She carefully had him drink the potion and then had him lay down again. Within minutes he was asleep.

"That should do it, Severus. He should awake tomorrow morning. Thank you," said Poppy.

Severus didn't say anything, he simply left the infirmary and went to Dumbledore's office.