Hope you like this fic! If you do or if you don't, please please review :) thank you! x

For the Love of Snuffles

Chapter 1

Everything was black. Confusing flashes of colour and light came from different directions, but he couldn't tell where he was. Something dark and terrible was here, and he wanted to get out. Another flash of colour, and he thought he could make out piles of gold and jewels before it all went dark again. The blackness felt like it was swarming around him like a thick, oppressive fog. Through the vapour he saw the distant outline of something like a necklace, which morphed into a crown.

Suddenly, the scene changed and he was running down an empty corridor towards a door at the end, but the door wasn't getting any closer. He reached out his arm, stretching forwards, but it pulled further away. Feeling a sense of urgency building, he quickened his pace but to no avail. Dark shadows crept in from every angle, filling him with dread, and he awoke suddenly in a cold sweat.

Opening his eyes, Harry Potter gazed at the plain white ceiling of his bedroom in Number 4, Privet Drive, and tried to catch his breath. This was just one of many similar dreams he had been having over the course of the summer. The dreams were suffocating, terrifying, and he always woke up drenched in sweat with a feeling of terror upon him that took hours to shake off.

Harry Potter was not your average teenager. He had jet black hair, which stood up at the back and refused to do what it was told. This contrasted startlingly with his pale skin and bright green eyes. The thin, lightning bolt scar on his forehead stood out clearly on his forehead this morning, a darker red than usual as if it was sore.

Harry shivered, and turned over to look at the time. 4:48am. Sighing, he turned over again and tried to get comfortable. There was no point getting up yet, not until his aunt rapped on the door at 6:00am sharp and commanded him to come down and cook the breakfast. If it wasn't for his family bossing him around, Harry wasn't sure he would summon the effort to even get out of bed. What was the point? He still had no idea when he was going to be able to leave this place, no idea where the others were or what was happening in the wizarding world, no idea what Voldemort was doing now that he had returned to full power.

Ron and Hermione had been sending letters of course, but every time he received one Harry was left feeling unfulfilled and disappointed. The letters were empty of news, empty of anything that would give Harry comfort. It was obvious they were together, wherever they were, and having fun without him. At least the letters from Sirius had been much more comforting, even if it was obvious he wasn't allowed to tell Harry anything important via post either.

As Harry lay in bed thinking absentmindedly about what on earth Voldemort was up to, he heard the distinctive sound of scratching at the window and sat bolt upright to see an owl looking impatiently through his window at him. He leapt out of bed immediately and bounded to the window, gently opening it up as quietly as he could and ushering the owl into his room. Offering the owl some treats, he extricated the letter from it and unfurled it, a grin spreading on his face when he recognised his godfather's handwriting.

Dear Harry,

I hope you're still holding up ok with those muggles. I know it must be frustrating for you, not knowing what's going on out there, but I promise I'll tell you what I can as soon as I see you. Just try not to attract attention and whatever you do, DON'T USE MAGIC! It really shouldn't be long now, and we'll be able to see each other again! Miss you.

Love Snuffles

Harry read and reread the letter, smiling fondly. The letter, of course, didn't hold any news but he was used to that by now. It was still nice to know that someone out there cared about him, and understood the frustration he was feeling at the moment. Harry carefully tucked the letter under the loose floorboard with his other letters, and climbed back onto his bed. The clock now said 5.23am, and Harry resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get any more sleep.

Harry kicked at the ground, shouting at the top of his lungs until he felt like they were ripped to shreds. He glanced up to see a mother with a pram looking at him nervously and quickening her pace as she rushed away from him. Sneering moodily, Harry sat back down on the swing and rocked slowly backwards and forwards, staring at the dead, yellowing grass at his feet.

The injustice of it all was simply infuriating, why on earth was Harry still here, none the wiser, when he was the one that saw Voldemort return in the first place? He was the one that was tied up in that graveyard and tortured, he was the one who saw Cedric murdered in front of his own eyes, and yet Dumbledore had conveniently forgotten him and left him here to feel isolated for weeks on end. Feeling the anger bubbling up inside him again, Harry took a deep calming breath and tried to think about something else.

He looked up and saw a group of teenagers walking boisterously past the park, smoking and laughing together. The vast figure at the front of the group could only be his cousin, Dudley. Sighing, Harry got up and slowly walked after them, knowing that if Dudley was going home then he should too if he didn't want to be burdened with all the chores tomorrow.

Harry walked surreptitiously behind the group until they all split up, then he fell into step with his cousin. Dudley gave him a suspicious look, but kept on walking silently, shooting occasional glances nervously at him.

"What's the matter, Big D? Scared of me?" Harry sneered at him, knowing it was stupid to rile him up but he was full of anger and needed to take it out somehow. Dudley ignored him, speeding up slightly in an attempt to walk away from him but Harry was having none of that.

"You're not so brave when you're not backed up by your group of mates, are you? I heard you beat up a 10 year old last week. Pathetic." Harry watched with satisfaction as Dudley's cheeks flushed with anger.

"You don't know anything, you freak. He was giving me cheek, so I showed him who's boss around here." Dudley angrily responded, clenching his fists. Harry knew that Dudley would give anything to punch him right now, but there was no way he would do it.

They entered the dark alleyway between Wisteria Walk and Magnolia Crescent, the place where Harry had first seen Sirius. It was dank, gloomy, and the only light Harry could see was the twinkling of the distant stars in the sky. It felt good to let out his frustration on Dudley, when he had been harbouring it all day.

"You think you're so big and powerful, carrying that thing around with you," Dudley said, breaking the tense silence.

"What, you mean this?" Harry replied, pulling out his wand and twirling it between his fingers. Dudley looked sideways at it, a terrified expression on his face.

"Don't you dare use that thing on me!"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"You're not allowed, that freak school of yours will chuck you out."

"How do you know they haven't changed the rules?" Harry grinned at him. Dudley muttered something under his breath and stopped walking.

"You're not so brave at night, are you? I hear you screaming in your sleep, 'Help me Mum, Dad, they killed Cedric, they killed him!' Who's Cedric, your boyfriend?" Dudley grinned at him, clearly feeling that he'd got the upper hand. Harry stared at him, his face white, anger pulsing through his veins.

"Don't you dare mention that again, you have no idea what you're talking about!" Harry began angrily, but suddenly he felt a cold chill descend upon him and he stopped talking at once. Darkness was pressing around them, chasing them down from both ends of the alleyway. Harry breathed out and saw his breath mist in front of him, he was suddenly freezing and filled with a cold fear. Not here…not in Little Whinging, surely? He looked up and saw that the stars appeared to have gone out. Harry listened carefully, but suddenly all he could hear was Dudley shouting.

"What are you doing? Why is it so cold, stop it!"

"I'm not doing anything, I swear!" Harry shouted back. In the silence that followed, Harry could hear the distinctive rattling breath in the darkness behind him, and he raised his wand in his shaking hand.

"Expecto patronum," Harry said, his voice weak and shaky. A small white cloud erupted from his wand and immediately disappeared. "Expecto patronum!" he shouted this time, his voice clearer, but the patronus still didn't come. Horrible thoughts were starting to take over and he heard Dudley whimpering in the back ground. Scrunching up his face, Harry tried hard to think of a happy thought. The face of Sirius appeared in his mind, followed by Ron and Hermione. He was going back to Sirius soon, he was going to be with people who cared about him, and he shouted out the spell with Sirius's face in his mind.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry shouted, and a large silver stag erupted from his wand and raced down the alley, chasing away the dementor that had been inches away from Harry's face. He looked down the alleyway and saw Dudley on the floor down the other end, a second dementor edging towards him with its scaly, scabby hand outstretched. Harry pointed his wand down the alley and the stag chased after it, pushing it away from Dudley with its antlers and then racing back towards Harry before disappearing.

The stars twinkled back one by one, and Harry walked wearily towards Dudley to see how he was. He was laying on the floor, face pale and clammy, a look of terror plastered onto his face. As Harry briefly considered leaving him in the alley and walking home, he saw the figure of Mrs Figg his elderly neighbour at the end of the alleyway and hastened to put away his wand.

"Don't put it away, you silly boy, what if there are more of them? Oh, I'm going to kill Mundungus!"

So there you have it! Please let me know if you like it so I know whether to continue. I know its similar to the book at this point but soon everything will start to change and things will get interesting! :) x