SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! Life got really and weeks turned into Months without me knowing it!

Thanks again for the great chapter, Dawn! Please Read and Review!

The Long Trip to the Forbidden Forest

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Summary: The Marauders needs a guide though the Forbidden Forest for a month trip. No one knows the way. What would happen if they find out the only one who does is a Slytherin…but not only a Slytherin, but Snape? What secrets will be relieved?

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Chapter 13

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"A Barghest? Are you sure?" Silverhawk asked. The young girl nodded.

"This is grave news." the muggle said grimly.

"Grave news? You mean,,, you can't help him?" Potter asked him, his face pale from just thinking of it. "And what the hell is a Barghest?"

The old muggle shook his head ignoring the question. "I didn't say that we couldn't help your friend young one. The potion to help him recover is hard to make. And only few of us here knows how make it."

Just then the Priestess walked out of the house. The woman was much younger then Silverhawk, her hair being of pepper and salt colouring. Her bright blue eyes showed wisdom beyond her years.

"Silverhawk," the old woman said. "The child is suffering and will die within a week if we don't get the for the potion."

Hearing these words the three Gryffindor friends paled. He's dying?

"What is the cure, my Lady?" Silverhawk asked, grasping his hands together.

"I need you to take the children to find the 'Dementor Lily'." the old woman said. "Prunella and the other girls will get the rest."

"The 'Dementor Lily'? That is hard to find." Silverhawk said, thoughtfully. He turned his head to the side and thought over where the best possible places that the rare plant could be growing.

Potter gave Lupin and Pettigrew a puzzled look. None of them ever heard of 'Dementor Lily'.

"Dementor Lily, isn't that supposed to be a myth?" Severus asked, ignoring the three other boys.

"Not a myth, child; a fact." the old woman said. "You there, child." she turned to Pettigrew, who jumped when the woman spoke to him. "You will come with me."

Mutely, Pettigrew looked back at Potter and Lupin and then followed the old woman and Prunella back into the house where Black was resting.

"Come children. Let us be off."

Severus, Lupin and Potter wordlessly followed the old muggle, Silverhawk though the Forbidden Forest. The teens was surprised how long and how far the old muggle could run without stopping, jumping gracefully over, overgrown roots and creeks as distance between them and back to village turned into miles. The man looked about 70 years old at least; it was a marvel to the young wizards as to how the elderly muggle could run like he was a teenager.

Silverhawk ran ahead of them effortlessly, like he knew the Forest like the back of his hand, which was in fact the truth, as he lived in the Forest all his life.

Following him the Griffindors wondered how could muggles live here in the forbidden forest; did the Ministry of Magic know of them? If so then why did they let the muggles live there? Severus didn't bother to take the time explain anything. As far as he was concerned it was enough for them to know that he had been the one to lead them to the muggle village.

"I never even heard of a 'Dementor Lily'! I bet it doesn't exist!" Severus heard Potter gasp at Lupin.

Severus rolled his eyes at the idiotic Pureblood; he suspected that James probably hated the fact that his crush shared her name with a Dementor. Just then Silverhawk suddenly stopped.

The three teenagers stopped also, wondering why the muggle stopped. "Dementor Lily is a powerful flower that could be used in any of your darkest potions." the muggle turned slowly, his eyes carefully looking at each of them. Both Potter and Lupin looked at each other. Did they hear the muggle right? Dark potions?

The Muggle smiled as he answered the unspoken question. "The 'Dementor Lily' does exist. The Ministry of Magic banned the use of the flower because many used it for poisons, not something to cure others with Dark Magic. Such a pity really, the knowledge lost…"

"What does it look like?" Severus asked. He himself only heard of this flower in stories. He had assumed that it was something that came from a myth; much like the Elder Wand. And hearing that this flower was in actual fact real and could be used in Potions, his favorite hobby of his, he was eager to learn more.

"Just as it namesake; it is dark in colour, only grows in the deepest, darkest of places where it is cool. Like most plants and animals including us humans when a Dementor approaches we feel as if we were frozen. However this flower it does not freeze, instead it flourishes and is known to live in the island of Azkaban."

"Impossible. Everything freezes when they come near and nothing can survive that horrible place." Potter interrupted but stopped as he saw both Severus and Lupin giving him the look that told him to shut up.

"It got its name mostly because of its power of when you touch or disturb it rudely." Silverhawk said ignoring the looks that Potter was now giving him. Hearing these words the three teenagers turned to the muggle. "Like Dementors, the lily too shows your most horrible memories that chill you to the bone, each time you think about any of those memories it gives negativity energy into your body. But unlike its namesake, after you 'survive' it power and respect it, it will help you where Dementors will feed upon the negativity and when one of them gets their chance they will Kiss you. Binding your soul to it, forever."

Silence reined as each of them thought over the information that the muggle had told them, which sent a slight chill up and down their spines.

Silverhawk shook his head, grinning. "Come now, children! Sirius is waiting." after that the muggle ran off again in another direction.

Behind him the three teenagers groaned as they followed him. Running like this was a pain.

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It wasn't long before the muggle stopped again. The forest surrounding them was denser and darker then before. Giving the air a creepy chill that chilled them down their backs.

"Aw, now there's a beauty that you don't see everyday!" Silverhawk explained.

The three teenagers walked closer, to see what he was talking about.

There slightly hidden from view was a patch of flowers that they never seen before.

The only thing that Severus could think of when they found the Dementor Lily that it was beautiful; a dark beauty that both chills and pleasures a man. The kind of beauty that few would ever see.

It was medium sized, with long lily like petals that was shaped as a star that was colour of darkness and when looked at closely its nectar was brightly coloured in purple and crimson like blood. It was glowing slightly like when the moon was full in the sky. Unlike its cousins, it was thorny like roses also dark in colour, its grey leaves looked to be wilted-like as if it was dying, much like what the text in books described a Dementor's skin. Severus himself wasn't surprised now seeing it in person, how this flower got its name.

"Wow," Lupin said, his eyes never leaving the flower. Never has he seen a flower like this.

"That's a 'Dementor Lily'?" Potter said to himself out loud. He turned to the muggle. "What does it really do in a potion that is so great?"

Silverhawk laughed, patting on top of Potter's head. Potter widened his eyes. He was not a child! "This flower is one of the few most precious flowers in the whole Forest. Its power is almost unlimited. It could be used for good or for evil." he then turned and walked closer to the flower. He knelled in front of it, waving his hand behind him. Slowly Severus, Lupin and Potter got closer; all three having a clear view of what the muggle would do next. "Watch closely now younglings. To harvest them you must not cut them like you do to roses; it is disrespectful. To harvest them you dig in the ground around the roots, and then pull them out from the earth; roots and soil in all. Remember to respect it."

As he did this, Silverhawk pet the flower gently, flinching slightly as his eyes clouded. Seconds later, he shook his head as if he woke up from a dream. He then went to work, digging the earth with his bare hands around the flower, then pulled it out from the earth.

Nodding at the three boys, they followed suit. Severus walked a feet away to his right; looking at the flowers. 'How to respect a plant?' Severus wondered. He thought about how important the plant was, how much power it had…

Severus kneeled onto the forest floor, his hand gently touching the dark petals.

--Flash Back--

"Father, why are they talking you to Azkaban?" eleven years old Severus Snape asked his father Tobias Snape who stood in front of him. Severus' identical dark eyes stare back at him, such confusing in a young child's mind.

Tobias' dark eyes ever so slightly darken, looking at the sad face of his young son. He sighed. "I had done things that was very bad." he told him, not wanting to reveal the truth as of why. "And the Ministry of Magic in Britain didn't like it."

There was snort behind hearing this statement. Tobias glared behind him to the four Aurors who slightly stood there waiting for him to be finished saying good-bye to his family. Tobias knew the only reason they are doing so is the fact that he was a muggle and they viewed him as no threat; if he was a wizard they would've grabbed him and taken him away an hour ago when they came into their home. The four wizards don't understand why the four of them were ordered to be here in gods forsaken country, after all he was just a helpless muggle.

Tobias smirked at the thought; how wrong they were. He was far more dangerous then any of them put together…

Severus too glared at the wizards. How dare they invade their home and take his father away! He said he was sorry, why can't they forgive him and send him to his room like his own parents do when he gets in trouble?

He knew he was being childish, but…he heard his brothers talking. Their father will not be around them for years…

"Why did you do it then, if you know it was bad?" Severus demanded his father.

Tobias smirked at his son. He would be starting his schooling at Hogwarts this September and his son has wit! His mother would be proud! He glanced at his heavily pregnant wife, Aknaksha, cradling a year old toddler, Mordred, in her arms. His two eldest sons, Mykhael and Gabriel who are thirteen years old stood beside their mother, having the same knowing look in their eyes. The other children stood beside their mother and older siblings, all of which didn't understand what was going on. They stood there in silence.

Only three of them; his wife and his eldest sons knew the real reason why he's going to Azkaban. They knew it would be years in the future that they would see each other again. It pained him that he would never see his youngest child, a daughter that lay growing within his wife's belly.

They had chosen the name Anuja for their daughter, a feminine name of the male version meaning "Born later". It was fitting seeing that his child would be born later, a few weeks after he left to prison for years to come.

Tobias thought back to a month before this day. He came home telling his wife that soon the Aurors would take him. Aknaksha begged him to run and hide, but Tobias dismissed it saying that he would rather face the consequences like a man should. Saying that it was better to spend time with his family then running for the law for all rest of his life.

If only that traitorous bastard that he once called his friend didn't double cross him to the Dark Lord… Tobias stopping thinking such thoughts and turn back to his son.

"There will be a time in your life, Severus that you will do things that you know you shouldn't do, but have to do to make sure your family is safe. A time that you will do anything to make sure that your family is protected."

Young Severus cocked his head to the side, thinking about what his father had just said. "I don't understand." he said.

"You will son. You will in time."

--End of Flash Back--

Severus suddenly fell back away from the Dementor Lily, his face covered with sweat, his breath quickened thinking of that long lost memory that was flittering up though his memories.

Those were the last words that his father spoken to him. It had been six years since he saw him. 'You will son. You will in time.' echoed though his mind.

His father was right of course, as he now understood years later. Now being 17 years old, he knew of what his father spoken to him all those years ago was the truth.

Severus looked back down at the lily. The muggle also spoke a truth. The flower itself deserved its name, just like its namesake; the Demeanors that shows your deepest, darkest memories, making them so real…Only difference is that fact that the lily took you back into the memory as a third person, watching the memory playing back to you like a muggle TV show.

Was this what Silverhawk spoke of when he had said the flower would be testing him? Or is it the way for the plant to protect itself from harm? Either way, he had to try again. Black was dying and needed this flower to live.

Severus buried his fear, copied what Silverhawk had done to gather one of the plants a moment before.

He dug in the ground around the roots, and then pulled the plant out from the earth; roots and soil in all. He had done it! He turned back to find that the muggle was watching him.

"To harvest the Dementor Lily, one must suffer a memory in return." the muggle said masterly. Severus fought back to roll his eyes.

Seeing that the other three youngsters were done Silverhawk stood up and without saying another word, he and the three wizards ran back to the village.

(End of Chapter)

Words: 2,833

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait.

And to those that are wondering WHY James Potter is such jerk in this story is because I never did like him in the books. And also I know of a person that reflex my James character.

Anyway, hope the chapter is okay. Got a new kitty; a boy. We haven't name him yet. Got any ideas?

Please Review!

--FireChildSlytherin5