Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: This is the sequel to my first story Always. Hope you enjoy! =)

Always II: The Secrets of the Serpents Den

"Harry, do you have everything?" Severus Snape called out to his son. It was almost time to take him to the Weasley's where he would be spending the night. School started tomorrow and Harry would ride the train with his friends. He had spoken to several of the professors who would also be on the train about keeping an eye on Harry and making sure he was not hassled about the fact that Severus was his dad and his new appearance.

"Yeah, I'll be right out!" Harry called back.

Severus would deliver Harry's things to his dorm so the only thing Harry needed to pack was his overnight bag, as Hedwig was already settled in the owlery. As Severus waited for his son his mind ran through the things he needed to get done before tomorrow. Staff meeting this evening, make sure his classroom is set up, put in an order for more ingredients, try to charm the cauldrons so Longbottom couldn't melt one this year…he stopped his mental list when Harry bounced into the room with his overnight bag over his shoulder.

"I'm ready!" Harry said, excited to spend the night at Ron's house. The only downfall would be seeing Percy who had expressed his displeasure at the fact that Harry was not a Potter but a Snape. He hoped he had changed his mind so that staying there wouldn't be awkward.

Severus seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "If there are any problems, any at all, tell Mr. or Mrs. Weasley to floo me. Even if it is in the middle of the night, all right?"

Harry nodded and couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through him. He knew he should be protesting that his dad was being too overprotective but as he had never had an adult act that way, at least that he could remember, he had to admit he liked it. "I will." He promised.

Severus nodded and together father and son stepped into the floo and a moment later, stepped out into the Weasley's kitchen. Severus kept his hand on his son's shoulder as Harry still tended to stumble out.

"Harry dear, welcome to the burrow!" Mrs. Weasley immediately began fussing over him and taking his bag. "You haven't eaten yet right? I have dinner almost ready."

"It smells wonderful Mrs. Weasley." Harry said as he took in the burrow. One would never question that this was a magical home. Though the kitchen was small there was a warm cozy feeling to it. Harry could see knives cutting food and spoons' stirring in the pots despite the fact Mrs. Weasley wasn't even near the stove at the moment. A clock caught his eye that had nine golden hands with a picture for each Weasley member and instead of hours they pointed to locations such as home, school, and work. The clock also showed if a member of the family was hurt or in danger. It was useless to find out the time but still quite brilliant.

"Would you like to stay for dinner Severus?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she sent Harry's bag up the stairs with a wave of her wand.

"No thank you Molly. I have a staff meeting to attend soon." Severus watched Harry in amusement as his son looked wide eyed around the house. Harry still got amazed at magic as he had not grown up with it and therefore didn't take it for granted. "Harry."

Once Severus had Harry's attention he informed him, "I'm going to take my leave now. Remember what I said, if you need me at anytime-"

"Have Mr. or Mrs. Weasley floo you." Harry finished with a cheeky grin.

Severus rolled his eyes as he hugged his son goodbye. "Mind your manners here, behave yourself, and I will see you tomorrow."

"Okay Dad." Harry nodded.

"Harry will be fine Severus." Mrs. Weasley said with a warm smile. She could tell Severus was nervous about leaving Harry even if it was just for one night as it would be the first time he left him since finding out he was Harry's father.

Severus nodded and with one last look at Harry, he disappeared into the floo.

"Harry dear I hope you like chicken and ham pie." Mrs. Weasley said as she led him to through a hallway to where the stairs were.

"I've never had it before but it sounds really good." Harry said.

"Oi Harry, you're finally here!" Ron hollered from the top of the stairs.

Mrs. Weasley scowled. "Ronald you need not shout we can hear you just fine."

"Sorry Mum." Ron grinned at Harry. "Come on up, I want to show you my room!"

"Go on dear and get settled. You'll be staying in Ron's room." Mrs. Weasley said and then hurried back into the kitchen.

Harry bounded up the stairs, excited to be at a friend's house for the first time. He followed Ron into his room and took in the orange colored walls which were covered with Chudley Cannon's posters.

"The attic is right above us and if you hear any strange noises, don't worry it's just the family ghoul. He's harmless, just loud sometimes." Ron assured Harry.

"Your house is brilliant." Harry told Ron.

Ron shrugged but looked pleased. "It's small but it's home."

Harry smiled and flopped onto the extra cot that had been put into the room. "Have you finished all your summer assignments?"

Ron snorted and put some food into his pet rat, Scabbers, cage. "No. Well, almost. I still need to finish the charms essay since Snape's essay took forever." He paled. "I mean your dad's essay."

Harry picked up a comic that was on Ron's nightstand. "It's okay you can still refer to him as Snape if you want. Just don't let him hear you." He laughed.

"So what did you spend the rest of summer doing?" Ron asked.

"My dad and I went back to our cottage and I got to redo my room there. Dad added to his lab and I hung out by the stream. I also got more flying practice in at Hogwarts so hopefully I'm ready for Quidditch." Harry answered as he continued to flip through the comic book.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Ron asked as he opened a drawer and took out a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. He offered the box to Harry who took one.

"A little." Harry admitted. He popped the jellybean into his mouth and made a face. "Ew, dog food flavor."

Ron snickered and handed him another one. "Try this one."

Harry tentatively popped it into his mouth and smiled. Marmalade, much better. "I just know people are going to be staring at me and talking about me. I was hoping to be able to blend in this year and be normal."

"You're the boy-who-lived. I don't think you can ever be normal." Ron shrugged. "People should get over it. Besides, who would be dumb enough to mess with you when your father is Professor Snape?"

Harry brightened. "That's true. Even his Slytherins probably wouldn't want to risk it. Did you know Malfoy got detention that day he took Neville's remembrall?"

Ron's blue eyes widened. "He did? But I thought Snape never punished his Slytherins!"

"In public, yeah. And he usually doesn't take points from them. But they still get in trouble with him in private." Harry told him. "He says he had to even though he was in his spying role because when they act out it reflects badly on him as their head of house."

"Wicked!" Ron breathed.

"Dinners ready!"

"Coming Mum!" Ron called back. He and Harry hurried down the stairs joined by Fred, George, and Ginny. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already in the kitchen and the table was filled with delicious looking food.

"Looks great Mum!" Fred said sniffing in the aromas appreciatively.

Mrs. Weasley beamed and made sure everyone was seated. "Where is Percy?"

"Who cares?" George said reaching for a roll.

"Percy!" Mrs. Weasley called. She made sure that everyone took a good amount of food onto their plates.

"Molly is one of the best cooks you will ever meet." Mr. Weasley said to Harry who was seated next to him. He winked at his wife who blushed.

Percy finally entered the room and stopped when he saw how everyone was seated. "You're in my seat." He said stiffly to Harry.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know." Harry started to get up but Mr. Weasley stopped him.

"You are fine where you are Harry especially as you are our guest." Mr. Weasley gave Percy a hard look. "There is a perfectly good seat next to Ginny, take that one."

Percy huffed and sat down, a scowl on his face. Ginny rolled her eyes and ignored him. Percy glared daggers at Harry throughout the meal.

"Make sure you all get a good night's sleep tonight. Remember, the train leaves at eleven." Mrs. Weasley reminded the children as they dug into their pudding.

After dinner, Harry and Ron started to go upstairs to play exploding snap when Percy cornered them. "So Snape. Are you going to be resorted into another house? Because you really should be." Percy said in a haughty voice.

"Why would I be resorted? I'm a Gryffindor." Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

Percy shook his head. "I think you should be in a different house. Gryffindor is known as being a house of the light and with you being the son of Snape, well; there is still question to whether he was a true death eater at one point. Even the ministry thought he really was until the Headmaster vouched for him. I looked into it."

"My Dad was never a death eater. He was a spy. Dumbledore asked him to become a death eater so he could try and get information." Harry said impatiently. "You really need to get over this Percy."

Percy sniffed and walked away when suddenly his legs stuck together and he fell over.

"Oops looks like you have a problem Pinhead." Fred snickered. He and George had heard the conversation.

"You really should have learned how to walk properly by now Percy." George said in a mock concerned voice.

"You prats! You'll get in trouble for doing magic!" Percy cried as he pulled himself up using the staircase banister.

"Accidental magic Perce. It happens." Fred grinned.

Percy glared as he went to pull out his wand from his back pocket. "Where is it? Where's my wand?"

The twin's eyes widened innocently. "You really should-"

"Keep a better eye on-"

"Your wand. You wouldn't want-"

"Anything bad to happen to it!"

Percy's pinched face darkened and he hopped into the kitchen to get his parents to undo the spell.

Harry was laughing uncontrollably. "Will you get in trouble?"

Fred shrugged. "It would be worth it. He was warned by Mum and Dad to change his attitude."

"That was brilliant!" Ron said happily. "You two want to play exploding snap with us?"

"Ah we can't little brother. We need to finish some…products we are working on before school starts." George said mysteriously. He grinned at Fred and they hurried up the stairs.

"Products?" Harry asked as he and Ron went up to his room.

"Joke products more likely." Ron said. "They better hope Mum doesn't check their bags before we leave."

Harry spent the evening play exploding snap and chess with Ron (he still lost but at least he put up a better fight than usual) and discussing how well the Gryffindor Quidditch team would play this year. When Harry fell asleep, he was less nervous about the rest of his friends' reactions and more excited at starting a new year at Hogwarts. He never noticed the large eyes that had been watching him.

Harry and Ron fell over as their trolleys crashed into the wall where the barrier should have let them through. Several people stared at them.

"Uh oh." Harry muttered as he and Ron got back up, gathering their belongings.

"What?" Ron asked as he stared at the wall in confusion.

"What do you two think you are doing? Trying to cause trouble?" A security guard walked up to them, eyeing the two boy's suspiciously.

"No sir. We just lost control of our trolleys." Harry answered. He and Ron hurried away from the guard, hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Harry," Ron said in a worried voice. "If we can't get through the barrier, then my parents probably can't get back. We'll miss the train!"

Harry looked at the barrier perplexed. Why wouldn't it let them through? "I guess we should just wait by the car and hope your parents find a way back. "

Ron perked up. "The car! Brilliant Harry! We can fly the car to Hogwarts!"

Harry stared at him. "What? We couldn't do that!" He hesitated. "Could we?"

"Why not? We need to get to school don't we?" Ron reasoned.

Harry glanced at the light blue Ford Anglia and started to get excited. "Well, it's not like we would be taking the car for a joyride or anything." He said slowly. His dad might be upset but wouldn't he be more upset if Harry didn't arrive with the rest of the students? Besides, a flying car…He grinned at Ron. "Let's do it! After all, it's responsible to get to school on time right?"

Ron laughed and nodded in agreement and they quickly got into the car with Ron driving. "I bet everyone will be impressed with us." Ron said as he flew the car up into the sky.

"Wait Ron, muggles are definitely not used to seeing a car fly." Harry said worriedly.

"Oh right!" Ron flicked a switch and the car became invisible. "Now we just have to find and follow the Hogwarts express."

Harry gazed out the window a little giddily. He couldn't believe they were flying in a car! In the back of his mind a voice was trying to tell him that his dad would not be pleased but he ignored it. This was simply too amazing to pass up and he really did want to be on time for the sorting and feast.

"Where is it? I see the tracks." Ron said as he lowered the car more to try and catch sight of the train. "It couldn't be that far ahead of us."

"Wait, I think I hear it!" Harry said excitedly. He looked eagerly forward but did not see anything but train tracks. With a bad feeling he slowly turned around in his seat and his green eyes widened. "Ron! Pull up! The train is right behind us!"

"What?" Ron cried and quickly shifted gears, pulling the car up just in time. The abrupt move made Harry fall against his door, which opened and he started to fall out. "Ahh!"

"Harry! Hang on!" Ron reached over and helped pull him back in. "Are you okay?"

Harry shut the door, this time locking it as he panted. "Yeah, I'm fine. That was close though."

Ron nodded and steered the car behind the train and they both relaxed as it seemed to be smooth sailing now. "The only thing missing is the trolley with sweets." Ron said wistfully.

Harry laughed. "This way you will be hungrier for the feast." It also saved him from having to face his classmates and their questions for a little while longer. "There's Hogwarts!"

"We made it!" Ron crowed as he began to lower the car. He frowned when the car began to sputter and started swerving. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Ron, stop the car!" Harry could only watch helplessly as the car flew them all around the grounds before crashing into the Whomping Willow. Both boys yelled and shut their eyes, expecting to be crushed. The Ford Anglia sat in the tree and a couple of the branches began swinging, hitting the windows. Suddenly the car fell all the way to the ground and both boys quickly got out of the car. The car seemed to take on a life of its own and threw their belongings out before taking off by itself towards the forbidden forest.

"No, come back!" Ron yelled. He stared after it. "I am so dead." He whispered.

"Actually, we're alive and I think we are pretty lucky to be." Harry said, looking warily at the tree as they moved further away from it.

Harry and Ron grabbed their belongings and hurried to the castle, hoping they hadn't missed too much of the feast.

"What kind of school has a tree like that?" Ron complained as they made their way to the great hall.

"I know it-"Harry stopped when Mr. Filch stepped in front of them. He was grinning and looked like Christmas had come early.

"Oh dear. I know two students who are in trouble and the feast isn't even over yet!" He said gleefully. "Flying a car? You'll probably be expelled for that!"

Harry and Ron looked at each other in horror. They wouldn't be expelled would they? "How did you know about the car?" Harry asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Suddenly taking the car didn't seem like such a brilliant idea. It seemed like a stupid one.

"You were seen! By muggles!" Mr. Filch continued on in his gleeful tone. "Best follow me to your head of house. She is waiting for you."

"First I lost the car and now I'm going to be expelled." Ron said sadly. "Perhaps I should have let the Whomping Willow crush me after all."

Harry nodded in agreement. He was nervous about facing Professor McGonagall. He was terrified to face his dad. What had he been thinking? One thing was for sure; this was not a good way to start the new school term. So much for the calm uneventful year he had been hoping for.

TBC:

A/N: I know it seems dumb for Harry to take the car when he has to answer to his Dad now but it was fun to write so I kept it in… plus I needed for Snape and Harry to have that first hurdle of Harry getting in trouble and Harry seeing that Snape wouldn't hate him or reject him even if he was angry.