With the fall of The Dark Lord came the long awaited peace. Then two lone servants of Voldemort came forth to extract revenge…Slowly and painfully. Again opposition is needed. Again they must fight for their lives. Again Severus Snape comes forth along side the one Harry Potter.

Pairing: HPSS

Rating: M

Warning: There will be SLASH! (as the pairing states above) If you do not like then please DO NOT read! If you come crying to me about attempting to harm your delicate eyes, I will chuckle to oneself and place you in my "Do Not Care" outbox. Swearing will be found and if there is to be any other Warnings I will place them in the Chapters as necessary.

Updates: I will most likely update twice every week, preferably Tuesdays and Fridays. At times it will only be once depending on how much time I have and how long I make the Chapters.

Disclaimer: These characters do not, I repeat, do not belong to me. JKR is the lone soldier who owns these beautiful people. The plot is mine with the exception of the parts that I have burrowed from "The Queen Of The Damned" Oh how I love playing with these precious souls...

Thank you Tori for being the beautiful person and Beta that you are KISSLES AND HUGGLES

Erroneous Shadow

Chapter 1: Pulsating Despair

thump

thump

thump

"Severus…"

thump

"…would you…"

thump

"…please stop…my dear boy…"

thump

"Now Severus! You're going to get a headache. Don't you think you're being quite, and might I add pathetically, immature?"

Looking at the wrinkled old man in front of me, I resigned myself to accept that maybe, just maybe, he was correct. As for stopping, well that was an entirely different matter, and one I was not going to look into.

thump

thump

"…sigh…"

When I awoke this morning by falling off my bed, on the opposite side to that which I usually, and gracefully, unfolded myself from, I just knew I'd pissed some almighty bastard off. When no spectacle occurred during my morning routine; along the corridors to breakfast; or in fact during breakfast, I (very slowly) began to relax.

"Severus my lad, how about joining me for a stroll up to my office, hmm?"

But then again, those bastards I always seemed to be annoying appeared to enjoy watching me squirm.

Frowning at the little monsters that crossed mine and Albus' path, and observing them squeak and walk speedily in another direction, would have to be the only pleasant thing I'd seen that morning. I 'strolled' along beside the Headmaster with my patented scowl in place while going through the options that I had placed before me. At that moment I realised, yet again, I truly detested this thing that eccentric-old-bats like Trelawney called fate.

Firstly, I could 'accidentally' trail off into another corridor and miraculously find myself in front of my rooms. Then again, having to face Albus with that knowing look after he's suggested going to see Poppy because he believes my memory has acquired a few holes, would be too much for my stomach.

Okay then, second option: I could all of a sudden come down with a horrendous cough and a trip to see Poppy would be unavoidable. Of course, then Albus would have to go and see Poppy about my condition, then I'd have her hounding me until I'd allowed her to put me through her tort…check-over.

Right then...option three. Telling Albus that I have an extremely large amount of potions to brew for the hospital wing, so that the darling children won't be in quite so much pain when they go crying to Madame Pomfrey might just work. Damn, there's no way he'd fall for that load of...

"…erus…Severus!"

Quick, you fool, think of an excuse to get away from him. "Yes Headmaster?" Oh yes, being submissive is going to get you out of here.

"You're looking at my gargoyle as though you're thinking of the best way to blast through it. Did you know that this staircase has as many wards on it as the cast…?"

"Albus, there's a book I'm in the middle of translating. If you could just tell me what it is you wish for me to chuck a tantrum over, and then agree on, I'd be greatly appreciative."

There, the drawl and uninterested look should fool him. Merlin what am I thinking, of course it won't fool the old coot. He knows that I don't want to be here so therefore he's going to drag this out for as long as he can to keep me here. Why didn't I just get back into my bed once I'd fallen out of it? I glowered at Albus as he chuckled.

"Now now, my dear boy, I have tea and biscuits up here. Not to mention sherbet lemons…So let us talk in the comfort of my chairs shall we?"

Nodding seemed to be a good idea right then. Opening my mouth could've been somewhat disastrous.

Long ago, I'd recognised the after affects of a calming draught, not to mention some form of 'cheerfulness', once I'd finished drinking the tea Albus always prepared. Today I believed that drinking that damned tea would do me no good. But those biscuits of his were one weakness I would always allow myself to indulge in.

"Albus, could you please cut with the politeness and just tell me what it is I'm going to be ordered to do?"

"You always think the worst of my intentions…"

snort

"Isn't 'ordered' a bit strong…"

glare

"…sigh…As you wish Severus. With the downfall of Voldemort nearly a year ago now, the Ministry believes there is no more harm to come from the Death Eaters still in hiding or on the run. Therefore the pursuit of Tom's remaining followers has been ordered to cease. I hope you can see where this is leading us. With the coals being taken away from under the feet of these marked men and woman, they are free to do as they wish. There are two who have taken Voldemort's demise truly to heart and are determined to take revenge on those who aided in the opposing attack against their master. The Lestrange's believe they can bring him back. I can't say whether or not they will succeed."

I looked up from where my head at fallen into my hands. I should never have left my room today. It's a Saturday and the one day I decide to take my breakfast with the dimwitted fools Albus calls his staff, myself excluded, I'm told two of my psychotic ex-comrades are out to maim…if not kill…us all; and to top it off they're trying to bring back the madman I've been running from the moment I couldn't utter his name.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't You-Know-Who's body in confinement?"

Albus looked at me directly and I noticed although this was quite serious he was twinkling and winkling and what-not.

"His body has been reported missing as of 9.15 this morning. It is believed it was taken between 9.00–10.00 pm last night."

I fought to contain the fury I could feel seeping through my lungs…

"Let me get this straight. My former 'master's' body has been taken from where it was being held, AND THE FUCKING MINISTRY DEEMS IT UNNECESSARY TO PROCEED IN THE SEARCH FOR THE LUNATICS WHO WILLINGLY FOLLOWED THAT ROTTING SNAKE!"

…I lost. Taking a deep breath and sitting back down, I remembered what the Headmaster had said before.

"It was Bella and Rodolph wasn't it? Those slippery, conniving, blasted…"

"You sound as though you're on one of you're raging episodes about me Severus."

"I don't hate you Albus."

"I know that my dear boy. But you are jumping to conclusions. That is not like you."

I really do hate how he does the searching-through-your-soul look. I sighed and rubbed my face again. I'm getting too old for this crap.

"I want peace Albus. I don't want Him hanging over my head for the rest of my life. Just tell me who the fuck it was that dared to take that corpse so I can run in like a damned Gryffindor and Avada them."

"A Slytherin and a Gryffindor will be needed for this task Severus. I would like you to be the Slytherin."

I really didn't like the sound of that.

"This Gryffindor and you don't particularly get along, but you worked through our triumph over Voldemort and you both came out stronger."

No, I definitely did not like where this was going.

"This young man and you are the least likely to fail on this assignment. But you were correct; the Lestrange's did indeed 'steal' Tom's body, so to speak. And stop shaking your head at me; as you said before, you would sulk but then agree. Don't you think it would save time if you just accepted?"

Glaring at the old man didn't seem to have the desired affect. Why couldn't Albus Dumbledore be human enough to at least flinch under my infamous glare?

"How did you know You-Know-Who's most loyal servants were the culprits against the crime of His missing body?"

"You are no more trusted among those snakes as young Mr. Potter would be. Therefore another spy had to walk into enemy territory yet again. No, it is not your nephew and no, I will not be informing you of my informant."

"Who is the lucky Gryffindor with whom I get to share the honor of tracking Bellatrix and Rodolphus' sorry arses?"

"You are full of unpleasant words today Severus."

"Albus…"

"You know who it will be so why do you ask?"

"I'm still hoping that this is all a nightmare and that I'm going to wake up soon."

"I still have to notify Mr. Potter of the latest developments."

thump

Well there you all go...HOWDY!...this is the first story I've posted...ever. I have more stories and will most likely post them...haha one day that is. I also have a question...how do you put in those little asterisks that are usually found above the 8? Questions, your views, and any mistakes you find would be greatly appreciated.

..:Klee:..