Current mood:	busy
Entry tags:	cave, chaptered, fic

FIC: 'The Cave, the Director's Cut' 1/8, Snarry, NC-17
Title: The Cave, the Director's Cut
Author: centaury_squill
Rating: NC-17 overall
Pairing: Snarry
Warnings: chan 14 - 16
Disclaimer: They aren't mine and I'm not making any money from this (just having lots of fun).
Summary: Harry has a fateful encounter high in the hills above Hogsmeade.
A/N: About a year ago now I posted a birthday fic for hphaeton, called The Cave. I had a lot of positive comments, including requests for the 'cut scenes' which I'd half-jokingly offered, and intended to write one day.

Ever since then I've been meaning to write a full-length version, even scribbling odd scenes from time to time. Last month a visit to the Isle of Arran revived my interest in Scotland and spurred me on to revisit the fic. I’ll be posting it as eight chapters over the next couple of weeks or so.

hphaeton's original request was: hurt/comfort with happy ending; Snarry, Voldie/Harry or Lucius/Harry; AU, time-travel. I wasn't into Voldie/Harry or Lucius/Harry at the time, so it's Snarry, folks!

Without further ado, may I present the first chapter of

Chapter 1

Harry glared at his godfather, almost too angry to speak. He'd risked detention to smuggle a bundle of food out of the castle, and instead of thanking him, all Sirius could do was complain that he should have sent it by owl, as usual.

"I wanted to see you, okay?" Harry said at last. "Make sure you were all right."

Sirius grunted. He tore chunks of chicken away from a drumstick with his strong teeth. Picked bare, the drumstick was flung over his shoulder to Buckbeak. Sirius wiped his greasy fingers on his robes and scowled at Harry. "I've told you before, it's too dangerous for you to risk coming up here." He dipped into the bundle again and tore off a hunk of bread. "Did you bring anything to drink?"

"No," Harry lied. He wasn't going to mention the two bottles of Butterbeer in his bag. He didn't feel like drinking with his godfather at the moment.

Sirius chewed ravenously on the bread, alternating it with more bites of chicken. Between mouthfuls he said, "Go back to Hogwarts. Stay there. Where it's safe."

Harry scowled. Without another word he picked up his bag, slung it over his shoulder and stalked out of the cave. But he didn't take the path back down to Hogsmeade and the castle; he trudged up a steep track further into the mountains. He was in no mood to obey his godfather. He wanted some time to himself, to get away from Hogwarts with its pressures: the jeering Slytherins, the Triwizard tournament, Rita Skeeter's libellous articles in the Daily Prophet, even the concern of his friends.

He was furious with Sirius. It was all very well to tell Harry that he should be staying safely in Hogwarts grounds, like a good little boy. When had Sirius himself ever taken the safe option?

Harry was so busy grumbling to himself about how unfair his life was, he barely noticed the track starting to level out. But when it rounded an outcrop of rock he stopped, gazing entranced at the view which had suddenly opened out in front of him.

He stood there, drinking it all in. The wiry heather on either side of the track. The valley below, with its trees and tiny pools. The colourful wild flowers growing among the grass on the lower slopes of the hillside opposite. The gaunt rocks higher up, the trickling streams. Above him the highest peaks of all, still holding patches of snow, even this late in May. And in the distance, between the hills, he could just catch the glint of a sea-loch.

Harry drew a deep breath, suddenly filled with happiness, his cares forgotten. "Wow!" he said aloud. "Beats boring old Privet Drive!" It was true: there was no comparison. Accustomed most of his life to the neat suburban gardens of Little Whingeing, the rugged grandeur of the Highland landscape was all the more entrancing. There was only one thing which distracted him –

"Bloody midges!" Harry swore, slapping at the back of his neck. He wished he could remember the Banishing charm which Hermione had used, the last time she and Ron had come with him to deliver a parcel of food to Sirius. But even that had been short-lived against the pesky creatures. "I reckon they're left over from some seriously Dark magic," Ron had said solemnly. "You know, an ancient curse or something."

Shaking his head irritably from side to side, trying to dislodge the biting insects, Harry noticed a narrow opening in the rocks a little way off the path. It looked similar to the entrance to Sirius's cave. Curious, he headed towards it, followed by a cloud of midges. Yes, it certainly seemed to be another cave... he squeezed inside and looked around. It was bigger than Sirius's cave, striking chill after the warmth outside, and dimly lit by sunlight filtering through curtains of green ferns growing across gaps in the rocky walls.

Harry looked at his watch out of habit, though it hadn't been working properly for ages – he'd have to go back to the castle soon, but just a few minutes of peace and quiet couldn't hurt. He dropped his bag onto the floor of the cave, sat down on a smooth boulder and clasped his knees to his chest. It felt good to be alone for once. Ron was his best mate; it had been awful when they weren't speaking, and he was glad to have his friend back, of course he was. But lately Ron seemed far more friendly with Hermione than he was with Harry. Though maybe friendly didn't quite describe it... Harry frowned thoughtfully, remembering Ron's reaction to Rita Skeeter's Witch Weekly article, with its suggestion that Hermione was going out with Viktor Krum.

Harry felt suddenly hot and uncomfortable, recalling the scene in Snape's dungeon. The old git had snuck up behind them, grabbed Witch Weekly and read the article out for his bloody Slytherins to laugh at...

'... Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate. How very touching,' Snape had sneered.

Harry wriggled uncomfortably on the smooth top of his boulder – he really hated Snape – kicked his heels against the boulder's sloping side – he really hated Snape – shook his wrist and glared at his useless watch – he really hated Snape –

Suddenly there was a flash of brilliant white light, and a skinny dark-haired teenager dressed in shabby Hogwarts robes seemed to fall out of thin air, landing with a thud on the floor of the cave. Scrambling to his feet, he caught sight of Harry. "YOU!" he shouted, snatching out his wand, his thin face twisted with rage.

Harry reacted quickly: his own wand in his hand without conscious thought, he shouted "Expelliarmus!" The stranger's wand shot out of his hand. Harry caught it. Holding both wands at the ready, he cautiously advanced towards the skinny youth. "Who are you?" he demanded. He peered at the stranger. There was something vaguely familiar about him which Harry couldn't quite put his finger on. "Lumos," he said, holding his wand up to illuminate the other's face. Harry caught his breath. He now saw the livid bruise on the teenager's cheekbone and the row of scratches across his neck. "Who did that to you?"

The stranger's reply, delivered in a scornful tone, made no sense at all.

"You did."

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