A Snake Named Voldemort

Chapter 3

Voldemort flicked his tongue, the tips of it just brushing over Harry's cheek, causing it to twitch at the sensation. :You have to intend for what you say to act as a spell. Focus it. When you opened the Chamber, you intended for the passage to open, and so it did. Right now, if you intend for the door to open when you speak, it will.:

Harry was slightly awed by the prospects. He'd researched a little about being a Parseltongue, but, naturally, Hogwarts' library did not have much material to work with. He'd never known Parseltongue could do more than let him communicate with snakes.

:Won't Snape notice?:

:The spell won't act against the normal spell he placed on the door; therefore, as is, opening the door this way will be untraceable. So no, he won't.:

More assured yet still doubtful, Harry asked, :Do I need my wand? I guess I didn't really use it for the Chamber...:

:It helps at first, but you don't need it. Now get on with it, you're wasting time!:

Cocking his head at the door and lifting his wand, Harry mustered up the belief and anticipation for what should happen when he spoke, hoping he was doing it right. It shouldn't be that hard, he told himself, since he had done it when he was twelve without even knowing he was doing it in the first place.

:Open.: he hissed. Nothing happened. Well, damn.

:Focus, and try again,: Voldemort prodded, not necessarily gently but at least he didn't put more pressure on Harry, which the young man was grateful for.

Pursing his lips, Harry focused on the image of the door opening, believing it would, and hissed the word again.

:Open.: Immediately he noticed the difference from the last time, the slight tingle as magic flowed from his core and affected the environment around him with a free sort of current unlike the magic taught within the school. With sudden ease, Snape's office door swung open with minimal sound.

:Well done, Potter.: It was said with little enthusiasm, but Harry grinned at the compliment nonetheless and quickly slipped inside and shut the door again.

Once inside, Harry pulled off his Invisibility Cloak and draped it over his arm so he'd always have it within easy reach. He lifted his wand, the Lumos charm already glowing from the end, and inspected the room.

:Where should we start?:

Flicking his tongue, Voldemort said with a beleaguered tone, :The potions shelves.: The you dimwit was implied.

Nodding his head, Harry approached the wall that contained a multitude of vials and bottles of all sorts of shapes and sizes, each containing a colorful fluid. Some he recognized, but most he couldn't even dream of guessing at.

Working together, Voldemort rising up from his perch on Harry's shoulder and looking at the shelves above the ones Harry looked at, they went through every single potion in one section before moving on to another. Each glass was clearly labeled, so at least they weren't stumped on that aspect. Harry, having had questionable motivation to actually learn Potions, had to ask Voldemort what several of the concoctions were when he didn't recognize the name.

Soon, after several minutes of searching, it became clear that, while there were quite a variety of potions there, none of them were anything of particular rarity or interest, or even unknown. Harry postulated that maybe one of the vials was purposefully mislabeled, but Voldemort had another idea.

:He must have another place for the really interesting potions.:

Harry took a moment to digest that, before bemoaning, :Oh Merlin, do we have to break into his quarters now?: Harry winced, stepping away from the shelves and rubbing his forehead, brushing over the famous scar. :What do we do now? Like I said, we don't even know for sure if Snape's the one who dosed you. We could be on a wild goose chase.: