A Snake Named Voldemort

Chapter 4

Voldemort coiled up tighter sulkily, almost appearing to be contemplating something he'd rather not be. :I need you..." Voldemort bared his fangs in some unknown frustration. :I need you, Potter, to do me a...a favor,: he finally ground out bitterly, no doubt unused to having to ask for things rather than simply ordering everyone around.

Harry's brow wrinkled in wonder at the request. :What? And before you ask, I am not going to Crucio myself.:

The snake lifted his head up, completely ignoring the statement. :I need you to send a letter to Lucius Malfoy.:

Harry's first thought, of course, was something along the lines of, Not on your life, Voldemort. But, he decided to go along with the request for the time being, and see what Voldemort's intentions were.

Snorting, Harry asked, :What shall I say? I think I rather like, "After some thought, I have decided that all Death Eater robes should now be pink." Am I close?:

:Potter!: Voldemort warned. :I will tell you what to write. You can owl it tonight.:

Harry's face turned firm as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. :Why do you need to send a letter to Lucius Malfoy?: he asked heatedly. There was no way he would relay any orders from Voldemort.

:Why do you think? My followers are staying low now, and I'd like to keep it that way and not have a repeat of the...incident—:

:Pub fight.:

:—from last week,: Voldemort finished, ignoring Harry's correction. Malfoy will most easily be able to spread the word. They are not to do anything without my permission.:

Well, that was certainly interesting.

:Wait...you want me to send the Death Eaters a letter telling them they're not allowed to do any, er, Death Eater things?:

:That was a term of our agreement, wasn't it? If you've changed your mind I'd be happy to order them-:

:No, no,: Harry hastily interrupted. He knew the terms weren't really active yet, as he hadn't fulfilled his part of the bargain, and he suspected Voldemort knew this as well but was just using it as an argument to convince Harry to write his stupid letter. He obviously didn't trust his followers to not do anything idiotic.

:Fine, I'll write your letter,: Harry said with long, drawn-out sigh, although in reality having the Dark Lord himself order the Death Eaters to lay low was perfectly fine with him. He pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and ink from his bag. :So, the Death Eaters really don't know you're missing? Well,: Harry gestured with his hands, :I guess they call on you, not you calling on them. So, for all they know if you don't contact them, you could just be taking a little vacation down in the Mediterranean.:

:I'm a Dark Lord. We don't do "vacations".:

"Yeah, well maybe that's your problem..." muttered Harry, making sure he was out of Voldemort's bite range. :That just seems like such a disadvantage. There has to be someone who would know you're missing, right?:

Voldemort briefly flared his hood before tucking it back against his body. :No, of course not. They may suspect it, but they do not "know". They are not my friends.:

Harry frowned. :But, what about the night you lost your body? Everyone knew then.:

Sneering at the mention of his "death," Voldemort told Harry, :That's because your people had to shout it from the roof tops.: The snake snapped his jaw. :I have to allow that there was a significant change in the branded Dark Marks, as they are all connected with my magic. That night heralded a period of time where my magic was disconnected from the Marks. Currently, my magic has been bound, but not disconnected.: