Speak a Different Tongue

Chapter 7

The smell of Voldemort's culinary endeavours eventually drove Harry out of the conservatory and into the kitchen. As he sat down at the kitchen table he was reminded about what they'd done earlier that day. His arse was still quite sore and made sure Harry knew it.

They both remained quiet while Harry stared at Voldemort's back as the other man stood at the stove and stirred something with plenty of garlic by the smell of it.

The wonderfully distracting cloud that had engulfed Harry numerous times throughout the day was nowhere to be found, now that Harry was aware he had probably ruined Dumbledore's plans for Voldemort's downfall beyond repair.

Because what was there to salvage of Dumbledore's plans? There was no putting the knowledge that Harry knew about the horcruxes back into the box, now that Voldemort was aware of it. Now that Voldemort knew that Dumbledore had meant for Harry to go out and destroy all his horcruxes.

All Voldemort had to do once they were free of their shared prison was to collect his horcruxes and give them better hiding places, possibly protected by something like a fidelius charm. That way Harry would never find them.

As for any other strategies that Dumbledore might have set up for the Order of the Phoenix, they were being ruined as well by Snape going around doing away with everyone who played an important part in the Order. If Snape kept this up there wouldn't be an Order of the Phoenix left before long.

Yeah, the more Harry thought about, the more he came to the realization that they were absolutely fucked and probably stood no chance of winning against Voldemort now or in the future.

Voldemort placed a steaming plate in front of Harry. It held some funny-looking pasta that resembled little spirals, with cherry tomatoes, basil and lots of parmesan cheese.

Harry took a bite, more out of habit than because he was truly hungry. His stomach was too tied up in knots for him to have much of an appetite at that moment. The dish might look simple, but the taste was anything but. "This is really good," Harry said after he swallowed his mouthful. He stared at Voldemort with wide eyes, unable to contain his curiosity. "Where did you even learn to cook like this?"

Spearing a cherry tomato on his fork, Voldemort took his time eating it before he answered. "I grew up in an environment where there was never enough to eat. As an adult, I made it my business to learn how to prepare food for myself so I'd never have to go hungry again."

Swallowing, Harry stared down at his plate. He was unsure what to think about Voldemort's confession, since it resembled his own experiences at the Dursleys rather closely. "Yeah, I get that," he finally whispered and then realized something else. He'd seen Mrs Weasley cook with magic plenty of times in the Burrow, where she would wave her wand around to command every piece of food with magic. Here, there was no magic too cook with. "I mean, cooking like a muggle."

Voldemort's mouth twitched a bit, as though he was quietly amused by Harry's awkward manner of questioning. "After I left Britain, I travelled the whole world extensively. I often stayed in muggle areas where I was always at risk of breaking the Statute of Secrecy whenever I used magic. So I learned to cook without magic. A skill anyone should have, wizards included."

"That makes sense, I suppose," Harry muttered and went back to his dinner. It really was good and as he slowly but surely finished his plate, Harry considered how little he actually knew about Voldemort. Sure, Dumbledore had shown him a few pensieve memories. But those were mere snapshots that hardly gave a clear picture of Voldemort's entire life. "Why did you leave Britain?" Harry heard himself ask before he even realized he wanted to know that answer.

Voldemort snorted and took a sip of his glass of water. He leaned back, carefully placing his glass down. "Because Britain is a narrow minded, insular society where more magic is banned than can be legally practiced. I wanted to learn all facets of magic, so I sought that knowledge elsewhere."