A Snake Named Voldemort

Chapter 3

:Potter, what are you planning?:

Harry tilted the book he was reading down onto his lap and looked down the bed at Voldemort.

:What makes you think I'm planning anything?: Harry suspected his face looked suspiciously innocent.

:Potter, you've gone to bed still dressed in your robes. Your shoes are even on.:

Harry lazily lifted his book back to eyelevel and answered, knowing it would irritate the man-snake, :Huh, so I am.: The corner of his mouth curled up as Voldemort, as expected, made an irritated rasp. Mercifully, Harry added, :Well, maybe I am planning something. How do you feel about sneaking into Snape's office?:

Voldemort's upper half rose up from the bed. :I assume your intentions are to discover if Snape was involved with my transformation. I shall also assume you have no plan for which to do this,: he commented dryly.

Harry kicked his legs under the covers as he casually rolled onto his side, displacing a hissing Voldemort from his spot on the comforter.

:Oh, I have some plans.:

Harry continued to read, knowing Voldemort expected him to elaborate. Harry, of course, would not give him that satisfaction. He liked to think he was teaching the Dark Lord the art of asking instead of demanding.

:Potter, tell me how you're going to sneak into the quisling's office.:

Harry mentally sighed. It was a work in progress.

:Fine, we're going to use this.: Harry pulled a blank piece of folded parchment from under his bed and placed it on top of his red comforter in Voldemort's line of sight.

:Potter, I've always thought you were an idiot. Glad to see I was not mistaken.:

Grinning impishly, Harry gave up all pretense of appearing to read and shrugged. :Takes one to know one, right?:

Taking up his wand, Harry introduced Voldemort to the Marauder's Map, to which the snake commented it was a piece of junk only idiots would need to use. Harry took his words to mean he was rather impressed with the object. Harry hadn't really wanted to give Voldemort all his secrets-he already knew about the cloak from the first night-but what choice did he have? They needed to get down to the dungeons and this was the easiest way without getting caught and having to answer some awkward questions about what exactly he was doing, depending on where he got caught (Snape: "What are you doing in my office?"). Harry hoped that in the end, the benefits would be greater than the sacrifices taken to get there.

Inside the privacy of Harry's curtained bed, the two perused the Map, watching the halls clear of students and faculty as the night grew late. Harry focused particularly on Snape's movements, knowing the man tended to patrol the halls longer than most, getting his kicks by catching students out past curfew and giving them arduous detentions.

While Snape was the DADA professor this year, he was still inherently a Potions Master, and thus had kept his personal lab and office in the dungeons for his use. The idea was that if there was any information on what potion he—may have—used on Voldemort, it would be found there. What that meant was Harry and Voldemort had to make their way down to the lower levels of the castle without getting caught, break into Snape's office, spend what could be minutes or hours searching for any evidence of his involvement in Voldemort's predicament, get out undetected and make it back to Gryffindor Tower.

:Easy. Well, except for the whole 'break into Snape's office' part...but the getting there and theoretically the getting away is easy.: Harry paused, carding a hand through his hair. :Maybe you could slip under the door...?: