A/N: Okay, I got writer's block halfway through the eighth chapter of Alchemy, so I decided to write this spooky little oneshot to clear the cobwebs away. It's going to be far different to any of my other stories, I hope. As always, I don't own the characters, even if I feel this could have been a great twist in the series.
"Clear your mind, Potter," Snape said, pointing his wand at Harry, "Legilimens!"
Severus was instantly flung into a whirlwind of various images, from all across various times during the brat's life. 'Typical,' he thought to himself, 'even Potter's mind is a disorganized mess. So like his father. Useless, arrogant, and lazy. He'll never succeed at this.' Suddenly, an image flew past that Severus knew for a fact Potter could never have seen - the memory of his initiation into the Death Eaters. Curiosity well and truly sparked by the erroneous memory, Severus pushed deeper into the brat's mind, tearing through the flimsy natural defenses in Potter's head.
The closer he got to the subconscious mind, the more Severus started to see evidence that Potter's mind might not be quite as defenceless as he had initially thought. Continuing on, though with a great deal more caution, it came as a shock to him when he suddenly arrived at Potter's subconscious. Standing up, he looked around, blinking in confusion. Potter's subconscious looked a great deal like some nondescript Muggle village.
A door leading in to one of the nearby houses opened, and a head poked out, looking around. The face was familiar, though it still took Severus a moment to realize he was looking at Potter himself. The clone of Potter turned and looked at him, and beamed with delight when it saw him standing there.
"Hello, Severus!"
That tore it. Something was definitely wrong with Potter's mind. No mental construct of Potter's would smile when it saw him, of all people, much less cheerfully greet him. Turning around to leave, Severus found his way blocked by an impossibly tall, impossibly wide wall of solid concrete. And he was willing to bet that no matter how much of it he blasted through, there would always be more. Turning back to the village, thinking that he might find another way out through there, Severus' eyes flew wide open. There had only been one Harry Potter standing in front of him only moments earlier, and it had been broad daylight. Now, it was pitch-black outside, and there were at least twenty versions of Potter, all smiling at him, and all cheerfully waving and calling out greetings to him.
Shoving past three Potters, all of whom were still saying, "Hello, Severus!" over and over again, he bolted down the path, ducking and weaving through the mass of Potters that seemed to appear from nowhere every time he tried to go into a house, or find some other way off escaping from this blasted, nightmarish realm that the boy called a mind. Eventually, he was left with no choice but to run towards the largest building in the village, a huge, imposing manor house that seemed familiar to him, though he couldn't for the life of him place it. The Potter clones, or whatever they were, seemed quite happy to let him enter the building, even going so far as to open the door for him.
The doors slammed shut with a distinctly ominous finality behind Severus, and he stopped running for a moment to catch his breath, realizing only now that he had been chased into a certain portion of the brat's mind, though for what purpose was still to be determined. Another thing that struck Severus was the fact that none of Potter's mental constructs had followed him in here. Whatever this was, it appeared to be a sacred part of the boy's mind, which Severus was sure meant that he could find a way out from here.
Looking around, Severus had no sooner thought to himself that the room he was in looked dark, than torches sprang to life all along the walls, revealing that he was not as alone as he initially thought. Sitting on what looked to be a throne of solid gold, was Harry Potter. Behind and to the boy's right, an enormous tapestry covered part of the wall, elaborate patterns weaved into it.
"Potter! What in Merlin's name is going on?"
Potter - or at least, his doppelganger - laughed, a cold, cruel laugh that was hauntingly familiar to Severus. If only he could think without that blasted buzzing noise in his ear, he'd be able to remember where he had heard it before!
"What's wrong, Severus? You don't seem too pleased to see me. I thought you wanted me to fail at Occlumency, didn't you?"
"Whatever is happening here, it is not failure, Potter. Something is affecting your mind. Now let me out of here at once!"
"Oh, Severus. Nothing is affecting my mind, except me. And I took great pains to bring you here. I'm not about to just let you go now."
Worried beyond anything he'd ever felt in his life, Severus gulped. He knew he'd heard that style of speech somewhere before, but where? It was maddening!
"Who are you? You're obviously not Potter, so who are you really?"
Potter's doppelganger seemed delighted that he had asked the question, perking up instantly. "Ah, I was wondering when you'd ask, Severus. Now I should point out that we are in the most heavily guarded part of my mind right now, and there is a tapestry concealing something right here. My greatest secret, perhaps? Why don't you have a look, Severus?"
"What the hell are you talking about?! What does your greatest secret have to do with my question?"
"Just take a look, and you'll understand everything, Severus."
Not wanting anything to do with whatever lay behind that tapestry, Severus turned to try and leave, only to be struck down with crippling agony, ten times worse than any Cruciatus Curse. Turning back, he saw that the doppelganger was frowning at him.
"Now, now, Severus. I asked you to look behind the tapestry. This is my mind, Severus, I control what happens here."
Groaning with pain, Severus latched onto the only means he could think of to appease whatever monster was in Potter's head - he walked towards the tapestry. Besides, he himself was curious as to why a name would be so carefully guarded in the deepest reaches of the subconscious mind, just to protect it from intruders. Fingers gripping the heavy cloth, he gave one sharp tug, sending the entire tapestry away from the wall to pool at his feet, only to lose what little dignity he had left by gawking at the message on the wall like an idiot.
Carved in what appeared to be crystalline flames, were four words, each taller than the Potions Master himself; I AM LORD VOLDEMORT. Turning to face the doppelganger, Severus' black eyes were met by a pair of cruel, red ones.
"Hello, Severus."
A/N: Happy Halloween, everyone! Even if it is slightly early, this idea came into my mind and wouldn't leave. Oddly enough, it was while I was playing Animal Crossing: Wild World. Go figure, huh? If there is enough demand, I might do a second part to this, just tidying up the loose ends and what have you. Reviews are love, so share them please, and enjoy your own festivities, wherever you may be! Or should I say, whatever?