*I don't own Harry Potter or any of their characters.
The snake slithered through London, trying to find his target. He knew the boy's name, and the name of the place where he could be found… but beyond that he had no idea on how to find him.
Suddenly, the snake heard the sound of children. Raising up slightly, he studied the building that stood between him and the children. Upon seeing the name, though, he wriggled with glee. It was the orphanage he had been trying to find!
Slithering towards the back, he eventually paused under some bushes, simultaneously catching his breath and trying to see if the boy he sought was amongst those who were currently outside. Tasting the air, he soon was able to find that distinctive tang of magic.
But which boy had it?
He wouldn't be one of the boys who liked to physically rough-house, the snake knew, just as he knew the boy was very intelligent. However, he was unsure of the boy's current personality. Would he be charming and popular, like he would be during his teenage years? Or would he be a loner, like so many others that had been in a similar situation?
Having a strong feeling that the latter was correct, the snake studied the edges of the property. Sure enough, underneath a tree sat a small boy reading a book.
Making his way towards the boy, who looked to be no older than five years old, when he was close enough the snake tasted the air again. The taste of magic was so strong, he knew that he had found the one he had been looking for.
The one person who, despite what his family and everyone else thought, the snake knew the world needed in the years to come.
Quickly glancing around to see if anyone was watching, the snake then slithered up to the boy. As if sensing his approach, the boy looked up from his book and glanced towards him.
"Hello," the boy greeted. It was obvious from the look on his face that he didn't realize he was speaking another language.
Feeling a rare bout of mischief, instead of acting like he was shocked by the boy speaking (which would be the case for a normal snake), the snake simply replied, "Hello, little one."
It was worth it to see the stunned look on the boy's face. "You can speak English?!" he hissed.
"No, YOU'RE speaking Parseltongue," came the answer, along with a mental chuckle.
Blinking with shock for several moments, the boy eventually asked, "What's Parseltongue?"
"Parseltongue is the language of snakes," came the answer, "It's a very rare ability for a human to be able to speak it, so you should consider yourself lucky, young speaker."
"Wow," the boy hissed softly, his dark eyes widening at the revelation. The snake knew that most of the boy's awe was due to the fact that he had mentioned Parseltongue was a rare ability. From what he remembered about his lessons, appealing to the boy's importance would be key for what he would have to do. And he knew that the earlier he started to get on the boy's good side, the better.
Eventually, the boy inquired, "Do you know of anyone else that can speak Parseltongue?"
"As far as I know you are the only one who can currently speak it, little speaker." When a small but genuine smile lit the boy's face, the snake knew that he was definitely on the right track. Now, for the first potential obstacle… "What's your name, speaker?"
The smile quickly faded away. "I don't like my name," the boy muttered.
Even though the snake was sure of the reason, he still asked, "Why?"
"Because… well, it's not really all that special," came the answer.
Lifting his head, the snake hissed, "All names are special, little speaker, for they are the cornerstones of our identity. Even if one decides to change their name, the original one tends to be remembered for far longer than one would think they would."
"Really?" came the surprised response.
Nodding his head, the snake confirmed, "Really." After all, this boy's true name had been remembered for at least seventy years after he had originally cast it aside for his more well-known moniker. Granted, most of that was due to the actions of the mentor of the snake's father, but it was still rather impressive.
Considering the snake's words for a moment, the boy finally admitted, "My name's Tom."
"Hmm… I can see why you don't think it's all that special," the snake pretended to admit as he coiled himself up to get comfortable. Going along with his plan, he continued, "If I remember correctly, humans can have more than one name- a middle and/or a last name, if I heard right. Do you have any of those? Maybe one of those is special."
Blinking with surprise, the boy revealed, "My middle name's Marvolo, and my last name's Riddle. That's what the matrons always told me, anyway."
Rearing up slightly to better meet the boy's eyes, the snake commented, "Marvolo… that's an unusual name."
"You… you really think Marvolo can be a special name?" Tom stuttered, which the snake found to be slightly out of character due to who the boy had once become. Then again, he was still rather young and he had been told something that the snake knew he had craved for all of his childhood, so it was understandable.
Of course, in order to ensure that Tom survived his future House right from the start, the snake would ensure that those kinds of reactions would have to be tamed, but still.
"I believe it definitely can be considered that," the snake confirmed. After all, the only other person the snake knew of to bear the name Marvolo was the boy's own grandfather… but of course, the snake wouldn't dare risk his only chance at saving the world so early in the game by telling him that. Maybe when Tom was old enough to understand what had happened in the snake's past (which the snake still wasn't sure if he was going to tell), but certainly not before Tom even knew of the world he would be entering in about six years' time. Seeing that Tom was still awed by the fact that part of his name was special, he offered, "Would you rather I call you Marvolo instead of Tom?"
As Tom seemed to consider it, the snake waited with bated breath. If the boy accepted his offer, then it would already be a major change from what he had known, which would definitely give him the confidence he needed to continue making the other necessary changes.
Slowly, the boy nodded as he finally answered, "I would like it better if you called me Marvolo."
Just like that, the snake knew he had the boy.
Oblivious to the snake's inner triumph, the boy inquired, "Do you have a name?"
Even though it would be hard for anybody to tell, the snake smirked as he responded, "I do, Marvolo. You may call me Albus."
A/N: Yeah... this has been posted for a while now on dA, but since this plunnie's been nipping at me (along with several others) I decided to upload it here. If you want to know more about the backstory of Albus the snake, check it out over on my dA page, where I provide a challenge based on this... prologue? First chapter? Really, it could qualify as both due to the length... anyway, I'm done rambling now.