.
.
Voldemort paced back and forth in the room, staring at the pile of books he had read the whole night, researching Horcruxes. He knew everything about them that a man who created seven of them could know, but he had never imagined that he would have created an accidental Horcrux. This accidental Horcrux was currently lying in the room next door, still knocked out after the obliviate charm.
Dumbledore, the old fox, must have thought he was cunning to hide this fact from everyone that even his most loyal and competent spies weren't aware that Harry Potter, the boy who lived, had a piece of his soul inside him. The bastard was hoping he would kill his own soul and destroy part of himself.
Except he found out about this in time before the plan he had devised could be placed into motion. He trusted none of his followers to inform them that his archnemesis was a vessel for a piece of his soul.
This complicated everything. He couldn't kill him anymore. He needed to retract his soul before he could get rid of Potter. Knowing Potter, he couldn't willingly come with him, so he decided not to complicate things and simply obliviated the young man and apparated to one of his hideouts. The house was perfect, lost in the middle of the forest, away from prying eyes—it was the perfect place to experiment and find a way to get his soul out of Potter.
He had to kill the stupid muggles living here, but getting rid of them was a pleasure and Nagini needed to eat something.
Since he didn't want any of his death eaters to know about this, he had Nagini watching Potter, while he was doing to research.
Now that he knew the truth, no wonder, his resurrection ritual didn't go as planned. His body didn't properly resurrect and he was stuck with his absolutely deformed face for months. Since Potter had his soul, his blood wasn't the perfect blood of the enemy. Thankfully, he managed to get Dumbledore's blood and revive his physical form properly.
Looking deformed made him more feared, but he always looked handsome, so getting his looks back was important. Though, he still planned to glamour himself and look like his serpentine form when he would visit his servants.
He smirked looking at himself in the mirror. He looked young and handsome which always helped him to get away with things. He decided to glamour himself and look like the bald, noseless form that Potter knew him as just to intimidate him, but before he could wave his wand, strange sounds stopped him.
"Oh, what's wrong?" he heard an agitated voice. "I am so sorry, baby."
It sounded like Potter. Except, it couldn't be, because if he woke up, he would not remember anything and would be scared of Nagini looming over him. Potter wouldn't even know that he had magic.
"Hey, don't pout," he heard Potter mumble a coo like he was talking to a child. Maybe his magic worked wrong on Potter, and he had gone insane instead of just forgetting everything.
The boy was always such a headache.
He walked towards the room, his wand drawn, in case Potter still had his memories and needed to be stupified.
Potter was making strange giggling sounds. The boy was insane. He definitely didn't damage him. His skills were immaculate, so there must have been something wrong with Potter.
He pushed the door open and stared at the sight in front of him.
Potter was on the bed with a little girl in his arms, gently stroking her head and murmuring some kind of comforting nonsense. Voldemort narrowed his eyes. The little girl was not a little girl. It was Nagini, under an expertly casted transfiguration spell.
Potter's eyes lifted up and Voldemort brought his wand up. Potter hadn't lost his memory. The defensive way he looked at him was a clear sign that he was wary of him.
"Oh," Harry Potter mumbled, his gaze softening as some kind of realization passed through his face. "I am so glad. I don't know what happened to me. I must have hit my head pretty hard and can't remember anything. I made our daughter cry. Hey, I am sorry sweetheart."
He petted girl-turned Nagini's head. It was unsettling to watch. Especially because he could tell Nagini was enjoying this.
"What?" he lowered his wand.
"I promise, I will remember everything," Potter hurried to reassure. "But could you perhaps remind me our names?"
"You are..." Voldemort narrowed his eyes. Potter could be lying. But the boy was too naïve and too Gryffindor to play games. "Harry."
"Harry," he tried out his own name. "And our daughter?"
"Nagini," Voldemort said without thinking.
"That's a unique name," Potter said with a smile, planting a kiss on top of Nagini's head. "I bet I chose it."
Voldemort raised an eyebrow. Potter was arrogant even without his memories.
"You didn't tell me your name," Harry said, looking up at him. "I should know my husband's name."
Why would Potter think they were married? Then he remembered that he looked like his young self and had restored his youth and didn't glamour himself to look scary. Potter's arrogance knew no bounds. He assumed they were married because he looked so handsome. Who knew that Potter deep down had a thing for handsome men!
"Tom Riddle," Voldemort answered with a wince, not liking that he had to use his muggle name. But he needed Potter cooperative, so he could get his soul back.
"Tom," Harry smiled. "I like it."
ㅤ
Potter was braiding Nagini's hair. Nagini was thoroughly enjoying herself. He had gone through Nagini's memories and discovered that Potter had woken up and finding the giant snake sitting on his bed, looming over him, had panicked and cast the most advanced transfiguration spell wordlessly and wandlessly, turning Nagini into a chubby-cheeked, pouty, little girl with long dark hair and green eyes. The stress of seeing Nagini as a snake had made him faint. Then Potter had woken up, only to find the little girl, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at him curiously. He must have thought he hallucinated the snake.
He was still suspicious of Potter. There was no guarantee that Potter wasn't faking. It seemed ludicrous that Potter would manage such powerful magic, but fall prey to the obliviate charm, even if it was cast by him, the most skilled and talented wizard in history. Potter caught him staring, and he had to give the boy a charming smile while adding Veritaserum to the tea. If Potter was bluffing about the memory loss, he would find out.
"Maybe I should see a doctor, Tom?" Potter asked, adjusting a butterfly pin to Nagini's hair. "You know... for my memory loss."
"Well, it's a good thing that I am a doctor," Voldemort answered with a sweet smile, internally seething that the insufferable Gryffindor was addressing him by his muggle name. "I have examined your head, and there is no damage. There is nothing we can do about memory loss for now. You just need to surround yourself with familiar things, and things will slowly return to you."
"You are a doctor?" Harry looked somehow excited. He tsked playfully, licked the tip of his index finger and brushed away Nagini's tiny baby hair to the side of her head. "I snagged myself a doctor husband."
Snagged? What was going on in this boy's head? Merlin's sake! But then a smirk curled his lips, as he contemplated further, realizing that a handsome man like him must have left quite the impression on Potter's feeble mind.
"You look so cute, baby," Potter completed fixing Nagini's hair and started complimenting her in annoying baby talk. Nagini hissed happily. "My pretty princess!"
Okay, that was enough chitchat. Voldemort wasn't going to stand this nonsense. His mighty snake—his most formidable Horcrux wasn't going to be Potter's play doll even though the bloody snake was clearly basking in the compliments and enjoying Potter's cooing.
"Here," he walked up to Potter and gave him the Veritaserum-laced tea. "Drink this. Make sure to drink every drop."
"If my doctor husband orders me," Potter took the cup. "Who am I to say no?"
Voldemort smirked, satisfied. Potter was very cooperative. This was proving to be a good plan. Even though he had to pretend to be Harry's husband to keep the ruse going, this was the best possible outcome since he could continue managing his Death Eaters and research how to extract his soul out of the boy who lived and then get rid of him.
"Yes, baby!" Potter brushed his nose against Nagini's nose, making her giggle. "Daddy has made tea for me. I will get better soon. Don't worry."
Voldemort resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What in the bloody hell was this? He watched Potter drink the tea and make a face after swallowing the last sip.
"That was kind of gross," he said, sighing. "Baby, stop sticking your hands in my mug. You will get your fingers dirty. Oh no, now we need to wash them."
Potter hugged Nagini and picked her up. He walked up to the sink, turned the water on, checked for the temperature and then gently washed Nagini's tiny fingers. Voldemort narrowed his eyes, watching Nagini closely. He knew the little snake did it on purpose so she could have Potter continue to fuss over her.
"Are you hungry, baby?" Potter asked Nagini, perching her on the tall kitchen chair.
"Yes," Nagini responded in Parseltongue. Potter didn't seem to notice at all to Voldemort's surprise. His loyal followers already informed him that the boy was a Parselmouth, but with his memories gone, he assumed the boy would notice the difference.
"What do you want to eat, sweety?" Potter tapped on her nose with his index finger.
This was bad. Nagini was about to ruin everything. Voldemort got up to intervene before Nagini said something suspicious, but the snake already hissed a response.
"Bunny?" Nagini seemed unsure.
"Bunny?" Potter laughed. "Do you know what she is talking about, Tom?"
"Nagini," Voldemort chastised and narrowed his eyes angrily, as the little girl tried to stick her hand into the cake on the table. "Stop that right now, before I..."
"Tom," Potter stood between him and Nagini, hiding the snake with his body. "Don't yell at the child. You scared her. It's just a cake. Sweetheart, Daddy is not angry with you. It's just that you shouldn't play with your food."
How dare this boy chide him like he was some kind of idiot! He was Voldemort, the wizard who had conquered Death. He was tempted to crucio Potter and then obliviate him, but that would complicate everything.
"She needs discipline," he offered instead. "You shouldn't spoil her. Table manners should be instilled at a young age. Don't argue with me."
"I am sorry," Potter hurried to apologize and hugged Tom, making the Dark Lord almost fall from surprise. "I didn't want to undermine your authority in front of our daughter. I know these decisions need to be made. I just don't want you to scare her."
"Are you going to obey me now?" Tom asked, pulling Harry away to look into his eyes. Veritaserum had taken effect.
"No promises," Harry laughed and hurried to return to the hug, hiding his face in Voldemort's arms. "I can't wait to remember you."
ㅤ
Voldemort reveled in watching the terrified glances his followers dared to aim his way. It was quite pathetic, but they were simply a means to an end. He needed to fulfil his vision, and he needed loyal servants to carry out his plans. They probably were wondering why he had called for a special meeting that afternoon, and if his sudden absence for couple of days had something to do with it.
"My Lord," Malfoy sniveled, terrified of making an eye contact with him. "The elves are ready to serve the dinner."
"Dinner can wait," he drawled, regarding Malfoy with an irritated glare. "I want to know what progress all of you have on Potter."
This would be an excellent opportunity to see if any of these spineless idiots were lying to him or feeding him moot information. He had his own suspicions over the loyalty of some of his followers, so he was ready to weed out the spies, opportunists or any scum that wasn't serving him with utmost dedication and had an agenda of their own. Lord Voldemort demanded respect and devotion.
"Of course, My Lord," Lucius sat back into his seat.
Voldemort stared at the members of his inner circle with watchful gaze, relishing their reaction and savoring the fear they held for him. He had to glamour himself to look more serpentine, old and unpleasant, but that extra layer of terror radiating from these mighty pureblood witches and wizards was worth the hassle of charming away his real handsome looks. Potter definitely enjoyed staring at his handsome face and body. He smirked remembering how the silly boy clung to him to wish him a good day at work when he told him he needed to live for work.
It was a marvel how weak and powerful Potter was; he must have been strong enough to be a vessel for a shard of his soul, but he was slim and willowy like a malnourished muggle model. He smiled to himself, thinking that he quite enjoyed Potter's ill-considered attention. He had never thought he would like anyone near his body, but something about Potter was different. He reasoned it was his own soul singing to him, calling him closer like a siren.
"My Lord?" someone cleared their throat and pulled the Dark Lord out of his musings.
He glared, wondering which of these idiots dared to interrupt his contemplations.
"Potter is missing, My Lord," Lestrange said, rubbing his hands. "His muggle guardians have even filed a missing person's report with the muggle police."
"Perhaps Order is hiding him," Mulciber mumbled with a snort.
Everyone looked at Snape. "Severus?" Voldemort directed his gaze at the potion's master who was his loyal spy with Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore is looking for him too," Severus responded finally with that somber tone of his that made it sound like he was having a hard time putting out words. "I don't think Order has anything to do with Potter's disappearance. If anyone is hiding him it must be his idiotic friends, the Weasley boy and Granger."
"Someone is hiding him from Dumbledore," Dolohov mused, flicking his wand around like an ill-mannered child. "Maybe there are factions within the Order that have disagreements with the headmaster."
"It's possible," Snape said emotionlessly. "But there is no evidence of it. Potter might be hiding on his own accord."
"Someone is helping him," Yaxley said. "I know someone is helping that brat because I would have found him by now if he was by himself."
Yaxley certainly needed an attitude check, Voldemort mused. It was fun watching his Death Eaters speculate when he knew that Potter was safely tucked away in his cabin in the woods, having Nagini monitoring him, and none of his morons could imagine in their wildest dreams that their Lord had Potter wrapped around his finger. He wondered if Dumbledore would have a heart attack if he saw his precious boy, clinging to him like a leech.
"I need results and not this useless chatter," he commanded, expertly hiding his amusement. "Find me more useful information about Potter."
"He is no longer under the ministry monitoring for underage magic since his 18th birthday was a couple of days ago. It's possible that he has taken advantage of this fact and had run away," one of the Lestrange brothers said. "Shouldn't you Yaxley use your position at the Ministry to see if you can find any recent magic activity by Potter?"
"Once the monitoring is lifted, we can't trace anything anymore, Rodolphus," Yaxley rolled his eyes.
"Severus," Voldemort turned to Snape. "Keep me updated on the Order and Dumbledore. Let me know if they get any intelligence or anything at all on Potter's whereabouts."
He needed to make sure that the Order didn't sniff too close and found out where he was keeping Potter. Before anyone found Potter, he needed to get his soul out of the boy.
"Yes, My Lord," Severus lowered his head.
"Lucius," Malfoy shot up in his seat, terrified and bowed to him. Malfoy hadn't uttered a single word the entire time. "Have your elf pack me a meal."
"Yes... what?" Malfoy stuttered suddenly realizing that he didn't hide his puzzlement at the unusual request the Dark Lord has made. Voldemort needed to get back to the cabin to continue his research on Horcruxes and also the brat needed food. He doubted Potter knew how to cook and even if he did, the nearest town from the cabin was quite far away. He didn't want Potter out of the cabin, and he wasn't going to shop in muggle stores by himself.
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
"No, My Lord," Lucius paled. The other Death Eaters looked a little puzzled but knew better than question him. "I will have the elves pack food for you right now. Do you have any preferences?"
He had no idea what Potter liked to eat. He himself was never picky about food, growing up during war in a muggle orphanage, but he had no idea if Potter had any special preferences, not that he cared, but the boy too thin and waifish.
"I am sure your elves will make sure the food is exquisite," the Dark Lord smiled at Malfoy.
ㅤ
The cabin looked exactly how he had left it in the morning. The wards were still there. He had warded this place so immaculately that even his own Death Eaters wouldn't be able to set foot in. He couldn't risk anyone knowing. It would complicate things, and as of late, he found them untrustworthy. There were spies everywhere who would gladly take the news of him holding Harry Potter to the Order.
To his surprise, the cabin was silent. He was expecting to hear Potter's non-stop chatter. The boy enjoyed playing house with Nagini. Voldemort recoiled at the notion that anyone would willingly subject themselves to the caretaking of a toddler, even if the toddler in question was his snake Nagini, but Potter was clearly extraordinary, defying all expectations.
"Harry?" he called, watching the empty room. There was no trace of Potter around.
Voldemort placed the food on the counter and drew his wand. He started slowly scoping the surroundings.
"Nagini?" he tried calling his familiar, but there was no response. He cast a revealing charm and a locating spell, but there was no one at home. The spell came back, finding no one, at least no one alive.
Fume and rage immediately flamed in his heart as he realized that he had been duped. Potter had manipulated and lied to him and when he was away he had escaped with his familiar - probably with the intention of destroying Nagini. He rushed into the kitchen, then checked the bedroom and the room that had become his study, still in disbelief that Potter could have lied to him so expertly even under a Veritaserum.
He was going to find Potter and yank his soul out of his body and then destroy him. Potter would beg for his death, but he wasn't sure he would oblige any time soon. No one daring to lie to him deserved a quick death.
A rustle reached him. There was someone walking up to the cabin. Maybe Potter had managed to bring in the reinforcements. Maybe some unfortunate soul had stumbled upon his cabin. Either way, he was angry and killing someone right now was the only thing that could calm him down. He was itching to spill some blood. He smiled, hiding his wand in the sleeve of his jacket and walked to the entrance.
"We are almost home, sweety," he heard Potter's gentle voice and stopped dead in his tracks.
The boy was walking towards the cabin, Nagini clutching him like a koala bear, legs wrapped around Potter's hip, and tiny arms around his neck. She had array of shiny hair adornments shaped like butterflies fashioned on her head, while a toy rabbit was swinging in her hand as she was holding Potter's neck firmly. The unnerving sight was elevated by the fact that Potter was carrying shopping bags in his other hand while talking to Nagini and giggling at the faces she was making.
Voldemort tightened his grip on the wand. Potter's eyes widened, and then he suddenly stopped when he saw him. His face broke into a happy smile. He bent down to let Nagini on the ground.
"Look Daddy's home. Go show him your new toy rabbit," Potter instructed.
Nagini looked at him warily as if realizing that she was in trouble and hid behind Potter's leg. Voldemort never thought he would punish his familiar, but he was quickly realizing that under the new development Nagini needed to be reminded of where her loyalties should lay.
"Where have you been?" Voldemort demanded angrily, not putting his wand away still wondering if Potter needed to be tortured.
"Shopping," Potter sighed and grabbed Nagini's hand, dragging her towards the house. "I have left you a note on the fridge. Haven't you seen it?"
The boy's insolence aggravated him further. How dare this little brat speak to him in such disrespectful manner?! Before he could demand the boy to show him respect, Potter walked past by him into the house, bringing the reluctant Nagini with him. He placed the shopping bags on the kitchen counter and sighed.
"Here, see," he pointed at the note attached to the fridge.
"Nothing to eat at home, going out for shopping. Love, Harry."
Voldemort stared in disbelief as Harry started putting away groceries into the fridge and trying to untangle Nagini's grabby hands from his leg. The snake was very clingy.
"You are still unwell and shouldn't have left unsupervised," Voldemort grumbled, deciding to keep the façade. "What if in your unstable state you suddenly forgot where you lived? What then?"
"Aww," Harry stopped what he was doing and stared at him with a small smile. "I am sorry, Tom. I really didn't mean to worry you. It's just that Nagini was hungry. There was nothing to eat at home, and I had no idea when you would be back."
"You should have waited," Voldemort commanded in his assertive tone that normally sent his Death eaters cowering in fear.
"I am sorry," Harry mumbled, walking up to him and putting his hands on Tom's shoulders.
Potter's body was warm, his short and slim form firmly pressed against the Dark Lord, and Voldemort froze, feeling the strangest thing. He could feel the piece of his soul in Harry's body sing to him. That shard of his soul was drenched in light, in powerful magic that he had never felt before. It felt peaceful and soothing, and the closeness made the anger dissipate an disappear. The tension he was feeling evaporated. It was strange.
Harry lowered his head on Tom's, chest and he allowed it. Nagini was glaring at him from the corner. There was apprehension and curiosity in her eyes.
Later! He was going to punish the disobedient snake. Now he was feeling like he was being filled with energy and vibrating lifeforce, and it was good. So good...
"I promise to wait for you next time," Potter mumbled and then pulled back with a mischievous grin. "But I was with our daughter and let me tell you, our little girl is so so smart. She would bring me back home if I suddenly forgot everything. But then how can I forget you, Tom?"
Nagini preened under the praise, looking way too pleased with herself. It was like she was developing an addiction to Potter's affectionate fussing and praises.
"She kept going on and on about rabbits," Potter laughed. "And you won't believe me, when we were walking through the forest, this little spitfire actually caught a rabbit."
Voldemort eyed Nagini curiously.
"She wouldn't let go off the rabbit," Potter sighed amused. "I guess she really likes rabbits. But we had to release the poor creature and got Nagini the cute little toy."
Of course, Nagini didn't want to release the rabbit. She probably wanted to eat it. Potter's naiveite was exhilarating. He was surprised Nagini didn't swallow the rabbit still alive. He was glad that Nagini didn't ruin the situation, because it would be hard to explain to Potter why their 'daughter' eats live rabbits.
"We got her some very cute dresses and hairpins and some food too," Harry said, pulling away from Voldemort to the latter's displeasure and waving his hand around the bags on the counter. "But Tom you should have told me we were in Germany. It was actually hard for me to navigate here. I didn't know we lived here. It looks like it's a very small town and most of the people living here are old retirees who don't know much English. I was lucky to meet one of the shopkeeper's nieces who helped me around. You can't possibly have a lot of work here."
Voldemort pulled Harry back into his arms, hoping to get that soothing sensation and touch of soft magic back. "We are here temporarily," he supplied. "I am actually not working in the town but in the much larger city close to the town. You were the one who wanted to be here because you liked this house in the woods. We will go back home once my research is over."
"Oh," Harry smiled at him, settling closer into Tom's arms. "So are you like having a medical research seminar."
Voldemort nodded, hoping Harry would shut up so he could indulge in the bliss he was feeling as the stream of magic enveloped him. No wonder Nagini was clinging to the boy. Whatever this was, it felt heaven.
"Sorry again for worrying you," Harry mumbled.
"I brought you food," Voldemort said absentmindedly.
"You are so sweet," Harry said and Voldemort decided to forgive Potter this one time. He would kill him mercifully once he is able to extract his soul out of the horcrux.
"I am hungry," Nagini hissed, pulling Harry's sleeve. Voldemort glared at the girl.
"We can eat soon, sweety," Harry said. "Go wash your hands, baby. Daddy brought us food. I will make something tomorrow with all the ingredients we have bought today."
Potter had bought way too many shiny things for Nagini. But there were some shirts and slacks as well in the shopping bags that didn't seem to be Potter's size. The Dark Lord eyed them curiously, inspecting the contents to make sure the boy didn't bring in anything dangerous or wasn't plotting anything against him.
"Oh, those are for you, Tom," Harry said with a smile as he was unpacking the food the elves packed for him. "I noticed you didn't have much here. and I wouldn't want my doctor husband to look poorly dressed. If they are the wrong size, I will exchange them."
Tom looked at Potter and decided to play along.
"Thank you, my love," he said with a charming smile, moving towards the other side of the table away from Harry's eyes as he was setting up the table.
He pulled the Gaunt ring cast a doubling charm and then put a locating charm on the copy.
"You know," he said in a smooth silky tone, walking up to Harry and grabbing his hand. "You should make sure to wear your ring. It has my name engraved on it and if anything happens and you forget me, you can find me with this."
Potter seemed very happy at this and stared at the ring in fascination. This was of course for him to locate Potter whenever and wherever not the other way around, though he couldn't help but like the happy blush coloring the boy's cheeks.
"Nagini is hungry," the snake walked in and interrupted them. Again.
"Oh sweety, come here," Potter said. "Look at all of these delicious things Daddy has brought. Tom these things look very fancy. I can cook, you don't need to spend money on restaurant food."
As if he would eat Potter's plebeian cooking. House elves at Malfoy Manor were excellent at preparing food. "You don't need to worry, my love," he said instead.
They ate quietly. He was expecting Potter to eat loudly and in an undignified manner like a Gryffindor, but Potter was surprisingly discreet. Nagini was in his lap for some reason, and Harry was feeding her from his own plate, cutting the steak into tiny pieces and slowly feeding the snake. Voldemort was getting impatient.
"Harry," he scolded. "You need to eat too. You are feeding everything to Nagini. She can eat on her own."
"Oh, that's fine," Potter smiled. "I love sharing with my little girl."
Voldemort sighed. He would need perhaps to bring more food in the future. Nagini was eating everything, and Harry was already thin as it was. The boy barely looked like he had any energy.