Voldemort stepped out from behind the door.
He wore a pure white Muggle doctor's coat, its sleeves rolled up to his forearms, exposing skin so pale it was almost translucent.
He wore dragonhide gloves on both hands. A fluorescent liquid clung to the tips of his right index and middle fingers, pale blue, glowing coldly in the corridor's green light.
He saw the pink booklet in Snape's hand and stopped.
He said nothing.
Those red eyes moved from Snape's face to the booklet, then back again.
"Master."
Snape bowed slightly.
Voldemort held out his left hand.
Snape handed him the seven booklets.
Voldemort took them.
He turned and went back through the door. Snape and Lucius followed him inside.
The laboratory had changed again since Snape's last visit.
The left side still had the same dark magic style, with glass jars arranged on black wooden shelves, holding specimens of unknown origins.
The right side was another world entirely.
The white metal laboratory benches had been polished until their surfaces reflected people's figures.
A row of Muggle instruments stood against the wall, green waveforms flickering across their screens.
The centrifuge in the corner was still spinning with a hum.
A small magical creature lay on the dissection table, its chest already cut open, its ribs held apart on either side by silver clamps.
Snape did not look any longer.
Voldemort walked over to a high-backed chair beside a laboratory bench and sat down.
He stacked the seven pink booklets neatly on the bench, arranging them in order by year.
Then he removed his right dragonhide glove.
His fingers were long, with pronounced joints and very short nails.
He picked up the first-year booklet and opened it. He turned the pages quickly.
"Pipes and water flow."
He read in a flat voice,