A/N: Written for the "Dreams" challenge at the Bellatrix Lestrange forum.
When he was nine years old, Tom dreamed his father was a knight who rode a white horse and defeated a dragon, just like in the Muggle fairy tales.
He had known even then that it was foolish. Logically, his father could never have been a knight, and Tom was nothing if not logical. And yet…
In his dream his father took off his helmet to reveal a smiling face; hair dark, eyes light, his teeth white in a pale oval. And he picked up Tom and said, "There, there, you see? I know who you are."
Then his eyes turned red, and he let out a terrible roar.