Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all characters (except OCs) and any other familiar content.

Chapter One: Straight Outta 1943

August 21, 1943

Tom Riddle turned the cold piece of metal around in his long, slender fingers. The Time-Turner was one of the most coveted magical devices. Now, how does this thing work, Tom thought to himself, before chuckling. All the other occupants of the orphanage were out on a trip to the countryside, leaving Tom to freely experiment with magic in the building's basement which he'd been doing since his seventeenth birthday. Tom took a deep breath and tried a different approach; he waved his wand in a circular motion and the Time-Turner began to twist in the air, when suddenly, it fell with a cling onto the metal table. Well, that's odd, he thought. He reached out to grab it, but before he could lay his fingers on its gold surface, a shining light burst from the tiny hourglass and he was vacuumed into the confines of the Time-Turner.

He was spinning rapidly, though he felt like there was no room to move. His limbs were being compressed into his body and just as he thought his bones were about to break, he was thrown into the air and landed with a thud, on the cold stone ground. He sat up slowly, his head swimming and stomach lurching, yet thankful that he was out of the strange portal. After a few minutes, he was starting to feel steady again, so he pushed himself to his feet. And promptly lost his lunch. He straightened himself up and finally looked around at his surroundings.

By all accounts, it looked like the orphanage's basement, but the metal table he had been working with was no longer there. Frowning, he made his way upstairs only to encounter an empty orphanage. Interesting, he thought. Making his way through to the front door, he stepped out. Tom's initial reaction to the outside world was "what the Hell am I looking at?" All around him were cars he'd never seen and people in clothing far too revealing. He looked around the street, noticing that all the buildings were the same, however, they were not the same places. What had once been a barber shop was now a television superstore. Out of the corner of his eye, Tom spotted a bright flash of green and he turned to face the many screens in the window.

"IF YOU WANNABE MY LOVER, YOU GOTTA GET WITH MY FRIENDS….."

He was startled by the amount of stomach and leg that was being displayed with the offensive music. As much as Tom wanted to look away, he couldn't peel his eyes away from the partying girls. What is happening, he thought, why are these girls dressed in such a way, and who gave them permission to sing?

"YO I'LL TELL YOU WHAT I WANT, WHAT I REALLY, REALLY WANT….."

"What do you want?!" Tom yelled at the screen, gaining him some weird looks from passersby.

A random man stopped, "Dude, I ask myself that all the time." The man walked away and Tom shook his head and decided there was only one option if he didn't want to get lost- The Knight Bus.

Tom raised his wand and bam, there it was, all blue and shiny. A thin, pimply young man wearing a conductor's hat greeted him, "My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor today."

Tom ignored the man's greeting and said, rudely, "Do you have today's copy of the Daily Prophet?"

The man handed it to him and he quickly scanned the page for the date. There, up in the top of the page was the date, August 21, 1996. Tom felt the blood leave his face as he dropped the paper. 1996? What? How did that happen?, despite his confusion, Tom expertly kept his face molded into an indifferent expression. "Take me to the Leaky Cauldron," he demanded. Stan said something to him but Tom was lost in his own thoughts, and quite frankly, did not care what Stan had to say about anything.

Tom was disappointed to learn that 53 years had not made the Knight Bus any smoother of a ride. Whatever criticisms Tom had about the Knight Bus, it at least was quick, for in a matter of minutes he was dropped off at the Leaky Cauldron.

Tom walked into the pub hesitantly but was glad to see that it hadn't changed much. He took a seat at a table far from the busier part of the pub and waited to be served. "Tom!" Tom's head turned at the sound of his name, "Wake-up Horace over there before he drowns in his mead!" Tom watched as the barman shook his (former?) professor awake. Tom slightly panicked – though it didn't show on his face – he knew that no matter how much Slughorn admired him, he would be quite shocked to see him 50 years after their last meeting.

Which begged the questions: if Tom was here in 1996, did the past occur without him? Or did he send a replica of himself to the future while another copy stayed behind? Was this a new universe or was it just a different time? Tom decided those were questions that needed answering though he doubted he'd learn the answers today. Deciding to forsake the food, he stood and proceeded to enter Diagon Alley. It was just as he had remembered, and he was comforted by this fact until the song from earlier started to play in his head. Merlin's pants! What do you want?! He hoped that he would forget about this muggle trash soon.

He strolled through the streets of the city and a thought struck him, I should probably see if I can attend Hogwarts this year and finish my schooling, but until then, I should try to find a place to stay. And so Tom took a turn towards Knockturn Alley and entered his favorite store, Borgin and Burkes. A tall man with long, platinum blonde locks and younger man, not far from Tom's own age with the same blonde hair though his was slicked back and considerably shorter, were standing at the counter purchasing what looked to be a gold necklace of some sort. As Tom moved closer to the two, he managed to catch a glimpse of the crest on the locket. The S that represented the House of Slytherin was engraved on the shiny surface and Tom was struck with an overwhelming need to own the trinket.

"Excuse me, but I was wondering, does that happen to be Salazar Slytherin's locket?" Tom asked the older man.

"Yes, it is, what's it to you?" The younger blonde replied rather rudely.

"Hush, now Draco," the older man told the boy.

Tom looked at the pair, and tried to contain the venom that threatened to slip through his carefully created mask of politeness, "It's just that I've always been an admirer of the great wizard, he is one my ancestors you know."

"Really?" The older man asked, "Well, allow me to introduce myself, I am Lucius Malfoy, and this is my son Draco. You don't look familiar and I'm sure I would've heard from my son about a descendant of Slytherin attending Hogwarts. Where are you attending school, you can't possibly be much older than my son?" The younger man, Draco, leered at Tom.

Tom thought for a half a second before reaching out to shake Lucius's hand, "My name is Tom Slytherin. You see, I've been attending Durmstrang for the past six years but my parents recently passed and so now I am unable to pay the fees for continuing my education at that school. I'm currently waiting to hear back from the Headmaster at Hogwarts about transferring."

Lucius nodded, a brow raised at the new information, "I gather you need a place to stay?"

"Well for the time-being, I've been staying at the Leaky Cauldron."

Lucius smirked, "Nonsense, I won't be having someone of such noble descent staying in that filthy pub. I'm sure my wife would be honored to give you a place to stay until you are able to attend Hogwarts with Draco this year. If you need me to, I am sure I could talk to the Headmaster and make sure you are admitted with no problems, as I am on the governing board." Draco looked at his father with disbelief while Tom smiled and accepted the man's offer. 53 years and the art of manipulation hadn't changed a bit.

A/N: Hey, everyone! This is yours truly, Lucky and NutMeg, the creators of this story! We'd really appreciate hearing from any and all of you so please read, review, and recommend! Thanks!