The Riddler

by Virstal

There was a baby sitting in a crib. He was crying, his little brown eyes leaking hot tears that were currently running down his chubby cheeks. For this little baby knew he was alone in a great big world with no one but himself to give him comfort. This is the story of young Tom Riddle and trying to unravel his closely guarded riddles and secrets.

On December 31st, 1926 there was silence for once at the dingy and dusty Wool's Orphanage. The old building looked even grayer than normal and workers even more solemn than usual. For one Merope Gaunt had breathed her last breath and said her final words. Over the cries of a newborn baby boy she uttered the words, "Tom Marvolo Riddle," and promptly died holding Tom, on the stairs at an orphanage with no one but a lonely caretaker and a crying newborn there with her.

Mrs. Cole took young Tom from his mother's pale arms. Tom stopped crying as soon as she picked him up, which was ever so odd. Unblinking and unmoving, he sat there looking at her with the utmost hatred one so small could have. It was pure, unadulterated loathing. Mrs. Cole instantly hated the little vermin in her arms. He was unnatural, a freak! He should be crying, he should love her, he should be doing things that a normal child do! What in the high heavens is wrong with him?

In those key time setting minutes of Mrs. Cole's life she effectively ruined Mr. Tom Riddle. She set the path to evil, to allow his misguided and heartless ways. To never give him the childhood he deserved. For one thing that Mrs. Cole had that is similar to Tom is the fact that she too became incapable of love.

Mrs. Cole stepped into the damp interior of Wool's Orphanage with Tom is her hands. She wiped her muddy shoes on the door mat, yelled at one of the caretakers to call an ambulance for Merope's corpse, and walked up the carpeted stairs. She entered a small bedroom with nothing but a crib inside of it and placed silent Tom in it.

Tom, who was silent the whole walk, suddenly started wailing with all of his tiny might. He must have known that his mother died because he cried with so much agony and sadness that that was the only way he could have held so much emotion at such a tender age. Mrs. Cole quickly left the room and Tom. She would set foot in that room 3 more times in her lifetime.

For this is where Tom Riddle begins his journey. We must all realize that people aren't made by their birthright. Abraxas Malfoy isn't evil because he is a Malfoy or Harry Potter is a saint because he is a Potter, but their actions and how they handle things. Mr. Tom decided his fate and let the words of others get to him, but isn't that a normal thing? I think it is. Everybody is shaped by the words people say and Tom is no exception. What really made Tom who he is today? I guess Tom Riddle is a riddle all on his own.

Authors Note- Hello! Thank you for at least skimming my story! I insure you I will not be one of those authors that update every two or three months, trust me. Please comment and review. If you liked it favorite and follow please. If you didn't please tell me what I did wrong so that I can fix it for everyone else. As always, I don't own Harry Potter. Here's a quote I like:

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. -Albus Dumbledore

Always amazing,

Virstal