.Her little boy.
.
Tom Riddle was weird, she couldn't deny it... But it didn't matter, he was still her little boy.
It was her, Margareth Cole, who held him for the first time right after he was born. It was her who used to walk up and down the orphanage's corridors carrying little Tom in her arms, trying to make him drift into sleep. It was her who always took care of him when he was sick… She had always taken care of him since he was born.
When Riddle was accepted into that boarding school, Hogwarts, Mrs. Cole was proud… After all, it was the first time that one of their children were accepted into that school, and the chosen one was her Tom.
Unfortunately, after he left for his first year at Hogwarts, it was only a matter of time until the matron started to miss him. It was the first time in years that she couldn't keep an eye on him… Making sure that he wasn't doing anything stupid or taking care for him not get hurt.
Every year Tom came back during the vacations and, in every year that passed, he became even more different from the little boy she used to know… Margareth missed those times when Tom would speak with her about random things or when the boy would sit next to her and watch what she was doing for hours… But her love for him never disappeared.
And then came the day he left her forever.
- What are you going to do now, Tom?
- Find a place to stay and get a job.
- Are you sure you don't want to stay here a little more?
- No, Mrs. Cole, I've already stayed in this place for too much time.
The woman felt the sadness building up inside herself when she heard that. The orphanage was his home, wasn't it? He grew up there… But it seemed that the fact that he was finally leaving that place was actually pleasant to him.
- Tom - she called when the young man (even though she wanted to, it was impossible to call him a "boy"… he was already a grown up man) was already leaving.
- Yes? - Riddle watched her as she approached with his cold eyes.
- Take care - Mrs. Cole felt his body tense up when she wrapped her arms around him. Tom wasn't used to physical contact, she knew that - We'll miss you here in the orphanage…
- I doubt that.
- I hope I'll see you again someday.
The young Riddle nodded his head before turning his back to the matron and leaving the orphanage. Mrs. Cole felt her heart ache as she watched that boy that she loved as her own child going away.
Tom Riddle never knew how the orphanage's matron felt about him, of course. She didn't know if the problem was with him or with her… Was it possible that she didn't show enough affection for him? Or the boy was too blind to not notice how much she liked him?
Mrs. Cole never saw her little boy again and never knew the answer for those questions.
~x~
A/N: A really quick fanfiction about Mrs. Cole and Tom Riddle, written for a challenge... I don't think that Mrs. Cole's first name appears in the books, right? So, I made it up...
Hope you like it (:
Ari.