*DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS, SPELLS ET CETERA.*

Chapter 1: An Unusual Pet

Tom Riddle sat quietly in the corner of his bedroom. He watched as all the other Muggle children played outside in the snow, making snowmen, having snowball fights, making snow angels, and other rubbish. Tom never understood why these filthy Muggles even existed. They did not offer and alter anything to world.

Through his fogged up, frosty window, amongst the miles of jet white, he spotted a deep emerald figure, slinking through a lone, frosted bush. He smirked subtly, pressing his pink-tinged cheek against the cold glass, thinking that he may not be the only odd one out this Christmas. Slowly, he curled up into a bundle, and fell asleep, still leaning against the window, a million thoughts racing through his head, like always.

Tom Riddle was a strange, troubled child, most believed. Although his looks were most defined, he had a very mysterious personality. Tom had jet black hair, always very slick and trimmed, pale, almost porcelain skin, an angular, chiseled jaw line, and misty, silver-green eyes that would easily pierce through one, if one was to stare into his eyes too long. Tom wasn't a lanky boy, nor was he muscular; in fact, Tom was what you would call perfect: he enough muscle in all the correct places.

Many say that Tom Riddle had a reason to be such a frightening child. Most Muggles were under the assumption that, well, that his parents abandoned him, and so he was put in the orphanage. Well, the truth is, that is not exactly right. Tom Riddle, a young, striking boy, had quite a dark past. His mother, Merope Gaunt, an elegant witch herself, had used a dangerous love potion to lure and seduce a fine, handsome, Muggle, named Tom Riddle Senior. After Tom's birth, Merope quit the potion in hope that in fact Tom Sr. actually loved her. But alas, Tom Sr. was horrified and abandoned baby Tom and his mother all alone in the orphanage, where he was born. Soon after, Merope died, only living to name her only son. Tom, a vulnerable child, was raised in that orphanage, only to be taken to Hogwarts later on. Without many a memory of his parents, he continued to be that quiet, mysterious, and actually quite spooky kid, who always lurked around silently.

Tom was amoken from his restless sleep by a loud, rough, knock at the door, though it seemed more like a beating down. Tom woke up with a start and walked grudgingly towards his door. Behind the door was none other than the orphanage house keeper. Tom never bothered to remember her name; he never bothered to remember anyone's name. He didn't have any friends, so it wasn't really necessary. Tom stared into the eyes of the old lady, in hope that she would turn and leave him alone. No one liked to bother the boy. Most of the Muggles and magical folk were afraid of him anyhow.

"Er... Tom! How do you do?" The caretaker fiddled nervously with her dirty apron. Tom edged the door closer, so that it was almost shut, until he was stopped. "Er... Tom, my dear, I do not wish to interrupt you, but I just wanted to, er... inform, that's right, inform you that, er, dinner will be served in fifteen minutes. Christmas dinner, that's right." She mumbled and muttered, still fidgeting. Tom stared blankly back.

"I am not hungry." And with that, he shut the door, locked it, and went back to his viewing spot, by the window. By now, all the children were inside, getting warm and toasty for dinner. Tom was just about to shut his ratty curtains, when he spotted something slithering along the crisp, white snow. Again, it was that emerald figure, though now it was easy to make out that it was a snake. It slid with ease across the slippering ice, though Tom couldn't help but notice that it was a bit odd. For one thing, it was huge. The reptile was roughly around twelve feet long, and about as think as a man's thigh. Intrigued, Tom decided to give it a visit, since he had nothing better to do.

Tom grabbed his coat, buckled up his boots, and silently walked down the stairs. There, around twenty other children were eating, laughing, and singing at the table. Tom gagged to himself, thinking that it was much too happy for their own good. Suddenly, when he was in clear sight, the whole chattering stopped abruptly. All that could be heard was the soft jingles of the music, and the whistle of the wind outside. Not a breath was taken, and everyone had there eyes on Tom Riddle. Everyone.

"Hello... Tom," said the caretaker, greeting him once again. Ignoring all this attention, he escorted himself quietly out of the building. As he was leaving, he heard the lady call out to him. "Uh, Tom! Don't be out there too long, you will catch a cold! Uh, now now, children, go back to your business." Tom smirked and continued to trudge along the snow. It was when he reached a dark corner, covered by a willow tree, when he saw the magnificent snake again.

Tom rested himself on a large rock, or a small boulder, and stared at the snake, which, currently, was slithering around him. He took his time to notice the snake's features: bright, green eyes, a scaly, shiny, majestic emerald body, and two large fangs just sticking out of its lower lip. It had strange, curious patterns, all over its body, with a deeper, almost black, shade of green. Tom stared at the creature, mesmerised. To him, this was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Not those stupid bunny rabbits or that bloody peacock the Muggles constantly talked about. Or those unicorns, for Merlin's sake. No, this snake, this enchanting, grand, snake, was, by far, the most amazing creature he had ever witnessed.

Tom looked around, after watching the snake's movements for a while. Darkness had floated onto the pale grey sky, leaving the only visible light to be the gleaming Muggle ones from the buildings all around. Everywhere, in the spirit of Christmas, people were singing, eating, decorating and more. But hidden beneath the willow tree's shadow, Tom did not care. For him, darkness was when he shon the most.

During a couple of weeks of visiting the mysterious snake, Tom made a distinct decision. He was going to join Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry, finally on his birthday. The day he turned eleven, it was the 31st of December. He was told to he was allowed a pet, an owl, frog, or cat. Not wanting either of these filthy Muggle animals, he decided to take the snake. For some eerie reason, the snake never harmed him, though its large body. In fact, Tom had come to believe that the snake liked his company. So, on the day of going to Hogwarts, he stayed in the shadows, his unusual pet, the snake, in its large cage. No one noticed him or the snake. He easily blended in the dark.

Tom hadn't decided on a name for the snake. He felt that the correct name would come to him if he waited. Because you could only choose a name once; it stuck with you for the rest of your life. And Tom Riddle was not going to make the same mistake as his mother did, naming him after the man who betrayed her. For now he stuck with the fact that he had an unusual pet. Among the feathers, tongues and tails of the other students' pets, there was one dark haired boy with a bright emerald snake, hissing behind the bars of the cage...