Author's note: Hey there! Thanks for clicking this story! I really hope you enjoy it.

I wrote this story as a sort of self-fulfillment. I grew up with Harry Potter and I always wished I could see how Voldemort went through it all, through his eyes and his judgment. So since I couldn't find any good fics out there that portrayed his entire life story from beginning to end, I thought, why the hell not?

This story is currently being translated into German on the German fanfiction website. The author will be 'The Dark Lord' so if any of your Germans out there are interested, special thanks goes to GermanGirl.

I personally don't think this is my best work but it is the first story I have completed fully on the website and I'm quite proud of it, so I do hope you enjoy it and please leave your comments below :)

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all rights to it belong strictly to J.K Rowling. I am simply having fun with my imagination. Thanks

CHAPTER 1: WOOL'S ORPHANAGE

Home. What a pathetic excuse for a home. How could she have left him there? He still did not know.

Tom sat by the window in his room and stared out at the deserted street, thinking of his worthless mother. It was a rainy day. Wasn't it always? He sat, thinking hard. Any minute now, Mrs. Cole would come to interrogate him regarding Billy's rabbit. He already had an alibi in mind. He'd rehearsed it in his head all night long. There was absolutely no evidence of his having been responsible for what had happened to that poor, innocent soul. And he knew perfectly well that Billy would keep quiet. He certainly did not want a repeat of what had happened in the cave.

He could hear her now. The clicking of Mrs. Cole's heels on the stairs. She stopped at his door, no doubt thinking of what to say. How to approach him. She would obviously begin kind and polite, then would grow unhappy with his answer and become angry.

The door slowly creaked open. Mrs. Cole stood there, staring at Tom, looking frightened and perplexed.

"Hi there," he said to her, casually. "How do you do?"

"I…" she seemed to struggle with what to say. "Well…Billy's rabbit was discovered hanged this morning."

"Oh no," said Tom, mocking concern.

"Yes, it's terrible," said Mrs. Cole, narrowing her eyes at him. "Do you know anything about this, Tom?"

"No," said Tom, in the most innocent voice he could manage. "How did it happen?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that, Tom," said Mrs. Cole, stepping into the room, though leaving the door open.

"I haven't a clue," said Tom, thoughtfully.

"Yes, well," said Mrs. Cole. "I happen to know for a fact that you had an argument with Billy yesterday. He told me all about it."

Tom raised an eyebrow at her.

"Did he, now?"

Mrs. Cole stared at him, frightfully.

"I forced it out of him," she said, in a tone more like a question.

"I'm sure you tried," said Tom, coolly.

Mrs. Cole stared at him for a long time. He expected her to ask him where he'd been when the incident occurred. Instead, she turned away and closed the door behind her, leaving Tom to his thoughts.

So the sneaky rat had told on him. He had to admit, he'd expected better. No matter, though. He would have a talk with him just as soon as he could get him on his own.

It wouldn't be the first time that he frightened Billy. Just the month before, when they had been taken out onto the seaside for what Mrs. Cole liked to call "a bit of fresh air", Tom had lured Billy and a few of the others into a cave. There, he had demonstrated some of his abilities to them. It was all good fun, of course. He knew none of the others could make objects float in the air. But his most prized ability—speaking to snakes—was the one that had really frightened them. At first, they'd thought he was simply playing. But when the large snake started to hiss back to him, the others fell quickly silent.

Tom always knew he was different. He had discovered his abilities at the age of 6, when he had been angry one day and caused a vase to explode by itself. He never told Mrs. Cole or anybody else about this. Though, Mrs. Cole seemed to sense his difference and tried multiple times to bring in a doctor to look at him. He'd only let a few of the other children glimpse his abilities, and even that was only for the purposes of scaring them. They weren't very pleasant children anyway, and so Tom felt it was his duty to teach them little lessons.

But even now, at 11 years old, he still didn't know exactly what it was that gave him this difference. All he knew about himself was that his mother had dropped him off at the orphanage when he was just born, and had told Mrs. Cole that his name was to be Tom Riddle, after his father, and Marvolo for his middle name, after her father. The thought made him sick to his stomach. He didn't want to be "after" anybody. He was far too special and different for that.

The rest of that summer was pretty dull. Tom laid low for a while, not wanting to push his chances. But he had managed to silence Billy for good. He wasn't exactly sure how he did it, but if he was facing him and he thought it and concentrated real hard, he always managed to inflict some pain in Billy. That was always amusing to watch.

His biggest surprise yet, occurred on an ordinary August afternoon. He had been sitting in his usual spot by the window in his room, wondering what he would do with his powers a few years from now when he'd run away, when the door swung open. There stood Mrs. Cole, looking perplexed as usual, though admittedly, a little drunk. And beside her, stood an old man. He had on a suit which was half hidden under his long white beard. He eyed Tom carefully from behind his half-moon spectacles, and then gave him a big smile.

"Tom, you have a visitor," said Mrs. Cole, nervously. "He's come here to tell you…well, I'll let him do it."