A/N: This story popped into my head during one of my lectures, as subsequently took all of my attention for the rest of that lecture (whoops ^_^ ) So I hope you guys enjoy it :)

Have you ever wondered what went wrong? Have you ever wanted to know why Tom Marvolo Riddle became Lord Voldemort? Join Tom as he goes to Hogwarts for the seven years which shaped him into the Dark Lord himself.

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Tom Marvolo Riddle sat on the roof of the orphanage he had lived his whole life at. Below he could see the cars driving past. Some were going fast, others slow, and even a few speeding off as fast as they could amid the traffic. It was these sorts of things that Tom envied. The freedom to go places. The freedom to sleep at night without worrying about if someone was going to try break into his room at night and hurt him. Tom was the most unpopular boy at the orphanage. He was quiet, but smart. The teachers at the orphanage said he could do very well if he tried more.

The only problem with this was that Tom didn't want to be special here. In the orphanage it just meant that you were more of a target. However, once he got out, Tom wanted to be someone. Not just anyone. He wanted to be on top of the world, where no one could hurt him ever again. Where he could hurt people instead of the other way around. But Tom was still young and as a result, he made a mistake. A serious one. The children were given a puzzle to do before dinner. They weren't allowed to go to dinner till they had completed the questions. Tom knew, as did all the kids, that the food was at it's best, better known as it's least worst, when it was hot. He had filled his out and was one of the fastest. He had a quite nice dinner that night.

What he didn't know was that the questions, which all looked quite silly and game-like, were actually an IQ test. Tom had not only the highest in the orphanage, even among the older children, but also among other children his age around the country. Excited by this, the owners of the orphanage advertised this to many families, who came to meet Tom. Whilst every time, Tom passed the family's 'tests', bar his cool demeanour, the families never passed Toms. They were often not ambitious families, they just wanted a child who would make them proud but still be 'down to earth.' Nor were the families of a higher class. One time Tom met with an older man, who wanted an heir with the potential to carry on his legacy. He took one look at Tom and deemed him "Too scrawny, man has to be made of better stuff than that."

Tom had been excited at the prospect of being adopted by such a man, but the harsh dismissal had crushed him, and from then on he refused to meet with any of the families. Regardless, the damage had been done. The swarms of families looking to adopt Tom had made the other kids jealous. At first they just made him an outcast. But that suited Tom far too much. Realising this, the larger kids took to hitting him and kicking him. Hurting him as much as possible. Unlike being ostracised, the physical pain affected him, making the boy even more reclusive.

Tom had one thing he could talk to. A small garden snake in the back yard. He would sit there talking with it for hours, telling the snake his troubles and his pains. The snake seemed to like Tom, never making a move to harm him, and whilst Tom enjoyed talking to someone, he wished someone would talk back sometime. And one day it did. Tom was so happy, having someone to talk to, and so, for an hour he had his first friend. Then the sisters at the orphanage saw the snake. Dragging him away from it, a man came and shot his friend. Tom cried that night. But at the same time, Tom felt different. Felt a strange energy inside him, a warmth he could not identify. It was that warmth that sustained him.

It was around that time that strange things started to happen to people who tried to hurt Tom. A few of the usual bullies found that their stuff started disappearing after they tried to hurt Tom. They would leave him on the ground in pain, go back to their rooms and fond something missing from the inside of their locked cupboards. They would also find that Tom had no marks on him, nor did any seem to appear. Tom found these things in his room, and kept them in a small box in his cupboard. When the sisters did a surprise search to try find the missing items, they did not seem able to see the box, much to Tom's amazement. The box soon contained many treasures as Tom found he could open the locks by holding them tight in his hand and concentrating. They were his tropheys, they showed he was special. Better than the rest. But despite this, it still didn't stop people from trying to hurt him as much as possible. When the sisters realised this, they brought a counsellor to him, and tried to fix him that way. During his first session, Tom found himself looking into the mans eyes and was suddenly able to hear what he was thinking. He could see how the man didn't really care. Was more interested in finding a few things that would make repeated, expensive visits necessary. Seeing this, Tom walked out. From then on, whenever the sisters tried to get him to see the doctor, the door would jam, big enough for a dog to get through, something like that. Definitely not big enough for the doctor to get to him. The door would unstick when the man left.

Tom heard a noise behind him. One of the older kids was coming up behind him. Tom turned to meet him.

"You've got another visitor, Mister special child." Sneered the kid, Jack was his name Tom thought. Without a word he stood to go to his room. He had no interest in meeting with this man. Jack moved to the side and blocked Tom's path.

"I dunno why they always wan' a thing like you Tommy." Jack commented, using the hated nickname. He looked down at the boy. He was pale, with longish black hair. He wasn't especially big, and as far as Jack could tell, there was nothing endearing about him. "Maybe they think your special, but I know the truth Tommy…Ya nothing, you'll neva be 'nything either. Creepy little shit." With that, Jack pushed him. Tom was used to being pushed. Was used to insults, even used to the hated nickname. But no one had ever commented on him never being anything. It pierced the cold shroud he maintained. Made him angry. So angry. He felt like there was fire burning behind his eyes. His head hurt, and as he looked at the other person he felt the pressure rising, heat burning under his skin. Then it was gone. All the pressure, everything. The same could not be said for the other child, who was on the ground, rolling around in pain, agony, like there was a thousand hot needles in his skin. He tried to scream, but his jaw was clenched shut, and he couldn't unclench it. Then the pressure was gone, and Tom was walking back to his room. He slammed the door and collapsed on his bed, feeling drained. He heard a knock on the door and sat up. He put on his face and waited as the door opened a bit. The door jammed. There was a pause where Tom relaxed, feeling safe in his room where no one could enter. This feeling of safety vanished, replaced by astonishment, as the man simply pushed the door again and walked in. No one had ever been able to do that. The piercing blue eyes surveyed the room, finally landing on Tom, with a twinkle in them.

The deputy headmaster and transfiguration teacher sat down at the end of the bed, away from Tom. "Hello Tom." Albus Dumbledore finally said after a moment of silence.

"Are you the doctor?" was the answer the man received. Tom's tone made it clear he considered being a doctor a waste of time.

Dumbledore replied that he wasn't, and that he was special like Tom. When Tom asked him to prove it, Dumbledore lit his cupboard on fire, though fire that wouldn't destroy anything. Tom listened to everything the man said, even agreeing to return his trophy's. At the end of it all, he was given money to buy his supplies and directions on where to find Diagon Alley, as well as a warning not to use magic around non magic people, called muggles. Then he left.

As Dumbledore left, he pondered the new student. He felt there was something special to that boy. He had rare abilities, like parseltongue, and also a degree of control on his magic already. It saddened Dumbledore that the boy had already had to use magic to defend himself, and had been left to fend for himself. He decided to keep an eye on him during his years at Hogwarts, like he did all his students, but he had a feeling Tom would require, and be given, more of his time.

Tom on the other hand was amazed. In his mind, Dumbledore was like the father he never had, and he felt something he had never felt before, save for once. The desire to be accepted by someone. He wanted to become powerful like Dumbledore, and to prove himself to the man. Tom Riddle decided right there that he would see pride in Dumbledore's eyes. He would make the man proud of him. He returned the objects discretely, leaving them on the other children's beds, and then returned to his room.

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A/N: I'll leave it there. I'm wondering what people think of it so far? Actually I'm also wondering what people think length wise, since I think this will be a pretty lengthy fic thought I can't say for sure XD

I'm curious as to what people think about it so far? I'm hoping to stick to the canon as much as I can, but I make no promises about not making some "creative editations" XD

Let me know what you guys think ^_^

Velexe