The Lion and the Snake

Ch. 1

I do not own any canon characters, settings, or events, nor do I make a profit off of this story

Tom Riddle bent down on his knees in the dusty room that he shared with five other boys in the orphanage, admiring his small collection of trophies. They weren't real trophies like the kind people receive after winning a contest. Tom's trophies were an odd collection of knick-knacks that he had taken from other orphans, usually in the spirit of revenge. He looked around the room, observing the dirt and the mess that the others had left behind in their bid to play. He was the only one who tried to keep his small section clean. Stupid children. Glancing outside, he watched the other children play outside, laughing and joking as they chased each other in yet another meaningless game of tag. Stupid children. He looked at his trophies, smiling slightly at their orderly appearance. Glancing at the clock, Tom gaged enough time to reread a few sections of his history book before he was called to dinner.

Mrs. Cole knocked on the door to the room Tom shared with several other boys before gently opening it. She smiled as she watched the small chest in front of her rise and fall, Tom's tattered history book knocked to the side. Tom held a special place in her heart. Tom was a handsome boy, a dark brunette with eyes as brown as a doe and pale skin. His innocent appearance warmed the hearts of many potential adoptive parents, but they soon abandoned any thoughts of taking him home due to the dark events that surrounded the child. He was the epitome of a problem child, there was no question about it. Tom did not actively seek out to bully others, but if the other children got under his skin he lashed out. Mrs. Cole remembered many a time when she had to restraint Tom herself to keep him from physically harming other children. He also had a strange quality to him that petrified the other children. Dark events seemed to center around Tom, almost as if the child possessed magic. Yet while others would have given up on the boy, Mrs. Cole sought to help him as best as she could. After he calmed down from his anger and had been punished appropriately, she would hold him in her lap and cuddle him close to her. When alone with her, Tom was a sweet but lost child who desperately wanted someone to love him as their own. He had dreams of becoming powerful and wealthy too, which worried the matron. Tom was too obsessed with being in control to make gains emotionally. But he was a young boy still, and with the right direction and love, she was sure he would flourish. Hopefully the young man sitting in her office would help him.

Mrs. Cole stroked the Tom's bangs tenderly, gazing at the boy's impossibly long eyelashes before gently waking him. His dark eyes fluttered slightly before opening, an incoherent look coming upon on his face.

"Shh…wake up honey" she whispered as he struggled to wake up. "A nice man is waiting in the office to meet you. He's a distant relative of yours." Tom looked at her, his normally stoic expression dazed and confused. His mind raced. Who on earth could this man be, and why would he want to adopt a boy as troublesome as he was?

Mrs. Cole handed him a nice shirt and some trousers, turning around as he changed. She then combed his hair, noticing the scared look in Tom's eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently when Tom suddenly hugged her. She took a finger and turned his head so he was looking at her. Tears glistened in his eyes, but he didn't dare let them fall.

"What if…what if it doesn't work out this time?" Tom asked. His voice was still soft from sleep and full of worry. She picked him up and hugged him to her chest, feeling a slight wetness on her neck when Tom buried his face in it. At timed like this, she was reminded that he was just a child, not a cruel monster capable of hanging a boy's pet rabbit.

"Things will work out as God intended." She rubbed his back and set him back down on the floor as he tried to rein his emotions in control. "Just try not to be hostile towards the man."

She took Tom's hand in hers as they made their way to the office. Tom swallowed his nervousness when he saw the man in front of him.

Tom dreamed of having parents. His father would look just like him, except older and wiser. He would be wealthy and influential, the most powerful man in the community. His mother would be beautiful and kind, but intelligent. Together, his parents would give him a high social status and they would teach him to be just like them. The man in front of him was nothing like he dreamed of. This man was short and lean. His skin was pale, but it wasn't sickly looking. His hair was jet black and wild. Tom could see the edge of what looked like a scar on his forehead behind a lock of hair. Tom noticed the man's eyes the most, which were hidden behind a pair of circular glasses. The man looked young, about eighteen or twenty, but his eyes seemed haunted, as if he had endured much pain in his past. His clothes were nice, but they were average looking. They weren't the clothes of an important man.

"Mr. Peverell, this is Tom. Tom, Mr. Peverell is a distant cousin of yours who has spent the last few years living in France…isn't that right?"

"Yes, that is right. My parents lived in a town outside of Paris, along the Seine." Tom immediately noticed that Harry's accent was British, and narrowed his eyes. What did this man have to hide from him? Harry Potter noticed the shift and tried to act normal.

" If you're from France, then why do you speak in a British accent?" Tom asked, his tone accusatory. Mrs. Cole shot him a sharp glance at his tone, but the man in front of him didn't flinch.

" My parents lived in France and raised me there. However, my godfather took me in when I was five after they died. I lived here with him for a while before I moved back to France for about three years after I turned seventeen. I wanted to learn more about my family's history while I was there. I came here to find you after I learned that you lived in an orphanage. I didn't want you to grow up without a family." Harry looked Tom in the eye, hoping that the boy would believe his lies.

"Why did you come to see me?" Tom asked, knowing for sure that the man just wanted to talk briefly to him and leave. A man of his age wouldn't come to adopt him. He wasn't stupid enough to have hope for a family, but he was interested to see what the man knew of his parents.

"I was curious about you. I thought maybe you could come live with me and we could get to know each other. After all, we're family and I know what it's like to have no one. I didn't want a family member to feel the same way I did after I left."

Tom was taken by surprise, which he hated. He looked at Mrs. Cole, who nodded her head encouragingly. She bent down and whispered "Go with him. I've talked to him and he's a good man who just wants a family." Tom nodded, pent up feelings of hope arising in his chest as he sat down, waiting for Mr. Peverell to finish the paperwork to adopt him. He worried though. What would happen when the man found out about him?