The Rise of a Lord
Yosis
"Tom,
dear! It's your turn to clean out the dumpster this week, honey!" old Mrs.
Flunda, owner of the Flunda Children's Home, called out.
"First of
all, old hag, I did it last week, and I am not dear or honey to you,"
Tom Riddle, a ten year old boy at the orphanage, replied. "Besides, my birthday
is this week. I don't want that job on my birthday week!"
Mrs. Flunda
sighed, and snickered, "I'm sure, darling, but since it is your birthday week,
I will get one of the other boys to take care of the dumpster. However, since
you gave that job away, your new assignment is changing the babies' diapers."
Tom looked
very angered and stormed off; almost wishing his father was still in
contact with him. Maybe then they would treat him better.
On
Wednesday, Tom's Birthday, an unusual letter came to him, delivered by an owl.
He was lucky enough to have the bed by the window, and was the only one awake
yet. It read:
Hogwarts School
Of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster Procantene
Dear Mr. Riddle.
We are pleased to inform you that you have
been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find
enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins
on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Alice Ollens
Deputy Headmistress
(Please remember that first years
are not allowed wands.)
He was a
little confused, and began to wonder which of the boys had sent him a prank
letter. His anger was building, and he was about to go shake them all awake
when the little owl nipped his finger and brought his attention to other
things. Which of the boys could have trained an owl this well? He
thought, and then the little creature picked up a pencil and some scrap paper
and put them in his hands.
His letter
back to this odd school said simply:
Dear Professor Ollens,
Ok.
Sincerely,
Tom Riddle
Tom
examined it closely, then gave it to the owl to take who knows where, then
turned back to his letter to see what the rest of it said. It told him to get
certain books at a "Diagon Alley," wherever that was. It had to be somewhere in
London, and he knew the city fairly well, as he frequently ran away.
Unfortunately, ten year olds can't really get jobs so he always had to return.
He highly doubted that he could get a ride to King's Cross Station.
Then he
realized that he was thinking that this might not be a prank. Well, he had a
whole summer before this "school" was to start. He read on about how to get to
the Leaky Cauldron, and from there to Diagon Alley. Might as well go check it
out, he thought.
Diagon
Alley was a very odd sight to Tom's eyes. Defiantly not a prank, he
laughed to himself. Almost laughed. Tom didn't laugh, ever. There were people
with strange clothing, robe-like, strolling about the place. He walked into the
first shop he saw, Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. He tried
out many wands, but finally ended up with one made of yew and phoenix feather,
thirteen and a half inches long.
"That'll
be eight Galleons, young boy," Ollivander said.
Tom was
very confused. "Galleons? What?"
"Oh, a
muggle-born. Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts," and he went on to explain wizarding
currency and how to get some. "I'll just hold your wand, boy, until you get
some."
Tom went
back to the Children's Home to get the small amount of money he had. He bought
his wand, robes, cauldron and books, and had just enough money for some ice
cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He then headed home, if it could
be called "home."
The
rest of Tom's summer went by rather quickly, he read and re-read all of his
textbooks until he almost had them memorized. The other boys may have taunted
him relentlessly about spending all of his money on some fake magic stuff and
some very tacky robes, but he comforted himself with the thought that he would
never have to see them again. Or, at least for a good while.
The
day of September 1st came, and Tom was out the door with all of his
school things faster than old Mrs. Flunda could ask him where on God's Earth he
was going (as she would have, and always did). He found Platform Nine and
Three-Quarters easily, although he had no idea how to get in until an older
student showed him. On the whole ride to Hogwarts, he was by himself in a
compartment near the back. He enjoyed the ride over the lake, where Professor
Ollens explained what would be happening next in "their rapidly changing
lives." The new first years lined up in alphabetical order, starting with
Averlon, Amanda, and ending with Velo, Zachary. Tom was of course sorted into
Slytherin.
He
was upstairs in his new room that he shared with four other boys, thinking
about what he knew of his parents. His asshole of a father, Tom Riddle, had
left his mother before he was even born. It was because she had been "unusual,"
as he had heard. She had probably been a witch. She died giving birth to him,
and he had been sent to the Muggle orphanage. His father hadn't wanted him.
Yes, his mother had to have been a witch, because that's certainly different,
and he was a wizard. It made sense.
"Hey,
Josef, nice room we have, isn't it?" Tom said, trying to start a conversation
as well as trying to make a friend.
"Huh?
Who are you, shrimp? And I go by Ashton. My last name," was the reply he got
from the large boy.
The
rest of Tom's first year went by much like his life at the orphanage, but there
were a few differences. He still hadn't made any friends, but his teachers
liked him. The food was good, and the beds comfortable. He didn't have to fight
for use of the bathroom, or for the best desserts, but he still got in fights.
Just not as many. He also enjoyed his classes, and felt he was learning
something that actually would help him in life, and not just Grammer, Math, and
Science, the three dull classes Mrs. Flunda instructed to all the children. His
favorite class was Divination, and he especially liked the teacher, Professor
Trelawney. (A/N: no, its not Sibyll, everyone's favorite Divination instructor,
just her mother.) The Professor seemed to think he possessed some skill, even
though she had very little.
Soon
enough, everyone was leaving. Tom was extremely
loathe to leave Hogwarts, and he even doubted that he could return to his
previous home. So, the Headmaster let him stay for the summer, and he got ahead
in the classes.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That was just the introduction
chapter, almost a prologue. Sorry about the lines (if they show up on ff.net),
my computer just got a little messed up again. Read and Review, folks, please!
