On that day, I found out that wizards are no less cruel than the Muggles who raised me.
I went to Hogwarts thinking I'd make a new life for myself. Nobody would respect me at the orphanage unless I hurt them. I'd hoped it would be different in the wizarding world, that maybe I could be loved instead of hated for a change.
That never happened.
When the Sorting Hat went onto my head, I begged to be put into a house that would give me power so I wouldn't have to be helpless any longer. My wish was granted. I became a Slytherin.
It turned out to also be the house of bullies and despicable people.
After the feast, I was comfortably full. I was heading downstairs to see my dormitory for the first time when I heard her. Heard screaming.
"No, please, stop, I'll do anything!"
I knew exactly how much pain those agonized screams implied. I'd experienced it first hand. I ran around the corner to see a first-year girl writhing on the floor in pain. "Crucio," said an awful voice. It came from a taller boy, towering over her with a wand pointed at her face. She was covering her eyes with her hands as if that would stop the awful spell. It clearly did nothing.
"No!" I yelled, and threw myself in front of her trembling figure.
Immediately, barbs of fire shot through my veins. It was worse than the time I got my nose broken, worse than the time I set a coin on fire and got a blackened burn on my left hand. I understood why the girl would cry out for mercy. But I never would. I knew that if you ever let it show that they got to you, even one little bit, they would never stop.
"Stop right now. Or else.," I growled through gritted teeth.
"Make me, first-year scum." The torturer was unfazed.
The girl behind me had recovered enough to speak. "Mudblood," she spat at her tormentor.
"Ooh, you're so much better than me," taunted the tall boy. "I should be your house elf and lick your shoes."
"Just leave me alone!" A note of desperation was back in her voice, mixed in with the pure hatred of the shouted word she'd uttered.
"Only because I'm bored. Petrificus Totalis!" All of a sudden, I couldn't move a muscle. I fell flat on my face. The boy walked away laughing.
"I'm sorry. Thanks for trying to defend me," said the girl. She cast a spell to unfreeze me. My nose was bleeding. She said, "Episkey!" and it was set back into place.
Who was that? And why did you call him 'Mudblood'?" Now that the adrenaline had drained out of my system, I was curious about what had just taken place.
"He's a mudblood: he has two muggle parents. That makes him the worst kind of filth," the girl said disgustedly. "Non of that in MY family. I'm Lestrange, Bellatrix Lestrange." She held out her hand. I shook it.
We walked down the hall together. "I need to learn that torture spell," I said.
"I can teach it to you," said Bellatrix with feeling. "Nobody should be powerless against their attackers."
In bed that night, I started trying to anagram my name into a name that would be feared by bullies all over Britain. I would kill all the Muggleborns I met and exact my revenge.
On that day, I decided that I was going to make a difference in the world. I, Tom Riddle, was going to be a hero.