Fan fiction: A Second Chance
Ch. 1
Tom Riddle was bent down on his knees in the dusty room that he shared with five of the other boys in the orphanage, dusting his small collection of trophies. They weren't real trophies; the kind people get 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. He was the only one who tried to keep his part clean. Glancing outside, he watched the other children play outside, laughing and joking as they chased each other. Stupid children, he thought, as he grabbed a worn history book out from under his bed and began to read.
He was engrossed in the French Revolution when the door opened. Ms. Cole, who ran the shack that she called and orphanage, sat down on his bed and took the book out of your hands.
" Tom, a man is here to see you. Change into these clothes so you'll at least look decent for him."
He was stunned. No one ever came to visit him anymore, not since he was younger. He wondered who it was that would want to see him. Did they know about his powers? Tom was immediately on guard. Ms. Cole shoved some clean clothes into his arms and waited outside as he changed. He wordlessly followed her to the rooms where parents waited to meet prospective children, his eyes scanning his surroundings. She opened the door and he immediately saw him.
Tom had dreamed of having parents. His father look just like him, except older and wise. 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 his father. 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. The thing Tom noticed most were the man's eyes, which were hidden behind a pair of circular glasses. The man looked young, about eighteen or twenty, but his eyes were full of things of the past. His clothes were ordinary, nothing that told Tom that the man was rich.
" Tom, this is Harry Peverell."
Tom looked at the man.
" It appears that Harry is a cousin of yours who lived in France…is that right Harry?" Ms. Cole asked.
" Yeah that right. My parents lived in a town outside of Paris, along the Seine."
Tom immediately noticed that Harry's accent was British and felt immediately violated.
" If you're from France, then why do you speak in a British accent?" Tom snarled. Ms. Cole glared at him, disgusted by Tom's rudeness. She immediately smacked him on the behind and hissed at him to behave. Harry, however, didn't seem to be bothered by the question or Tom's accusatory tone.
" My parents lived and France and that was where I was raised. However, my godfather here taught me after I turned eleven after my parents died. I moved to France for about two years after I turned seventeen, where I became fascinated with my family history. I came here to find you after I learned that you lived in an orphanage." Harry looked Tom in the eye, hoping that the boy would believe his lies.
Tom felt uneasy about the man, tempted to tell him to sod off. He waited though to see what he wanted though, before he escaped back into his room.
" 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 hoping that you would come live with me." Harry said simply as he began to sign the adoption papers. " I'm lonely living by myself. Even though my friends are here, I would like to have a family."
Tom was taken by surprise, which he hated. He felt like he was being manipulated. He was about to decline when he glanced out the window and saw Billy Stubbs, a kid he abhorred, and the other kids whom he didn't like either. It was either Harry or Wool's Orphanage. Running the pros and cons of living with Harry in his head, Tom looked at Harry. Harry glanced up at him, and he nodded his head yes.