Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers! This story chronicles the life of Tom Riddle till he becomes Lord Voldemort. The story begins with Tom and Hermione who are seven years old. This is NOT Hermione Granger, but you'll find out her identity soon enough. I am planning to make this a long one so please bear with me. A huge thanks to my beta, 'The stupid is always possible', who is absolutely wonderful.

Chapter 1 :

Hermione let out an exhausted sigh as she settled down beside the cellars for yet another day out in the cold. It had become a regular bedroom.

It had been fuor years since she had first arrived at this place, four years since her parents died. But she somehow felt very out of place in the orphanage, like she didn't belong there. She felt like an impostor who would get unmasked anytime now.

She didn't understand why those weird things just kept happening to her. It seemed that whenever she got angry or excited, bad things kept happening to her. First the flying tea tray and now the curtains, which she had set ablaze without as much as a matchstick.

Every day she grew more convinced that she was indeed what they claimed her to be; a witch.

And that could only lead to one thing; a certain and painful death. Hermione shuddered at the thought. A seven year old girl shouldn't have to ponder her demise, but, sadly, it was the only thought that haunted her waking hours.

The authorities would find out soon enough and she would probably be taken to a sanatorium, an exorcist or the police. Whichever one, her future looked bleak. How they could punish her for something she never actually did, she didn't understand. Everything just happened to her.

God knows she tried. She had read the bible cover to cover, attended church every day and even prayed thrice a day. But nothing seemed to help; it was as if she was destined for the evil. It would get her no matter what she tried.

The strange part was that to her it didn't feel evil at all; it felt rather natural. And this scared her. As the days passed by she felt as if she was losing herself to this magnetic force which seemed to mercilessly draw her in.

She was roused from her musings by the sound of voices. It was recess and the children of the orphanage had come out to play. Soon she was surrounded by the regular group of boys who had the hobby of irritating her. Long ago she had learned to block them out of her mind.

"So what did you do today you little witch? Other than try to burn down the house that is."

"They shouldn't let her out of the house at all. She'll probably go kill a man to perform her rituals and sacrifices."

"Maybe she was trying to burn down the town today to take revenge."…..and on and on.

Hermione didn't give them the satisfaction of knowing that their words were getting to her. She cast her eyes downward and busied herself in drawing circles in the snow.

"She may not have succeeded in killing us today, but what's to prevent her from trying again tomorrow?"

"Maybe WE should kill HER before she can hurt us again"

Hearing their words caused Hermione to tense immediately.

One boy had the sudden idea of pelting her with stones and others soon followed. Helplessly Hermione tried to escape, but it was to no avail. They had her cornered.

She let out a wearied sigh. Nobody cared whether she died or lived. She had no friends or family. People would probably be relieved to get rid of her. With a resigned sigh she faced the shower of stones.

Tom was in good mood. He had escaped the clutches of Mrs. Cole yet again. In his mirth he felt like whistling and skipping down the pavement. Another day away from those pathetic Muggles. He had a sudden urge to take a dip in some pond to get rid of filth he had accumulated while living in close communion with those creatures.

He passed by a group of boy who were yelling at whimpering bundle of clothes, which tried its best not break down into tears, but with little success.

Suddenly he caught a word which immediately attracted his attention.

"Witch".

The Muggles were accusing the girl of being a witch! How outrageous, how disgusting! As if she could ever command the power even if she wanted to.

He decided to stay by and listen anyways. The boys seemed intent on harm. Well, the impostor probably deserved it anyways. Maybe he would even join in to pay his dues and show them what real magic was.

However, the more he listened the more he was convinced otherwise. If even a fraction of their accusations were true it could only mean one thing. She was a witch.

His blood boiled in anger. How dare these excuses for human beings even think of laying a finger on a witch. But, if she was indeed a witch, she should not have had any trouble protecting herself.

Curious, he edged a little closer. He could now feel her raw magic pulsating through the air. It lashed out furiously and seemed to wrap itself around the boys. Tom smirked. Their punishment would be worth a watch. It was only a matter of time before. . .

Suddenly, there was sharp drop in the magic in the air the air. In a fraction of a second all six boys were viciously flung against the trees and one by one their limp forms slipped down into the snow.

Hermione watched in horror as the boys screamed in pain. She had never intended for this to happen. Now things would get even worse for her.

Tom watched in amusement as the boys now struggled to get up and attack the girl once more. Surprisingly, the girl made no move to protect herself and neither did her magic. Tom decided that it was time to intervene. After all, it would only be little practice session with them.

Each of the boys cowered on the ground as he fixed them with his icy glare. Pain shot through their limbs, a pain so inhuman that they felt it tearing at their insides. But no sound escaped them as their throats slowly seemed to run dry until they were hoarse with trying.

Tom was enjoying himself immensely. First the impromptu holiday and now a little magic practice, what could be better? He heard a ruffling noise from behind the trees and stopped. He could make out a form approaching them. It wouldn't do well to get caught. He released the boys, who immediately vanished like a puff of smoke. Thankfully, it being a more secluded spot, he had been wary of onlookers.

He then cautiously turned to look at the girl. She had fainted, which was good for him. He couldn't understand how someone would want to hurt such a frail and helpless person. Well, it hadn't stopped those Muggles from hurting him when he had been younger. he knew what it felt like to be discriminated against for something which he had no control over. Now that he had his magic, they wouldn't dare even dream of crossing him.

As he watched her prone from lying crumpled on the snow, something stirred within him. Light bruises now marred her pale skin, but he knew from experience that they would become even more painful within a few hours. She was probably younger than him. He just wanted to soothe he wounds and assure her that everything would be alright. However, he realized that he had never learnt how to heal, only how to inflict pain. To heal meant to help, but in hatred and intolerance for everything around him, he had never felt the need to help anyone. A feeling of dread washed over him. Helplessly, crouched down beside the witch and attempted to lay her down gently.

An arm held him back. He wasn't surprised. It was that same man, Dumbledore, who had come to him some years ago.

He gave him a kind smile. "Don't worry about her Tom, she will be all right. I assume that you have guessed that she is indeed is a witch ,just like you."

"I saw her using magic, sir, in front of the Muggles, but she didn't seem to know what she was doing. i don't think that she meant to hurt them, sir," said.

" I know, Tom, she is unaware of her magical heritage. Her magic simply lashed out in self defense. Now, i need to take her to a healer and you will have to accompany me. The people there will only ask you some simple questions to clear off the incident as accidental magic."

Tom nodded in understanding. He held onto Dumbeldore as he was told before he took the three of them by some strange vanishing method to what he claimed was a wizard hospital.

End Note: I would really appreciate it if you take time to review and let me know how you like the story or tell me some things that you want to see in the story.

Thank you!