Chapter 2: Hope is for the weak

Tom's eyes flashed open. The feeling of his entire body disintegrating into thin air was still fresh on his mind. Sweat pooled along Tom's forehead, and trickled down the side of his face as the boy attempted to organize his thoughts.

'What a strange dream' Tom took in a deep breath.

"It felt so real…"

The boy's dark blue eyes stared lifelessly at the crumbling ceiling of Wool's Orphanage, and he contemplated the entirety of his dream, remembering how the wizarding world cowered at the mere mention of his name. He re-envisioned the awe glimmering in the eyes of his Death Eaters when they got even the tiniest glimpse of his power. Tom wanted that power. Be it through fear or charm, he wanted people to submit to him just as his Death Eaters had. But that power was only his in a dream, and as reality would have it, Tom was stuck in a shabby orphanage filled with people that he hated.

'How could such power now?' Obviously, obtaining magical abilities were out of the question. Tom wasn't stupid enough to so much as hope for that possibility.

The youth didn't have the time to consider any other options, when all of a sudden, his door slammed open and Matron Cole stormed in. The stocky woman was on him in a second - grabbing Tom's upper arm in a vise-like grip and hauling him from his bed. She then proceeded to storm out of the room with Tom hanging from her hold on his upper arm.

The matron dragged the boy downstairs, and placed him in front of a rather gruesome sight. Tom, who had been busy trying to worm his way out of the matron's grip, glanced up at the display in front of him and couldn't help but smirk involuntarily.

"This!" Mrs. Cole growled as she roughly shook the boy by his now aching arm, "I know you did this!"

In front of Tom hung a small white rabbit. The poor creature was suspended from the ceiling by a thin string wrapped taught around its neck.

A group of children began to gather around the tiny bunny and a loud wail erupted as one kid, Billy Stubbs, emerged from the crowd.

"Minnie! No!" Billy ran up to his dead pet rabbit. He jumped and flailed his arms, trying to get the rabbit down from the ceiling. Fortunately for Tom, Billy was too short to reach the bunny and only succeeded batting Minnie like a piñata. Tom found this spectacle to be very amusing, but kept his expression blank.

Snot drained from the Billy's nose, and he shed tears of pure hatred when he looked at Tom. "It was you wasn't it?" the boy accused.

Tom merely quirked an eyebrow at Billy, "You have no proof."

"I don't need proof! Only you could do something this- this mean!"

A girl with long blond curls moved to the front of the small crowd of children and spoke up, "Um... Mrs. Cole, I saw Tom and Billy arguing yesterday. I think Tom said something really bad, so Billy punched him. Maybe he killed Billy's rabbit to get back at him…" The girl clutched the brown teddy bear she was holding between her arms and shifted in her spot.

Tom glared daggers at the girl who seemed to cower even further behind her bear, 'Amy Benson, wasn't it?' He'd have to get back at her too.

Mrs. Cole's grip on Tom's arm tightened to an almost excruciating level. She barked out orders to the orphanage's other staff members, yelling at them to get the rabbit down from the ceiling. The boy's arm was growing numb from the matron's tight grip, but he wouldn't humor her with a response. That would be a show of weakness, and Tom wasn't weak.

Once the small animal had been taken down, and the other staff herded the group of children out of the room, Mrs. Cole turned her attention to the eleven-year-old at her side. The matron's expression was stony and accusing, and Tom wanted to scoff but settled for clearing his throat.

Mrs. Cole was always looking for an excuse to get Tom in trouble, and the boy wondered what his punishment would be this time around. 'Maybe another week of dish duty? How very intimidating.'

"What are you playing at Tom?" The matron's voice was sharp and biting, "Three times now, something like this has happened. You know, you're not as sneaky as you believe yourself to be. We installed security cameras last weekend. We do have proof that you killed Billy's rabbit. As for the other two times, well, the rest of the staff and I are all in agreement that you are the most likely culprit."

Tom put on his most innocent expression and bat his eyelashes slightly, "What other two times, Mrs. Cole? I fail to see what you are accusing me of." He could have sworn the matron's eye twitched.

"My god, Tom! We all know you did it, so drop the act! I know that you and matron Sinclair didn't get along, but to push her down the stairs?! She broke both her legs and bashed her head open on the floor. She's comatose in a hospital right now, but if she were awake, I have no doubt she would be screaming to have your hide skinned and pinned to a prison wall in some third world country! And what were you thinking, unleashing a snake in Jason's room like that!? Don't even try to deny it, we all know you have an abnormal obsession with snakes and would be the only person to go near one of those filthy little creatures! What if it had bit him?! What if it had venom?! MOST SNAKES HAVE VENOM YOU UTTER FOOL!"

Tom's nostrils flared. Of course he knew most snakes had venom. What did she take him for? A lobotomized monkey?

Mrs. Cole's grasp was so bruising now, that come tomorrow, Tom was sure he would have a black and blue print of her hand on his arm.

'This is absolute rubbish!' The pig couldn't accuse him of those last two incidents simply because they caught him this one time, even if it really had been his fault! Which it had, but Tom saw no reason in telling the old hag that.

When the stress-worn matron glared at Tom, and noticed that he didn't look the slightest bit remorseful, something in her snapped.

Her next words were quiet and cold, barely even a whisper, "I'm done Tom. You have tried your luck too many times, and it has finally worn off. Come this September, we will be sending you to St. Brutus Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. You are not to leave your room for the rest of summer. We will send all of your meals up to you, and you will only be allowed to use the restroom once a day in the company of an escort. If any of the matrons are to hear so much as a peep from your mouth, then you can consider your entire book collection as good as gone. Get to your room. Now."

Tom was beyond furious! He had been locked in his room for almost an entire month now, and he felt like fucking Rapunzel! However, the fact that Tom didn't even have his meager collection of books to entertain him, was far worse than feeling like a damsel in distress.

Jason had gone and tattled on him to Matron Cole, claiming that Tom had been cursing in his room. As a result, Mrs. Cole had stormed up to Tom's room and confiscated all of his reading material. Tom had tried to hide one of his favorite books under his pillow, but that was the second place the matron had looked after getting some of the older boys to haul Tom's bookshelf out of his room.

That had happened only a week after his room sentence began.

Tom should have released something more dangerous than a simple garden snake into Jason's room. Like a rabid dog. Where would he be able to find a rabid dog in the middle of London?

The boy mostly bided his time by counting down the days til his going to St. Brutus. Despite what Mrs. Cole thought, Tom was actually looking forward to going to the correctional facility. The boarding school would provide him with an ideal escape from this hell hole disguised as an orphanage. Not only that, but St. Brutus would be the perfect petri-dish to cultivate a following.

Tom wanted power, and though he couldn't take over the world through magic, he could influence the world through his future connections.

The boarding school was a place where many well-off families and influential people sent their unruly children. Though the school wasn't very prestigious or expensive, it was the only correctional school in the U.K.; therefore, not only would there be rich kids coming from prominent families, but there would also be students with connections to the underground or the cartel. The boy was not bellow getting involved with the sketchier aspects of society, so long as they gave him power.

Tom would befriend those children with the best connections - use his charm on them - and by the time he graduated, he would have the heirs of Britain's most powerful families along with the rising stars of the underworld at his fingertips.

This plan couldn't fail. It was brilliant!

Only two more days until he could leave this termite infested, rat cage.

Harry sat in the back seat of the Dursley family car as he watched the London skyline gradually transform into a twisting forest of trees. It was an overcast day, and so far, Harry had been traveling in the car with Vernon for two long, tension-filled hours. Large crows stared back at the green eyed boy from the tops of the trees, and the occasional 'caw' could be heard in the silence of the drive. The whole scene was rather intimidating, like something out of a horror movie, and it didn't help that the final destination was a school full of mental kids.

Harry sighed dejectedly, maybe it was a good thing to get away from the Dursleys. He wouldn't have to sleep in the cramped cupboard anymore, and he'd most likely be fed better. Not to mention, he wouldn't have to deal with Dudley and his goons either, but then again, he might run into even more trouble at his new school...

'This is a mess...' Harry thought to himself as Vernon drove the car down a loose gravel road and up to a large gated entrance. Two stocky guards stood on either side of the metal gate. Each were holding clubs similar to the ones Harry had seen cops carrying on his trips to London with his old classmates. In all honesty, the gate guards looked more like trolls to Harry. Neither of them looked very smart, and the taller of the two was actually scratching his butt. Harry looked away from the the taller guard, mildly disgusted.

The car came to a halt just in front of the rusted gates, and Vernon turned to glance at his nephew.

"Get your trunk out of the back."

Harry did so.

While Harry was grappling with his trunk, Vernon waddled over to the smaller guard who looked slightly more civilized and well kept than the guard to his left. Harry's uncle handed them what the boy assumed to be his admittance verification. When Vernon came back, he shoved a student I.D. card and lanyard into his nephew's hand, then got back in the car, rolled down the window, and spat "Don't lose it."

Before the eleven-year-old new it, his uncle's car was nothing but a speck in the distance.

"Good bye to you, too…" Harry murmured under his breath.

The boy despondently turned to the guards and walked up to the gate, finally taking in the site of his new school. Harry couldn't help but gawk dumbly at the sight of the menacing building.

St. Brutus Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys was the complete opposite of Hogwarts. The school was only comparable to a prison or an asylum with its all white and rusted exterior, most of the windows had bars on the outside, and there were electrically wired fences surrounding the entire building. There was no depth to the edifice, it was a rectangular four-story building with the same amount of windows on every level. The only thing giving the large building some personality was a pair of enormous, wooden double doors which were placed smack dab in the center of the drab looking structure.

Harry swallowed audibly, trying not to look intimidated but failing miserably. The guards opened the gate and Harry made his way to gigantic entrance.

The eleven-year-old felt extremely awkward opening the double doors. They creaked and groaned as he forced them ajar.

Calming himself, Harry inhaled deeply, and took his first step into the last place he wanted to be.

'Here goes nothing.'

Chapter 2 End

Author's Note:

Hope you guys enjoyed the quick update! BTW my co-author and I love to see those reviews! ;)

Until next time!