Summary: Tom is fed up of people bullying him. What happens when he consciously tries to magick things up?


His First Happy Christmas

Everything was once again covered in a sheet of white snow. Once again, Christmas was approaching. For a lot of people, this meant happiness, music, presents. For Tom, it meant even more misery.

He knew, like every year, his presents would be stolen away before he woke up. Like every year, others will enact the nativity play, sing carols, play games. Like every year, Tom Riddle would not be included.

Today, the older children were going to hold auditions for the play. The six-year-old knew that if they chose fairly, he would get a role. But they wouldn't. They never did.

He pushed the blankets off and stood up; others were still sleeping. Taking a quick shower while praying no one noticed he used hot water, he dressed himself in one of his two shirts, his only pair of pants, and a thin jacket which he had thankfully been given to keep warm. Shivering, he straggled out of the dorms and into the yard, and sat down by the huge rock. Sometimes snakes came out from underneath it—they were Tom's only friends—and no one dared to approach the rock.

They were stupid! Snakes never came out in winters. He waited for everyone to wake up. The older children would have breakfast first, and the other youngsters would claim the rest. If anything remained, he, the freak, could have it.

He hated this place for this reason. Mrs Cole thought the elder ones were responsible enough to manage the breakfast and other small activities. He sighed. At least she supervised lunch and dinner herself.

Soon, the dishes were empty, and Tom didn't get anything. Frederick, the oldest child in the orphanage, gathered everyone around and announced that they were going to choose actors for the play. Out of oblige, they called Tom for the auditions, and right then, his empty stomach growled.

Tom's cheeks reddened when everyone laughed. He clenched his fists and ran away.

.

The Christmas celebrations were going on, and the play was about to be presented. The actors climbed on the makeshift stage and took their positions. The play started, but Tom couldn't pay attention to it.

He scowled in the direction of the stage and dropped on to his knees. He crawled out of the place before anyone could notice him leaving.

The door to the building was locked.

Weird things—supernatural things—sometimes happened around him, so he decided to give it a go. Clutching the lock tightly in his hands, he willed it to open. It unlocked with a click.

A smile spread across his face. He walked inside and entered Frederick's room. Opening the older boy's cupboard in a similar way, Tom took the toys the older boy had stolen from him. Out of spite, he picked a few other things that caught his attention. For the first time in forever, a wide grin spread over Tom's face.

For the first time, he was happy on Christmas.


Word Count: 495

Prompts used:

From the Nativity Play

• The Camel: (scenario) Watching a child participate in the Nativity Play (300 minimum words)
• Tom Riddle/Voldemort