Hi! So I decided that before I officially published the story, that I would have a few chapters to post right away. So I'll respond to reviews when I can at the beginning of the chapter. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter Franchise

"Regular talking"

'Thinking'

"Parceltongue"

Chapter Three: Peeping Tom

~Tom~

A month. An entire month and Tom has made very little progress, with the exception of his grades. Yaxley managed to find nearly fourteen hopefuls from the small pool of First-Years, but that was half the amount of last year. He can't blame Yaxley though, as the Grindlewald had joined the war and started targeting Muggle-born families. There wasn't much Yaxley could do for that. Black and Zabini had narrowed down the choice to nineteen girls ranging from Third to Fifth-Year. Still too many for Tom to decide just yet.

The Time-Turner given to him by Slughorn had been very helpful to him. He can now arrive to each class effortlessly on time and finish his work uninterrupted. Not that his work is often interrupted. Those in his house knew not to bother him while he was occupied. Tom had been currently working on a new project. The brilliant idea came to him thanks to the Time-Turner.

He wanted, no, needed to verify the end result of his little game. All he had achieved so far, the kingdom that he would create. . . Tom felt a great amount anticipation from this particular enterprise. The objective was simple enough. Tom was going to take a peek into his own future. To see all of his progress made him almost giddy.

'I wonder how well my plans unfold. . .' A sinister grin formed on his face. 'Beautifully, most likely. . .'

There isn't a chance he'll fail. Failure is not an option for him. He would succeed and become a legend. Tom's legacy would live on, especially since the 'marriage bond' solution had come to his attention. Yes, an heir was the perfect answer to carry on his lineage, just in case his other option doesn't pan out. He made a note to himself that he should look more into his 'Horcrux' research.

Now his priorities were focused on his new drive; his future. It had taken nearly everyone of his contacts to accumulate the correct ingredients for his concoction. And that unique potion? Tom would have it ready by the end of the day. . .

{*/~ SKIP ~\*}

Black and Zabini had been acting strange all day. Almost as if they were avoiding their leader. The laid-back silver eyed teen barely even glanced his way. His long time friend, Zabini, avoided eye contact completely. Malfoy watched them with narrow eyes. Tom would have to speak to them tomorrow. Their actions could be a hazard, depending on whatever reason they might have for avoiding him.

Tom carefully carried his small bag as he navigated his way to the girl's lavatory on the second floor. He quickly made sure there was no one else there before turning to the large marble sinks in the middle of the room.

"Open" Tom hisses to the marble.

The sinks pop apart with a hiss, slowly separating and lowering into the floor. A hole the shape of an octagon is revealed.

"Stairs" The young genius watches in satisfaction as the hole widens and reforms into a staircase.

He felt content with the sterile walls and passages. Cleaning spells were easy to learn and use, so he'd made use of his time to tidy up. No need for a dirty workplace. Tom would rather not catch something.

Two more "Open"s and Tom is sitting in the center of Salazar Slytherin's study. He has three doses of potion, each with a certain concentration depending on how far he would look. Five, fifteen, and twenty-five years into the future. His future was about to be laid out before him like one of his tests. The potion in question was made to send him to a certain time in the future where he would slip into his older self so he could observe, but not touch. He would feel, hear, and see everything his older self did.

'Bottom's up. .' Tom consumes the first dose, meant for five years.

~ Five Years Into The Future ~

Twenty-year-old Tom Marvalo Riddle sat back in satisfaction as he watched one of his formerly best follower continued to withdraw into seclusion. He honestly didn't want to have to tear down someone who had been so loyal to him, but Tom had no choice. Black had tried to steal his prize. The woman he picked to be by his side. The one person who he believed to be his equal. She could keep him in check, challenge him to become so much stronger than he already was.

"He's becoming increasingly isolated from everyone, even family." Zabini had been somewhat unhappy with his former friend's situation. "He won't even look at or talk about Lucretia."

"That's his own fault." Tom gives him a dark look.

Zabini does his best to hid his disapproval, but Tom can read him like a book. They know better than to question him.

'You have to teach him who's in charge here. . .' A voice whispers at the back of his mind.

Tom ignores the voice, as he usually does. It was the darkest parts of him rising to the surface, demanding his attention. But he pushes it away. . . Still. . It feels as though he's missing a part of himself. . .Perhaps she would help fill that hole.

"How much longer?" Tom changes the subject.

"Five, maybe six years." Zabini seems to be a bit too pleased. "Less if you want to get more votes by marrying."

"Then less." A cruel smile spreads across his face. "Not long now. . ."

Zabini recoils as if he's been struck, but Tom doesn't care. He only wants his pawn to stay in his place. That's all they were to him; pawns. They were his puppets, and Tom the puppeteer. He couldn't have them severing their strings. Harsh laughter escapes him. Zabini physically recoils this time.

"Leave me." His voice is devoid of emotion.

Zabini scrambles to leave while tying to stay as composed as he can. Tom smirks after him, looking every bit like the cat that ate the canary. He had made a great deal of progress on his end-game. Three Horcruxes made so far, four more to go. Everything was going according to plan. Only a handful of things left to do now; the marriage, his Horcruxes, an heir, and the support of the Magical Creatures.

~ Present Day ~

The fifteen-year-old sat for a moment in silence as he contemplated everything he had just experienced. So Black had tried to take something from him? Tom couldn't imagine one of his three most loyal fri- allies betraying him. The easy-going boy had never disobeyed him, though he might have questioned his decisions, but that was why Tom needed him. He needed someone to actually tell him when he was being impractical or making a horrible choice. Having Black beside him would be beneficial, not detrimental. So why did his future self gain such a grudge for him?

Now he definitely needed to discuss the issue of his avoidance with Black and Zabini. Tom couldn't afford for either of them to become so isolated. With that in mind, Tom tipped back the next portion.

~ Fifteen Years Into The Future ~

No matter what Tom did he couldn't seem to fill that hole inside of him. The voice had grown so much more insistent over the years. Sometimes he listened. After all, the ideas the voice gave him weren't too bad. If his pawns fell out of step, a small Crucio corrected it easily. He never kept it on them for longer than a few seconds, but that was enough to get his point across.

His inner circle no longer contained Zabini or anyone from the Black family. Not after how he had isolated Alphard Black so completely. Not that he didn't deserve it. Tom growled to himself for a moment. None of his plans were turning out right. The woman he married, as planed, gave him a single male heir. Tom hadn't touched her since, as he didn't want to further dirty himself. She had tried on multiple occasions to convince him that he 'needed to stop' or that he was 'driving himself crazy'. A quick Crucio here and there taught her to keep her mouth shut.

One of his only succeeding plans was the Horcruxes. Five down, two to go. Over time his appearance had changed, but not for the better. His skin had become sickly white and his hair began to fall out. Tom, however, didn't care too much about his looks. Why would he want to appear like that filthy Muggle father of his?

His wife had been acting strange lately, not that it was anything new. She seemed to be cautious around him, doing her best to keep his son out of sight. Zabini, while no longer a part of his circle, stuck around to keep an eye on the woman. Tom might've been lost in thought more often than not, but he didn't miss the looks they passed when they thought he wasn't watching. Fools. He was always watching. The newly named 'Lord Voldemort' let them have their fun for now. But if it ever threatened his legacy or mission, then he would permanently remove them from the equation.

"Bring in Zabini!" Tom impulsively demanded of his currently present followers, or 'Death Eaters' as they were called.

His wand hand itched to fire off the curse he had been known for ever since it had become one of the spells he used most often. The Cruciatias Curse certainly kept his 'Death Eaters' in line and those who rebelled from disagreeing with him. Zabini was long overdue for this lesson.

~ Present Day ~

'What?!' Tom's mind was on overload from all of the information that it had to process.

That- That couldn't possibly be right, could it? His future self was torturing his loyal followers. And calling them 'pawns'?! His mind just couldn't wrap itself around the images. There was no way he could become like that monster! And. . . He had a wife. A wife who tried to stop him, to help him. What had she said? Oh, yes, that he was 'driving himself crazy'. What did he do that made him that way? Tom searched his mind for an answer he already knew. Dark Magic. That had to be the reason.

He needed to cut back on it, he knew. To be so much more cautious with it. Otherwise, he'd go insane and that couldn't happen under any circumstances. Whatever problem that had arisen between himself and Black needed to be resolved. If he lost both Black and Zabini, it was over. Then he had to determine who his future wife is. Tom's older self had thought about her, but never conjured a face. It would remain a mystery to him. For now anyway.

Dread crawled down his spine as he examined the last dose of potion. He strongly considered dumping it out onto the dirt and being done with it. Tom sensed that the final scene was going to be so much worse than the last one, but he couldn't bring himself to turn away. Hadn't he been curious to see what would happen? This feeling of. . .fear. . threw him off. Tom hadn't felt it since he discovered his magic. It made it feel as if he was little more then a helpless babe.

Tom had to know.

~ Twenty-Five Years Into The Future ~

He only went by Lord Voldemort now. His face had become snake-like and his eyes had become blood red, contrasting sharply with his moon white complexion. None of his followers disobeyed him now. Zabini was dead, Voldemort's wife had fled with his son to America. The rat, Zabini, had gotten her pregnant. Lord Voldemort only regretted not being able to kill the woman who sabotaged him so entirely. He had experienced a great amount of satisfaction in torturing the traitor, Zabini, to death.

But Lord Voldemort would let the pathetic wretch keep her filthy country. He had no use for it. All of his Horcruxes were complete, so he could wait a few decades as he continued to gather his forces before taking them down. Dumbledore, however, was first on his list. The meddling old fool had to die. His time in this world was over.

Lord Voldemort's plans had evolved over time and grown. None of his young, foolish ideas would cut it. Every Muggle and Muggle-born had to die. Their corrupted veins were a stain on the Magical Community. Most of the Magical creatures, the Dark ones anyway, kept to his side. The Fair Folk, for whatever reason, had completely retreated from Europe and were either in America or the Never-Never.

Every Pureblood family, minus Weasley, Potter, Black, Longbottom, and Bones, joined his side. He, however, had the advantage. Those pesky 'Light' families refused to kill any of his Death Eaters. They only had the intent to stun and imprison them. Voldemort saw them as a small nuisance, not a real threat. The 'Light' side was utterly pathetic.

His Death Eaters, however, seemed to be having a problem keeping the 'Light' side down. How could his pawns be so weak?

'Perhaps it is because you are weak. . .' That damned voice hissed into his ear.

They just needed to be taught a lesson. . . He would call a meeting to remind them exactly who was in control here. . .

~ Present ~

Tom panicked, clutching at his closing throat. His lungs burned as he struggled to force air into them. He felt like he was drowning beneath the weight of it all. This 'Lord Voldemort' had thrown away everything Tom had worked for.

"No." Tom says out loud, just so he can have something concrete to focus on. "I won't let that happen. It can't get that bad. It can't!"

He refused to believe that was the future that he was heading for. Time was fluid, it could be changed, shaped to his will. Ground rules needed to be in place for him so he knew knew his own boundaries, though the thought of restricting himself wasn't very pleasant. No Cruciatias Curse, no matter what the circumstances were. Tom couldn't ever call is loyal followers 'pawns' or 'Death Eaters'. Whoever had come up with that particular name had clearly not been in their right frame of mind. 'Lord Voldemort' was not allowed to exist. That deranged version of himself was out of control. And Tom didn't like unpredictable variables, even if that included his older self.

This moment would change everything. Tom would stick to his original plan and nothing else, while he slowed a bit when it came to delving into the Dark Arts. That addiction would not grow to make him become that monster.

There you go! Tom finally looks into the future! Okay, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, but I'm already working on it. Hopefully I'll have more words next time. ;) Anyway, don't forget to review, fav, or follow! See ya next time!