Chapter Four: Firsts

Tom tore himself from Iris's arms, glaring at her.

"Where have you taken me?" His hissed words drew only a slightly annoyed look from Iris, much to his consternation.

"I thought we had already covered this cousin, we are at Diagon Alley." Tom stared at her blankly for a moment.

"Cousin?" Iris smacked her head. She couldn't believe she had forgotten that little tidbit. "We are very, very distantly related, but that's the case with pretty much all Purebloods and Half-bloods."

"Wha—"

"Through the Peverells, and stay close to me." She held out her hand, which he ignored for all of three seconds before giving in. Tom might hate human contact, but he was also starved of it.

"Purebloods are those families with no Muggles in the family that are less distant than great, great grandparents. Half-bloods, which is what both you and I are, come from a Pureblood and a Muggleborn or a Pureblood and a Muggle. Last but not least, the Muggleborns have Muggle parents, and the Squibs Magical parents. Squibs and Muggles don't have magic." Tom looked to be deep in thought, his forehead furrowed in concentration.

"What do you know of my family?" Iris cringed as they walked, the snow crunching under their feet.

"I don't think that now is the right time to be discussing your family, you've had a harrowing experience, and the last thing you need is more stress added to your plate.

"I have every right to know about my family." He hissed the words at her, nearly slipping into Parseltongue. His eyes flickered red again, and her scar prickled.

Tom's mind was creating and discarding several thoughts at a frightening rate. He eventually settled on one, deciding that he would try and get as much out of the odd situation as possible before he lost the chance.

"We'll continue this discussion later Tom." Tom glared at her for using his name. "Live with it." Her response didn't improve Tom's souring mood.

Diagon Alley wasn't very busy, what with Yule having just occurred. The few people who were out and about on the cold December morning were bleary eyed and hair a mess. Tom and Iris had the same thoughts regarding these people: partiers. One witch was particularly drunk and stumbled right into a building. Tom laughed, enjoying her misfortune. Iris gave the cruelly laughing boy a dismayed look.

The witch, her blonde hair a rat's nest, heard Tom laughing at her mockingly. Not able to see correctly and face covered with cold snow, she tried aiming her wand to blast the pest, when she felt her wand torn from her frigid fingers. Her body was blown backwards from the excessive force of the spell, slamming her into the old building behind her. Dazed, the witch simply lay there, her stomach rolling and nausea clawing at her throat.

"Really now, cursing children? How rude." Iris sniffed in disdain, playing up her reactions to try and entertain Tom, who looked mildly amused, but far greedier at the sight of the wands. He made a grab for one, but Iris was faster and jerked them out of his reach.

"Nuh-uh, you mister are not touching a real wand until I've at least trained you in controlling your magic some. Not to mention that these wands probably wouldn't work all that well for you anyways. The wand chooses the witch or wizard." Tom glowered at her, his eyes still full of greed. She tossed the wand in the woman's direction, hitting her in the head. The witch gave a screech and rolled over to grab her wand, but was still too dazed to do so.

"You will teach me." It wasn't a request or a question, but a demand. Iris's eyes narrowed, the green glowing brighter with anger.

"Keep acting like that and you'll be learning magic when you go to Hogwarts and not before that." Tom was alarmed by her threat, he had the feeling that she would not be swayed on the matter, so decided to behave for the time being. If he wanted to be as powerful as he could, then he needed to start as early as possible. He'd have to play nice when dealing with Iris. He decided that he would question her later in a more subtle manner, so as not to upset her and risk being tossed back into the orphanage. He was bursting with questions about her past and how she knew about him among many other things.

At least she wasn't treating him like a helpless and stupid baby. He was far more than a child. For that alone, Tom would allow her to be in his presence. He didn't realize just how arrogant and snobbish his thoughts were.

The Lethifold huddled close to Iris, not liking the cold. She felt Snuggles shivering and cast a warming charm on him. He purred, relishing in the warmth seeping into his body.

Tom looked around in well-concealed amazement, eyes darting all over the place. Snowflakes drifted into his face, the cold stinging his cheeks. His clothes actually protected him from the cold for the first time in his life; it was something that he never wanted to lose now that he had it.

Iris glanced at Tom out of the corner of her eye, sympathy rising as she saw the way he was clutching at the clothes she had transfigured for him. She could remember all too well the feeling of biting cold and knowing that she would never receive clothes meant to guard against it.

"Here's our first stop."

Madam Zamara was bustling around her shop, waving her wand, and sending several swaths of colorful fabric flying about the room. The sound of a bell tinkling distracted her from her work. Turning, she smiled at the two people in the doorway. The boy was absolutely adorable, and his large eyes followed the flying fabrics as they flew overhead.

"Hello, we're here for the clothes I ordered." Zamara went behind the wood counter, reaching below to place several shrunken bags and boxes on the counter. Iris withheld a groan at the price, and Tom made a funny choking sound when he saw the currency. The greed in his eyes warned Iris that his Magpie tendencies were going to be a problem. He had stared at shiny things in windows very intently, and the money was no exception.

'Dammit, now I'll have to keep an even closer eye on him.'

When the trio finally managed to tear themselves away from Diagon, Iris and Tom promptly crashed and burned. Neither liked to shop, as all it seemed to do was tucker them out and create annoying headaches. Iris had had to steer Tom away from Knockturn Alley no less than three times. He seemed to be drawn by the Dark magic that Knockturn Alley emitted, calling out to his own darkening core of magic. While there was no doubt that Tom would be a Dark wizard, that didn't mean that he would be evil.

Iris jumped when the charm she had placed on the Silvertongue snake egg to alert her when it began hatching, went off. She flamed upstairs, grabbing Tom absentmindedly, ignoring his indignant shout as she flamed with him. Tearing himself away from her, Tom glared at Iris as she rushed over to an egg of some sort. It was hatching, and despite his anger, found himself gravitating towards it. It was a beautiful egg, pity it was being destroyed.

A small head poked out, a silver tongue flickering, tasting the scents on the drafts reaching it. The head was an ice blue, with a fine dusting of gold. The snake finally managed to slither out of the egg, and simply rested, not at all perturbed by the two humans staring at it in fascination.

The gold grew darker as it traveled down the body, eventually turning into red when it reached the tail. The underside of the snake and parts of its back and sides were a deep emerald green. The ice blue gradually darkened into a deep royal blue closer to the end of its tail. Its eyes were silver, and there were silver patterns all along the sides and, oddly enough, belly of the snake. It was a truly beautiful creature, no longer than Iris's hand from wrist to the tip of her middle finger. Slime covered the creature, but a wave of Iris's hand took care of that. The snake recoiled at the sensation of magic washing over her small body. She hissed in displeasure.

{Hello there little one.} Tom startled, wide eyes flying to Iris's face a he registered that she could also speak to snakes. Something warm bloomed in his chest, and he was tempted to squash it, but decided not to since it wasn't hurting him. The little snake's head reared back in shock, not having expected to meet a being that could talk to her.

{You can speak!} Both Tom and the snake yelled this at Iris, who looked sheepish.

{Err, well…yeah, I've always been able to that I can remember.} Iris fidgeted, nibbling her lower lip in trepidation. Smug satisfaction coiled in Tom, he and Iris were even more alike than he had previously thought.

{Are you male or female?} The snake looked, if this was possible, offended.

{Female if you must know.} The little female snake's tone clearly displayed her thoughts about the human female not being particularly bright. Tom hissed at the snake, not pleased that she was insinuating that Iris was stupid.

{My apologies. How is it that you are able to speak so well and think the way you have been doing after just having hatched?} The snake flicked her tongue out, not saying anything at first.

{My mother passed on some of her own knowledge to me. I have been in that egg for a very long time, and have had the added benefit of absorbing that knowledge to help me survive.} Iris and Tom gaped at the odd little snake peering up at them.

{I take it you do not have a name?} The snake stared at Iris blankly. Tom huffed as he was subsequently ignored when he began muttering questions of his own.

{Name? What is this name that you speak of? Is it edible?} Iris snorted in amusement, earning herself a scandalized look from Tom at her not very lady-like behavior.

{No, it's is a way of addressing things so that there is no, or at least less confusion. What do you think of Sinia? It means blue-green if you're wondering.}

The snake looked confused still, but nodded her head, deciding that this must just be some strange human habit.

Tom looked at Iris in disbelief. Really, the woman was absolutely awful at naming things.

It was finally Tom's birthday, after three long days of waiting, he was going to get his presents. Iris had decided that after he was such a pain and refused to listen, that he could go without his presents for three more days. She told him that he would be getting more, seeing as she now had to go get him something for his birthday. Iris had refused to tell him what she was getting him, smugly informing the soon to be six year old that telling him would ruin the surprise.

Tom grinned as he ripped open the first present he had ever received, inside was a large book. He hungrily looked at it, debating whether or not he should read it now, or focus on the rest of his presents. He decided to open the rest to see if Iris might have gotten him something even better than the book.

Iris watched Tom as he struggled to come to a decision about opening the rest of his gifts or waiting in favor of reading the book about beginners magic. He set the book aside on the floor gently. He was currently sitting between her lower legs and feet, Iris having won the battle over forcing him to back off. The Lethifold had gleefully spread itself out on her lap, purring as she stroked it.

Tom shot the Lethifold a dark scowl, remembering all too well how the thing had bitten him in retaliation for him trying to light it on fire with his magic. Iris had had to separate the two of them, yelling all the while about boys being idiots. Both Tom and the Lethifold had sulked for the rest of the night. It was this that had prompted Iris to punish Tom by withholding his presents. She had caught him trying to use her wand earlier as well, only to have a spell backfire on him. She had left his hair the pink he'd accidentally turned it to teach him a lesson.

*Flashback (Day After Shopping)*

Tom snuck up to Iris's bed during the early hours of the morning, looking for her wand. The Lethifold had gone out hunting and now was his best chance. Sinia was curled up under the blankets, her head poking out. Tom looked all around the room, but couldn't find her wand. He refused to give up though, and continued to search. There was one last place that he hadn't looked, and that was the most dangerous of all: Iris.

Silently, he approached the bed, his eyes darting to her face constantly. He gripped the edge of the blankets and slowly, so very slowly began to pull them back. After what seemed like forever, but was more like a few minutes, he peeked at her bared arms. Two holsters caught his gaze, the wands in them looking nothing alike except for the general shape and both being made out of wood. One had strange nodules along it, the designs almost resembling elderberries. He didn't reach for that wand, its magic telling him to back off. The other wand didn't seem to be rejecting him, so he carefully pried it out of the holster.

Tom's heart leapt into his throat when Iris rolled over, causing the wand to pop free of the strange holster as the tension grew to the breaking point. No sparks were emitted, but he hadn't expected that after Iris explained more about wands choosing their witch or wizard. He scuttled out of the room, darting down the massive staircase and slipping into the siting room Iris had brought him to his first night at the manor.

Tom concentrated, closing his eyes and focusing before staring at the quill he had nicked from one of the desk in Iris's room. "Wingardium Leviosa." A surge of magic rolled through him and then into the wand. He could feel only the slightest bit of resistance, the wand not a perfect match for him.

The quill trembled, before stilling. He glowered, and tried again, grinning smugly when the quill began to float. He moved on to other easy spells he'd come across in Flourish and Blotts when Iris had made a stop there for something.

He lost track of time, and was unaware of the Lethifold watching him from the shrinking shadows. Snuggles rustled, creeping closer, wanting to see how badly he could scare the boy. Tom remained oblivious to the Lethifold's approach, too absorbed in trying to fix the cup he'd accidentally broken. He didn't know the spell, but was having moderate success by using his formidable mind and power rather than previous experience or knowledge.

Snuggles briefly considered just going upstairs and back to bed, but he just couldn't let the opportunity pass by.

Snuggles launched himself at Tom, a strange roar filling the room, it was more of a screech than a roar to be honest. Tom cursed quite creatively, denying all claims that he actually screamed. The Lethifold found itself at the business end of a wand, a wand that was spewing out fire. With a shrill shriek, the Lethifold retreated, only to tackle Tom and wrap him up like a burrito when the fire stopped. The wand and Tom both fell to the floor, one with a soft clatter and the other with a solid thumping noise.

Tom managed to free one arm and grab the wand he had dropped on the floor. He pointed it at the Lethifold, but the wand backfired on him when he tried to cast the same spell he had when the Lethifold startled him. He didn't realize it, but his hair had turned pink.

Iris flung herself out of bed, automatically flicking her wrist to release her first wand, only to realize that it was missing when nothing shot into her had. There was only one other place it could be, and that was with a little boy who was going to be in so much trouble. She belatedly remembered that a roar, followed by a scream had jarred her awake. She snatched up her dressing gown and practically flew down the stairs. She was still asleep enough to have forgotten that she could simply flame down to the first floor.

Stumbling down the stairs as her sleepy body struggled to get its muscles working, Iris wondered where Tom was. She hadn't finished giving him the full tour, and there were no House Elves as of yet. That was something she planned to remedy as soon as she could trust Tom not to kill them, or torture them for that matter. What she didn't know was that Tom loved to experiment on anything and everything, he was a curious little high-functioning Sociopath in the making after all.

Tripping as she reached the end of the stairs, she barely managed to keep her balance. Her arms wind milled, and several foul words burst from her. Somehow managing to keep her balance and not make a fool out of herself by falling flat on her face, she dashed off in the direction the sounds of a scuffle were coming from. She froze in disbelief when she saw the two rolling around. Well, it was more like Tom was doing all of the rolling, while Snuggles clung onto him.

She then spotted her wand lying on the floor. White-hot anger surged through her when the sight of burn marks told their own story. She was greatly amused by Tom's pink hair, but her anger outshone it and smothered it.

"What the hell are you two up to?" Her roar of anger startled Tom and Snuggles. Tom finally stopped yelling and cursing at Snuggles, and said Lethifold shot away from Tom and to the other side of the room. He chittered and hissed, crumbles and growls interspersed. Iris had the feeling that Snuggles was trying to explain, but she obviously couldn't speak Lethifold. She didn't think that it was possible actually. She knew Dementor's had a language that was created by Necromancers long ago when the demons first began to appear. She began yelling about the stupidity of males, much to their displeasure.

"I…I, uh." Tom really didn't know what to say in this sort of situation. He had been caught red-handed, and there was no worming his way out of this one. Iris glared down at him, her hands parking themselves on her hips.

"Did it ever occur to you that using a wand without prior instruction or having someone there to make sure nothing goes wrong, which it obviously did, was a bad idea?" Her voice was sharp and he actually looked contrite. "You're not getting your Yule presents until your birthday, and if you keep up this behavior, you'll be waiting even longer for both your birthday and Yule gifts." Tom's eyes burned with fury. He barely managed to keep the sneer off of his face.

"Oh, and I'm not fixing your hair, consider it part of your punishment." She left then, only after making sure that neither of them were hurt. Tom stewed in silence, his magic lashing out at the room. Items began to float and any glass in the room not protected from such temperamental magic began to crack or simply shattered.

Iris paused on her way to the kitchen and pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation when she heard the shattering of glass. She turned back around and trudged back to the sitting room. She began fixing things, making sure to bubble her magic around Tom's, preventing it from causing any more damage. His magic calmed when hers came into contact. It didn't completely calm, but it wasn't battering hers away.

*Flashback End*

Tom didn't quite know what to make of the child's broom. On one hand, he was excited seeing as it was magic, but on the other, he was offended and not that interested in brooms.

Tom ended up with several new books that Iris had somehow managed to smuggle over to the cashier while he was distracted. There was one book that he planned to set on Hades the first chance he had.

*Very Mini Flashback*

Tom warily eyed the snarling and hissing package that Iris was pointing at. It was tucked under a larger present, but whatever the smaller one was, it was strong enough to rattle the larger one. He stood, nudging it gingerly. Its growling increased, and Tom gave Iris a disbelieving look.

Iris grinned mysteriously, not at all reassuring Tom. She had had to special order the book directly from the author seeing as there were none for sale yet. It had been reasonably priced, especially when she informed the young author that you could calm them down. It was a good thing that the compulsion on the letter was so strong. The young man had quickly leapt at the offer once the compulsion took hold, tired of his creations trying to kill him. He had been extremely suspicious about how she knew how to calm the books, let alone that they existed.

Iris barely managed to contain her laughter when Tom retrieved the toy broomstick to move the present. He used it to unwrap the gift as well, making for a perfect picture moment. Discreetly, she performed the camera charm, on that wouldn't be invented until 1996. There was no flash of light or noise, the effectiveness of the spell making up for its difficulty.

A black book came into view, one that was covered in fur, with red eyes balefully glaring up at Tom. Iris had specifically requested the most aggressive book, wanting to watch Tom try and subdue it. She knew Tom loved challenges. The six-year old stared at the book, head tilted to the side in confusion. The book had been belted shut, the leather straining somewhat under the pressure of holding down snapping jaws.

A devious plot began to form in Tom's mind as he poked at the thrashing book with his broom. He was curious who would come out the winner in a fight between the Lethifold and…Monster Book of Monsters. How apropos in regards to the title.

The Lethifold took one look at the duo and shivered, dread filling it.

Iris cast a warming charm on Snuggles, thinking that he was cold when he shivered on her lap.

*Flashback end*

Iris reached behind her, having hidden two of Tom's presents. She nibbled her lower lip as Tom looked at her almost accusingly. Why she had no idea. It would be completely ridiculous for him to be mad at her for hiding two of his presents in order to save them for last. She offered the smaller of the two to him first.

He took it, tearing off the paper with gusto, only to look at her in confusion. Iris's lips twitched as she fought her smile, knowing that he would think she was mocking him rather than simply thinking his expression adorable.

Tom had every right to be confused, doubly so because he was a male. Why would Iris be giving him a box that obviously contained a necklace of some sort? Although, she did give him the pendant he had yet to take off in the dream. Thinking that it would be something similar, he opened it, and gaped.

A locket, a big, gold locket with emeralds in the shape of an S. He lifted it out of its box, testing the weight of it in his hand. He tore his eyes away from it to look at Iris's face. She looked pensive, nervous about something.

"That locket belonged to you ancestor Salazar Slytherin. It has been passed down from mother to daughter, starting with Salazar's only female grandchild." She paused as his eyes widened.

Iris had explained to him all about his family lineage, and had promised him that she would take him to see the family that either didn't want him or didn't know about him. Iris hadn't specified which, but he had a feeling that it was a combination of both. She had warned him that it would be unpleasant at best to meet his relatives. Tom was inclined to believe her because she had yet to lie to him and they had never bothered to find him or see if he existed.

"Your mother sold it when she was heavily pregnant with you in order for her to get just enough food to keep the two of you alive. She died due to severe magical exhaustion after giving birth to you. Magical babies are much more taxing to carry than Muggle due to them sapping your magic to make their own at a rapid rate. I did not tell you before how she really died, as I was unable to come up with a reason to dive into such depressing thoughts when you already have so much on your plate."

Tom's hand tightened around the locket until his knuckles turned white. Iris reached over and covered his hand with both of hers. He was burning to know what she knew of his family and how, but he'd ask later.

"I know that I shouldn't have kept this from you, but you've been through a traumatic event recently and have had your life turned upside-down. The last thing you needed was for me to bring up your mother and the reason for her death. You are not to blame for her death Tom, she chose to carry you to term and give you a chance at life. All she had left was you, and even had she aborted you, her health had declined so much in so little time, that her magic would not have been able to save her anyways."

Tom looked at her hands covering his, expression blank. Iris scooted forward. Letting go of his hand in order to pull his stiff form into her arms. Tom did not resist her when she hugged him, though the Lethifold was less than pleased to have been disturbed. Tom slowly returned the hug, reaching out with his magic, seeking hers and the comfort that it offered. Her magic swirled around him, enfolding his in a sort of hug. He relaxed, relishing in the comfort and peace.

Logically he knew that Iris was right, that he did not need to hear about his mother when he was so unstable from his life turning on its head. He nuzzled into her neck, breathing deeply to draw in her soothing scent. She smelled like a flower of some sort, perhaps Daphne. Iris stroked his wavy black hair on the back of his head, humming softly. He relaxed, his agitated magic calming under her ministrations and her own magic curling around him. The Lethifold grumbled, but didn't do much else.

Iris pulled away, reaching for the last present. She handed it to Tom, taking the locket from him, only to place it over his head. He sated at it, admiring the way the firelight reflected off of it.

Tom reached for the longer package, causing a smile to break out on Iris's face. Tom, sharp as always, caught his guardian's grin. He felt his excitement increase. He ripped off the expensive looking paper, not knowing that Iris had simply used a charm to wrap the present in conjured paper. Little silver and black sakes slithered over the now torn up paper, the elegant silver bow having been hurriedly untied.

A long thin case made of some dark and highly polished wood with his initials on it met his gaze. He looked at Iris questioningly.

"Well go on, open it." At her encouragement, Tom flipped open the lid hoping that it wasn't another locket, gasping in surprised delight at what he saw nestled within. A wand. She had gotten him a wand. Delighted, he snatched it up; green and black sparks weakly sparking from the tip.

"It's a training wand. I thought it best that you begin learning how to cast spells and protect yourself. We'll have to go to Knockturn Alley once your magic adjusts to being channeled through a conduit. I know you are capable of using wandless magic, but for now let's just focus on getting you trained." Tom flung himself at his guardian, knocking her over with the force. Wrapping paper flew in the air as her body slammed into the floor and created a draft.

The Lethifold shrieked, shooting away from them as it was squashed. Iris laughed, propping herself up on her elbows. "I take it that you agree with me then." It wasn't a question; she knew the answer. Tom's neck was in danger of being injured with the force he was nodding his head.

"I thought that you wouldn't let me anywhere near a wand after what I did with yours." Tom sheepishly admitted to his fear that Iris wouldn't let him learn magic and by doing so, gain power. He knew that he would have to be powerful if he wanted to protect himself and Iris. She had chosen to raise him, therefore making Iris his in his twisted little mind.

Iris must have seen something of his thoughts as she regarded him with great suspicion and dread all of a sudden.

In the years to come, Iris would later look back on this day and realize that it was then, on his sixth birthday, that she noticed for the first time that Tom's obsession had fully began to take root. She had noticed that the feelings had festered for several days up to that point.

She would later realize that some things fate would not let you change. She should have remembered just how possessive and obsessive Voldemort was. After all, he was once Tom Riddle, and those feelings had to start somewhere.

A/N: Beta by Eternal Blood Love.