"Hello Mr. Riddle." I looked up to see the first truly familiar face. He was young, only a few decades younger than me.
His skin was fair, shining with grease, just like his shoulder-length black hair that hung carelessly into his face. He was thin with a dark air about him, almost as if he were waiting for the opportunity to insult someone, and his flowing black robes only added to the effect. The eyes of the man were like no other pair I'd ever seen: gleaming, menacing black, like a lightless cave, surprisingly unreadable.
"Severus Snape."
"Do proceed, Tom. I'm so anxious to hear this."
"My whole life I devoted to helping this world, and where am I now? Story Time?! Ugh! Very well. You see, I'd at last located the home of the one I most desired to meet, the one who had set my future in stone. I needed to pull evil up by the roots and exterminate it.
"That isn't enough to describe the feeling. I needed to see him, to know what vermin had betrayed me, feel him crumble under my force, see the life, the twinkle escape his eyes. When the sound of his heart died away, I would laugh. That's how little I thought of Mr. Riddle. He would be my first source of eternal life. As he'd caused my eternal death, it was all too fitting. A perfect plan.
"I dressed in my finest Muggle attire, a suit and tie if you could imagine. There was a beautiful woman sitting on the porch of the fine Riddle mansion. She smiled at me.
"'Tom? Weren't you in the house?'
"I flinched at the name. "Pardon me, ma'am, but I don't quite understand you. My name is Jonathon White, and I wonder if I could rest in your lovely home for one night. My travels have been long and harsh.'
"She smiled. 'Of course. Forgive me, but you look so much like my son. Tom's his name.'
"I acted curious, which in reality I was. I could almost taste the victory. 'Really? I wonder if I could meet him?'
"She smiled, entranced by my natural charm, and nodded, leading me into a room with a faireplace and two winged armchairs. 'Tom, this is Jonathon.'
"The vermin nodded. 'So Jonathon, what brings you here?'
"'A lifelong dream. I hope to fall in love. Have you ever been in love?' I had to fight the bitter note in my voice, and I almost lost control. Luckily, Tom was staring into the dancing blue flames.
"Hesitance shimmered in his eyes, along with the remembrance of something dark. 'No, I don't think I have.'
"I nodded stiffly. So typical of them, to lie about all the wrong things. I loved his timing; it made me despise him even more. 'Could you tell me about Mr Gaunt up that hill?'
"The vermin shuddered. I saw something odd in his eyes, something that looked like my own hatred. 'They're odd, they are. Freaks. A disgrace to the town. I wouldn't go near them, Jonathon.'
"I scowled. The fool, talking about my flawless family! He deserved to die, he deserved to rot away in this house!
"We chattered all day in the mansion, and then they cooked a magnificent dinner for me. I saw their faces, filled with joy, one happy family…
"'AVADA KADAVRA!'
"I laughed as they fell from their chairs, limp, the laughter never quite leaving their faces. If only I could have seen their souls escaping this universe, I would have been on the floor myself…
"At last I was whole. The ring, the Peverell ring, was on my fingers, and it was filled with energy, with power, with life. My soul was in the ring, my heritage could someday save my life.
"And so Tom Riddle tore me apart once more."