A different fate
House: Gryffindor
Theme: Winter
Prompts: Adoption and 'I know you did it.'
Word count: 798
This is an AU where Harry is a girl, he and Tom Riddle are the same age, and Harry is left at an orphanage. And also an AU because I might have a few events which might be in the wrong order.
A thank you to my sister and brother for helping me get this into the world count, and edit.
Winter brought good and bad things. Gloom, cold, illness: that was what winter brought for most. However, for Esther Potter; it brought freedom.
Her parents had died when she was very young, which meant that she had to live with her not very nice relatives. It came almost as a relief when they left her at Wool's Orphanage one winter's day - She was free!
Mrs Cole, the orphanage owner, had been surprised to find a young girl knocking on the door. But she took the girl in, none the less.
The girl - Esther was a sweet child, easy to manage. Unlike the other children, she helped willingly, that made her seem odd to the other children, so they avoided her.
When Mrs Cole started noticing that, she also noticed Esther and that unusual boy, Tom Riddle, seemed to have become friends. Esther also seemed to get chores done at alarming speeds and odd things happened around her.
One winter day, Esther was outside standing in a strange ring of melted snow, however every time she stepped on the thin ice, it never creaked or cracked. It was around that same time that more odd things happened around Tom too. Mrs Cole didn't get it: it was strange.
Despite this, a lot of adults loved Esther when they met her, and took her home on trial, yet every time when they were on the brink of adopting her, she would return. Nothing was said, just Mrs Cole opened the door to see Esther waiting there.
Esther and Tom were both six years old, hanging out together in Tom's bedroom. "I wish people would stop trying to adopt me; it's getting to be a real drag – changing their minds & everything," Esther sighed.
"Why don't you want to be adopted?" Tom asked.
"I don't trust adults: besides, if I got adopted, I wouldn't be able to see you anymore," Esther explained.
"True," Tom nodded.
"I know you did it," Esther said after a while.
"Did what?"
"killed Stubbs' rabbit," Esther said.
"How did you know? Are you going to tell Mrs Cole?" Tom asked.
"I saw you with it dead. And you know me better than that! I would never tell on you," Esther said.
"Thank you," Tom said gratefully.
"I'm sick of winter and its snowstorms; spring and summer don't last anywhere near long enough!" Esther groaned.
"I don't mind winter: it's a good excuse to hind in bed under a blanket," Tom pointed out.
"I suppose you have a point there," Esther agreed begrudgingly.
A few months later when summer came around, everyone at Wool's Orphanage went to the sea for a seaside visit. Esther stayed with the group to start with, but when she saw Tom lead two other kids away from the group, she followed.
Esther didn't get too close or follow them into a seaside cave they found, she heard everything though - including the screams.
A bit later after Esther had returned to the group, the two kids who went with Tom come back. They looked terrified out of their wits, but wouldn't talk about it.
"I know what you did," was all Esther said to Tom when he re-joined the group.
Mrs Cole questioned everyone on what happened, but Esther kept quiet, and Tom, of course, didn't say anything. The incident was soon forgotten; they just assumed that there was a minor accident.
When winter returned, some new people came into the Orphanage to adopt a child. They were very excited and enthusiastic people. Like almost everyone who had come previously they quickly fell in love with Esther. However, unlike everyone else, they also took a liking to Tom.
As a result, they - Mrs and Mr Aiders - took both children home for a couple of days on trial. When the couple of days were up, they said to Tom and Esther, "We are going to adopt you! We are going to fill in the forms now."
"What? Really?!" Esther asked excitedly. Tom looked excited, too.
"Yep, now shoes on, we don't want to be late, do we?" Mr Aiders said.
Tom and Esther nodded and ran upstairs to put their socks, shoes and coats on.
They all arrived at the orphanage and went straight to Mrs Cole's office. She was delighted that Esther and Tom now had a home, and she didn't try to hide it.
"There, done." Mrs Aiders said, after what seemed like forever.
"They are both legally under your care now. Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Aiders on your successful adoption," Mrs Cole said, taking the papers.
"Thank you, Mrs Cole. Tom, Esther; you're now officially our children," their new dad said.
"Yay!" both children cried, leaping up and giving their new parents a hug.
