Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Extra Disclaimer: first time writing a fic, helpful criticism would be appreciated
Opposites
Chapter two: Professor Dumbledore
The months seemed to pass quickly. Tom, now with Caroline as company, wasn't so miserable as before. Caroline, like Tom, didn't seem to mind being outcast as a freak. She had told Tom that she was grateful she at least had Tom. After Caroline had smashed Billy's face with a book, Billy had kept his distance from her and Tom. When Carolone walked along the other kids, she often (always) heard the other kids calling her and Tom freaks and even demons from hell. Caroline didn't care. She still always smiled at everyone except Billy. Tom and Caroline got on well for the most part, despite their totally opposite personalities. That said, that didn't mean they hadn't had trouble with each other at all. Once, Caroline had tried to blow up Tom's toilet after he hung Billy's rabbit on the rafters. (Blowing things up seemed to be a specialty for her.) To get back at her, Tom had smuggled a snake into his room and had set it loose on Caroline when she entered. To his surprise, Caroline could talk to snakes like him, too. After an hour of both sides trying to convince the snake to attack the other, the snake had attempted to escape by wriggling out of the window. When Tom finally got over the fact that Caroline could talk to snakes, too, Caroline had apologized to him. That had been over a month ago.
"Hey Tom, we turn, like, about eleven tomorrow, right?" Caroline suddenly asked one night.
"Yes, why?" Tom replied. Caroline leaned back and glanced at Tom's book.
"I keep thinking to myself, what if something happens? I mean, anythings gotta be better than… this, right?" Caroline said, looking around the room. Tom kept his mouth shut in a straight line.
"Nothings going to happen, we're just going to turn eleven and that's all, she's thinking of something from fairy tales," Tom thought. He didn't actually say that out loud, though. For some reason, he didn't want to let her down. He desperately tried to dismiss it as nothing. The rest of the day went by normally, and Caroline didn't mention it again.
The next day, however, wasn't normal in any way, however. In fact, Tom's previous thoughts were proven wrong in every way. Tom and Caroline had breakfast together, and returned to their rooms. After a short while, a loud knock disturbed the silence. Mrs. Cole stumbled in, clearly drunk.
"Children, you have a visitor." she slurred.
"The visitor's name," she said, "is Mr. Dumberton- sorry- Dunderbore. He's come to tell you- well, I'll let him do it." Tom immediately knew that Mrs. Cole was probably too drunk to correctly pronounce the name. She walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"How do you do, children?" said the man, walking forward. The man drew up a chair and beckoned for them to sit as well. Tom and Caroline sat on the bed while the man sat in front of them. Tom studied the man. He had short, gray hair and a gray beard that was growing. He had very strange clothing, a pair of robes. He seemed very old.
"Who are you?" Tom asked, suspiciously.
"I am a Dumbledore," he said. "A professor."
"He's come from the mental asylum, and he's trying to take us away!" Tom thought, slightly panicking.
"What do you mean? Are you some kind of doctor?" asked Tom. Dumbledore waved off Tom's suspicions.
"I am not a doctor. I am a professor from Hogwarts, it's a school for people like you." Dumbledore replied. Tom narrowed his eyes. "He has to be from the mental asylum," he thought. He had never heard of a school called Hogwarts.
"You're from the asylum, aren't you?" Tom started, "You've come to take us away! You can't trick me! I'm not mad!" he yelled. Dumbledore smiled.
"I assure you, once again, I am not from an asylum. Hogwarts is a school for people with powers, like you." he said.
Tom stared at him. How did he know that they had powers?
"Tom, I believe you have some sort of powers yourself?"
Tom looked down at his desk.
"All sorts of powers. I can make things fly. I can make animals do as I say. I can do things to people who annoy me. I can make people hurt." he said, trembling with a red gleam in his eye. Caroline didn't know whether to be happy for Tom or worried for him. She had never seen Tom act so maniacally before.
"I knew I was special. I knew I was better than the others." Tom said.
"That is because you are a wizard." Dumbledore simply said. Tom stared at him, bewildered. So did that mean his powers were magic? He was a wizard and Caroline was a… witch?
"Are you a wizard, too, sir?" Caroline asked from behind Tom.
"Yes, I am." he replied.
"Prove it." Tom retorted.
"Does that mean that you will be willing to attend Hog-" Dumbledore started, and was cut off by Tom.
"Yes yes, I'll attend Hogwarts!" Tom said impatiently.
"Then you shall address me as 'Professor' or 'sir', is that understood?" Dumbledore said sternly. Tom put on a forced smile.
"Err, my apologies- sir. I was just wondering if you could-" Tom said.
Dumbledore looked at their wardrobe behind him. He pulled out some stick from his robes, and it burst into flames. Tom was shocked. Him and Caroline hurried to the wardrobe. They didn't own much, even all their possessions combined, but what they did have were all in the wardrobe. A rattling noise came from inside the wardrobe.
"I believe that you have some things that do not belong to you." said Dumbledore, flicking his wand and putting the fire out. The wardrobe looked like before, with no signs of damage or burn marks.
Tom reached behind some clothes and retrieved a small cardboard box that was rattling. Dumbledore had set their wardrobe on fire, and he wasn't going to doubt that Dumbledore had the power to magically transport some creature into his box. He nervously carried the box to the desk.
"Open it." Dumbledore said, calmly.
Having no intentions to disobey the man who had set his wardrobe on fire, he reluctantly opened the small box. It opened with a creak.
Tom pulled out the contents of the box onto the desk. A harmonica, a silver thimble and a red yo-yo. He had stolen them all from the other orphans. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at Tom, accusingly.
"You will return these items to the rightful owners with an apology. I shall know if you do not." he said.
"Thievery is not tolerated at Hogwarts." he warned.
"Yes, sir." Tom replied in a colorless voice, not really meaning it. He didn't seem remotely abashed; he was still staring coldly and appraisingly at Dumbledore.
"At Hogwarts," Dumbledore went on, "we teach you not only to use magic, but to control it. You have- inadvertently, I am sure- been using your powers in a way that is neither taught nor tolerated at our school. You are not the first, nor will you be the last, to allow your magic to run away with you. But you should know that Hogwarts can expel students, and the Ministry of Magic- yes, there is a Ministry- will punish lawbreakers still more severely. All new wizards must accept that, in entering our world, they abide by our laws."
"Yes, sir." said Tom again. Caroline stayed quiet, still trying to process this new information, no doubt.
"Excellent. I can help you find all your requirements for Hogwarts in Diagon Alley." said Dumbledore.
"We don't need you," said Tom. "We're used to doing things for ourselves, we go round London on our own all the time. How do you get to this Diagon Alley- er, sir?" he added, catching Dumbledore's eye. Caroline seemed to protest at Tom, but Tom hissed something at her, and she fell silent, holding a worried face, however. Dumbledore handed Tom and Caroline an envelope containing all of their requirements, and after telling them how to get to the leaky cauldron, he said, "You'll be the only ones who can see it. Go inside, and ask for the bartender, he's called Tom, easy to remember as he shares your name-" Tom gave an irritable twitch, as if trying to displace an annoying fly.
"You dislike the name, 'Tom'?"
"There are a lot of Tom's," muttered Tom. Then, as if he couldn't hold it in anymore, he burst from him in spite of himself, and asked, "Was my father a wizard? He was called Tom Riddle, too, they've told me. What about Caroline?-" he pointed to Caroline. "were her parents magic, too?"
"I'm afraid I don't know, Tom." Dumbledore said. Caroline seemed slightly disappointed.
"My mother couldn't have been magic, otherwise she wouldn't have died," muttered Tom to himself, "it has to be him. So- when I get all my stuff- sorry, I mean we- when do we come to this- to this Hogwarts?"
"All the details are on the second piece of parchment in your envelope," said Dumbledore. "You will leave from King's Cross Station on the first of September. There is a train ticket in there, too."
Tom nodded. Dumbledore held out his hand.
Taking it, Tom added, "Caroline and I, we can talk to snakes. I found out when I was on the country trips- they find me, I whisper to them. And Caroline found out when I-" he stopped. He didn't want to tell the person who was letting him attend a school that he had egged on a snake to attack a girl. Caroline, sensing why Tom had stopped, didn't finish his sentence, which Tom was grateful for.
"It is unusual," said Dumbledore, after a moment of hesitation, "but not unheard of."
His tone was casual, but Caroline saw Dumbledore's eyes moving curiously over Tom's face, then hers, studying them. Tom and Dumbledore stood for a moment, staring at each other, then the handshake was broken; Dumbledore was at the door.
"Goodbye, Tom, and of course, Caroline, I look forward to seeing you at Hogwarts." said Dumbledore. Then he walked out, his footsteps growing more and more fainter by the second. Tom stood there, dumbfounded. Caroline wasn't much better, but she was able to close the door.
"Tom." Caroline said at last. Tom didn't move.
"This- this- I- magic, Hogwarts," Caroline continued. Tom slowly turned around.
"Hogwarts." he said. "We're going to chHogwarts. For eleven years we've been stuck in this miserable place, where we're freaks. Hogwarts. A place for people like us." Tom said. Caroline flopped on her bed.
"Why didn't you want his help?" Caroline asked curiously. Tom didn't answer. Caroline looked as if she was going to pass out at any second. Their thoughts were interrupted soon by Mrs. Cole's shrill voice coming from the bottom floor.
"Children! Lunch!"