Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series.

Chapter One

September 19, 1996 — Present Time

A green eyed young man was standing in the doorway, looking indecisive for a second, before mustering the courage to step into the office in determined steps. He crossed the threshold and headed towards the old man who was sitting behind his desk, examining the odd whirling contraptions on the wooden surface with reverence. There was a slight nostalgic expression on his face as he caressed the contraptions and the absent twinkle in his eyes and the obvious sorrow that his presence emitted made the green eyed man pause. He had never seen the old man looking melancholy and for no reason at all. The old man had always been strange, considered mad by some circles and brilliant by the most, but he embraced it and even went as far as dressing mismatched robes. The old man always appeared serene but happy and to see him without the twinkle in his eyes that spoke of mischief and youthfulness that wasn't measured by age was strange.

The expression disappeared, however, when the old man looked up and saw him standing before him.

"Good evening, sir," said Harry Potter, smiling sheepishly at the old man.

"Harry." The old man, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, regarded the young man with warmth. "To what do I owe this visit? Care for a Lemon Drop?"

"No, thank you, sir," he said before he hesitated. "Uhm, I'm actually here to ask you a question, sir."

"What is it, Harry?" Albus questioned as he gestured for him to take a seat.

Harry did so with a grateful smile. His knees were shaking earlier and sitting felt like it would ease the anxiety he was feeling. "If you don't mind, sir. You've always told me that a war is coming and that I should be prepared for it to happen. I'm just wondering if you can tell me something more about Voldemort. You told me yourself that I have to know my enemy but I have a feeling that I don't know him well enough. I was hoping that you could help with that, sir."

For a second, it seemed as though the headmaster was angry but his face cleared and Harry dismissed it as his imagination. The headmaster sighed as he lowered a piece of the whirling contraption to his desk in front of him. He then intertwined his fingers on the table and regarded the green eyed man with solemn eyes.

"Tell me, Harry," he said, "what would you do to save your loved ones?"

The abrupt question made the green eyed man blink in surprise. "Uh, sir?"

Albus smiled serenely. "Humor an old man, Harry. What would you do to save your loved ones?"

The answer came easy to him. "Everything."

"Everything?" His blue eyes glinted with an unnamed emotion. "Can you define everything, Harry?"

This made Harry gulp. "Everything, sir. I'll fight for them and protect them. I'll give up everything for them. Even if it meant sacrificing myself, sir. I'll do all of that to save them."

Albus stare at him with unseeing eyes and he didn't speak for a long moment. Silence surrounded them and Harry fidgeted in his seat, uncomfortable by it and the unusual atmosphere of sorrow in the room.

"Uh, sir?" He finally said, making the headmaster focus his eyes on him.

Albus gave him a faint smile. "Forgive an old man, Harry, but this day has more impact for me than most days."

Harry was sheepish. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to talk to you in a bad time. I'll come back—"

"No, no. It's okay, Harry. Any distraction is welcome as of the moment. I fear that I wouldn't survive this day without reprieve." The headmaster sighed and stared at the contraptions. "If you want to understand Voldemort, Harry, then you must understand Tom Riddle as well."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "But isn't Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort the same, sir?"

"Oh, no, Harry." Albus shook his head at him. "I can assure you that those two aren't the same. They might have the same body but they are two different people. Voldemort is nothing but a broken man, a mad man, but Tom Riddle was a brilliant one." He narrowed his eyes in contemplation. "Tell me, Harry, why do you think that Lord Voldemort didn't survive that night your parents died?"

"Because of my mother's sacrifice," he said without hesitation, ignoring the pang of pain in his chest. "She gave up her life for me and her love protected me that night."

Albus nodded. "Incomplete but correct. You see, Harry, Lord Voldemort's soul is corrupted at that point. A mother's love is one of the purest form of magic and Lord Voldemort's soul couldn't handle such love. Thus, he didn't survive that night." Albus paused. "But if Lord Voldemort was still Tom Riddle, he would've understand and he would've survived."

"Sir, I don't think I understand what you mean." Harry was perplexed. He had always associated Tom Riddle as Lord Voldemort. They were the same people: they were both evil and tainted. They were irredeemable. "How could Tom Riddle be able to understand and survive that love, sir? I mean, I get that he was brilliant but you said that he was conceived by a love potion, sir. I thought it meant that he couldn't feel love because of it."

"Tom Riddle is still human, Harry," said Albus. "He could still feel anger, sorrow, regret, and, yes, even love. However, Tom lacked a certain quality that should've made him more human: empathy. Or rather, his empathetic nature is selective. He doesn't feel for anyone aside from those he considered his friends."

"But he doesn't have friends," argued Harry. "He has followers."

"Lord Voldemort has followers, Harry, but Tom Riddle has a friend," Albus calmly rebuked. "I told you that they are not the same person, didn't I?"

Harry blinked. He still didn't quite grasp the fact that they weren't the same entity. He had met Tom Riddle in his second year and although his appearance was different from the current Lord Voldemort, they had the same ideals and the same fears. They both wanted to kill him that was for certain.

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but I still don't understand. Why are you telling me this, sir?"

"Oh, Harry." Albus looked forlorn. "In order to understand Lord Voldemort, you must understand Tom Riddle first. Tom Riddle didn't become Lord Voldemort without a reason, Harry, and Lord Voldemort is not Tom Riddle."

Harry tightened his lips into a straight white line. "Then, what's so different about them? Why are you saying that Tom Riddle isn't Lord Voldemort?"

"Tom Riddle, above everyone else in this world, knew what is love, Harry. He knew love and Lord Voldemort could not."

"Because of his corrupted soul, sir?"

"Yes, Harry." The headmaster turned his head away to look at the large window with the view of the Forbidden Forest. "Tom Riddle has always been inclined to the Dark Arts but his soul wasn't corrupted, not like Lord Voldemort. That is the difference between them." He returned his gaze to him. "Tell me, Harry, why do you keep on fighting Lord Voldemort?"

The question didn't shock Harry this time. "For my parents," he answered. "I wanted justice for their deaths."

"What else, Harry?"

Harry hummed. "For my friends," he answered after a brief moment of contemplative silence. "For the Wizarding World. I want to stop the bloodshed. I don't want anymore deaths to happen. I don't want children to lose their family like me."

"And tell me, Harry, why did Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort?"

Harry blinked, stunned. "He wanted power, sir."

To his surprise, the headmaster shook his head. "No, Harry. Tom Riddle might want to control, yes, but he didn't become Lord Voldemort because of power."

More confused than ever, Harry asked, "Then why did he became Lord Voldemort, Headmaster?"

His face was blank but his eyes delivered the pain inside of him. "Love, Harry. Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort because of love."

A/N: Hello, everyone! And welcome old and new readers!

I consider this a Spin Off of Just A Smile considering that the Hermione in JAS would be featured here as well and it has nearly the same concept. Nearly. It's still going to be different — yes, that also includes Hermione although not by much, I promise. For one thing, Tom isn't as adorable as James in JAS. Though knowing Tom, he'd probably challenge that statement.

I only have four chapters written for this story and the length is the same as JAS (one-shot, drabble like). The second chapter won't be published for a few days, I think. Never fear since once I publish the second chapter, it would have the same schedule as JAS: meaning every day there are new chapters. Granted if I'm not busy with schoolwork by that time.

Anyway, tell me what you think! Reviews are welcomed!

~ NR xx