Hello everyone! I'm so glad I was finally able to get to another chapter of this story, I hope you are all as excited as I am to see where the story is headed next. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint! Also, I'd like to invite you all to look for small allusions I've put into different chapters that connect with the original Harry Potter story regarding Tom Riddle's past. They may not be in every chapter, but some of the chapters have little hints of it added in. If you've noticed any little connections before now, I hope it's added a little bit of fun in to the reading experience. I find myself doing quite a bit of research for parts of the story, and I thought it would be interesting to throw extra bits of it in. As always, enjoy! I'll be getting the next chapter out sooner I promise!

-Pneuma

There were no more incidents at school for Tom, and that made Zia happy, but he didn't seem to enjoy it. When he would bring home projects he had done in class, they were all done perfectly, but he was never enthusiastic about them. This continued for a few weeks, until his teacher Mrs. Parker called. At first, Zia was worried that something had happened again, but Mrs. Parker instead asked to meet with her after school. Thus Zia found herself sitting at a table outside, watching Tom play on the school's playground, and listening to what Mrs. Parker was saying about Tom's school habits. He didn't seem to like playing with the other children, and he was always done with his work more quickly than the rest of the class.

"Sometimes during play time there will be others, although they're usually much older than he is, and he's always polite to them and is sure to treat them nicely, but for the most part, I think he really prefers doing things on his own. His work is always done quickly, but it is never sloppy and I've never found anything incorrect. I think that he is too advanced for the class," Mrs. Parker told Zia. "Maybe it would be a good idea to talk with Mr. Tanner about putting him into a higher level class. He seems bored with the work we do in my class."

"What class do you think he'd fit in to best?" Zia asked Mrs. Parker.

"Personally, I think he could handle work at least two or three levels above this one."

"Two or three levels? Are you sure about that?" Zia asked her, surprised at the answer. Mrs. Parker smiled rather sheepishly.

"I've been giving him some alternate assignments, just to test his ability level. Honestly, he could probably handle higher than that, but so far I've only given him up to three levels above the current. He did them all easily. I'm not sure what I can do if he stays in my class, he is extremely bright." They both looked over at Tom, who was working determinedly on something in the sandbox.

"Yes, he is," Zia agreed. Tom stood and walked over to them.

"Auntie, will you look?" he asked Zia, tugging on her sleeve until she stood.

"Of course," Zia answered. Mrs. Parker watched, looking interested, as Tom pulled Zia over to the sandbox.

"Do you like it?" It was a large sand sculpture of a dragon, complete with a gust of fire created out of leaves. He leaned in to whisper quietly, "It's a Catalonian Fireball. See the wing shape there, and the angle of the snout."

"I do like it Tom, it's very well done. Did you base that off of the image in our magical creature book?"

"Yep!" he said, looking pleased. Zia smiled at him.

"Mrs. Parker and I were talking about something and I would like for you to come talk with us. I know coming to school wasn't your choice, but I want it to be something you gain from. She has an idea, but before I do anything about it I'd like to know what you want." Tom looked at her and nodded.

"Okay." They both walked back to where Mrs. Parker was sitting, and Tom sat on Zia's lap.

"Mrs. Parker, would you like to talk to Tom about what we were just discussing?" Zia asked. Mrs. Parker's eyes were twinkling.

"Of course," she answered, looking very seriously at Tom. "Tom, you don't seem to be enjoying my class. Do you feel like the work is too easy?" Tom looked up at Zia, with an expression that was plainly asking whether he should lie politely or tell the truth.

"Be honest," Zia encouraged. "She won't mind."

"It's really easy. I don't feel like it does anything," he said simply. He narrowed his eyes a little bit then, studying the teacher. "But you have been giving me some things to do that are different from the other kids. I think because the work is supposed to be more advanced, right? It's still easy though," he added. Mrs. Parker looked surprised, and then laughed merrily.

"You caught me!" she told him. "I was giving you those assignments to see where you may feel more comfortable as a learner."

"I think probably the sixth year would be the best fit if there was a possibility of changing classes. I've looked at some of the books for them, and that work seems a little more challenging," Tom informed her. Mrs. Parker's jaw dropped.

"You…what?"

"Well the fifth year wouldn't work because I help them with their homework during recess sometimes, that's still too easy."

Zia was pressing her lips together firmly to keep from laughing at the expression on Mrs. Parker's face. It was clear that the teacher wasn't used to this side of Tom's personality. To be fair, if Zia didn't know Tom the way she did, it would be a shock to hear a four-year-old calmly explaining his own mental capacity to a teacher for her too. Yet it was still amusing to watch how other people, who weren't used to it, dealt with his unusual intelligence level.

"Is…is that so?" Mrs. Parker asked Tom.

"It is. So if you were talking about this, then you must know a way that I could move to a higher class?" Tom asked, all business. Mrs. Parker looked at Zia, as if seeking out some kind of island of normalcy, but when Zia simply smiled at her, continued to speak directly to Tom.

"There is. You would have to ask your aunt to help you appeal the situation to Mr. Tanner. There would be some evaluations done of your skill levels, then you would either be approved to move up, or you would stay in my class," Mrs. Parker explained.

"Auntie, can we do it?" Tom asked, looking up at Zia.

"Is that what you want to do?" Zia asked him.

"Yes. You wanted me to come here to learn, and I can't do that very well in a class that is too easy for me."

"That is a very good way to make your decision Tom. Of course we will do our best," Zia said, smiling. Mrs. Parker stood.

"Well, that's all I wanted to talk to you about, and I hope it works out for you," she said, holding her hand out for Zia to shake. The woman looked a little dazed, but mostly like she wanted to get away from them and back to people with more age-appropriate intelligence levels as fast as possible. Zia stood, set Tom down on his feet, and shook her hand.

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention Mrs. Parker."

"You are welcome," Mrs. Parker said, as Tom went to clean the leaves out of the sandbox. "He really opens up in front of you. Children often gather courage when their parents are near. Pity he doesn't have a father, it would be so good for him to have a male role model too. And you don't have anybody special?" Zia took a step back from her, frowning slightly.

"I have a lot of people who are special to me, but none of them is a love interest, if that is what you mean," Zia said quietly.

"Oh goodness! I didn't mean to upset you dear, it's quite alright that you don't. The war took a lot of good young men from us, there aren't enough to go around now," Mrs. Parker said hastily. "Well, I hope that things go well for you and Tom, don't forget that we don't have school next week! Enjoy the break!" With those words, Mrs. Parker turned around and hurried away. Tom walked back to Zia right as Mrs. Parker turned the corner, and looked at the expression on his aunt's face.

"Auntie Zia are you okay? You don't look so good," he said, holding her hand. Zia looked down and worked a smile onto her face.

"I'm okay Tom, it's nothing," she said. His face pinched into a frown, but he didn't push it.

"Let's go home then auntie," he said, and they walked out of the schoolyard and to the bus.

That night, when Tom was asleep, Zia sat on the couch in their front room with Honovi the snake twined around her fingers.

"Honovi, does Tom…does he wonder about his father?"

He does, but it's only natural for a child who doesn't know his to do so, isn't it?

"Today his teacher said something to me, about how he could use a good male role model…"

Well there's Papa Charlie, isn't there? He's like a grandfather to Tom. He's family, and a good man.

"Yes, but a more immediate one. She asked me if I had…if I had someone special. Like a boyfriend, you know? Should I be doing that?"

This never bothered you before, and Tom has turned out better than many children who have both of their birth parents raising them.

"But if he wonders about his father..."

Zia. Tom is a good boy, and you are a good parent. What this woman said really hit something in you, and I think you need to look at yourself and figure out why.

"There is something else though, Honovi."

What?

"I know who his father is."

I thought you might, but I was never certain.

"And I know where he lives."

You know where he-

"I have the next week off work, since Tom doesn't have school. Papa Charlie and Nana Mary said they'd like to have him stay with them overnight sometime, they miss him. I think that maybe…"

You can't be thinking what I think you're thinking, Zia.

"I'm going to go meet Tom Riddle Senior." Zia smiled grimly. "If only just to show how inadequate the man would have been as a parent, I think I'd like to know. Even if it's just to see how glad I am my Tom never ended up being raised by his real father."