Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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As the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station and the students began to exit the train, Tom Riddle's dark eyes scanned the crowd for another glimpse of Harriet Potter.
He finally found her gathered next to her newly made friends as they all huddled around the boats with the rest of the first year students.
Tom watched as a large man with a bushy, dark beard walked up and spoke, "Nice to meet ya, everyone! I'm Hagrid, the gamekeeper here at Hogwarts…..Not much else to say about that….If ya will, we'll go on an' load the boats to get you lot up to the castle. Come on then….no more than four at a time, in ya go." Hagrid ordered while he waved his massive hand to direct the new students.
Tom was careful to walk over and stand close to Harriet, Hermione, and Ron until he knew that they would all be assigned to the same vehicle.
As they climbed into the boat, Ron sat beside Hermione and Harriet ended up next to Tom, by no accident on his part.
"Hello, Harriet Potter." Tom greeted her in a voice that sounded startlingly suave for a boy of his young age.
"Hello again." Harriet nodded politely at Tom. She immediately turned to introduce him to her new friends, "Ron, Hermione, this is Tom Riddle, we met briefly in the hallway on the train…..Tom, this is Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."
"Lovely to meet you." Hermione nodded.
Tom nodded at them both and Ron nodded back.
It flattered him that Harriet had introduced him to the people that she knew right away, but Ron and Hermione were meaningless.
The only person that Tom had any interest in learning more about was Harriet.
Together, the four of them watched as the boats began to carry themselves across the lake towards the majestic castle that sat on the hill above.
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Their journey was brief yet pleasant.
Tom enjoyed the sweet scent of Harriet's shampoo that wafted from her hair in the evening's gentle breeze.
He said little while Harriet, Hermione, and Ron chatted during their short trip.
Tom was too busy watching Harriet to engage in idle conversation.
The fact that she wore glasses spoke to him of vulnerability, although he could tell by the spark in her smile and the bold confidence of her words that Harriet Potter was anything but meek.
That notion intrigued him.
Tom Riddle looked forward to becoming Harriet Potter's shadow, confidant, and friend, but Merope had not attended Hogwarts, which left him with no inkling of what to expect next that evening.
Tom didn't yet understand that as he walked into the castle after he stepped through its magnificent, stone entryway, he wouldn't be able to keep the subject of his fascination at his side for long.
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Tom led the way into the Great Hall as Harriet walked behind him.
Ron and Hermione stepped after her while they followed the rest of the first year students down the narrow walkway between the long tables, all four of which nearly spanned the length of the room.
Tom, Harriet, Ron, and Hermione all looked around in awe at the starry ceiling, the floating candles, and the many, varied types of food that waited to be eaten.
The High Table stood at the front of the room.
Hogwarts' staff members sat behind it as they eyed the first year students.
Once everyone had entered the Great Hall, an elderly man, dressed in long robes and a velvet hat, stood from his engraved chair at the High Table.
He approached the podium, stood in front of the crowd, and spoke, "Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. First years, I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster. I, along with the rest of our staff, would like to welcome you, as well as our returning students, for the start of the new term." Dumbledore paused while everyone applauded.
Once the noise had quieted, he looked at the bewildered new students and gestured, "If you will, please, first years, fall into a queue here…..We'll begin the Sorting Hat Ceremony shortly."
Behind him, Tom heard Harriet turn around and whisper to Hermione, "...What's the Sorting Hat Ceremony?"
Tom silently wondered about that question himself, but he stared straight ahead while Hermione leaned in to enlighten Harriet.
A wooden stool was brought out and placed close to the podium.
One of the women that sat at the High Table, whom Tom and Harriet did not recognize, but others knew as Professor McGonagall, approached the stool with an old, tattered hat in her arms.
A name was called.
Tom watched with narrowed eyes as a girl stepped forward, sat on the stool, and had the old hat placed upon her head.
The first years watched as the raggedy hat came to life and wrinkled its brown brim for a moment in contemplation before it shouted, "...HUFFLEPUFF!"
The seated students at the table next to Tom cheered. A bright smile broke out across the girl's face while she hopped off of the stool and skipped over to join her new housemates.
His heart sank into the bottom of his stomach as he understood then what those tables and the four house flags that flew above them signified.
Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor…..
Four houses, four tables.
Four different opportunities for him and Harriet to be split apart.
One student after another was called forward until eventually, Tom heard his name.
"TOM RIDDLE!"
He took a step towards the wooden stool, but that was as far as he got.
"SLYTHERIN!" The Sorting Hat immediately bellowed.
Tom scowled as the students seated at the Slytherin table shouted and clapped while he followed McGonagall's pointing finger to join the rest of his house.
A few people attempted to introduce themselves to Tom, but he batted away their kindness with nods of his head and polite, murmured responses.
His attention remained focused on the front of the room because he knew who would be sorted next…...
"Harriet Potter!" McGonagall called out.
Tom's dark eyes bore into Harriet as she walked up to the stool, sat down, and grimaced as the Sorting Hat plopped onto her head.
The Slytherin table was tragically on the far side of the room.
Over everyone's anxious whisperings, Tom couldn't understand what the Sorting Hat said to Harriet as the two conversed for a moment.
To his dismay, he did hear the magical object loudly announce Harriet's house to everyone present in the Great Hall, "GRYFFINDOR!"
The students seated at Gryffindor's table cheered while Harriet walked over to join them.
Tom's handsome face twisted into a bitter scowl of deep disappointment.
He watched with jealousy sprouting in his young heart as Harriet's friends, Ron and Hermione, sat next to her at Gryffindor's table moments later.
Tom silently sucked in a breath as he watched Harriet smile while she celebrated with her friends and began to eat her meal.
"Listen, you...Are you going to talk to anyone or not?" A haughty voice demanded.
Tom turned towards that voice with a scowl on his face that looked so ominous it could have made the bravest witch or wizard tremble.
The white-haired boy beside him blinked as his grey eyes widened. Under Tom's scathing glare, the boy stammered for a moment until he found his words, "I-I…..My name is Draco Malfoy, these are my new friends, Crabbe and Goyle."
"My name is Tom Riddle." Tom replied coldly.
He held Draco's stare for a moment until Draco cleared his throat and spoke, "Glad to be in Slytherin house, eh? It's the best one, you know. My father is Hogwarts Governor at the Ministry…..I'm the heir to house Black and house Malfoy."
Tom watched as Draco extended an open hand towards him with an arrogant smirk as he went on, "It's a wise idea to become my friend, Tom Riddle. I'm a very important person to know. I may even be able to get you a job working under my father after you graduate."
Tom thought for a moment before a charming smile curled across his lips.
He reached out to take Draco's hand, but as their fingers connected, Draco gasped at the constricting, vice-like grip that Tom trapped him in as he spoke, "I'm always open to making new friends, Draco Malfoy." Tom said with a smile that seemed eerily bright, "...Although I doubt very much that I'd be working under your father for long in the years to come."
Tom's smile faded for a moment as he tightened his grasp and threatened to crush the bones in Draco's hand.
Draco struggled for a moment in a silent measure of strength before Tom eased his hold and allowed his new acquaintance to rip himself free with a scowl.
Although his hand throbbed, Draco refused to show his pain in front of his peers.
He disguised his discomfort with arrogant anger as he asked, "Oh really, Riddle? Care to tell me how you've figured that?"
Tom stared into Draco's face.
He didn't state the dreamy musing of a young person with hopeful aspirations.
He didn't detail a young boy's fantasy about what he hoped to accomplish in his professional life.
What Tom spoke to Draco was a confident fact.
"One day, Draco Malfoy," Tom declared as he stared into his eyes, "I will be the Minister for Magic……then your father….and you….and everyone else...will be working underneath me."
Draco scowled as Tom turned away and began to eat his meal.
Across from Slytherin's table, dark eyes watched the two first years' verbal sparring match.
Professor Severus Snape frowned as he contemplated the new additions to his house.
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Tom had meant what he had said.
He was determined to become Minister for Magic.
Draco Malfoy and everyone else would be at his mercy and subjected to his will.
Merope would be cared for and Harriet Potter would be……Harriet Potter would be by his side.
As Tom and Harriet began their Hogwarts education, it pleased him that although they had been sorted into different houses, they still had the opportunity to see each other every day since Slytherin and Gryffindor first years shared a similar class schedule.
Whether in Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, or Herbology, Tom's eyes never wandered far from Harriet unless he was working on his assignments.
It made him smirk whenever he caught her glancing at him in return.
The weeks passed and soon, the winter holidays arrived.
Tom had considered his situation very carefully.
He made good use of his time at the castle.
Determined to be a model student, Tom spent his days either studying his class work, doing his own research on the magical world in Hogwarts' library, or observing Harriet.
He had noticed that nearly all of Harriet's spare time was spent in the company of Ron and Hermione.
Stealthily, he looked for hidden opportunities to chat with her.
Sometimes they were partnered together in Potions, other times they may pass one another on their way to and fro, but whenever the occasion came that he and Harriet were alone, Tom gladly engaged the dark-haired girl that held his attention.
On the day that the Hogwarts Express prepared to carry the castle's students back to their families for the holiday recess, Tom walked up from the dungeons with his trunk in his hand.
His heart leapt when he noticed that Harriet sat in the corner of the castle's massive foyer.
Although his gaze was drawn to her skirt that lay draped over her legs, he frowned at the sadness that he saw on her face.
"Hello, Harriet Potter." Tom purred as he went out of his way to come and stand in front of her.
Harriet blinked as she looked up from the notebook that she held in her hands and answered, "...Oh. Hello, Tom. On your way home?"
"Yes." Tom replied as his dark stare scanned over Harriet, "I want to see my mother very much."
He narrowed his eyes after he recovered enough from his reverent admiration to notice that Harriet did not appear to have any luggage with her.
"...Where's your trunk?" Tom demanded as he scowled, "Don't you want to see your mother too?"
"I don't have a mother." Harriet replied as she frowned up at Tom.
Tom blinked as she shrugged and went on, "I'm staying here for Christmas. Ron will be with me, we'll have fun, I'm not worried."
"Last call for the Hogwarts Express!" McGonagall shouted shrilly as she bustled over to the castle's doorway and prepared to escort the last few stragglers down to the train platform.
Tom stared at Harriet as if she were a difficult puzzle that he struggled to solve.
"...What do you mean that you don't have a mother?" Tom snapped, "Everyone has a mother."
"My parents died in a car crash when I was a baby." Harriet explained, "My aunt and uncle raised me, but they're not very good people. I don't want to go back to them until I absolutely must."
"Mr. Riddle!" McGonagall shouted.
Tom glanced over at his teacher as she crossed her arms and asked, "Are you planning on taking the train or not? Your mother's written to Professor Dumbledore twice this week, she'll be beside herself if you don't return to her!"
Tom turned back towards Harriet before she nodded at him with a smile, "Go on, Tom. I have Ron, that's all I need…….Happy Christmas."
"...Happy Christmas." Tom murmured as he threw Harriet one last stare.
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Later, as the Hogwarts Express rolled along the track, Tom scowled out the window at the snowy landscape with a furious grimace on his face.
If Harriet had no mother, then he decided that she could share his.
Harriet could come and live with him, then they'd be together.
His sentiment was drowned out by his own furious jealousy as he mused over her words.
I have Ron, that's all I need…….
How could she be so foolish as to think that another could care for her the way that he could?
Tom's fingers tapped against his trunk while he entertained violent imaginations of potential ways in which he could eliminate Ronald Weasley from Harriet Potter's life.
He decided that the poor girl had become badly confused.
It was Tom whom Harriet needed, not Ron.
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Mother and son were overjoyed to be reunited.
Tom gladly settled back into the familiar dismalness of the small flat in which he had been raised.
It was cramped, compact, and slightly musty, but to him, it was home…...a home made sweeter by his mother's presence.
Merope's cooking, her touch, her voice, Tom greedily drank it all in and internalized those memories so that he could make it through the next few months.
Although he had been conceived under loveless circumstances, that was the very force that Tom Riddle thrived on……..love.
He thought for certain that his mother was the only living source of that sustenance until they shared an interesting conversation one evening as Merope tucked him into bed.
The other first years would have laughed at the way she pulled the covers up to his chest, kissed his forehead, and read him a story, but Merope enjoyed babying her only child and Tom loved to be pampered.
"...Tom?" Merope asked, "You've frowned since you've come home….Are you finally going to tell me what's wrong? Do you feel ill?"
"No, I'm sad, Mother." Tom confessed.
"Why?" Merope pouted.
"Because Harriet Potter has no mother." Tom explained as he looked at Merope, "She stayed at Hogwarts for the holiday and she's going to spend all of her time with another boy."
"Harriet Potter, the girl you wrote about in your letters?" Merope asked.
"Yes." Tom nodded.
As Merope studied the anguished expression on her little boy's face, a knowing smirk slowly spread over her lips.
"Tom, darling…..I think you may be falling in love." Merope smiled.
"What does that mean?" Tom frowned.
"That you're growing to love Harriet Potter." Merope explained.
"No……" Tom blinked as he furrowed his brow, "I can only love you, Mother…..What other love can there be?"
"That's the nature of love, Tom." Merope smiled again as she cryptically explained, "It exists where you least expect it and never comes when you look for it. I've learned that over the years."
Tom scowled as he contemplated Merope's strange statement while she grinned to herself.
Her motherly instincts were right, her little boy was indeed falling in love.
Although Tom did not yet understand it, he was as smitten with Harriet as Merope had been with his father.
Merope felt responsibility rise in her heart.
She loved Tom completely, absolutely, and unconditionally, but that didn't mean that she remained ignorant of her son's faults.
As Merope brushed her fingers against her little boy's face, she silently vowed to guide him towards a better path than she had taken herself.
Merope vowed that she would help Tom win Harriet's heart, not with Amortentia, but with true, honest love.