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 Hogwarts' winter recess came to an end, Merope called her son into their small kitchen one frigid morning as she sat at the table, "Tom?"

From his bedroom down the short hallway, Tom heard his mother's voice and answered after he came into the kitchen with a frown, "Yes, mother?"

"I bought this yesterday from the florist on my way home." Merope explained as she presented her son with a single red rose.

"In the middle of winter?" Tom blinked.

"That's what a florist does." Merope smiled, "They sell beautiful flowers all year long. I chose this one because it has so few flaws, do you see?"

Tom took the rose from Merope and silently inspected the rose for a moment before his dark eyes flickered back to her.

When he nodded in agreement, Merope flashed him a bittersweet smile and went on, "If I still had my powers, I could do it, but I'm afraid you'll have to instead…...hold the tip of your wand to the bottom of the stem, think of Harriet Potter, and then say her name."

Tom looked at Merope incredulously but she nodded as she urged him, "Go on!"

He left the room to retrieve his wand and after he returned to the kitchen a moment later, he did exactly as Merope instructed.

Tom scowled at the flower while he pressed the tip of his wand to its stem, closed his eyes, and murmured, "...Harriet Potter."

When he opened his eyes again, he watched in wonder as a small burst of bright light shot out of his wand's tip to encircle the flower from stem to blossom in a dazzling enchantment.

"Very good, darling!" Merope clapped.

"What am I supposed to do with this, Mother?" Tom frowned up at Merope.

Merope laughed as she reached out, combed her fingers through her son's dark hair, and explained, "Well, sweetheart, you're supposed to give that to Harriet Potter as a gift……..under that enchantment, the rose won't wilt, you see? She'll have something beautiful to remind her of you every time she looks at the flower."

"Why should I give her a gift?" Tom asked with narrowed eyes.

Merope sighed.

She realized that she had an awful lot to teach her son.

"Do you want Harriet Potter to like you as much as you like her?" Merope asked.

Tom nodded.

"Then give her the flower when you get back to school." Merope replied as she crossed her arms, "Flowers are excellent starters for romance and red roses represent love."

"Why is there only one?" Tom frowned at his singular rose.

"Because that's all I could buy yesterday, Tom." Merope frowned back, "Write to me and tell me how she likes it, though. Perhaps if she enjoys your gesture well enough, I'll try to save enough money back to purchase another one soon."

"Thank you, Mother." Tom whispered as Merope pulled him into a tight hug.

"I'd do anything for you, my darling." Merope informed him out of genuine love as she squeezed her son tightly and closed her eyes.

Her loving gesture failed to wipe the curiosity from Tom's calculating mind.

"...Mother?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Merope asked as she opened her eyes and kissed the top of his head.

"Why did you lose your powers?" Tom frowned as he moved to look up at her.

A sad smile crossed Merope's face as she gazed down at her son and saw Tom Riddle Senior staring back at her, "...That's a story for another day, my darling. I'll tell you when you're older."

"You said that last year." Tom frowned.

"I did." Merope admitted.

"...I'm older now." Tom reasoned.

"Yes, but not quite old enough." Merope laughed.

Merope expected their hug to end, but Tom kept his arms wound around her protectively as a scowl marred his face while he asked, "Did someone hurt you?"

"Well………..yes." Merope confessed. She decided not to lie to her son, it had indeed been painful when his father abandoned her.

She cleared her throat as she added, "But I hurt that person first. I did a very bad thing, Tom, and I've paid dearly for it, haven't I? That's why you shouldn't do bad things."

"They shouldn't have hurt you." Tom growled contrarily as his scowl slowly melted into a dangerous glare.

"Oh, it's alright, sweetheart!" Merope smiled, "You and I have had a good life together, haven't we?"

Tom scowled up at Merope for a long moment before he turned his head and laid his face against her while he continued to hug her tightly.

Merope kissed the top of his head again as Tom closed his dark eyes and listened to his mother's heartbeat.

A part of him didn't want to go back to Hogwarts and leave his mother alone in their small flat.

A part of him just wanted to bring Harriet to live with them so that they could be free to chat, study, and be together.

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Merope had given Tom a couple of suggestions on how to be charming and kind by the time he returned to Hogwarts a few days later.

He frowned to himself as he rode the train, disappointed by the knowledge that Harriet was not on board.

As soon as he arrived back at the castle, he placed his trunk in his dormitory room, retrieved the rose, and went to find Harriet.

Classes were scheduled to resume the following day, which meant that Hogwarts' students had the entirety of the afternoon to spend however they chose.

Tom walked around the castle for more than an hour without finding Harriet.

Finally, as he stood high at the top of the Astronomy Tower, he spied a single black figure standing in the courtyard with a large, snowy owl perched on its arm.

Tom would recognize Harriet Potter's pet anywhere.

He nearly fell over himself during his scramble to get out of the tower, down the steps, and out into the courtyard before she left, but he made it.

"Harriet Potter!" Tom called out as he stepped into the fluffy snow.

Harriet turned around when she heard her name.

She unintentionally knocked the breath from Tom's lungs for a brief second as his gaze scanned over her.

The stark white backdrop made her green eyes shine even more brightly and her dark hair seem more vibrant.

Tom swallowed thickly as he walked towards her, willing himself not to lose the ability to speak.

"Hello, Tom." Harriet smiled, "Did you have a good holiday?"

"I did." Tom nodded as he recovered from the beauty she had blasted him with, "Did you and Weasley?"

Harriet was too young and naive to notice the sour tone of jealousy in his voice as he hissed out Ron's last name.

"We did, yeah." Harriet nodded, "Ron's Mum even made me a sweater! I've never had a Christmas present before. It was brilliant!"

The scowl that clouded Tom's face was unsettling as he brooded over the tragedy that Harriet had never received a Christmas gift and the agony that he had missed out on the chance to present her with her first.

"Well, I have a better gift for you than a sweater." He snarled as he reached into the pocket of his coat.

Harriet blinked in surprise as Tom withdrew the perfect, red rose and held it out to her.

"Oh…….." Harriet gasped, "It's…...it's beautiful……..Wow!...I...I don't know what to say….thanks!" She stammered as she took the flower from Tom.

She saw the angry scowl still linger on his face and she sought to calm him by telling him another interesting truth, "...I've never had a flower before, either."

Tom's scowl rapidly changed into a triumphant smirk as he straightened his back proudly and watched Harriet examine the rose with happiness in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

"If you like it well enough, then perhaps I'll bring you another one day." Tom commented.

"You don't have to do that!" Harriet exclaimed as she looked at Tom, then back at her flower, "It is lovely, though!"

"I want to do it." Tom corrected her. As he watched Harriet study the blossom, he explained, "It won't wilt….I've charmed it to remain beautiful."

"Thank you." Harriet repeated as she took her eyes from her flower and smiled gratefully at Tom, "I'm going to place it on my nightstand so I can see it when I go to bed and wake up. Our rooms can be a bit gloomy sometimes."

He nodded at her as Hedwig shrieked.

"Thanks again, Tom." Harriet smiled, she nodded at her rose and spoke, "It really is beautiful."

He stayed silent as she walked past him to leave the courtyard.

Although, as Tom watched her go, he narrowed his eyes and whispered under his breath, "...Not as beautiful as you, Harriet Potter."

The darkness of his school robes harshly contrasted with the white snow that drifted down softly around him as he stood alone in the vacant, frigid courtyard.

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Harriet was as proud of the rose as she was of the sweater that Mrs. Weasley had knitted for her.

She wore her new sweater to dinner that evening in the Great Hall while she clutched her rose in one hand, eager to show the sweater to Hermione and the rose to both of her friends.

Ron ate his meal with an indifferent shrug, but Harriet's female friend was much more intrigued by the flower than the sweater.

"Harriet!" Hermione cried in a hushed whisper, "Tom Riddle actually gave you a red rose?!"

"Yeah." Harriet blinked, "...Is that bad?"

"Did he say anything…..when he gave it to you?" Hermione asked with her brown eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"...Not really." Harriet shrugged as she thought back, "We just chatted about the holiday, that's all. Should I be worried?"

"You do know what a red rose symbolizes, don't you?" Hermione asked.

Ron and Harriet leaned in closer as if Hermione was going to tell them about a shocking secret.

She made a noise of irritation in her throat as she glanced between them both and exclaimed, "In the language of flowers?! Honestly, you two….! Red roses symbolize love!"

Ron's eyes widened.

Harriet blinked at Hermione in disbelief for a moment.

Hermione smirked at her friend as she said, "I think you may have an admirer, Harriet."

"You mean…..Tom may fancy….me?!" Harriet gasped.

"Why else would a boy give you a rose?" Hermione asked, "I've seen him chatting with you in the halls...He does seem rather friendly towards you, Harriet...and he isn't with many, from what I've heard."

"No, that isn't true. Tom is really kind to everyone." Harriet disagreed, "Most people like him fairly well."

"Harriet……" Hermione chided as she smirked.

Harriet shrugged off her friend's intuition as she defended her opinion, "He was upset that I stayed here for the holiday and he wanted to cheer me up, that's all."

"Whatever you say." Hermione shrugged with a haughty smirk as she looked down at her plate.

The topic of their conversation switched, but across the Great Hall, Tom kept a close watch on Harriet, Ron, and Hermione.

He had carefully observed the way that Harriet proudly showed her friends the rose he had given to her.

Through the many moving bodies of the seated students that annoyingly sat at the tables between them, he had seen the smile on her face.

Tom didn't mind that he couldn't hear what Harriet had said about her flower, it made her happy, and that was all he needed to know.

Later that evening, he sat down at a small desk in the corner of Slytherin's common room and penned a letter:

Mother,

I wish that you could be here with me and hope that you are well. I gave Harriet Potter the rose and it made her smile. Please send another one soon if you can.

Tom

Tom kept his communication brief, but as he sealed the envelope, he thought to himself.

Perhaps if he gave Harriet another flower, she'd smile for him again as brightly as she had in the courtyard.

And then again if he gave her another……

Tom silently wondered how many flowers it would take until Harriet Potter gave him something more than a smile in return?

A kiss would be nice, or a hug, so that he could feel her pressed against him…..

At the tender age of eleven, somehow, Tom already knew that he wouldn't be truly satisfied with any gifts from Harriet until she gave him all of herself, completely, unconditionally, and permanently.

His dark eyes glistened like molten ore as he stood up and walked by the roaring fireplace on his way to his dormitory for the night.

Tom Riddle was a selfish boy.