The Girl Who Loved Tom Riddle
Chapter 3
Happy Birthday, Tom
Note: We don't know when Tom's birthday is, but I have a feeling it's in January. I bet he's a Capricorn because I've looked up what Capricorns are and they're patient, wise and compassionate. Well, Voldemort doesn't show much compassion, but I bet Tom did when he was younger and he does show patience in the second book when writing to Ginny and he was patient on waiting for the Triwizard Tournament thingy. Capricorns want only the best in anything and that does sound like Tom, hell, a typical Slytherin to me! I bet Salazar Slytherin was a Capricorn and all the Slytherins were born in winter months. In book 4, Trelawny thinks Harry was born under the planet Saturn and that's what Capricorns are. So she probably wasn't reading Harry's fortune all the time, but Voldemort's. I bet his death she's talking about is Voldemort's! It's just a hunch, but I think I'm right about Tom being a Capricorn. I bet Godric Gryffindor was a Leo, Helga Hufflepuff was a Scorpio (that's what I am and they're really loyal and stuff!) another sign in fall and Rowena Ravenclaw had a spring birthday, maybe she was a Pisces because they symbolize wisdom.
On January 13, 1938, Tom Marvolo Riddle turned eleven. This was going to be a very special year for Tom because he would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When Sarah learned it was his birthday, she went to the kitchen and asked Mrs. Crabtree if she could help make him a birthday cake to surprise him. Not only that, but they made his favorite dinner for a birthday party. When everything was done, she crept up to the boy's dormitory and knocked on the door, opening it slightly to find Tom reading, and his back toward her.
Sarah crept up, put her hands on his eyes and yelled, "guess who!"
"Hmm," said Tom, playing along, "is it Jenny?"
"Nope!"
"Catherine?"
"Nope!"
"Let's see," Tom continued, "Sarah?"
"Yup!" she took her hands off his eyes and embraced him. "Happy birthday, Tom!"
"Today's my birthday?" he asked, surprised. "Really?"
"Yes, silly," she mumbled, coming down and grabbing his hand. "Come down, Tom. Something I want to show you. Close your eyes."
"But how am I supposed to know where I'm going?" Tom questioned playfully.
"I'll lead you," Sarah giggled, tugging on the tall boy's hand. "Come on, Tom!"
"Oh, all right," Tom sighed, closing his eyes and he let the girl he thought of as his younger sister down the stars. "Don't let me trip."
"I won't, silly," she insisted. "Are they closed? Don't peak! It's a surprise!"
"I'm not peaking," said Tom.
She stopped at the table, let go of his hand and said, "Okay, open!"
Tom opened his eyes to see his favorite food on the table, garnished with a green tablecloth, a birthday cake that said, "Happy Birthday, Tom!" and presents.
"Wow!" Tom shouted.
"You like it, Tom?" Sarah asked.
"Like it?" Tom questioned.
"I love it! You did all this for
me?"
"Yes, Tom," Sarah replied.
"Oh, Sarah, thank you." He grabbed her and picked her up, holding her on his hip and she put her arms around his neck, just like any big brother might carry his sister around. Tom gave Sarah a kiss on the cheek, which she returned the same way. "The best birthday ever."
The dinner was delicious, the cake was even better and he loved the presents but what he loved the most of the whole birthday party was that Sarah took the time to do it for him. In the eleven years he had been in the orphanage, no one put in an effort to make any of his birthdays one to remember.
--
After Tom's birthday, two more girls were adopted, Beth and Catherine. Usually a girl would feel jealous, angry or sad that someone else left the orphanage to go to a new home, but Sarah was thrilled. Sarah was not just happy for the other girls, but happy for herself that she didn't have to leave the orphanage, or Tom. She knew the other boys didn't like Tom and if she were to leave without him, Tom wouldn't have a friend. Tom and Sarah spent a lot of time together. He read stories to her while holding her in his lap, talked to her when she had bad dreams and did everything a big brother and a little sister would do for each other.
One spring day, Tom took little Sarah out for a piggyback ride through the park. Sarah laughed, trying to catch falling tree blossoms while Tom carried her through on his back.
"Am I getting too heavy?" she inquired.
"No," he replied.
He walked on some more until she saw some geese in the park. She asked him to set her down so she could chase the geese and throw bread to them. Tom swung her around in the green grass until they both got dizzy and fell down laughing. They would point at the sky and pick out cloud formations for hours. Then they went window-shopping, hand in hand. When they came to a pet shop, Sarah asked if they could go in. The cats in the window—what used to be sleeping—awoke just as Tom and Sarah came by.
"Miss Smith will be wondering where we are," said Tom.
"Just for a while, please?" Sarah asked, her eyes getting big.
He sighed. "Oh, all right."
They walked inside to look at the cute little animals and Sarah went straight for the kittens. They mewed at her, licked her face as she petted them. The cats were drawn to Sarah, all wanting to have some of the little girl's loving.
Tom chuckled while holding a little kitten that playfully pawed his chin then sat it down. He heard someone talking to him, but the only ones in the store at the time were Sarah and he. The owner of the store had to be back in the office. Tom turned a snake tank. A garter snake was looking straight at him, hissing but Tom could've sworn he heard a voice coming from its tongue.
"Take me home," it said imploringly.
"You talking to me?" Tom asked.
It nodded. Tom was taken back and walked closer to the tank.
"You can hear me?"
It nodded again. "Yessss. Take me home with you, pleaasseee."
"I would," said Tom, "but I have no money and we don't allow pets in the orphanage. You've been there for a long time, haven't you?"
"Yessss. I have."
"Sorry."
The owner of the pet store came out from the back and the bell jingled as more customers came in. They looked at Tom as if he were having a fit and walked passed him. Sarah was still playing with the kittens and hadn't noticed that Tom was speaking in Parseltongue. The boy that came in with the new customers pointed at Tom.
"Mommy, he talks funny," he said.
"Honey, don't point." She said.
"I'm going to go back to sssleep now," said the snake to Tom. "Thanksss for noticing me."
"Okay. Maybe I'll visit you again sometime," said Tom, he turned around to see that the little boy was still staring at him.
"Something I can help you with?" the storeowner asked, eying Tom warily.
"N-no," said Tom, wondering what he had done this time. He got the feeling he should leave so he went to Sarah and took her hand. "Sarah, we've got to go."
She groaned, "But—why?"
"Say goodbye to the kitties," he instructed, still feeling everyone's eyes on him. What did he do? Did he make something blow up on accident?
"Oh, okay," she said, putting the kitten down. "Bye, bye."
The cats meowed and jumped back up, trying to get at her. Tom grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the store, the cats in he window were meowing at Sarah as if they were pleading for her to stay.
"Tom what is it?" Sarah questioned, noticing his worried expression. "Are you all right?"
"Huh?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Fine. Are you tired? I can carry you." He picked her up on his hip and began to walk faster. Sarah sighed and put her arms around him, thinking that there was more to what Tom was telling her.
--
In June, letter arrived for Tom. Only it was strange about how that letter got there. A mailman didn't put it in the mail slot but an owl flew it. The owl flew to the door and the letter flew into the mail slot and the owl flew off. Miss Smith got the letter along with the rest of the mail and read the letter addressed to Tom. After some consideration, she decided she should tell Tom the truth and called him to her office.
"You wanted to see me, Miss Smith?" he asked, closing the door behind him. "Yes, sit down, Tom."
Tom was fiddling his fingers nervously. Was she going to move him to another orphanage for his difference? Maybe she was about to tell Tom that he was about to be adopted. He was thinking that his father wrote to him and wanted to take him home. He was coming up with a list of things she was about to do when she finally turned from the window and handed him an envelope.
"Here," she said. "You might find some answers in there."
"It's been opened," said Tom.
"I had to, Tom," Miss Smith explained.
Tom took the envelope, looking it over. It was an off yellow-whitish color with a seal of a snake, lion, badger and eagle on the back surrounding an H. On the front, it was addressed to him in green letters.
MR. H RIDDLE.
LONDON ORPHANAGE
LONDON
He pulled the letter out of the envelope and read quietly to himself.
Dear Mr. Riddle,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find an enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Deputy Headmaster
"Is this a joke?" Tom demanded, looking the letter and list over.
"No, Tom. I really found it in with the mail."
"What do they mean by owl? And how am I supposed to get all this?"
"I don't know."
"You're trying to get rid of me, aren't you?" Tom asked. "Because I'm different from the other kids."
"No, that isn't true."
"Isn't it?" Tom questioned.
"Tom, if you don't believe me, then why don't you go and see if this magic school is real."
Tom pressed his lips together. Maybe he should. It would answer some questions about his parents, how he got here and why weird things happened when he got scared and angry. Whatever this place was, it certainly had kids there just like him with this strange ability. He'd be able to get away from Bobby and the rest his bullies and when he came back, he could turn the tables. Why not? It was better than staying here and having Bobby chase him around.
"I'll go then," said Tom. "I'll go to this school."
"I'll let the Headmaster know," said Miss Smith. She took out a pen and paper and began to write.
Dear Albus Dumbledore,
Tom will start at Hogwarts but he will need to know where to buy his things and how to get to the school. Could you send another letter or someone from the school to help Tom get ready?
Miss Smith
Just as she started to fold it, the owl that had brought Tom's letter tapped at the window. Miss Smith gasped in surprised then let it in. It grabbed the letter in its beak and flew back out the window.
"Well," said Tom, pleased, "there's a way to send mail."
--
It didn't take long for the rest of the children to find out about Tom's letter. The girls, who all adored Tom, were now afraid of him. The other boys acted like they didn't even know Tom and Bobby bullied Tom even more.
"Oh, you're going to a wizard school now, eh?" he asked during dinner one night. "I always knew you were a freak."
There was just one person who thought that Tom's letter was a good thing. Sarah.
"Leave him alone, Bobby!" Sarah shouted, standing up. "So what if he's a wizard. You ought to be more careful what you say to
him, or Tom will turn you into a pig!" She eyed his overloaded plate. "You already eat like one!"
"Sit down, Sarah," Miss Smith instructed.
Groaning, Sarah sat back down and leaned toward to Tom. "I don't care if you're a wizard, Tom. I think it's great."
"Why, thank you, Sarah," Tom said. I'm glad someone thinks so.
"But there's one thing that bothers me," Sarah admitted. "You'll be away and I won't have anyone to talk to. What if I get adopted while you're at Hogwarts?"
"Sarah, I'll be back next summer," Tom told her. "I'll write to you by owl post."
"Owl post? You use owls?"
"Yes," he said. "I'll be sure to buy one when I go to this Diagon Alley place." He looked at a second letter from Hogwarts.
"How would you get there?" she asked.
"The letter said they'll be sending the gamekeeper over tomorrow morning," he answered.
"I wish I could come." Sarah sighed. "Sounds like fun, going to a magic school."
"Maybe someday you will," said Tom. "Wait until the year you turn eleven and if
you're lucky, you might. You ever made
anything happen when you were scared or angry?"
"Like what? The things that you can do?"
"Yeah, making stuff disappear, healing quickly---can you do any of that stuff?"
Sarah pondered hard but she couldn't remember a time that she could. "No. Can't say I have, Tom."
There was a reason why Sarah couldn't do things Tom could. She wasn't a witch.
--
Tom was stepping around nervously, waiting for the gamekeeper from Hogwarts to show up. He kept looking out the window for someone that looked like a wizard to start walking up to the orphanage steps. The person should be arriving any minute. Pacing the room for the umpteenth time, he heard a rustle in fireplace.
"What the?" he asked. "A little early for Christmas, isn't it?" Tom said, looking at the fireplace. "Hey, Santa! Did you get stuck up there last year?"
While laughing, a man slid out of the fireplace and knocked Tom down and Tom's laughter were resorted to moaning.
"Sorry about that," the man said, getting up and pulling Tom to his feet. The man was old, short and pudgy with graying hair.
"Who are you?" Tom asked wearily as the man brushed soot on him.
Before he could answer, Miss Smith walked in and screamed. "What the devil! My carpet!"
"Don't worry ma'am," said the man, "I can clean it. So we go, Tom?"
"Who are you?" Tom asked again.
"Oh, where are my manners!" the man laughed and put out his hand. "I'm the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Calvin McKinnon. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's all right, sir," said Tom.
"Let's be off." He turned to the fireplace.
"Through the fireplace?" Tom asked, confused.
"Yes, Tom."
"Tom, wait!" Sarah called, running down the stairs and throwing her arms around him. "I wanted to say goodbye first!"
"Sarah, I'll be back tonight," Tom told her. "I will just be gone for today."
She squeezed him for good measure and let go. "Will you tell me all about your day when you come back?"
"Of course, Sarah," Tom promised, giving her a hug.
"Oh, cute, is that your sister, Tom?" Calvin asked.
"No sir," Tom answered, "I'm just like a big brother to her anyway."
"I wish I could come too someday," said Sarah.
"Well, little lady, someday you will." Calvin cleared his throat and reached into his robe pocket. "Now Tom, I'm going to show you how to use floo powder."
"Floo powder?" Tom questioned.
"Yes, that's how we travel with the fireplaces."
"Wow," said Sarah.
Calvin put a handful of floo powder into his hand. "Now it is very important that you say it clearly. I'll go first to show you how it works. Diagon Alley. That's all you've got to say. Say it really loud." Calvin cleared his throat and stepped back to the fireplace. Tom watched intently as Calvin dropped the floo powder into the ashes. "Diagon Alley!"
In a blast of emerald green flames, Calvin was gone.
"That was amazing," Sarah breathed. "Go on, Tom! Do it! I want to see that again!"
"Okay," Tom said nervously, walking to the fireplace. He cleared his throat and kept whispering, "Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley," so that he wouldn't say it wrong and end up who knows where.
Sarah waved at him. "Bye, Tom."
"Bye Sarah," Tom said, waving back to her as he stepped into the fireplace. He cleared his throat once again and dropped the handful of floo powder in the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!"
In another blaze of green flames, Tom disappeared and Sarah shouted with excitement. "I wish I could go someday!"
--
Tom slid out of an unknown fireplace, covered in soot and ash and sneezing.
"Fireplace hopping," Calvin said, pulling Tom to his feet.
"Fun, isn't it?"
"Not really," Tom groaned, rubbing his head.
"You'll get used to it after away," Calvin said. "To the bank we go."
"Bank?"
Calvin led Tom out of the store of Flourish and Blotts and outside on the town of Diagon Alley. Children his age and up were walking around into all the stores with their parents. Tom's heart sank. Why couldn't his parents be with him now? It wasn't fair. Tom had the right as everyone else to have his parents with him on this special day but he had to have a wizard he never met before show him around.
Tom followed Calvin into the Gringotts bank. Tom was reading the inscription on the silver doors before following Calvin inside.
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that is not yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
"You've got to be out of your mind to rob this place," said Calvin.
"What kind of stuff is in this bank anyway?" Tom questioned.
"Wizard money," Calvin replied, "Mostly, but there are some with just more than money. In the lower faults with more valuable stuff, they even have dragons to guard them."
Tom hoped that his vault was one of those as he followed Calvin to the bench. "What are--," Tom began, staring at the goblins.
"Goblins," Calvin replied before Tom could finish.
"Goblins?"
Calvin cleared his throat. "Ah, good morning. Tom is here to make a withdrawal."
"His key?" said the goblin.
"Key?" Tom asked, surprised but he was relieved when Calvin pulled out a small brass key.
--
The ride in the cart wasn't all a blast as some people might think. Tom was looking around the vaults, wondering which one was his and if he even had one. The cart came to a halt.
"Vault 542," said the goblin, coming out of the cart. Tom followed him to the vault and Calvin gave the key to the goblin. The goblin unlocked the vault and wondering what kind of treasure was behind the door, Tom hurried inside. He could not believe it.
Gold, silver and bronze coins everywhere and a box at the end of one of the walls. Tom went to open the box and it had some dark items that looked pretty freaky. On top of them laid a letter from his mother.
To my son or daughterTom picked up the letter and shoved it in his pocket, giving a last glance the rest of the stuff in the box before closing it. Tom turned toe piles of wizard money.
"What do the different coins mean?" Tom asked.
"Gold coins are called Galleons," making bag of money for him, "silver Sickles and bronze are Knuts. Seventeen sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle. I think that should be enough for you, Tom."
"Okay," said Tom, taking it. "Thanks."
They went to get Tom new robes first, his books and other school supplies. "All right," said Tom, finishing the list. "All I need now is an owl and a wand."
"Time certainly has flown by," Mr. McKinnon said, looking at his watch.
Tom entered Ollivander's wand shop and approached the desk. Mr. Ollivander was not around so Tom rang the bell. Mr. Ollivander came whirling by on a wheeled ladder. "Ahh, good afternoon."
"Afternoon, sir," said Tom. "I'd like to buy a wand."
"Let me see now," Mr. Ollivander said, taking out a box from the shelf. "Let's start with this one. Unicorn hair and cedar, nine inches."
Mr. Ollivander handed Tom the wand and Tom looked at it.
"Give it a wave."
Tom raised an eyebrow and swung the wand, shooting silver sparks that just made noise.
"Was that it?" Tom asked, confused.
Mr. Ollivander took the wand away, shaking his head. "No. No." He gave him another wand. "Ten inches, maple, dragon heartstring."
Tom was starting to feel like he was going to be here all day to pick out a wand. How hard of a task was it to get a wand?
"Wait, wait," said Mr. Ollivander, "I do have something…" He turned around and went down many rows of wand boxes. Tom leaned over the counter to watch him pull out quite a long box and hurried back. He took the lid off and pulled out a long wand. "Thirteen and a half inches, holly, phoenix feather. Try it out."
Tom noticed a difference the second he touched the wand. There was warmth. He swished the wand as if it were a sword; red and gold sparks blazing around it.
"Excellent," said Calvin. "And I thought I was a tricky customer."
Tom almost didn't want to let go of the wand and he frowned once Mr. Ollivander took the wand away, placed it back in the box, wrapping brown paper around it.
"Curious. Interesting," said Mr. Ollivander. "Curious."
"Excuse me?" Tom asked.
"Tom Riddle, the wand chooses the wizard," Mr. Ollivander explained. "I find it curious that you are destined for this wand."
"What about it?" Tom questioned. "Is there something wrong with it?"
"Oh, no, no, dear boy," Mr. Ollivander replied. "This wand is very powerful. Thirteen-and-a-half-inches, phoenix feather. I wouldn't be surprised, Tom Riddle, if you'll
use this wand to do great things. You
can do great, very great things."
"I intend to," said Tom ambitiously.
"Another thing that is curious," said Mr. Ollivander. "There is another wand with a feather from the same phoenix—just one. I am curious, very curious indeed, for who that wand is destined for."
All this talk about curiosity was starting to make Tom feel curious as well, but he wished Mr. Ollivander would finish up so he could go ahead and pay for his wand.
"How much?" Tom asked.
"Curious, how—oh—eight Galleons."
Following the wand shop, Tom went with Calvin to get a pet owl.
"Useful, owls," said Calvin as they were picking out an owl. "Carry your mail for you and everything."
Tom looked at all the all the owls in their cages, reading the information about him. He wanted the swiftest, most powerful and pedigreed animal in the shop. He saw a real powerful looking owl, reddish brown sitting in a cage.
"I'll take this one," said Tom.
"Wise choice there," Calvin added. "I will go and get you your ticket at King Cross' station."
"With floo powder?" Tom asked nervously.
Calvin chuckled. "Not your favorite way to travel, eh, Tom? I'll show you a different way through. The Underground. Very useful."
Tom saw a sign that pointed to Knocturn Alley. Tom pointed.
"Calvin, what's Knocturn Alley?" Tom asked curiously.
"No place you'd want to be wandering down, Tom," Calvin replied. "Awful, dangerous place for a kid your age."
But as Tom walked away from the sign, he thought that someday he would go down there, just to have a look.
Calvin showed Tom the back way through the underground by tapping on blocks of an alley, taking him into a side door of the Leaky Cauldron. Tom liked this route much better.
--
When Tom got back, he told Sarah all about his day in Diagon Alley. The other kids getting their school stuff, the stores, the bank, his wand and everything, what the word muggle meant, Tom talked about an hour. Sarah noticed something poking out of his pocket.
"Tom, what's that?" she asked.
It was the letter from his mother. Tom forgot all about it. Tom reached inside his pocket and pulled out the letter.
"It's from my mother," he answered.
"You read it?"
"No."
"I'll leave you alone so you can read it if you want me too."
"No, Sarah, you can stay." Tom sighed. "I'm not sure I want to open it though."
"Why? Don't you want to know?"
After hesitating for a bit, Tom opened the letter read it.
To my dear son or daughter,
I am leaving my money and magical items for you when you get old enough to use them. Hogwarts will be your home away from home and I hope that you do your very best. Your father was a muggle and left me after I told him I was a witch. Your muggle father was kind until he learned I was magical, but he came from a rich and rude muggle family.
But I still loved your father even after he left. I feel myself growing sick with sadness and this small fortune is all I can leave for you.
Love,
Your Mother
Tom stared at the letter, unable to believe it. "No. No."
"Tom…" Sarah began.
"She knew…she knew she was dying. My father just left her when she told him she was a witch." Tom said, shaking his head, getting up and pacing. "She knew she was going to die so she left me her money. It was all she could leave me. My father left her. He just left her. I mean, who…who just leaves his wife before his son is even born? Why didn't he stay? Just because she was magical…he could've learned to accept it, wouldn't' he?"
Sarah wasn't sure what to say. She was just a little kid.
"I'm sorry, Tom." Sarah wished she
could say something to make Tom feel better but she was too young to
understand. "But, you still have me."
Tom smiled and sat back down on the couch.
"Thank you, Sarah."
Sarah scurried to Tom on her knees and put her arms around him. Tom cried.
To Be Continued