Chapter 1

A/N: Hello everyone, this is basically Riddle's life before Hogwarts, when he was a boy. Some of the grammar isn't perfect but it's not supposed to be – he's only a kid, lay off him! Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here apart from Lucy and her mother.

I got a big spider today. After lunch. I was up in my room and I saw it sitting on my wardrobe, near the top. It was a really good one, really big with really really long legs. I wanted it for my spider jar, see if it would eat the others. I already had nine. I went to get my jar and the door opened.

"Riddle, Cole says you 'ave to come downstairs now, no point in stayin' in yeh room like you are, still got to come down and do chores." He saw my jar. "What's that you got there?"

"Jar"

"Lemme see it. Ugh, it's full of spidys. Riddle, these yeh friends or somethin'? Got no others?" He looked at me, standing by the wardrobe and saw the spider near the top. He reached out and grabbed it, and smirked.

"This your friend too? You want it? What yeh gonna give me to stop it gettin' its legs pulled off?"

I just stood still.

"Fine. Your spidy ain't gonna 'ave no legs." He pulled off all its legs and chucked its torso at my head. Then he left. "See you at dinner, spidy kid."

I hate him. I wanted that spider. Now it's useless. How's it going to eat the others with no legs to trap them?

It happened again today. At dinner. When Mrs. Cole gave us our water; Billy Stubbs poured his all over my legs.

"Mrs. Cole Mrs. Cole! Tom's wet himself again! Can I move, I don't want to sit near no piss-kid."

Amy and Dennis giggled, the others smirked. Mrs. Cole just tutted.

I hate them, I hate them all. I hate them so much it makes me hot inside. I took a big gulp of water, and as soon as it went in my mouth it started to boil, and it burnt my mouth. It happens sometimes. I had to spit it out but it was too hot so it sort of dribbled onto my plate, and Billy saw. Mrs. Cole was standing next to him, but he still whispered, "Retarded ain't yeh, Riddle?"

I'm not retarded, I'm special. It's different. I made Billy's face in my mash and I killed him loads and loads with my knife. I stabbed his stupid eyes out, made them so they ran into his nose and melted. He looked better.

He got me worse later. He caught me on the stairs and pulled my hair back so my eyes went wide. Dennis was with him, and he had my spider jar. He'd been in my room again. They smirked and Dennis took the lid off and put the jar on the floor. When my spiders came out, he stamped on them. Billy still had my hair so I had to watch. When they'd all died, Billy picked it up.

"Here y'are Riddle. Have yeh spidy jar back." Then he punched me in my stomach and went off with Dennis. He missed though, he got my ribs. Must have hurt his hand.

I hate him, hate him more than the others; he's the worst. But I'll get him, I will. I know I'm ten and he's twelve. But I'm better than him and the others; I know it. I am. And I can talk to snakes. I really can.

I found a snake in the weeds that grow at the end of the garden. I teased it for a bit with the grass, then I got a stick and stabbed it in the end of its tail so that it couldn't move, then I told it to bite itself free. I did. It didn't want to, but I can do things to animals; I felt its mind and I crushed it. It did everything I wanted.

I went and got my spider jar to put it in; I wanted to take it back to my room, maybe experiment on it, see how long it could survive in there. It fitted alright; the tail was obviously a bit shorter so it had more space than I wanted, but not that much. It was still bleeding.

On my way back inside I had to go down the path to the side gate, and Mrs. Cole had swept a big pile of leaves. Big ones, whole crunchy brown chestnut ones. She wasn't there. I jumped in the middle and crushed them, they were dust, just crumbs under my feet, like Amy and Dennis and Billy and Mrs. Cole and Mr. Robinson at school and Harper and-

"Oi, Riddle, get in. Cole says you 'ave to do dryin' now…what's that?"

I tried not to smile. "Snake."

"Give"

Billy grabbed it from me; I only pretended to stop him. He undid the lid, and took out the snake. He saw the end and squeezed some blood out. He looked at me funny.

"What's happened to its tail?"

"It bit it off. Because I told it to."

He scoffed. "You're crazy Riddle. Worse than me 'n' Den thought. Talkin' in your sleep is one thing, but talkin' to snakes is dif'rent. No wonder no-one likes you, goin' round lyin' bout stuff all the time-"

"Lying am I? You want to see? Want me to show you?"

My voice had gone sort of high pitched and cold. It surprised me. It scared Billy.

I spoke to the snake, sort of hissing but not at the same time, "Bite him, bite him on the wrist."

"You think some hissin' or somethin' made up's gonna scare me Riddle?"

But his hands were trembling.

The snake turned round and bit him hard on the wrist. He howled and dropped it, and it slithered away through the grass. I didn't care; I didn't want it anymore.

Billy's wrist was bleeding badly; he'd gone white. I stepped up to him, close to his face.

"Don't ever tell me I'm a liar again."

He just stared at me. It felt good.

They left me alone for a couple of weeks. Billy and the others. I'd changed; they'd changed. No-one said it, but I had control and they knew it. They thought it was just snakes. It wasn't.

I don't like talking much. I only talk when I have to, when I want something. I don't talk to the people at school, there's nothing special about them. That's why I was so surprised when Lucy asked me to tea. In the playground, in front of everyone. She twisted her fingers and bit her lip a lot, and she had really red cheeks. I'd never noticed it before.

Mrs. Cole said I had to go. She says I need more friends but she doesn't mean it, she just wants to get rid of me. Get me out, away from the others. They've said stuff. She'll get the doctor round again, I don't want that. I hate him.

I went to Lucy's house after school at 4.30 on Friday. Mrs. Cole brushed my hair and made me wear my lined shirt. She gave me flowers to give her mother.

I knew the way, her house was just up the road. It only took me ten minutes, and I walked slowly. She had a big brass knocker in the shape of a gargoyle's head. I liked it. I knocked it three times. Her mother answered the door, and I gave her the flowers.

"Why thank you Tom, that's very kind of you." She sniffed them. "They smell wonderful, and they're cream too; oh they'll go in the living room nicely."

She smiled at me. I liked it.

"Lucy's already up in her room, I told her I'd show you up when you came but I'm afraid I'm a bit busy in the kitchen at the moment, it's shepherd's pie tonight. Do you like that?"

I hated it, but I nodded.

Good good, that's lovely. Well her room's the first on the right, I'll call you when tea's ready."

I found her room; it was pink. And frilly. And full of sort toys, Teddies lined the walls. I'd never been in a girl's bedroom before, apart from Mrs. Cole's but hers is grey, same as mine. Not like this. All girly.

Lucy came over. I put out my hand, "How do you do?"

She blushed again, "Very well, thank you." She sort of stood there for a while and chewed her lip. Then she turned away and got out a dolls house. It was pink too. And it had frilly curtains. We divided up the dolls, I was the matron and the father, she was the mother, the son, the daughter, the cook and the maid. We played for a while. I got bored early on, but she seemed to enjoy herself. Then she started talking to me.

"Everyone at school told me I was crazy for asking you round, they said you were strange. But I like you. I know they don't but I do. I'll be your friend…if you like."

She mumbled the last bit into her hair, but I understood perfectly. I don't need friends, I have myself. That's why she asked me round, to make fun of me, like all the others.

"No. I don't want to be your friend. You're like all the others."

She looked shocked, "But Tom, they don't like you. I do. I just thought if I asked you round then you'd see that I feel sorry for you and-"

"Sorry for me? Why?"

My voice had gone all cold again. Lucy looked terrified. "Why feel sorry for me? I don't need you. Any of you. You should be feeling sorry for your dollies."

I picked one up, the daughter. I held her in my hand and made her burn. Lucy stared at me with her mouth open, stuttering. "Don't please, please that's Amber, she's my favourite, you're making her hurt! Please! How are you doing that? Just stop it, please! I'll call my mummy!"

I threw Amber down. Her dress was burned right off and so was her hair. I left Lucy sobbing over her doll. Serves her right. Feeling pity, for me.

I opened the door really quietly; I don't think her mum heard me. It wasn't far back, only about seven minutes this time. I walked faster.

Her mother phoned the home about ten minutes after I got back. Mrs. Cole put me on washing up duty for three weeks, and she smacked me on my head. I was a bit dizzy. But it was worth it; I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me. Especially not a girl.

Before bed, I got my box out of my wardrobe. It already had a yo-yo from the boy down the road, a mouth organ I stole from Eric Whalley and a silver thimble I found in Mrs. Cole's room. I love my box. I added a doll to it; the mother. She had a dark blue dress with a white collar and cuffs. I liked her best.

A/N: Well again hope you liked it/don't want to kill me because you hated it so much. It's the holidays now (yay) so I should be updating soon. Please review!