Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer:I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: Okey, I know I said I wouldn't update until I found a Beta-reader. But that seems to take a bit more time than I thought. I have sent some e-mails to a couple people but none of them as answered yet. Well, anyway. I couldn't help it, and I just had to post one more chapter. Just to get things going. But I have to warn you. This isn't one of my best chapters. To be honest it most likely sucks. But I'll leave it to you guys to decide that, and once again, sorry for the mistakes. I know I should have waited until I found a Beta, but well, you know how it is…. (grins sceptically). Sorry.

Kirei-Shinobu: Thanks. I try to us the spell check as much as possible but sometimes it's not enough.

Padfootgrim: Thanks for the tip.

Vigrest: Yeah, I noticed some too when I read through it after I had read your review. And I promise I'll continue this story. It's become sort of a baby to me.

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Carya: Thanks. The same thing goes for you. I sent you a e-mail to. And I hope you've got it. If not please let me now. And thanks for your nice words. (Grins to herself) It's nice to hear that you think my story had potential.

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Previous chapter:

"Francis, how are you?" greeted Dumbledore, and Tom felt like someone had just slapped him.

"The thief!" Francis muttered and walked towards the bed, while Tom considered standing up and running.

Chapter 6

"Thief?" Dumbledore looked puzzled for once and looked from Francis to Tom and back.

Tom on his side, would gladly have given his right hand, just to be able to murder Francis with his glare.

"That boy stole my purse earlier, and I caught him red handed!" Francis sneered, starting to advance on Tom, who had got an expression of pure fear upon his face.

He knew he was in deep trouble this time, real deep, and for the first time he couldn't see any way out of it. The only thing he could do was to lay still and hope for the best.

"Well Tom?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Eh…well, you see…" Tom muttered. Not sure what to tell the Headmaster.

Maybe the truth for once? A voice asked inside his head.

Yeah, right. I'm so sorry Dumbledore, but I lied to you. I'm really Tom Riddle, you remember me right? I used to be Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, but then I decided to get my younger body back and Lucius decided that he wouldn't take orders from a 17-year-old boy, and kicked me out. So if I wanted food and shelter, I had to get some money and since I couldn't get a job I stole what I needed, but then Francis here caught me.

Tom almost started smirking. It would have been funny to see Dumbledore's face. Well, at least for a while, before the old fool would skip him of to Azkaban.

"Let me make it easy for you," Dumbledore said and the usually twinkles had left his blue eyes. "Did you or did you not steal his money?"

"Well, I did, but I had to. It was the only way I could survive!" Tom faked a desperate tone and looked pleading at Dumbledore.

The poor orphan act always works, Tom thought and mentally he smiled.

"You had to?" Francis raised an eyebrow, sceptical. His opinion was that if you were a thief, you also were a liar. And this boy was surly both.

"Yeah. It was either that or I would have starved to death. And quite frankly I'm rather fond of living."

"And that story about your aunt?" Dumbledore asked.

Tom smiled a wry smile before answering.

"I lied, sorry."

"Ha, I knew it!" Francis exclaimed, and Tom scowled darkly at him. Why couldn't he just drop dead? Was that too much to ask for?

Dumbledore sent Francis a warning look before returning his gaze towards Tom. "Do you care to share the truth with us?"

"Do I have a choice?" Tom asked with a small smile.

"NO!" Francis nearly screamed. His anger was starting to boil and he wanted more than anything to twist the teen's neck until he told the truth.

"Okey, okey. Take it easy. I'm an orphan, and I ran away from the orphan home and ended up in Diagon Alley."

Well, that's at least part truth.

Dumbledore smiled one of his I-Know-Something-You-Don't smiles, which Tom hated more than anything. Francis on the other hand didn't look like he believed a word of what Tom just had told them.

"And we are supposed to believe that?" he asked.

"Well, yes. It's the truth."

"You're nothing by a filthy, lying little worm," Francis sneered as he bend forward and seized Tom around his throat, "Now tell me the truth!"

Tom's eyes widened in fear as his air supply was cut of, and he tried his best to shove the healer's hands away. After a few seconds black spots was starting to appear behind his eyelids and he felt like he was on the edge of passing out again.

"Le-let me go," Tom stuttered, twisting and fighting to get away.

"Francis! Let go of him," came Dumbledore's stern voice, and Francis gave Tom one last glare before loosening his grip.

"G-go to he-hell!" Tom muttered, gasping for air. He stared up at the healer who stared back down with a complacent smirk. The imbecile is enjoying himself! Tom thought angry and started to massage his throat carefully. This man was surly dangerous. He had to watch out for him in the future. Well, unless he was sent to Azkaban, then he would have nothing more to worry about.

"Leave us, please." Dumbledore said, and glared at Francis with an angry look on his face.

"Are you sure? I could always twist the truth out of him you know?" Francis asked smoothly.

Tom cast him a dark glare. The man was obvious just looking for an excuse to beat the hell out of him. Thank God that Dumbledore was there, or else he would have needed an undertaker instead of a healer.

"Yes, thank you. And you know that I don't approve of violence."

"As you wish." Francis gave Tom a smile before he left them and closed the door behind him.

"That guy should be looked up somewhere," Tom sneered and pulled the blankets better around him.

"Maybe." Was the only answer he got.

"For heaven sake! He attacked me!" Tom exclaimed.

"Well, your were provoking him," Dumbledore pointed out and a shadow of a smile started creping over his face.

"Yeah sure. The man is mad," Tom mumbled staring at the floor.

"So," he started, "What's going to happen to me now?"

"Well, you told me that you're seventeen. So I was wondering if you wanted to finish you last year of school at Hogwarts. The school is starting in around a week. September 1st, and if you want you can return to with me by the end of the week. As you properly know they closed Durmstrange after last semester. And since Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters burned the place down afterwards, I'm afraid your school records my have been lost, so we will have to manage with out them. "

Yeah, how sad. Tom knew that the school had been burned down early in the summer. After all he had given the order to do so.

The Ministry had discovered that Durmstrange was used to train up new Death Eaters, and they closed the school after the last semester. Most of the pupils had been transformed to other schools, like Hogwarts and Beauxbatons. Tom had been furious and ordered the school burned down, to show the Ministry not to mess with him. He had considered burning the school down when the pupils were still there, but then again. Many of his Death Eaters had children that attended to the school, so that would have been a foolish thing to do. He didn't want to risk a rebellion.

"Do I have to come with you to Hogwarts?" He would gladly take his chances on the street rather than coming with the old fool to Hogwarts.

"I'm nothing going to force you, but it's either that or I'll contact the Ministry and get you send back to the orphan."

I never thought he was the blackmailing type, Tom thought surprised. So then he didn't have a choice. He couldn't risk being sent back to a non-exiting orphan.

"Well?"

"I'll go with you to Hogwarts," he finally muttered and Dumbledore smiled.

"Good. I will leave you for a while. Get some rest, and I will give the nurse order to bring you some food when you wake up."

Tom let himself fall back down on the bed and sighed. Great. Now he was going to Hogwarts. The last place on earth that he wanted to be, well except from back at the headquarter with Lucius.

He could always get up and try to escape, but with his damage and broken ribs, that would properly be suicide. Especially if he was to run into that gang of thieves once more. He knew that he wouldn't survive another fight with that gang.

Maybe Hogwarts wouldn't be that bad. At least he would get a wand, and he had always liked school.

Honestly, whom was he kidding? What if they found out who he was? If Dumbledore didn't send him to Azkaban then Potter would surely kill him. And what about that other girl? Ginny wasn't it? She had met his younger self in The Chamber of Secrets. Lucius had told him the story after Wormtail had brought him back. Surly she would recognize him.

Tom yawned. All the thinking had worn him out, and he desperately needed some sleep. Ignoring the pain in his ribs he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Trying not worry think about the future.

Three days later they were on their way to Hogwarts, travelling by horse carriage, because Dumbledore and the healers had forbidden him to use the Floo-network. They said it could blow up his rib damage. Not that Tom really cared.

He was sitting in a corner of the carriage, looking out the window. Beside him, the only other passenger was Dumbledore, who was currently occupied with a book about Ancient Charms.

"How long?" Tom asked. He was starting to get restless and he wanted to get out of the carriage.

"About an hour," Dumbledore answered with out looking up from the book.

Tom sighed. Great, another boring hour. Well, it was better than the speech Dumbledore had held earlier. He had talked for an hour about Hogwarts, the four houses, the founders, the sorting, classes, and so on. Tom really had to struggle too stay awake. He already knew all that, but according to his story he didn't so he had to keep up the act of the poor orphan boy.

The landscape outside the carriage got pretty boring after a while and he decided to get some sleep. After all he had nothing better to do.

A/N: And, now back to the Beta searching.

P-oenix