Harry was jerked awake by an unfamiliar sound. He was immediately pulled out from bed by a strong hand. Managing his glass Harry looked at Tom confusingly

"What's the sound is?" Harry's question earned him again a suspicious glare from teenager dark lord.

"You want to say you never heard a siren?" Tom narrowed his eyes.

"Siren? But why there is a siren? "There was something about the sound that was spreading a sense of panic inside him. The noise of children rushing was making it worse. Even Tom's face darkened with a shadow of worry.

"We are amidst blitz Harry. Aren't you aware of German's air raids over our city? We don't have time now, we need to go for parading" with that Tom dragged Harry downstairs.

"Children stand in queue" Mrs. Cole ordered.

"Madam hasn't air raid was over end of May? The officials assured there will be no more raids now onwards and situation is under controlled." Asked the young maid Barbara Harry had seen before in a panic stricken voice.

"Barbara this is damned war going on. We can't predict anything. Don't waste time and get the children out NOW." She shrieks.

The storm of panic seems have been erupted in orphanage as the air siren wailed again. Much younger children started crying loudly. A feeling of helplessness was stirring inside Harry that was quite different from the times he was facing mortal danger. Beside him the future dark lord was managing to keep his composure while leading him out. But it seems to Harry even Tom Riddle had been affected deep inside.

They were paraded through bank of Thames towards the railway track. Panic stricken people were running haywire on roads. It seemed to Harry as if he was walking through the city of ruins. Was it really London? Wherever he looks there are sign of destructions. Destruction and ruins were nothing new to Harry, but in his world every ruin after battle could have been restored in almost no time. The sight in front him was of another nature. As if it was the destruction of civilization. His pre Hogwarts school knowledge about Second World War is nothing to equate the horror he is witnessing now. First time he realized how much deadlier muggle weapons could be. Harry felt his legs were shaking. To avoid falling down he grabs the hand of his nearby person tightly only to realize Tom Riddle was walking beside him. Being embarrassed Harry hurriedly released the grip only to be followed by a tight grip around his wrist.

"Nervous harry?" asked Tom in his usual cold tone. "Why it feels like you are encountering air sirens for the first time? Muggle London is under attack for months now. And you were in a muggle house all the while."

Harry lowered his head. He needs to find a suitable explanation very soon of not experiencing London Blitz before. had let him go without questions considering Harry was too sick and suffering from trauma hence he remembered nothing about how he ended up near orphanage and what happened to his relatives. She had similar experiences from many other children too. Luckily police are also too busy to bother lost child's whereabouts among this chaos. But Tom knows better than that. Harry need to take every step carefully without increasing his suspicion.

When they reached station, Harry found not only the orphanage but many civilians had taken refuge there. Children were handed a tiny packet of food. Harry's stomach growled reminding him he had eaten nothing since he entered the room of requirement. He opened the packet anxiously. It contained two toasts with boiled potatoes and carrots that reminded Harry the foods Dursleys used to give him.

"We are running out of rations. Otherwise we never had underfed our children." Harry heard Mrs. Cole telling the officers when Tom called him to sit beside him. He had found a place a bit away than other children unsurprisingly. Settling down Harry started eating his small dinner anxiously when Tom was unmindfully nibbling his toast.

"Potters are a pureblood family." stated Tom. "I assume your muggle relatives were related to your mother."

Harry nods with mouth filled with potatoes. Mentally looking for a convincing story.

"Aunt Petunia was elder sister of my mother. She always used to say I am a freak like Lily." Harry said after managing to gulp his food.

"Lily" Tom frowned "your mother?"

"Yes. Lily Evans." Replied Harry.

"I see Evans is not a magical surname. That makes your mother a muggleborn. So that makes you a half blood." Tom concluded sounding kind of unimpressed.

Harry gasped. Tom at this point doesn't hate half bloods but doesn't regard them either. He chose not to comment.

"So tell me Harry, what things you made happen yet?" asked Tom in a calculated way. "The things for which they called you a freak?

"I- I" Harry dived into memory again. "Once my cousin Dudley and his friends were chasing me as always and I wanted to get away from them. And then I found myself on the rooftop. Another time Aunt Petunia made me wearing One of Dudley's oversized sweater and it shrunk to my size."

Tom chuckled. It was not one of the cold smiles Harry had seen in the memories that turned his face look cruel. It was an amusing grin of a teenager which Harry was not aware he was capable of. It reminded Harry the dark lord is still only fourteen.

"So your cousin used to bully you. And what did they do to you afterwards such outbursts?"

"They used to lock me up in my cupboard for rest of the day with no meal." Harry paused seeing Tom's expression changing. A menacing hatred sharpened his feature but in a second he got back his composure. But for the first time Harry could justify Tom's reaction.

"Your cupboard?"

"Yes I used to stay at the cupboard under stair." This time harry felt happy Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't exist in the time seeing Tom's reaction.

"Explains why you have got the pale skins that seemed didn't get sunlight for ages. But tell me Harry why you have freaked out as if first time you heard air raid siren?" its ten months now since the first attack started. Where did you leave?" Tom seemed not to let go

"Uncle Vernon didn't let me go outside house. He said I will bring shame to his family. So I have very little knowledge about outside world. I don't even know what was the place I used to live" Harry attempts to keep his voice straight

"Expected from Muggles. But that still doesn't explain your popping up here. I want to know what had happened before you came here?"

"They wanted to leave country…and they wanted me to send to doctors." A sudden memory of eleven years old Tom Riddle freaking out assuming Dumbledore a mental doctor popped up in his mind getting Harry a way for his story. " I told them I am not mad. But they didn't listen. I wanted to run away, to go to somewhere safe. And then I can't remember anything." Harry stopped. Seeing some unreadable expression in Tom's eyes.

"Civilian no needs to fear now." They heard an official saying. "The situation is under control now. The Germans are not coming back. You may go home now."

Tom didn't ask anything more till they headed back to orphanage. Neither when they lie down their respective beds. But the little experience had left an impact on Harry. Growing up in an orphanage during the time of Second World War is something that he doesn't want ever anyone to experience. All his knowledge of the era came from either childhood books or Hermione's lecture. But having the first hand experience had left him shaken. And the fact of wizard child getting trapped in this atmosphere without permission of using his power was terrifying. And the irony is his greatest enemy was experiencing this on a daily basis. The thought left Harry disturbed until he falls asleep.