Chapter 1-

Tom Marvolo Riddle. He had been given a choice by Death. When creating his first horcrux, a diary, Death approached him and gave him two options.

"Choose carefully Riddle. I can sever your soul now and let you continue this dark path, or give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Tom opened his mouth to answer before Death held his hand up. "I shall be merciful and give you a peek into what fate follows you."

Suddenly Tom's vision faded into obscure darkness before a red light shone against his eye lids. He wearily opened them, only to be faced with the face of a serpentine, crimson-eyed being. Its skin was a deathly white and teeth yellowed. Tom looked at Death in an incomprehensible manner. "I-is that me?" He asked. The monster infront of him seemed chaotic, devoid of reason and strategic thought. Death nodded. Staring into the pitch darkness of Death's hood, he reluctanty made up his mind. Clenching his fists he answered.

"If this is my fate, then...I want a chance to redeem myself." 'I will simply fix this during my supposed redemption.' He thought with a hidden smirk. Death, aware of his thoughts,grinned behind its hood. "Then so be it." Its scythe came down and severed Tom's soul. Death had took the only redeeming qualities that Tom contained and left the rest to develop into Voldemort. After all, you can never trust Death.

For decades, Death kept the portion of Tom Riddle's soul with him. It was on October 31, 1981 that he finally found the perfect host. Harry James Potter would be gifted this portion as an exchange for the other portion of Voldemort's soul that now resided within him. Death placed a 16 year old Tom Marvolo Riddle, one capable of greatness yet erased of all taint and ill-intent that had plagued his past existence, within Harry's mind and erased the irrational creature that resided from Voldemort's remaining soul. "Riddle, guide this boy to greatness." Whispered Death before fading back to the after-life.

~10 years later~

Harry Potter had been cooking breakfast when the sound of letters dropping onto a rug interrupted Dudley's spoilt cries. "Boy go fetch me my mail." Vernon scowled at Harry. Harry turned the stove off and placed the eggs and bacon onto a plate before heading towards the front door. As soon as he had shuffled to the last letter, Tom's voice immediately became apparent in his head. 'Harry, this is the letter I have been talking about. You have finally been invited into Hogwarts!' Excitement filled Harry as he was about to tear open the letter. 'Not yet Harry, that horrid muggle is still awaiting his letters. Don't let him see this.'

Suddenly nervous, Harry stuffed the letter into his hand-me-down trousers and rushed over to his uncle. "Here you go Uncle Vernon." Vernon snatched the letters out of his hands and sent the boy away. "Get ready boy, unfortunatley you have to join us at the zoo."

Without hesitation Harry went to his cupboard. Closing the door, he changed clothes and opened his letter.

After reading it he grabbed a pen and tore a piece of paper from his homework book. He quietly thanked Tom for helping improve his hand writing. 'It's no issue Harry, but Professor Dumbledore might recognise it..After all, I taught you my own calligraphy.'

Tom wouldn't admit it to Harry, but he was worried. He had long since been aware that he was only a portion of his original soul and remembered Death showing him what he would become. Though he no longer felt the same overwhelming need to get revenge to wipe the Wizarding world of all muggles and muggleborn, he was sure Dumbledore would still remember much about his time in Hogwarts regardless of the fact that it was decades ago. 'Don't forget to ask for a professor to show you around Diagon Alley. I don't know how much it has changed in the last decades.' Harry finished the letter and sealed it, unaware of Tom's distressing thoughts. "Hurry up boy!" Petunia yelled. "Sorry Aunt Petunia!" He put his response letter into his pocket and exited the cupboard. "Help your uncle with the bags." Harry went to pack the bags into the back of the car.

Once they were done, Vernon grabbed him by the collar. "I want no funny business today." Spittle flew from his mouth and onto Harry's face. Harry just nodded along, sleeves clenched tightly by his hands. 'Tom..why did it have to be me?' A few moments of silence followed before Tom answered. 'They are scared. You are magical Harry, a gift that they refuse to recognise. But don't worry about them Harry. They are merely a hindrance to you.' Just because he was no longer genocidal didn't mean that he did not want to rid the world of the three pigs who were unfortunately related to Harry. One day he will make up for all that Harry has had to suffer. Harry had always been reluctant to harm the Dursleys in fear of the authorities and the guilt that would plague him. Tom had managed to teach him out of such foolish emotions such as guilt in circumstances which retribution is needed. But still, Harry remained stubborn that he would be taken to Juvie or a mental asylum. Of course, Tom had never suggested murdering the Durlseys knowing that Harry would be placed into the adoption system. His own experience was enough, he didn't want Harry to go through the same thing.

Harry entered the car and merely stared out of the window.

They had arrived at the Zoo and Dudley immediately wanted to go to the snake enclosure. One of his friends had recently been gifted a grass snake causing Dudley to be jealous and want one too. Petunia, for once ignoring his whining, denied buying him one. She was disgusted at the idea of a slithering reptile in her home. Sighing, Harry walked to a snake that Dudley had just walked away from after continuouly pounding on the barrier. "I apologise for him. He doesn't like being ignored." The snake raised its head at him and nodded. 'Harry..you're a parseltongue!' Tom was shocked. How was Harry related to Salazar Slytherin? 'Wait, we're related?' Though Tom knew it wasn't uncommon for families to be related in one way or another in the Wizarding World, the ability of Parseltongue is extremely rare. It can be learnt but not spoken unless born with the ability. 'What?!' Harry responded in his thoughts. "You can understand me?" He whispered to the snake. The snake nodded once again.Yessss, you are a Ssspeaker.

Harry's eyes were wide open at the assurance that he could indeed understand the snake. He looked at Tom, who had manifested next to him, with pure wonder. 'So I have this parselmouth ability too?' Tom was Harry's idol. Anything that was similar between the two made Harry feel prideful. He had seen how Tom used wandless magic and knew about several topics and couldn't help but be inspired. The best part was always when Tom gave in and taught Harry some wandless magic that wouldn't attract much attention if done in private such as how to make this levitate and catch fire. Tom suddenly smirked. 'This means you can enter the Chamber of Secrets..' Harry didn't ask what that was, seeing Tom deep in thought,and instead allowed his own thoughts to wonder back to the snake infront of him. He peered at the information plate on the inside of the enclosure.

"So..did you like Brazil?" The Boa-constrictor shook its head and flicked its tongue to the bottom part of the plate which read Bred in captivity. "Oh. It must be pretty bad living here with people sticking their faces infront of you all day long."

It is. Suddenly an idea struck Harry. "Would you like to escape?" This caught Tom's attention as he raised an eyebrow at Harry. The snake flicked it's tongue in agreement. Before Harry could speak he was knocked to the side by his cousin Dudley. "Dad come look at this!" He pressed his face next to the glass and started pounding on it in attempts to attract the snake's attention. Harry picked his glasses from the ground and hurridly put them back on his face. He could see Tom's murdurous expression. Feeling a similar anger himself, he felt his magic suddenly escape him, causing the glass pane to disappear. Dudley fell in with a yelp and the Boa-constrictor slithered out, hissing a thanks to Harry before continuing. His mind distracted, the glass pane re-appeared, leaving a panicking Petunia and Dudley and a rathful Vernon. Vernon picked Harry up by his hair. "I said no freakish business! That's it! When we get home you're staying in your cupboard for a week!"

Once they arrived, Tom noticed an owl outside the house. Vernon pulled Harry out of the car by his ear, pulling him mercilessly towards the front door. 'Drop the letter Harry.' Seeing that Aunt Petunia and Dudley were still in the car,

Harry threw the letter near the owl which quickly scooped it from the air and flew high into the sky.

Only time would tell what was to come