Tom was staring out the window of the horse drawn carriage an awkward silence spreading between the only passengers. It had only been a few hours since Harry had legally adopted Tom Riddle known in the future as the Dark Lord Voldemort. Tom had been fascinated to see Harry perform more magic, a confundus charm to be specific, which Harry had used in order to speed up the whole adoption process. Tom, having had enough of being kept in the dark turned towards Harry.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going, Mr. Peverell?" Tom asked snarkily. Harry twitched as he hadn't been expecting Tom to actually speak as they hadn't spoken to each other since Harry had told Tom why he had wanted to adopt him, at least the abridged version as Harry didn't know how Tom would respond to the fact that Harry was actually his nemesis from the future who had planned on killing but instead had ended up adopting him. "What is so funny?" Tom demanded, which made Harry realize he had been sporting a grin at the direction his thoughts had taken.

"Nothing important, no need to worry." Harry said waving away Tom's second question. "To answer your first question though the answer would be I'm not sure."

"You're not sure? What the hell is that supposed to mean!" Tom shouted in exasperation, unwilling to believe that he had seemingly signed his life over to an idiot. Harry just chuckled, which only served to further anger Tom.

"I don't know the specific region, Tommy, the Goblins were rather tight lipped about that fact, something I'm actually okay with. The name of the place we're going to is Mortuarius though." Harry said with a small smile as he witnessed Tom calming himself down to process the information he was just given. Harry waited patiently for Tom's first question, which he eventually received.

"Goblins?" Tom decided to ask first.

"They are the bankers in Britain, though in other parts of the world others play the role of bankers. Switzerland uses gnomes, I believe. I know there are a few banks in America that use brownies. Anyway The Goblins are our bankers, but for a price they will assume virtually any job you need. Most might not know that they will do that, but they are loyal to their customers so it evens out even if it is a trifle more expensive than others."

"Oh, well why are you okay with not knowing where it is?" Tom followed up with.

"Well, if I don't know where it is I can't accidentally reveal its location to any unsavory sorts, now can I?"

"Mortuarius?"

"It is the origin of the word mortuary, it is the name of the ancestral Peverell Manor. It is named thus because the Peverells have always had a deep connection with Death, due to our ancestors coming from a long line of necromancers. Though we haven't had any in recent times."

"Necromancers? What's that?"

"Necromancers are magic practitioners that specialize in magic involving or related to the dead or death."

"Oh."

They lapsed into silence before Tom realized one thing that Harry had said before Tom had begun asking questions.

"Don't call me Tommy."

"Oh, do you prefer Tom, than?" Harry asked curious.

"No. I hate Tom too."

"How about Thomas?" There was silence for a moment as Tom just stared at Harry before huffing, crossing his arms and turning to look out the window.

"It's fine." He muttered. Harry just smiled indulgently.

"Thomas it is, than."

Harry took the opportunity of Tom not looking his way to study the boy. He was different to how Harry thought he would be. From the memories Harry had seen courtesy of Dumbledore, just three years from now Tom would be a power hungry little shit, but here he was acting like the child he was. Harry had to admit it was both endearing and unnerving.

"How long until we get there?" Tom finally asked. Harry pulled out a pocket watch before sighing. A problem with this time period was that the Knight Bus had yet to be invented same with the charms that aided it in its journey through the muggle world.

"A few more hours yet, unfortunately." Harry said as he pocketed his watch. Harry turned back towards Tom. "Well, Thomas, since we have quite a bit of time together on this journey, how about I begin your tutelage?"

Tom's features lit up as he turned towards Harry and nodded his head vigorously. Harry laughed as he pulled out his wand and waved it around the carriage, enlarging the insides. Tom laughed with glee as he witnessed this newfound magical ability. Harry shook his head in wonder. If someone had told him that he would be showing a young Voldemort the majesty of magic just three months ago he would have laughed in their face. Still even Harry had to admit, young Tom Riddle was a pretty cute kid.

"So what are you going to be teaching me, Mr. Peverell?" Tom asked excited.

"Call me Harry, Thomas, we are going to be living together and 'Mr. Peverell' sounds too formal." Harry said as he conjured two chairs and a table and gestured for Tom to sit in one of the chairs. "And to start with I won't be teaching you anything just yet. Wait," Harry said before Tom could complain, "I want you to show me everything you can do before I go and teach you something you already know."

Tom nodded, reluctantly conceding the fact that that made sense. With a sigh he asked Harry to conjure some rocks. After he had done so, Tom extended his hand and scrunched his face in concentration. Harry had to hold in a chuckle as Tom just proved his point about young Riddle being too cute to grow up into a homicidal maniac. With a grunt of exertion from Tom, the largest rock, which was slightly larger than his head, began levitating around a foot into the air before it fell back to the table with a resounding thunk.

"Very good, Thomas, I'm honestly impressed. I couldn't do that when I was your age. You're going to make a wonderful wizard." Harry praised.

"Um, thanks Mr.- I mean Harry." Tom said as he cheeks colored slightly.

"Is that all?" Tom shook his head and extended his hand, a ball of light forming on it. Harry nodded his head in appreciation. He was honestly surprised Tom had managed this much at his age. He knew Tom had been- was- a prodigy when it came to magic, but there was a reason kids started Hogwarts at eleven.

"I can do something else too Harry." Tom said with an excited grin, happy that he was finally able to show off to an appreciative audience.

"Oh?"

"Yeah! I can talk to snakes. Isn't that great?"

Harry smirked as he remembered his second year. If what he was planning worked than the stigma of being a parselmouth wouldn't exist, or, at least, it wouldn't be as bad as it would be with an evil Tom Riddle.

"Yes, that is great Thomas. In fact I can speak to snakes as well. It is an ability known as parseltongue and it is incredibly rare. To have two parselmouths who aren't related by blood is an incredible coincidence." Harry said. Tom beamed happy that he had something else in common with his adoptive parent that wasn't just wandless magic.

"So what are you going to teach me?"

"Well, I'm going to teach you something known as Occlumency."

"What's that?"

"It is the ability to protect your mind from those with an ability known as Legilimency. It is what helped me defend my mind from your attempt to influence me."

"Wow! I can learn to do that?"

"Yes, but it might take awhile depending on how you take to this. For some, like me, it takes years to master. For others they can master it in months or less. I guess we'll see which one you'll be, won't we?"

Harry was looking out the window deep in thought. While he had been planning on adopting and essentially rehabilitating Tom, he still felt strange being kind to the person who had brought him so much tragedy. With a sigh Harry glanced down at the child sleeping with his head in Harry's lap. Harry ran his hands through Tom's hair and marveled at how peaceful he looked. Harry didn't think the grown Voldemort could look this peaceful while asleep, probably having dreams of torturing 'mudbloods' and 'blood traitors'.

The carriage clattered to a stop and Harry looked up realizing that they had arrived at the Mortuarius without him noticing. Harry gently grabbed the sleeping child up in his arms and wandlessly opened the carriage door. Once he had exited the carriage he looked towards the thestral team and nodded his thanks.

"Thanks to you as well, Blinky." Harry said to the house elf who had been driving the carriage. "Take care of the thestrals than you have the night off, no need to stay awake. Understood."

"Understood, Master Harry." The elf squeaked before urging the thestrals towards the stables. Harry turned away from the coach and gazed at his home.

It was a truly massive thing. Standing a good four stories tall with towers at each corner of the house. Harry had been shocked when the Goblins had taken him to the middle of nowhere and threw what looked like a snow globe into the air. The manor had then exploded out of the globe and Harry had shouted in surprise. Even after over two decades living in the magical world he still managed to get surprised, and he loved it.

He walked towards the front doors which were adorned with the insignia of the Deathly Hallows. They opened on their own as Harry approached them. Just inside the door was another of his house elves, Inky.

"Inky has prepared the young master's room, Master Harry." The diminutive creature said. Harry nodded and gave Inky a grateful smile."Thanks, Inky. Tell Clyde that I won't be needing dinner for me, will you?" With Inky responding in the affirmative Harry began ascending the stairs with Tom still clutched in his arms..Harry smiled as Tom cuddled closer to him and murmured in his sleep. Harry made his way to the third floor and opened the door to Tom's room.

It was currently pretty spartan, with the only furniture inside being a large four poster bed, similar in style to the Hogwarts beds, though much larger in scale. There was also an oak desk as well as a bookshelf with beginner texts on it, though there was still enough space for any knick knacks Tom might want to display.

With barely a sound Harry strode into the room and pulled back the blankets on the large set Tom down on the bed and tucked him in. Tom scrunched his face in his sleep as he grew colder after Harry had set him down though he eventually rolled over and slipped back into a deep sleep.

"I won't let things get as bad as they did." Harry said with a determined gleam in his eye. "I won't let any of those tragedies occur. I promise you that, Tom." Harry stood and walked towards the door, turning back towards Tom as he reached it. "I promise."

Tom had never had as peaceful a rest as the one he woke up from on the beginning of his first day living with Harry. When Tom awoke he found himself in the comfiest bed he'd ever had the pleasure to sleep in. It was the perfect blend of both soft and firm, while not being too hot nor too cold. Tom very reluctantly left his bed, the only reason he got up was the fact that he had to use the bathroom.

After finding a door connected to his room that led to a decently large en-suite bathroom, he finished his ablutions he dressed and left his room to find something to eat. He wandered around for awhile before eventually finding a dining room that contained a finely crafted table as well as Harry sitting at the head of the table reading a newspaper with moving pictures.

Harry had just sat down for his habitual morning smoke as he read the Daily Prophet when he heard the floorboards creak close to him. Harry set the paper down and looked at Tom with a raised eyebrow. He then took his cigarette and snuffed it out,

"You're up awfully early, Thomas." Harry said, he then waved his wand and read the time from the tempus charm he'd cast. "Six o'clock sharp huh? Didn't feel like sleeping in?"

"No, sir. We get up early to begin our chores at Wool's." Tom said as he sat down at one of the chairs opposite Harry. He jumped a little when a plate of food appeared in front of him. Harry chuckled at his reaction which earned him a heated glare.

"Don't worry Thomas, that was just one of my house elves Clyde. He prides himself on knowing what someone wants to eat before they do. Be sure to tell him when he gets it wrong though, he hasn't yet and it is giving him a rather arrogant disposition."

"House elf, sir?" Tom asked as he began eating. Tom found the food delicious, though he would never say as much. Harry sighed and cast a glare at Tom.

"Sir? I remember telling you to call me Harry, that we shouldn't stand on formalities as we're going to be living together."

"Right Harry, sorry."

"It's fine Tom." With that interaction over for now Harry once more lit a cigarette Clyde had placed beside his plate when he had put his first out when Tom got there. After enjoying his smoke for a second, Harry grabbed the Prophet and began seeing what the masses were supposed to think this week. Something that had translated well with Harry's experience in both the future and the past was the fact that most of the wizarding world (or Britain at the very least) were pretty happy with being lead around like sheep. One plus though was that the Daily Prophet weren't printing outright malicious lies, though he had spotted a few times they had either twisted the truth or would aggrandize whoever had bribed them this week.

The only thing of interest to Harry was an opinion piece on the rumors of the current Defense professor at Hogwarts was thinking about retiring. Which, if true, provided Harry with a perfect chance to stay close to Tom to ensure that he didn't backslide and lead to the death of his classmates. Though, going to Hogwarts to keep an eye on Tom brought up its fair share of problems, not least of which being whether or not Tom would appreciate his guardian following him along and making sure he stayed out of trouble. Harry shook these thoughts from his head as he still had two to three years to decide whether he would attempt to take up a teaching position or not.

"Harry?" Tom called out after his plate had disappeared when he had finished eating. He had noticed that Harry seemed to be lost in thought since he hadn't moved the paper around in quite awhile.

"Hm? Yes, Tom, what is it?" Harry asked as he set the paper down.

"Well, I was just wondering what you were going to teach me today."

"Well, that is a pretty good question." Harry said as he rubbed his chin. "I'm actually not going to be teaching you anything today. Hear me out," Harry said to stop Tom from complaining. "You practiced your Occlumency so much last night that you fell asleep rather quickly, not to mention all the magic you performed yesterday. No, you need to give your core a break or it won't develop properly. So i've decided that we'll be going shopping today."

"Shopping? Why do we need to go shopping?" Tom asked incredulous. He had accepted Harry's offer of adoption on the grounds that Harry would be teaching him powerful magic, not taking him shopping!

"Yes, shopping There is a lot of thing we need to pick up, not least of which is some learning materials. Though I need to get an owl, too."

"An owl?"

"It's how we send mail. Now, we'll be leaving at eight sharp, so make sure you are ready then. I have some things I need to get done so I will be in my study. If you need me call for Pinky and she will show you to my study."

With that Harry stood and exited the dining room at a steady clip. Playing house with young Voldemort was still a jarring experience for him and he needed a quick break before he slipped back into his role as guardian to the boy.

Tom watched as Harry walked from the room, wondering what had made him leave so quickly, and what he could possibly have to do that was more important than teaching Tom more magic, With an irritated grumble Tom stood and made his way out of the dining room and began trying to think of something to do. A proverbial lightbulb lit up his head as a thought struck him Looking around and hoping to not seem like an idiot Tom quietly asked for Pinky. With a pop a small creature with bulbous eyes and bat-like ears appeared in front of him.

"Yes Master Thomas?" The thing said with a squeaky voice that annoyed Tom. He managed to push down his annoyance and get on with why he called her to him.

"Is there a library around here?" Tom asked with his most charming smile, trying to get the small creature to like him.

"Oh, yes Master Thomas, there is a library in the house, though Master Harry left strict rules that you have to be watched while you're in there so that you don't hurt yourself." The young house elf said. Tom gritted his teeth as he learned of Harry's rule. Did the man not trust him in a library of all places? What could he possibly get up to that was dangerous in a library?

Shaking his head of these thoughts Tom bid the house elf to show him the way to the library. No matter how stupid Tom found the rule, he would definitely abide by it to show Harry that he could be trustworthy if given the chance.

Once they reached the library Tom's mouth fell open as he entered what could only be the single largest library to ever exist. It was several stories taller than the building it was housed and seemed to be magnitudes deeper as well. In point of fact, to figured that the house he was living in could comfortably fit inside this room several times over. It was such a paradoxical thought that Tom began getting a headache just thinking about it. Forcefully shoving that line of thought from his mind to save him some pain, he turned towards his elf guide.

"Is there anything that Harry doesn't want me to read? Or conversely something he wants me to read?" Tom asked. In answer the diminutive being just pointed at a decent sized section of books.

"Master Harry said that Master Thomas is only allowed to read history right now." The elf sighed with an apologetic look on her face.

Tom had to stifle his urge to shout in anger and demand the little elf to take him to Harry so that Tom could yell at him. Harry had seemed so proud and impressed with Tom's abilities yesterday and now he was stifling his ability to learn and grow more powerful? Tom didn't know why Harry would want to do that but it was certainly infuriating.

Tom turned on his heel and grabbed the nearest history book and slammed it on a desk before sitting and beginning to read it. If Harry wanted to play around with Tom than Tom would play and win this stupid little game.

Shortly after he began reading Tom actually lost himself in the book due to how interesting it was. While it was a little hard to read as it used words Tom didn't know yet, he understood most of it and he thought it was incredible. He was currently reading a book on Goblin Rebellions and was finding it extremely interesting as he read about wars that had happened alongside the regular world and yet had not once spilled over enough to reveal it to the wider world, something that Tom would have thought impossible yet here was a history book saying otherwise.

So much time had passed without him even noticing that he only came back to himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder, He looked up and caught Harry's gaze for a second before looking back towards his book.

"What are you reading, Thomas?" Harry asked.

"Oh, it is an amazing book! It's about the Goblin Rebellions and their effect on our int- intir- intirspsh-," Tom stumbled over the unfamiliar word.

"Interspecies?" Harry suggested.

"Yeah, that, it's about how we deal with Goblins now it's really interesting!" Tom gushed. Harry was chuckling in his head, if Binns was the same now as he was when Harry went to Hogwarts that interest in the Goblin Rebellions would certainly be crushed from the boy.

"I'm glad to see you're taking an interest in history, However it is time for us to go shopping."

A/N: Well, that's another chapter down. I'm telling you now though, you shouldn't expect chapters out this quickly on average as I'm making this up as I go along so I don't exactly have a schedule. Anyway, review if you liked it, and if you didn't review anyway and tell me why. Bye!