A/N: Hello! Here's a (late, sorry) New Year's Present!
patches7: Thank you for your input; it is much appreciated :) Thank you again, and I just wanted to say it was a pleasure reading your stories
J.F.C: That is a really good idea... I was going to make her better after she time travelled (SPOILER: Something happens before she is sent through time that makes her better) though, as my summary had demonstrated, she isn't going to be friends with Harry Potter or any Gryffindor any sooner. Oh, and you're welcome :) Thank you for that, I really liked that idea, much appreciated that you allow me to use it :) I'm sorry I can'r make an equally long response, it's seven in the morning and I have to get to school, but thank you a lot :)
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Free hugs from Tom Riddle given to you all!
" If you expect an apology, then you won't be receiving one." I answered, just hoping that my voice would sound just as chilly, but winced once my voice broke on the last few words. Tom regarded me with a cold look in his eyes before brushing past me and carefully depositing something covered in white cloth on my bed.
" This is what you will be wearing the next Slug gathering. I expect you to look your best and to present yourself in the most elegant manner possible." He told me, his eyes still holding a small amount of ice within them. I noted the red flecks in his eyes, but, unlike before, it seemed insignificant. I had long come to the conclusion that Voldemort was my brother, also, so the only thing I could do was accept both Tom and Voldemort for the way they were. " As for your refusal to apologise, I admire that when you use that tone around others, but not to me. I will allow it to slide for now and won't make you apologise, but I expect you to be a lot more refined from now on, so that no regrets would ever be made in the first place. Am I clear?" He asked. I swallowed heavily, but nodded my consent.
" Crystal." I rasped.
" As for the money. I understand that you had no idea what I was talking about?" Tom gave a moment's pause for me to stay on track with what he was saying, but didn't give me enough time to answer. " You need not worry over that. I had recently discovered that a certain Black had stolen it for his own needs. I left a few Galleons on your bedside table for you to trade with another girl for a dress with a note on top. I appreciate that you'd never found out about it, but I'd prefer it if you didn't come in with Mother's dress, much less the very same that she'd birthed us with."
" Yes, but they didn't know that, did they?"
" No, but the invited members of the party knew full well that the dress you were wearing came from the 1890's- even the Purebloods had identified that." Tom argued, his eyes glinting dangerously. I bit my lip before I made another tactless remark. Tom carried on. " The dress," Tom gestured to the cloth covered thing he deposited earlier in my bunk. " belongs to Lily Abberth, a Muggleborn- but a powerful one. She is the great granddaughter of a Muggle- Baron Abberth, who left her a hefty sum of inheritance money. As of such, dresses are replaceable for her. She allowed you to have it, not to borrow, but to keep." He walked over to my bunk and picked up the covered dress. " Do not wear it or even open it yet- I'd prefer for it to remain pristine for when you create your new impression to redeem your tarnished one from today." Tom gave me a meaningful look, as if though to ask me if I'd keep to his rules.
"Yes, Tom." I said, quietly. He had a smug grin on his face. He put the dress on the bed again and made his way to the wicker chair I was sitting on before planting his hands on the arms of the chair. I shifted away uncomfortably from the sudden close range. "Tom?-" He ran his hands across my face and I felt the wounds close up, the previous pain dulled to nothing. I knew there wouldn't be any scarring- Tom always ensured that the final product was perfect, after all.
" You understand that I care for you, don't you?" He asked. I nodded my head out of fear. He hummed, reaching out to play with my loose hair. " And that I... love you?" He added. I stared into his crimson eyes, my answer resolute.
" Yes. I know that you love me." I answered, without hesitation.
A flash of green in his ruby eyes.
He smiled.
" Good." And he turned around and left the room, leaving me in a confused daze.
•••
The very next day I found out who this elusive 'Lily' was when Tom met up with a pretty girl in the year above us.
She looks familiar...
He kissed the back of her hand courteously and she gave a soft giggle. I placed an emotionless mask on my face when she turned to face me.
" Hello! You must be Kathy!" She exclaimed, her voice showing her prestige through her cultured accent. I forced a smile on my face, attempting to hide that twitch in my eyes once she named me by with the nickname that only Tom called me by. I will admit that I am unused to kindness from another person aside from Tom.
" Katherine." I seethed, annoyed at the nickname.
What is it? What is that link between her and my memories?
" Pleased to meet you." I gritted out. Being the Gryffindor she was, she ignored my slight hostility and extended her hand. I shook it. Her palm was pleasantly warm- a nice change from the freezing Slytherin common room. I let go of her hand.
" You both look so pale. Are you ill?" She asked, her voice holding her anxious worry. I understood why she gave that dress to me.
She was just too kind.
" No. We were always this colour." Tom answered, his voice polite and quiet.
Lily Abberth...Where had I seen her before?
I don't think Abberth noticed the warning red flash in Tom's otherwise emerald eyes.
" Oh, poor you!" She said, her slightly childish face pitying us. Tom's eye twitched slightly. " Were you kept from going outside? I understand how bad an orphanage must be- I live close to one, after all-"
" Wait, what?" I interjected. She gave me a curious smile.
" Why, yes. Wools Orphanage, I believe it's called."
•••
So, so cold.
I shuddered in the freezing snow, my weak body up to ankles in snow. My lips were blue and my fingers were showing signs of frost bite.
I have to push on... For Tom.
I lifted my newly cut head, the unfamiliar hairstyle reminding me of why I was here.
I'm a boy, now... My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle... I'm a boy...
A man passed by and I latched onto his tail coat.
Wealthy.
" Please..." I whispered. He looked at me with disdain before yanking his coat out of my hands, causing me to fall over in the process. I allowed tears to fall on my numb face, staring bitterly at the tall, posh town houses when my eye caught a little girl sitting on the window sill. She was six- a year older than me. She was looking at me with wide eyes, her face curious. She lifted her window before poking her head down.
" Why are you down there?" She asked. Her voice was reminiscent of her rich clothing- her nighty was made out of silk and lace. Her face was a kind one, with blue eyes and brown hair and a pleasant face.
" Because I have no money." I answered. She frowned.
" But Daddy says that only violent street men are homeless." She said. " You're not a man; you're a boy... and you're not violent, are you?" She added. I laughed.
How I wished I was that naive.
" No, I'm not." I agreed. She smiled at me.
" You must be cold... Come in, I'm sure Daddy will be happy if I make a new friend..." I shook my head.
" I can't... I'm from the orphanage and if I don't get them food or money then we'll be going to bed with a hungry stomach." I disagreed. She frowned yet again.
" You mean...thatorphanage?" She asked, gesturing to the tall building down the lane. I nodded.
" That's the one." I nodded. She looked conflicted for a moment. The next minute she smiled again.
" Wait here." She slid the window down. She left her bedroom, but from there I couldn't see what was going on. A few moments later, she left her house through the front door, holding a wicker basket. I gasped. I could feel the warmth from here.
" Is that?-"
" Yes." She answered, proud of herself. For a moment I considered telling her that her father would be angry with her, but my selfishness took over. I took the basket from her offered hands and lifted the red and white chequered cloth. Nine loaves of freshly baked bread and two parmesan cheese wheels greeted my eyes and I felt air escape my lungs.
" Thank you." I breathed. She gave me a small smile.
" You're welcome." She gave me a hug. I stiffened. She pulled away, not noticing before giving me a soft kiss on the cheek. " Merry Christmas." She whispered. I swallowed, unused to the contact. I briefly felt sorry for her. I had lied to her by giving her the impression that I was a boy and I knew full well that children of aristocrats are taught how to look for potential partners. I sincerely hoped that she wasn't considering me, a girl, of all people.
Not that there was anything wrong with swinging that way.
" Merry Christmas to you too, Miss-?"
" Abberth. Lily Abberth." Lily Abberth. The great- granddaughter of Baron Abberth.
" Merry Christmas, Mistress Lily Abberth." I said. She paused, as though expecting me to do something. I refrained from sighing and kissed her on her cheek. She smiled at me.
" 'Till we meet again." She whispered.
" 'Till then." I answered. She smiled and turned before walking back into her house. I looked up at the stars, thanking God for Lily Abberth's kindness that was not often found in rich children.
" Well, Tom," I whispered, staring at the window to our room in the orphanage down the lane. "Looks like we have something to eat after all."
•••
I stared at Lily with open amazement.
" Abberth... Lily Abberth..." I whispered. Her face was the same as when she was younger- the only thing was that she had definitely matured. She was as pretty as ever, her hair in plaits and mine, to contrast, in my monotonous pony tail. She looked confused.
" Yes, that was my name." She frowned.
" 1931, Christmas Day... You showed me kindness..." I whispered. She looked confused before a sudden understanding encompassed her face- and was that a little bit of embarrassment?- and she gasped.
" You..." She whispered. " You were a boy..." She swallowed, tears in her eyes. " I loved you." She turned on her heel and ran, sobbing. I groaned and smacked my forehead on the nearest sturdy obstacle that happened to be in my way.
Turned out to be Tom.
" I hate my life." I moaned. He looked down at me and smirked. I growled. "Don't act so smug, a girl fell in love with me and I just rejected her. She thought that I was a boy for half of her lifetime." Tom's smirk widened. I hissed at him.
" This is, indeed, one of the stickier situations you've gotten yourself into, yes." He answered. I groaned again.
" Understatement of the year."
•••
Before we knew what had come upon us, Tom and I had resolved the issues (though I was sure that there was going to be more) and pushed on with the day. I'd forgotten all about Lily's confession this morning and instead made my way toward the loo. If there was one thing that the Hogwarts' feasts were, it was rich. I sighed and pushed the door open, ignoring the sniffles in the room. Myrtle had already made a reputation as the one girl who a) over dramatised b) cried a lot and c) had a very sensitive ego. As a result, she was one of the school's main targets as a victim. I would have helped her, had I not been so cruel, but I already knew how it felt like to be ostracised and I didn't want that to happen to me yet again because I chose to make friends with the wrong person. I opened the tap and splashed the water onto my face before staring at my reflection and grinning.
" Hello, gorgeous." I muttered, smirking and running my hand through my pony tail. I undid the simple hairstyle to do it again once I saw an unruly curl in my hair, my vanity taking over when my nose suddenly inflated and turned a violent red. Eyes wide with horror, I stared at the rapidly extending nasal structure.
" I dispute." Someone answered. I whirled around. A girl in fifth year, I assumed, was standing at the doorway, a smug smile on her face and her wand extended. Embarrassed, I clutched my nose. She chuckled and undid the charm. I felt my nose shrink down again. My cheeks flushed, I voiced my fury at her.
" What in the name of the seven heavens was that for?!" I exclaimed. She smirked, stroking her tie.
A Hufflepuff casting spells at a vulnerable first year?
She must have noticed my eyes on her tie, because she sneered.
" I'm a misfit- someone who doesn't belong in any of the houses. So I was sorted into Hufflepuff." She smirked. " So you're gorgeous, are you?" She asked. I flushed harder, if that were possible. " Well, I can tell you that you're vain, self centred and egotistical. I can tell you that you're pathetic and don't even fight against your brother. I can tell that you-"
" Shut up." I gritted out.
" Well, there you go. Egotistical. Don't care about other people's opinions." She leaned against the doorway.
" You're probably just some jealous Hufflepuff senior. Oops, my bad- you're a Mudblood," I pronounced the word painfully clearly. "aren't' you?" I sneered at the girl, but immediately regretted what I said once she threw a swinging fist toward my face. My mind screamed at me, telling me not to dodge it after all of those years of drilling spiteful words into my head ( "Bastard child!", "Whore!", "Bitch!", "Prostitute!") but my body's instincts said otherwise.
I was too late.
Her fist collided with my eye. Sharp pain resonated through my head.
•••
" It wasn't me who did it, Miss!"
•••
She took another swing at my other eye.
•••
" Please, Miss... Trust me... Don't let him hurt me..."
•••
Blind. I was blind.
•••
" Miss, please... please... It wasn't us... Please, don't hurt us..."
•••
I screamed, though I was unsure of whether it was because of the pain or because I was desperately trying to get someone's attention.
Oh God... No... I thought I left this behind at the orphanage...
I was silenced by a backhand across my cheek. I could feel my skin being torn open; I knew her long fingernails had left blood and ripped skin in its wake.
" Fick dich!" I shouted at the girl.
Okay, I used German to swear. So shoot me.
" G- German." She stammered. I sneered at her- well, I hoped I sneered in the right direction.
" Our orphanage hired a bilingual man to teach us German, so what?" I spat.
" L-language of G-Grindelwald." She stuttered before she, I assumed, ran away judging by the rapidly fading sound of clicking heels.
This is going to tarnish Tom and my reputation forever.
•••
I didn't know how long I lay prone in the bathroom, since I wasn't going to risk falling to my death if I happened to take a wrong step at the moving staircases, but I could dimly hear someone's horrified scream reverberate across the walls of the bathroom. I was numb to it all, having felt only the sticky blood that surrounded my head and my eyes, but I could feel the rustle of clean sheets being shifted around me and I was lifted from the wet bathroom floor.
Wet? I either must have let the tap running or bled more than I'd previously thought...
I could feel the inertia once I was lifted, gravity still pulling me down despite being suspended off a cloth. I tried to lift my eyelids, but they felt like they had been burnt, so I stopped attempting almost immediately.
"KATHY!" Someone shouted.
" TOM!" I tried to yell back, but all that came out was a wet gargle. I spat the liquid out.
I tasted blood.
I could distantly hear his struggle, knowing that there were people holding him back.
"KATHERINE!"
" Mr Riddle, would you please refrain from-"
" GET OFF ME! I NEED TO SEE MY SISTER! KATHY!"
He kept trying.
It broke my heart.
" KATHY!"
A thud.
Silence.
•••
I awoke in the hospital wing. I still couldn't see, though I had a feeling that the bruises were healed.
They probably put some sort of potion in my eyes to heal them.
I could vaguely recall that I knew the name, but sluggishly shrugged it off in favour of ensuring that no pain was felt.
Hands.
None.
Chest.
Lingering, but largely numb.
Eyes.
Again, numb.
I tried to shuffle off my bed, but fell off the side.
" Oomph." Winded, I grasped at the bed frame to pull myself up, but was assisted by calloused hands.
Who's this?
" Back to your bed." Said a feminine voice that spoke in a no-nonsense tone. I couldn't scramble up on the bed. After a few moments of trying, the woman took pity on me and hooked her arms under my legs and my neck before lifting me. I, unlike I would have if anyone other than Tom had picked me up, let her lift me and put me on the bed. She gasped. "Good grief, you're severely undernourished !" She exclaimed. " What's your name, girl?" She asked. I swallowed.
"Katherine. Katherine Merope Riddle." I answered, my voice rough.
And don't you dare call me by another nickname.
She hummed.
" You're one of the twins of Slytherin? You can't be one of the Prewitts, you're not in Gryffindor. And you're certainly not a ginger..."
Although, more than once I had wished I had the striking hair colour.
I have to learn the glamour charm some day...
" When can I leave, Miss...?"
" Rosemary. Madam Rosemary. You may leave once I repair your vision and given you nutritional potions."
" But-"
" If you do not then your growth can be stunted severely. No, you shall listen to me. Lie back and allow me to fix your eye sight." I sighed, but did as she said.
" Fine." I whined. I settled back onto the bed when I heard murmured spells. I furrowed my eyebrows and waited for the spell to take effect.
I opened my eyes.
Sight.
I didn't thank her.
She huffed.
" Children these days..." She turned around and went to a potions cabinet. "So rude."
" I can hear you, you know." I said, annoyed. She shook her head.
" You need to watch your mouth. That tongue of yours may have been the thing that got you into this mess in the first place." She turned around, potion in hand. " Now, drink this." She ordered, brusquely. I pursed my lips.
The taste of those potions were rumoured to be legendarily disgusting.
" Open up, girl." She ordered. I shook my head, furiously. She attempted to grasp my chin, but only ended up with a curled fist.
My breath hitched, mind cast back into the past.
Don't hurt me...
•••
" Miss- it wasn't me- I can swear it-!"
" Was it Tom, then?" She asked, sharply. Mrs Cole's eyes were surprisingly lucid for the amount of gin she drank today, but her body co-ordination was not. I opened my mouth to deny it being him, but she had already pinned Tom down as the saboteur. " TOM!" She bellowed.
He ran down the stairs and appeared before her, head bowed and hands behind his back, as innocent as possible.
" Ma'am."
" Was it you who committed this act of devilry?!" Her other hand gestured toward the rabbit, hanging innocuously from the rafters. The hand that was firmly in my hair pulled my black strands a little to punctuate her question.
I hissed in pain.
Tom's eyes were stony up until that point.
" Yes." He spat, eyes flashing red. " Now let go of my sister." She didn't comply- only pulling my hair further.
" You- you piece of filth! You son of a whore!" She shouted, drunkenly. Tom barely flinched out of shame, not for his act but of who his mother was. We were unsure of whether our mother was a divorcee, widower or a prostitute, based on her lack of spouse, but people seemed to have assumed the latter. " You're a devil's child; and I'll make sure you know it!" She threw me to the floor. " Briggs!" She swayed dangerously. " Briggs, come down here you fu-"
" What?" The caretaker blinked at her before his eyes followed her line of sight. His optics was suddenly filled with malice once he laid eyes on us. " Job done." He said, before Mrs Cole even instructed him to beat Tom. He came lumbering toward Tom, who looked ready to scream. Tom tried to curl in on himself, sliding down the wall before curling his arms over his head. I jumped up and ran, throwing myself in front of him.
" Don't. Touch. Him." I spat. He moved to push me away but I got to him first. I kicked him right where it hurt most. He keeled over, howling in pain before Mr Briggs' eyes narrowed.
" You'll pay for that, little girl." He hissed. I snarled at him.
" Try me."
Pain.
I grasped my right cheek, where he hit me around the face.
" She should have told me that you were going to be here before I hit that devil-child again." His voice was venomous.
Again?
This had happened more than once to Tom?
" If you want to hurt him, you'll have to get through me first." I managed to say. I allowed my eyes to rove across the caretaker- from his oversized feet to his muscled, bulky torso and his mean face.
" No problem." He picked me up, kicking and screaming before throwing me at the adjacent wall.
Agony lanced through my very being.
I heard a scream- but I was positive it wasn't me.
Tom...
" Shut. Up." Briggs pushed down on Tom's stomach with his foot with each syllable. Horrified, I tried to get up but fell back down again, alerting Briggs of the fact that I wasn't unconscious.
He strode to me, knuckles cracking before he extended his left fist.
It was the last thing I saw.
A/N: Oh no- what's going to happen next?
Pretty please review! :)