Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine

There was a moment of complete an utter silence before Tom remembered who he was with. Schooling his expression blank he elbowed Kat who quickly did the same. "Where do you want to go first?" Dumbledore asked them. Kathryn glanced at Tom both of them thinking the exact same thing.
"We were wondering Sir," Kathryn started off, "If we could get our wands first. Seeing as they play such a vital role in a witch's and wizard's life." Dumbledore looked at her and for one horrifying second she thought he would refuse before he nodded. "Ollivanders it is then," he told them.

The two children follow Dumbledore as he weaved in and out of the shoppers before stopping outside a tired looking shop with gold lettering that was peeling off. Tom crinkled his nose in disgust before entering the shop. A young man was working at the counter carefully packaging back up abandoned wands.

"Albus!" he greeted, "How are you? 'Scuse the mess I just had the most interesting Hogwarts student. Lestrange his name was. Fascinating he was, you see all the other Lestrange's always have yew yet this one had a wand made out of holly. Most curious."
"Indeed," Dumbledore replied in a humouring tone, "However I would be most pleased if you could set Mr Riddle and Miss Winters up with wands." Ollivander whirled round assessing the two students. "Of course," came the soft response, "Who first?"

Kathryn gently nudged Tom forwards before asking, "Does this process take very long?"
"That my dear depends completely on how tricky the customer is! 9 and ½ inches, fir with a heartstring core, excellent for transfiguration!" He told Tom. Tom had barely picked up the wand before it was snatched back away, "Nope, try this Willow, thirteen and ½ with a phoenix core." Tom picked up the wand half expecting it to be snatched away like the first one.

"Well, give it a wave." Demanded Ollivander impatiently. Tom wearily flicked the wand causing the light to shatter. Ollivander swished his hand towards the light fixing it instantly. "Close, close," he muttered, "Just the wrong type of wood. Hmm I wonder," Exchanging the willow wand for a cherry wand he looked at Tom who in response flicked it causing the windows to break. Ollivander looked at Tom, "quite temperamental aren't you?" he asked rhetorically, "Perhaps yew would be better…" his voice trailed off as he yanked the bottom box off causing the rest to tumble to the ground.

Ignoring that he held the wand out proudly to Tom, "Yew, thirteen and ½ inches with a phoenix feather core." The exact moment Tom held it he felt warmth travel up through his body. "Excellent, excellent. That will cost you five gallons." He told Tom before turning to Kathryn, "now for you,"

An hour later even Kathryn was getting bored of trying new wands as Ollivander just got more and more excited. There was a sudden silence as Ollivander turned round to address the girl seemingly lost in his thoughts. "Muggleborn are you?" Kathryn stared at him.
"Yes," she finally responded.
"Hmmm perhaps, perhaps not." He held a wand out to her, "Heartstring core, walnut, 9 inches." Dumbledore looked up at Ollivander surprised, as Kathryn reached out for the wand.

As soon as it connected with her hand she felt a blast of warm air confirming the wand was hers. Ollivander licked his lips nervously before holding out his hand. "That will be six gallons please." Kathryn nodded before handing out the money. As she paid she wondered what caused Ollivander to act so strangely with her wand.

The group exited the shop blinking rapidly against the harsh sunlight. Dumbledore looked at them before sighing. "We spent longer looking as wands then I anticipated, perhaps you would like to go get your books while I get all your potions ingredients." The two nodded and started walking away before Kathryn turned around. "Is there a second hand shop for us to get our school books from?" she asked, "Only I would quite like some books with general knowledge about the magical world as well," Dumbledore nodded,
"There should be a second hand section at the back of the book shop," he informed them.

Three hours later they had finally finished all their shopping and were making their way back to the orphanage. As they were pressed on time Dumbledore offered to show them faster way of travelling after the two children accepted he grabbed their wrists whisking them straight back to the front of the orphanage.

"Thank you," Kathryn said politely before looking pointedly at Tom who glared at her for half a second before smiling charmingly at Dumbledore, "Thank you Sir," he said, "I look forward to seeing you again at school." Dumbledore looked amused at this before giving his goodbyes and disappearing with a loud crack.

For a second there was complete and utter silence between Kathryn and Tom before they both began to laugh in sheer excitement and happiness. "I'm so excited," Kathryn grinned and not even the sight of the dreary orphanage could deter her. Tom laughed as the made their way inside.

As soon as they were in their room Tom locked the door. "We need to learn everything about Wizarding traditions." He declared.
"Are you kidding?" Kathryn asked, "We need to learn everything about everything!" Tom couldn't disagree with that.
"Where do you want to start?" He asked her,
"Chuck me the book about Hogwarts, will you?"

Later that evening when both children had read so much that the lines were blurring together they started to get ready for bed. Reaching under her pillow Kathryn's fingers brushed the letter that she had previously hidden there. The letter had been pushed to the back of her mind with all the excitement of the day.

Wearily she extracted it from its hiding place before cautiously opening it. Unlike previous attempts it opened easily causing her eyes to open slightly in surprise before she schooled her facial expressions back into neutral. Hands shaking she lifted the letter to eye height before she began to read.

Dearest Kathryn,
Happy 11th Birthday!
By now I assume you have now heard of the wizarding world and Hogwarts and have just been taken for a tour of Diagon Alley. I expect you will now be counting down the days till you arrive at your new school and I wouldn't blame you. I express my deepest regrets at having to place you at an orphanage and a muggle one at that. However I am in ill health and there are other circumstances such as your grandfather which I have taken into consideration.
I must be blunt, your father doesn't know that you exist otherwise you would be with him not in this dump however to protect you and your father nobody apart from my parents, your grandparents know that you exist. When you were conceived I was engaged to your father however the marriage was called off at the last minute by my family who were convinced that my fiancé, your father's family were too 'dark'. At the same time I found out I was pregnant. I begged and screamed for my father to put the wedding back on. I even refused to eat and ended up revealing your existence. My father then gave me a choice. I could get an abortion, kill you and marry my fiancé or keep you and never see him again. I also must never reveal your existence to him. I chose to keep you. Before I had even met you were my bundle of joy. Nobody outside my parents knew about you and that's the way my father wanted it. When you were born I felt so much joy however I also felt dread. I was already ill and childbirth had weakened me. I knew I wouldn't last long and as soon as I died my father would try and kill you. Try and hide the shame of a daughter who had conceived a child out of marriage. So I begged my mother to hide you the one place I knew he wouldn't look. In a muggle orphanage. I deeply regret having to place you with them however I saw no other choice. I beg that one day would will be able to forgive me for the pain that I am putting you through. t.
Loving you always
Your mother xx

Kathryn swallowed both her mind and feelings numb. "I have a father," she murmured. Hope rose in her stomach before she pushed it back down again. Despite the face she may have a father it didn't mean that he would necessarily want her. It also didn't mean that she would be able to find out who it was.

There was also the fact that her mother had been forced to leave her behind. A small smile crept up on her face. She wasn't unwanted by her parents! A blast of happiness hit her before she thought about her grandfather. He would suffer. Not only for wanting to kill her but also for the wrongs he did to her mother.

Tom observed Kathryn's emotions from across the room before cleared his throat, despite the distance between them she could still feel the questioning look from where she was sitting. Kathryn had to remind herself it wasn't just her who had been curious about the letter, the mystery had plagued Tom for as long as it had plagued her.

"It was from my mother," Kathryn whispered, her voice filled with raw emotion. "It claims my father is still alive and," Kathryn swallowed, "She didn't want to give me up but it was to protect me from her father." Surprise flittered over Tom's face, Kathryn only catching it as she knew him so well. "Do you want to read it?" she asked extending the letter out to Tom. There was a slight nod as Tom reached forward to accept it.

10 minutes later they sat in a sort of awed silence. The fact that Kathryn had family out there… Tom wasn't stupid he could see the hope in her eyes as he ignored the jealously that was slowly rising through him. But he could tell that finding Kathryn's family was important to her. And what was important to her was important to him. Not that he would ever admit to being under Kathryn's influence so much.

"A father huh?" Tom asked. Kathryn nodded. Tom looked at her, "Guessing by the fact your mother is wishing you happy birthday I'm guessing you're eleven today!" Tom grinned at her aware that it always irritated the girl not knowing the exact day she was born. "So that means that your parents would have been due to wed around eleven years and nine months ago so that was October sometime eleven-twelve years ago. Someone must know something about it. When we're at school we'll ask around and look at newspapers in the library." Tom informed her.
"You'll help me?" Kathryn asked amazed,
"Of course I'll help you," Then in a moment of weakness there was a soft, "You're my best and only friend." Before Tom returned to normal, "Besides who else will help me deal with the stuck-up pure bloods?" Using the vocabulary he had learnt only hours before hand.

Throughout the next month Tom and Kathryn isolated themselves completely from the rest of the orphanage. Only appearing for meals and when it was strictly necessary they absorbed themselves with trying to contain as much knowledge of the wzarding world as they could. Tom was now certain that both of them knew enough information to skilfully bluff their way through their first couple of months at Hogwarts without having to reveal that they grew up in a complete muggle environment.

As the first of September grew closer both children had to try harder at masking their anxiety and nervousness at the thought of attending Hogwarts. Knowing full well they didn't have the knowledge or connections to pass them off as pure-bloods they were both going to go for the half-blood approach.

It was risky, Tom mused, to claim they had any knowledge of the wizarding world but it was a risk he would take, especially if he was sorted into Slytherin. From what he had read it was a cut-throat house that would turn on you easily if they thought they could benefit from it. Still instead of being cowed by the thought of it Tom was eagerly looking forwards to it.

"Tom," a small voice travelled across the room, "Tomorrow's the day." Tom's throat went dry at the thought but quickly masked any sort of nervousness that he was feeling,
"Yes," he agreed, "Those pure-blood idiots won't know what him them." Tom was rewarded with a laugh. From across the room in the dim light he could see the body of his best friend relax.
"They certainly won't." Came the reply. "You're thinking of the challenge Slytherin house will possess aren't you?" There was no reply, Kathryn sniggered before succumbing to sleep.

The next morning was a bright and cheerful day. They had arrived at the station and found the platform without any trouble however Tom raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. From the corner of his eye he glanced at Kathryn. From the way she was holding herself he was glad he was not the only one who had been expecting something a little bit…more.

The scarlet steam train stood in front of them and while it would have been an impressive sight if they were muggle it didn't even scratch Kathryn and Tom's expectations. They shared an unimpressed look before clamouring inside.

Due to Tom's obsession with being early they had arrived an hour before the train was due to depart meaning there were plenty of empty carriages. Tom and Kathryn ignored the ones at the front and back, heading towards the ones in the middle. The middle carriages were the best place to blend in. The first few would be scrutinised simply due to the fact they were the first carriages students would come across while the last few would be equally scrutinised as students would be getting more and more desperate for a seat.

While Tom wanted to be noticed, Kathryn wasn't really that fussed at the moment, he had expected that it would probably be best to observe before trying to mix with the other students if they were going to pass themselves off as half-bloods. Entering an empty carriage they shut the door behind them with Tom pausing to produce a locking spell. While the locking charm was very simple and basic and probably could be broken by any student past their first week at Hogwarts Tom hoped it act as a deterrent.

Tom placed his brand new trunk on the overheard storage before offering to do the same to Kathryn's'. Tom was obsessed with first impressions. When they were in Diagon alley they had budgeted, haggled and begged for new items. Anything that was clearly visible, outer robes, trunks, shoes were new while they got their books and other items second hand. Unless you looked closely you would not be able to tell both children were on a very strict budget. Only their books looked worse for wear but they were hoping just to past that off to them being well read.

As the last few students entered the train, Tom's lock held. Shooting a smug look at Kathryn who smirked in response they were slowly on their way. About half way through the journey Tom nudged Kathryn before pointing to a passage in his book, One of the most well-known traits of Salazar Slytherin was the ability to talk to snakes. It is rumoured that any of his descendants have also inherited this ability.

"See!" Tom hissed, "There is no way I'm a mudblood." Kathryn looked at him,
"I never thought you were, but if your sorted into Slytherin I wouldn't reveal your ability straight away…" Tom looked at her in surprise,
"Why not?"
"I think it could be more useful if you played that card at a certain time," She admitted, "When it has the maximum amount of impact," Tom inclined his head, seeing her point as the train slowed down.

As the Hogwarts Express came to a halt, Tom dismantled the locking spell on the door before climbing off the train with Kathryn right behind him. On the platform it was chaos. Students shouting trying to find their friends. Everyone shouting and shoving as a voice cut through the fray,
"First years over here please,"

Shoving anyone who got in his way Tom made his way to the man who as far as he could tell was the groundskeeper. "No more than four to a boat," he instructed. Tom eyed the boats with disgust only to get an impatient sigh from Kathryn who pushed him aside before gracefully entering the boat. Following his friends lead he got in followed by a boy whose hair was so blonde it was white, arguing with scrawny looking boy with a hooked nose.

Kathryn cleared her throat efficiently catching the two newcomers attention, "Kathryn Winters," she introduced, "And this is my associate Tom Riddle," There was a silence in which the blond boy looked at them assessing, "Mudloods," hooked nose spat, shattering the silence.
"Don't be stupid Prince," The blond boy said condescendingly, "No mudblood could be that pretty," he said gesturing to Tom, who glared at him for being called pretty "Or have her gracefulness." Inclining his head towards Kathryn.

Prince raised an eyebrow before taking in the blond boy's words "Half-bloods then." Prince said grudgingly before appraising them again, seeing something in them both he held out his hand, "I apologise for my rudeness, my name is Marcus Prince and my cousin Abraxas Malfoy." Malfoy gave them a cold smile before opening his mouth to say something only to be interrupted by the groundskeeper.

"Mind your heads!" he shouted causing Kathryn to start. She hadn't even realised they had begun moving. "As we come round the corner now you should see your first few of Hogwarts!" Kathryn looked up, if it was anything like the train she was not expecting much. Her breath caught it her throat.

The sight of Hogwarts on the hill was truly beautiful and Kathryn could not deny the sense of belonging that entered her body. Glancing around it was obvious that she was not the only one. Realising the boat had come to a stop some time while she was admiring the castle she hopped down elegantly following the groundskeeper still in a silent awe of the castle. Coming to a set of massive doors the groundskeeper knocked three times. The harsh sound brining Kathryn back down to earth. Sharing a look with Tom happiness and excitement flowed all around her… she was finally going to Hogwarts!