Chapter 5. Return

July 1969, London, Wool's Orphanage.

It was a breezy summer night, Saturday, if I remember correctly. I was in the living room, sitting on a rocking chair, humming and knitting socks for Emily. Martha was there too; she was reading a book aloud for Arthur and the twins, Jeremy and Katy. When we heard a knock from the door I stood up, leaving the unfinished pair of socks to the side table.

I went to the front door and opened it, expecting to see Dorothy as she still visited the orphanage though she had moved away several years ago.

My eyes widened in surprise.

At the door wasn't Dorothy but one of my other orphans.

Yes, the man who I saw was identifiably Tom Riddle; he couldn't go unrecognized because of his dark eyes. Yes, I remembered those eyes all too well. His smile was the same too; tight-lipped, not reaching his eyes. Never really reaching his eyes.

But he had aged too much in the past years. He was thinner than I remembered – reminded me strongly of his mother – and his skin was wax-like and bleak, making his cheekbones more prominent and not in a good way. I noticed he didn't wear the ring anymore.

But what caught my attention wasn't Tom's changed appearance but his companion.

With Tom was a younger woman, a girl she was in my eyes. She was tall, yes, and quite beautiful – long black hair framing her pale face, heavily-lidded eyes with long eyelashes, and thin lips forming a displeased pout. She seemed too young to be Tom's fiancée but I couldn't know for sure.

"What are we doing here, My Lord?" she asked Tom in a low hiss.

Tom glanced at her. "Silence, Bellatrix." The woman recoiled from him, bowing her head in submission. Not a fiancée then, I thought. Tom turned to face me, Martha, and the curious children who had came to see the visitors. I swiftly beckoned them to go back to living room.

"Mrs Cole", Tom said, his tone eerily polite, gaining my attention.

"Tom", I answered as politely. He flinched at the name.

The woman glared at me murderously. "How dare you–?"

Tom silenced her with a look. "I suggest we take this outside", Tom said, looking at me for a slit second and opened the door. "Not you, Bellatrix", he added as the woman was about to follow us. She reluctantly stayed back and instead leaned to the doorframe, watching my every movement like a hawk.

"Who was the woman with you?" I asked as I tried to start a polite conversation with the man I hadn't seen in over twenty years.

Tom laughed. "As much as I know it's none of your concern", he said with a haughty smile. He acted like the question I had asked was completely ridiculous. "Bellatrix is merely a companion. No need to worry about her now."

I crossed my arms. "Why are you here then, Tom?" I asked firmly.

His gaze hardened. "Quit using that name", he hissed through his teeth before the smile returned to his face. "My reasons are beyond your understanding, Mrs Cole", he said in a tone I couldn't quite place. "But there is one thing you should do…"

I gaped at Tom after he had finished telling me his suggestion. That sort of thing to ask... I shook my head weakly.

"No, I can't do such thing", I said as firmly as I could but my voice trembled. I was shocked of what he had said. "If you had nothing else to say…"

Tom's smile didn't waver. "No, I have not. That was everything. The choice is all yours." He glanced at the door. "Come on, Bellatrix."

The woman pranced to his side, shooting me a disdainful but curious look as she passed me at the pathway. I took it as Tom hadn't told her why they were here.

I marched back inside and locked the door. There was no way, no way, I would do such thing.

But after three days, when I was looking at the space where once stand an orphanage and where now were only smoking ruins, I felt miserable. They said it was arson but no real evidence to prove it. It was like the flaming had started from nowhere.

Tom had told me this would happen. He had told me to leave the building. And I had ignored him. Poor old Martha, two boys and a tiny girl hadn't made it out in time but had died in that fire, I had barely gotten the rest out safely. Eleven children had lost their place to live that night. And not just that.

We had lost our home.

It didn't take even a month when I found out the city would never reconstruct the orphanage. They had instead decided to build offices, a whole block of offices, in place of it. They had planned for it for years, I heard, so I and the children lived in a rented two-room apartment until they had gotten themselves new homes from other orphanages and adoptive families. It took longer than I would have hoped for.

But after all, I didn't know should I be angry to the city, to Tom, or to myself.

And I ended up being mad at myself.

1998, London, Sheltered Home for the Aged.

A lone, stray snowflake descended to Mrs Cole's windowsill and melted away in the instant the sun's first rays found it. Mrs Cole wasn't angry to herself anymore. She hadn't been in years. She has too little years left for that.

But what she now knew better was never to underestimate Tom Riddle. Though she hadn't seen him after that evening, she was sure she felt him. It was like a premonition, or a warning, or sometimes just a memory like it was today.

It made her think that maybe she hadn't been a bad mother and Tom hadn't been a bad son. They just never understood one another. She gave a weak smile.

"How are you today, Tom?" Mrs Cole asked aloud, gazing into the blue sky. "Do you see the snow falling?"

There is no answer. There is never an answer no matter how much she wishes for it.

Mrs Cole smiles sadly. The bottle of gin is empty and the snow on her windowsill is gone as well. Just a memory.

"That's too bad…"

A/N: Aaand it's done. I've always liked Tom Riddle. I don't find him evil. He had a poor start, he made bad choices, and he was afraid. If Merope hadn't died right after he was born things could have gone very differently. But hey, this was my third Harry Potter fic, and the first challenge I've ever taken part in. Reviews are appreciated!

Here's the list of Parental Figure Challenge events and personal prompts I used:

Chapter 1.

EVENT: childbirth; Merope gave birth to Tom.

EVENT: marriage (implied); Mrs Cole had a wedding ring on her finger though her husband is dead. She also mentions it would be soon their third anniversary.

CHAPTER 2.

PROMPT: earworm; Tom got an earworm after listening Louisa playing Beethoven's Für Elise.

EVENT: picnic (implied); They were going to have a picnic at the seaside but it's unknown did it get cancelled because Tom, Amy, and Dennis were missing.

EVENT: parental punishment (implied); Mrs Cole punishes Tom, and possibly Amy and Dennis too, from wandering too far.

CHAPTER 3.

PROMPT: courage; Mrs Cole mentions she's not very courageous person when having a conversation with Dumbledore.

CHAPTER 4.

PROMPT: history; Tom is interested in his family history which is why he leaves in the first place to look for his mother's relatives.

EVENT: argument; It's actually quite one-sided argument since Mrs Cole can't really say anything to raging Tom but I find it an argument nevertheless.

EVENT: goodbye; Pretty much self-explanatory – Tom says goodbye to Mrs Cole and leaves the orphanage.

CHAPTER 5.

PROMPT: out of character; Tom – I mean Voldemort – returns to the orphanage which is something what he would never do.

PROMPT: too bad; The last words Mrs Cole says.