Do it again, but better.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter : (

Summary

A seven year old Harry is abandoned on the steps of young Tom Riddles' orphanage, Tom Riddles' territory, and Tom is determined to keep a close watch on this strange new arrival who has been thrust into his life.

Story

It was on January the 8th that he arrived. That he was abandoned rather. It happens. Usually it's through their parent's or guardian's death and when there is no other relative who will or is able to take them in. In some cases their parents are in prison, that's what happened to Matthew. For this one, Harry, he was abandoned at the age of seven. One moment he had gone to bed in his house, the next thing he knew he was on the orphanage's doorstep. His relative must have really hated him, that or he was completely delusional because, when the staff searched they couldn't even find a trace of this Aunt and Uncle he was crying about. It was certain he was abandoned though. The boy even admitted that his relatives threatened him with the orphanage many times before. That's how I got my new roommate.

I drove off the last one. He snored and left the room in a tip and stayed up too late. Now he had nightmares every night of ghosts and ghouls. It really didn't take much to make him think the room was haunted. Just shoving a few objects with my power and asking my local garden snake to rattle the windows a little. It was easy, so easy that it was a little disappointing. The first night with Harry as a roommate I almost decided to drive him out too, all night he lay there shivering and sobbing - pathetic.

I didn't have any sympathy for him. He must have been a right terror to make his own relatives abandon him. But he sobbed quietly and he had just the clothes on his back – rather huge ragged ones too – so he couldn't make much of a mess if he tried.

Most of us adapt quickly to orphanage life. The adults say that children adapt quickly to everything at our age. Harry however was an exception. Months after his arrival he still slipped up regularly and called the female staff 'Aunt Petunia'. In the orphanage we weren't allowed to have many lie ins, but Harry always shot awake at 6am as if he still heard the shrill voice of his relatives calling him. Thankfully he was quiet about it. Eerily quiet actually. He scared people to death when he seemed to silently appear out of nowhere at ridiculous times in the morning. Only a month in and he was labelled as a bit of a freak already.

One of his many problems was that he was to pandering. I hated them all and didn't care a whit what they thought unless they said it to my face. Then I'd teach them never to be so loose lipped again. Harry tried painfully hard to make friends. He was always careful never to outshine any of the other children at school. I, of course, was top of the class and took great pleasure in seeing the teacher's try to work out if I cheated. It infuriated them that their nice, normal little children from good backgrounds could never beat me. It was one of the little pleasures I had in my life there.

One reason I didn't drive out Harry like all the rest was because he never told anyone how hard I worked at school work. He never said a word about how I snuck the textbooks back with me and studied hard so I could see the teacher's looks of bafflement and anger. We didn't really talk, but that meant we didn't fight or hate each other, and sometimes, especially in a childhood like we had, having someone not make life hard for you made you just as grateful as having an actual ally would have.

I've mentioned that Harry was a panderer. He did everything he could to get the staff to like him, probably in some vain hope that they may learn to love him. Mrs Brown learned long ago not to get attached to us children here. I could see it in her cold steel gaze. Harry though, never knew when to give up. In the orphanage we have loads of chores to do. We are split into groups and every week some are assigned to do the washing up, some to clean the communal areas some to wash the clothes. You get the idea. Harry though, went above and beyond, and was always trying to make himself useful. It would have worked well if he didn't cause so much trouble, which more than balanced out his extra helpfulness. He came back from school with bruises and cuts regularly. He was disliked by the other children, but even I don't know how he manages to get beaten up so much, most of our other classmates just avoided him rather than actually physically hurting him, but he never seemed to be without at least some mystery bruises. He also got in trouble for playing with fire. I'm called the top troublemaker in this orphanage, yet even I was interested in this one. One morning he just collapsed, crying out in pain. His arm was bright red with nasty warts just appearing on it, as if it was being burned by thin air.

I can make nasty things happen to people by willing it. Well, it seemed to me like Harry had his own personal person like me targeting him, hurting him in strange, unnatural ways. It happened in our room. He knew the rumours, that I could do strange things, that I had the devil's power. It would make sense for him to blame me. I almost thought that it was me who was doing it, but he didn't. Clutching his arm he looked into my eyes and said "No. Tom, this isn't you. Don't worry". That's when I ran to get Mrs Brown. The consequences? He was lectured for messing around with fire and put on extra cleaning duties for a week. Really, Adults, they are clueless. But then something even more exciting happened. It happened right in front of my eyes. Harry was hurt, getting shouted at, glaring at her. Then Mrs Brown's pride and joy, her chestnut brown hair, was white - like all the colour just drained out of it. So not only was someone hurting Harry, but Harry, like me, has the ability to hurt other with his will. Ok, so maybe changing someone's hair colour didn't count as hurting, but I could give him instructions on the better, more dramatic ways people like us could get revenge. I am Tom Riddle after all, and revenge is what I do.
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I have ideas on how this story may continue, so may add to it later.
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