Like father, like son

Prologue

"What are your names again?" the old matron of the orphanage asked the couple who was following her across the building as she leaded them to the backyard, where the children were playing.

"Charles and Ellen Campbell," the man spoke as he saw his wife smile when the sound of children's laughs reached their ears.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, I must ask you if you would prefer to adopt a boy or a girl…"

"We don't know, Mrs. Cole," said the young woman. Her bright blue eyes were sparkling with happiness as she finally saw the orphans. "I guess it doesn't even matter if it's a boy or a girl…"

"I'll leave you two so you can get to know the children," the matron smiled. "You can talk to Martha if you need anything," she pointed at a young woman who was trying to prevent a little boy from eating dirt.

The couple nodded as they watched the old woman walk away from them and didn't waste a second to get closer to a group of kids who were playing near them. Most of the children, as they noticed the couple was there to choose a future son or daughter, approached them quickly and didn't hesitate to start talking, trying to get their attention. It was as if they were fighting in a silent way to get the chance to talk with the Campbells.

Ellen couldn't be more confused… There were so many wonderful children and she had to pick just one! She wished she could adopt all of them. After all, it seemed wrong to take one of them home and leave the rest there in that orphanage.

"They are all so lovely," the woman whispered as she watched a little girl playing 'he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not' with a flower. "It's impossible to choose."

"It's more difficult than we thought it would be."

"Yes…" With a tiny smile on her lips, Ellen looked around and, only then, saw a child she hadn't noticed yet. It was a pale little boy who was sitting away from the rest of the children. She couldn't see his face as he was looking at the opposite side of them. "Charles? Come here."

Grasping her husband's sleeve, she pulled him towards the boy and, as soon as they were near him, the child seemed to notice their presence and quickly turned around. Ellen couldn't help but smile as she saw the boy's face… He was quite handsome. His dark and perfectly combed hair contrasted against his pale skin and light blue eyes.

"Hello there. Why aren't you with the others?" the woman asked.

"It's too crowded," he said quietly, glancing at the other kids who were playing. "I prefer to stay here."

"What about your friends?"

The boy raised an eyebrow and stared at her with an expression that clearly said "Are you mad?" for a few seconds.

"They don't like me, Mrs. …?"

"Campbell. Why don't they like you, darling?"

He shrugged. "Because I'm different, I guess."

"Different?" Now it was Charles' turn to ask. "What do you mean by 'different'?"

"Simply… Different. I don't know how to explain."

"Mr. and Mrs. Campbell?" the couple turned around to see Mrs. Cole walking towards them. "Would you like to have something to drink?"

"Oh, yes, please," Ellen answered and then looked at the boy once again. "We'll be back soon to talk to you again, darling." She smiled at him before going to the matron.

"So, what do you think about the children?" Mrs. Cole asked, handing a glass of water to each of them.

"They are all lovely, Mrs. Cole," said Ellen, taking a sip of water from her glass. "All of them are so sweet…"

"Except that boy over there," Charles smiled and looked at the boy to whom they were talking a few minutes ago. "He seems to be a little lonely."

"Oh, yes," the matron smiled sadly. "He has always been like that… Quiet; always on his own."

"Always?"

"Yes. You see, Mrs. Campbell, he was born here. His mother stumbled into here on New Year's Eve several years ago, in labor," the old lady explained. "She was a really young and weak girl. The poor thing died right after the birth… She only had time to name her son… Oh, and I remember she said something like 'I hope he looks like his papa.'"

"Poor girl," Ellen sighed and looked at the boy.

"It's funny, you know?" Charles said. "He reminds me of a friend we have. I mean, his eyes and hair are the same color…"

A cheerful laugh was heard from Mrs. Cole, who shook her head as a gentle smile spread over her lips.

"It would such a coincidence, Mr. Campbell, if this friend of yours happened to be the father of our little Tom."

"Excuse me, what did you say?" the younger woman asked as she and her husband looked at the matron with confused expressions on their faces.

"Tom, that's his name. His mother asked us to name him Tom, after his father," Mrs. Cole explained, "Tom Marvolo Riddle, that's the name of that boy you just talked with."

A/N: I shouldn't be posting new fanfiction while I don't finish another D: I really shouldn't (but I always do that. When I started to write LFLS in portuguese, I had to finish RR... and now the same thing is happening with the translations D:). This fic, just like my other one, Riddle's Riddles, is a translation of a story that was originally written by me in portuguese...And now, as I'm a weird person who likes to translate stuff, I started to translate it (: ahm... LFLS is already finished (finished it a few weeks ago), I'm just translating it now (:

I don't have much to say about this prologue, only that this plot came up to me one year ago while I was at the beach with my family '-'

A cover/banner a did for it: http : / i661 . photobucket . com / albums / uu339 / aribh1306 / LFLS1 . jpg

Beta read by Shadow6116.

I hope you like it, say what you think about it, don't be afraid to leave a review (:

Ari.