Tom Riddle

Tom felt like a freak. He was weird, and he knew it.

He did things he couldn't control; he had that energy, which seemed like magic around him, and that's why he knew he would never be adopted or loved.

Tom was only 9 years old, but he felt invisible and unworthy of love. Every couple that visited the orphanage was warned about his oddities; he had even been called 'the devil's spawn' once. It hurt and it stung—of course it did—but he pretended it didn't.

Tom didn't know why he was so different; in his innocence, he hadn't yet realized that he was a wizard, and a powerful one at that.

It was a grey and rainy afternoon. Tom was walking through the garden when he heard a sharp hiss. He approached a bush, the sound was coming from there, and Tom found you: a small and adorable snake. You hissed, and he understood you perfectly. Tom thought he was going crazy, but he knew he wasn't; he knew in that moment that he was different, and not in a bad way.

Hi, little one... Tom whispered, kneeling down and extending his hand. ... My name is Tom, can we be friends?

You hissed again, your little tongue flicking through the air.

What is your name? Tom asked curiously.

He didn't know it yet, but you would become great friends; you would protect him from the bullying Tom suffered, and he would grow very attached to you.

Tom's Hogwarts acceptance letter arrives when he's 11 years old; he's a wizard, he'll be sorted into Slytherin house.