An Unlikely Friendship

1- Second chance

The dark lord felt the darkness closing in on him, ironically, and he realized it was making a suffocating straw. He pushed through with his remaining strength, trying hard to pass the feeling of extended apparition, and as he was losing his last breath he got pushed through the pipe, and into a building that he had never seen. Grateful he had another chance at life, he looked around, and found himself in an orphanage. Memories of his childhood were brought back, and he did not enjoy them: being a child meant being weak, and Lord Voldemort was not weak.

Looking at his hands, he was surprised- his hands were small, tender, and not like the gnarled claws he had after the resurrection. He was back to being a child. Did that mean he had his nose back?
He had a newer face, one that reminded him of his old self, but with paler skin, a lighter shade of hair, and instead of the blue Eyes he once had were ones that looked caramel brown..  His eyes had a tiny red tint to them, and he smiled in triumph- no one would recognize him.

He then decided to investigate his situation- his name, age, and location were his main concern. He soon found a matron in the corridor, and tried to extract the information. His name seemed to be Esther, a 10 year old, in an orphanage near Watford.

He was already forming a plan to return to Hogwarts, he would have to get Harry potter's forgiveness for his own good. Just then, he saw a calendar. The date was set to be 1990, a year before Potter was in Hogwarts.. He was in the past? Well that set him back by a bit, of course, but if he could befriend the boy and convince him not to be Dumbledore's plaything...

Tom, now Esther, decided he would decide later, and ventured downstairs to the main hall. He saw a group of children, clustered around a few tables, plates full of soggy, flavorless noodles. He felt his appetite die; how did he ever survive on that? He sincerely hoped his Hogwarts letter would come soon. He searched for a table, preferably alone, he was not one for crowds.

There was a table with a single boy, and Voldemort sat down opposite to him. The boy seemed to be new, and his body language showed he was. The companion was first to speak.

"Hey.. what's your name?"

'Esther' thought for a while. Did he want to make an accomplice yet?

"Esther. Yours?"

"Harry, Harry potter."

The dark lord stilled. What was the kid doing in an orphanage? Didn't Dumbledore send him to his relatives?

"Esther?" Harry asked, concerned. Esther wasn't talking. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No- just.. thinking." 

"About what?"

"A few people named 'Potter' died mysteriously on Halloween a few years ago.. they had a son named Harry too. Were they your parents?" 'Esther' didn't mention he was the one who killed them.

"Lily Potter and James Potter?" Harry asked. "I think they died in a car crash, my aunt told me that's how i got this scar." He lifted his hair up to show the famous lightning bolt.

"Car crash?" Wow, the muggles really didn't tell him anything.. But Esther would. "Weren't they in Godric's hollow? I think they were murdered, they just disappeared, like magic."

The two boys bonded, They learned a lot about each other, and Voldemort realized how many similarities they shared. Orphans, raised by muggles, new to the Wizarding world, heck, they even looked similar. And yet, how different they turned out... Voldemort made his decision. He'd become close to Harry, make him a smaller version of Tom Marvolo Riddle, and there was no way he'd let Harry become Dumbledore's plaything. But firstly, he would have to be the one to teach Harry of the wizarding world.