What if... [Tom Riddle]

Come to me

Before he opened the door, Harry looked around again.
There was nobody in the corridros.
Okay, so no one would expect him to come out again.

As the familiar soft fabric finally slid over his body once more, Harry couldn't avoid the trace of melancholy that it made him feel.
Hogwarts...the many times he had crept with Hermione and Ron under the cloak through the corridors...always on the lookout...

He looked from left to right, unsure of where to go next.
To the classroom?
And see where to go from there?
The Playground?
The Basement?

Yes...the basement.

Harry had no idea why, but at the thought he was restless.

Determined, he went to the stairs and then down.
As expected, a large basement extended itself under the ground floor.

He knew that there was a connecting door to the basement of the next house on the other end of the room.
Yet he didn't see it.

Harry saw boxes and equipment, various storage places in which things were kept.

And then he heard voices.

The room was dimly lit; the light source seemed to be a lamp in the rear part of the basement.

Harry tried to move as quietly as possible and followed the voices to their origin.

Harry could make out different sets of voices and as he noticed, that one of them was his protege, he went faster.

As Harry finally arrived at the source, he froze for a moment at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

A group of children and tenagers stood in a circle.
They were seven, aged from six to fifteen, their clothes were as different as their age some in good and some in bad condition.

Tom stood in the middle of the circle, shoulders hunched, head bowed and hands clenched into fists at his sides.

He was naked.

There were bruises on his knees, hands and elbows.
It was clear where they came from, as a 12 year old pulled Tom by a rope and he once again fell on the hard concrete floor.

The others laughed.

The apparently oldest of the boys raised a hand, whereupon they fell silent and looked at their leader expectantly.

"So what's it like Riddle? Say something, sweetie? So quiet today, huh? We'lk have to change that. Come on, you know how it works by now: a small favour...for each of us personally handed over at our feet, and you may go... Stand up!"

Tom, who was crying quietly to himself tried to get up, trembling, but didn't say a word.

Harry had seen enough.
He threw the cloak from him, took a big step towards the leader of the group and grabbed him by the neck.

The other six retreated took a couple of steeps back, with eyes wide open in surprise.
"Wha-?"

Harry ignored, as the boy he choked tried to pry his hand away and looked at the gathering.
His eyes spoke volumes in part, giving emphasis to his. next words, the boys had no doubt that he meant it.

"No one... and I mean no one ... lays hands on my family without paying for it. You have made the unfortunate choice of harassing Tom and now you have to deal with me. How does it feel not being the strongest? If you don't have a choice and are helpless? Oh I know most of you are probably dressed like this because you're street children from the orphanage. Well, let me tell you one thing, simply because you had bad luck in the past, because perhaps your past has messed you up, doesn't give you the right to torture people, whether it's Tom or anyone else. Do you see what I'm doing with your friend? What would prevent me from simply squeezing his neck for so long until he's dead? Do you see how nervous this idea makes him? Or could his wild struggle also be a sign that it's over soon? Well, what do you think? Should I let him go?"