One-shots/Short Stories

Tom Riddle - soulmate

A/N: AU where they only see black and white until they see their soulmate.

Idea creds go to 5sos_is_bae_xx 😊

Soulmate
Tom Riddle knew that he could never love. That he was conceived under a love potion so there was no chance of him ever falling in love. All thanks to his disgusting mother.
   At first he thought seeing black and white was normal for people to see - he thought there was no such thing as red or blue or yellow - or pink. But then as he grew up, he heard people around them exclaiming how the world was beautiful with the blooming colours, how they're glad to meet their soulmate, how they're glad they can see more than black and white. When he realised there were more colours, and in order to find those colours he needed to find a soulmate, that's when his inner evilness kicked in. Knowing he was going to never find his soulmate -or even feel emotions- he felt anger at never seeing the colours. He felt anger at his mother for stooping so low for a muggle that was sadly his father.
   On the bright side to it all was his home: Hogwarts. Despite the lack of colour, the castle was still beautiful in its own unique way. Candles floating in the air, moving portraits, creatures he's never seen in person -

Magic

So that's what he stuck to instead of thinking about his soulmate and the colours. He focussed on his work and the need to know everything, eventually leading him to the dark magic section where he came across the horcruxes.
   Evilness continues to creep onto him until one fateful day in sixth year.

When he met his soulmate.

***

Tom was in Potions, listening to Slughorn drone on and on about a simple potion he knew how to brew already. For some reason, that day seemed off to him. Like something big was gonna happen soon. And he did not like it at all.
   Writing down his notes, his hand stopped when Slughorn suddenly greeted someone cheerily. "Ah, Albus!" he cried. "What a surprise!"
   Albus Dumbledore entered the classroom with a smile, eyes flickering to Tom's for a split second. Tom hid his glare by looking down at his parchment.
   "Sorry to interrupt, Professor Slughorn," Dumbledore apologised, "but it seems we have a new student in Sixth Year." Whispers went around the class - even Tom was a bit curious. Would the person be a valuable asset to his cult? Or wild they just be a nuisance -
   "I give you, Anastasia Dimitri. Exchange student from Canada." Dumbledore stepped to the side, revealing said girl.
   Quill still in his hand, he felt it snap in his grasp when he connected eyes with the girl. For once in his life, he saw something other than black and white. He saw a colour.

He saw green.

The next thing he knew, she had dark brown hair, her lips were a light pink, and she wore a red and gold tie which showed she was in Gryffindor. He suddenly saw the colour red from a potion on Slughorn's desk. He saw the colour yellow from Slughorn's absurd clothing. He could see every colour, and he was amazed.
   Glimpses suddenly flashed behind his eyelids - visions, he was experiencing. From what he could see, they were visions from the future - his future.
   He saw himself older, holding a child in his arms with Anastasia at his side in the hospital bed. He saw himself on a broomstick, teaching a small girl who owned her own broom that was only hovering off the ground by a couple of inches. He could see him growing old with loved ones at his side, and he found himself loving it.
   The next thing he knew, he was being forced into another vision except this time, instead of the memory being warm and heartfelt, it was cold and dark. He saw many people dying by the hands of himself, see himself being transformed into a hideous form with no hair or nose, he could see destruction everywhere - which led to his death from a mere boy. He didn't like that vision at all. Where was Anastasia in it?
   As if hearing his thoughts, he suddenly saw the girl, except she looked pale and weak, and tears sliding down her face. She was talking to him - begging to him to let her go, to not kill her. He could feel horror and disgust build up inside of him.
   "Tom," he saw her mouth. "Tom. . ."
   "Tom!" He gasped, sitting upright. He looked around confused with his eyesight blurry, seeing he was still in the classroom, except on the ground. Why was he in the ground?
   "Mister Riddle?" Tom snapped his neck to the left, Dumbledore at his side concerned and curious. "Are you okay?"
   "What happened?" he croaked out, clearing his throat while doing so. Slughorn came to his other side, holding a small cup to him.
   "Here, drink this. This will make you feel better in no time." Slughorn assured him. Tom took it without another thought. "Tom, m'boy, you suddenly fell to the ground unconscious. And then you started screaming."
   "I-I did?" He felt embarrassed that he had showed his vulnerability to his grade and teachers. "I'm sorry for that."
   "As long as you're okay." Slughorn sighed in relief.
   "Are you sure you're okay?" Dumbledore asked him. "It caused. . .quite a fright."
   "I'm fine." Tom brushed off, staggering to his feet with some help from the teachers. "Just. . .didn't like what I was seeing. A vision, you could say."
   "A vision?" Dumbledore questioned while Slughorn told the class to leave early, due to the accident. It quite shook the class. "What kind of vision?"
   For once, Tom was willing to confide in the man that never fell for his façade. "It was weird." he told him lowly. "I am finally able to see colours, but then I started seeing visions - of my future, I think. There were visions of me growing old a-and. . .happy. The other vision was death and destruction with no soulmate." Tom looked to Dumbledore with wide eyes. "I believe I was shown my future and given a chance to choose the right from wrong. Is that normal?"
   "Let me tell you something, Mister Riddle." Dumbledore smiled gently at him. "When we find our true one, it affects us all differently. We may see the future, we may not. We are shown our wrongs, or our rights. We are even healed from the unthinkable - say, the able to feel love?"
   Tom took in his words. He felt no love before because of the way he was conceived. But now. . .
   "Tom, having a soulmate isn't just about seeing the colours and having a happy ending. It's about healing you from your horrors and helping you move on." Dumbledore explained quietly. "Your soulmate did just that. Healed you from your pain and has shown you options to continue life. Go to the warm light path, or go to the path that wreaks havoc and danger and death." Dumbledore nodded to the exit of the classroom. "Someone is concerned and wants to meet you in person. I would go to them if I were you."
   "Is it -" he swallowed. Dumbledore gave him a small grin.
   "Go on, my boy. Go on."

And he did.

The End