Cold as Snow (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

A New Home

When they reached the bottom floor Tom carefully glanced around the room, the children were lined up in orderly disarray, excited babbling falling from their mouths as they shared in the excitement of potentially finding a home. Miss Cole graced one last sour look at the evil boy by her side, then strode into her office where the gentlemen was waiting. Why on earth did she bring Tom down in the first place?

Left abandoned, Tom attempted to blend into the faded wooden walls near the stairs rather than join the other children. He didn’t want any altercations that could ruin his potential adoption. So, for once, Tom stayed silent with his head down. Usually he’d be the last person to avert his eyes from those he saw as beneath him but he had a heavy feeling that this would be his last opportunity to be taken to a home.

Alas, the one time he kept to himself, trouble seemed to find him. Tom exhaled in irritation as he caught sight of those who enjoyed to torment him make their way over. The older children never learned, he stole from them all the time in an attempt to deter them yet it just seemed to incense them more. He never acted first, everything he did or took was out of simple retaliation. He couldn’t do much considering he was weaker, being half the age as the just turned teenagers, so he had to keep it long distance. So for that reason they were often in trouble, courtesy of Tom, and they still found time to push him around. 

“Hey Tommy, what are doing down here, adoption is for normal children." Donald sneered as he crowded Tom against the wall. Tom simply stared back with a bored expression, used to the taunting. He was the only one that he bothered to learn the name of, considering he was the worst of the group of bullies.

"Hey freak aren't you going to say something!" Spat another, the one with the large front teeth, Tom recognised dully. He kind of zoned out as they got more rowdy with his continued silence, his mind wandered to the strange man. That is until he was grabbed roughly by the elbow, white hot pain shot up his arm and he couldn’t hold in the yelp. The bullies grinned wickedly in unison.

“Oh? What’s wrong Tommy? Did I hurt you?” Donald asked sweetly as he squeezed the bruised flesh mercilessly. Tom felt winded from the pain, his composure cracked and his eyes betrayed his fear. All he wanted was to get away. The air between the pair suddenly dropped and Donalds fingers began to turn blue. Shocked by the cold he tried to pull away, bringing Tom more affliction, but his hand had frozen to the flesh he was clutching. Tom was breathing quickly, his mind was fuzzy from the pain and he was panicking, he didn’t want to be touched, he didn’t want-

A weight fell onto his shoulder as he heard a male voice near his ear.

“Hey, calm down, it’s okay, it’s alright, you’re safe, just breath.” The words were a long and steady murmur bringing with them a sense of calm, his primal panic began to fade with every reassurance. His vision was was no longer unfocused but all he could make out was darkness, he then realised he was face to face with a cloak. Looking upwards he saw eyes as green as the grassy meadows in summertime which he recognised from his brief glimpse from the window, the colour was muted however by obnoxious round glasses. Adorning his features was a weary but gentle smile which Tom didn’t know how to process. He simply stared, transfixed.

“What’s going on here!” Miss Cole bellowed across the room, stomping after the gentleman who had dashed from her office with little warning. The children froze their noisy antics, only just noticing the cloaked male among them. Seeing the man crouched down next to the little devil, she thought she’d do a service of giving him a warning. Before she could utter a word however, Donald burst into tears, as did the other boys, running to hide behind the sour woman.

Tom broke eye contact with the man, who was still hovering close by, once the wailing began. Tom couldn’t stop the rolling of his eyes at their fake tears and poor attempt at manipulating the matron. Lucky for them Miss Cole always blamed him, because their attempts would have been useless considering a potato had more maternal instinct than her. Glancing back at the mysterious male, he realised from the furrowed brows that the same couldn’t be said for the man in front of him.

“They’re faking you know.” He muttered, wanting the man to know he wasn’t some mean bully, he wasn’t like them. Even if he had somehow hurt them this time, it was their own fault. Understanding flashed across his face, and a small smile was sent his way. Relieved, he knew, for the sake of the other kids but Tom still struggled to comprehend such a gentle expression being aimed his way, no one had really looked at him like that before. Strangers perhaps, but the children didn’t bother with the freak and neither did the adults. They were too distant to care, yet he was not. He was a strange man, but not in a bad way. Tom hesitantly lifted his lips to smile back.

“Stay away from that one Sir, there are other children much more deserving of a good home. That one has bad blood.” Miss Cole spat with contempt as the pre teens laughed silently behind her. Said child shrunk under her glare, he felt so unfairly belittled. His deep-seated hate for the horrid matron made itself known through gritted teeth and a dark stare unsettling to see on a child. The man wouldn’t consider him now, he’d be just like all the other parents, believing an adult over a child. 
Taking in the dark haired child’s tense shoulders and how truly wrong the situation was, righteous anger once again tickled through the cloaked man’s blood, reminiscent of how he ended up in the orphanage, which he was never supposed to enter, in the first place. He stood up with an indistinct agility, his messy black hair subtly bouncing in his journey, and turned stiffly towards the hefty woman and the grinning teens.

“Be that as it may, I think I’ll be adopting this young man please mam.” He said with a charming smile that was a little too sharp. The bully’s mouths dropped as did Tom’s. Not one to be intimidated Miss Cole went to give him a piece of her mind but the glint in his eyes hardened. Uncertain how to respond to the mildly threatening look, Miss Cole gave into his wishes, at least she wouldn’t have to deal with the hellspawn now. Sniffing scornfully, she turned and strode with fake confidence towards her office.

“Go pack your things and wait for me near the door, okay?” He spoke quietly. Tom grabbed him by the sleeve before he could turn away, trying to get his words together when he was reeling from what was currently happening and trying not to get swept away with it out of the fear of being disappointed.

“But, but it can take up to weeks for things to be-” The man just smiled that gentle smile and lightly patted his shoulder, subsequently aborting the rest of his sentence due to his surprise at the physical contact, before following the matron into the office to work his magic.

Tom was left momentarily speechless. The soft click of the office door caused a bewildered smile to light up is childish face. He proceeded to rush up the stairs to do as told, ignoring the other upset and angry children. As if he cared, he was elated. Throwing open the door to his lifelong prison, he shoved his many stolen possessions, having barely anything that was actually his, onto his bed and wrapped the bedsheet around them. Done in minutes, Tom didn’t even pause to throw on a warmer layer of clothing or bid goodbye to the room he’d spent his miserable childhood in and bounded down the stairs, his bundle of things thumping in a syncopated rhythm with his footsteps. 

Hitting the bottom step, Tom saw the man waiting for him against the main entrance. Not giving a second thought as to how the man was done so quickly, he attempted to stifle his eagerness as he walked quickly to stand beside him. When green eyes met his, he smiled shyly, it was bright enough that the male’s eyes widened minutely in surprise. This child looked completely different from the one sullen and bitter he’d come to know through memories. He couldn’t help but return his smile, his heart warmed with a hope for the future and for Tom Riddle.

“Ready to go to your new home?” He asked indulgently as he picked up Tom’s things. He nodded enthusiastically in response but was suddenly struck with a thought that left him uncertain to what their dynamic would be.

“Mister, what should I call you?” The question was asked tentatively and the utterance made the man pause.

“How about just Harry for now.” Harry smiled tightly down at the boy who was gazing pensively at the door frame. His heart felt heavy because he knew that Tom would no doubt begin to consider him as a potential paternal figure but he wasn't ready for that, If he ever would be. Still, Harry would try. He'd give him the childhood that neither of them had.

“Come on Tom.” Harry urged, and they both stepped passed the threshold into what Harry hoped would be a future brighter than their dark pasts.