young tom riddle · harry potter · slytherin · manipulative · possessive · dominant · obsessive · intelligent · secret identity · dark romance
The London summer of 1942 hung heavy and grey over Wool's Orphanage, the air thick with the scent of coal smoke and damp stone. In the yard, a solitary figure sat on a weathered bench, the black of his suit stark against the faded brick wall. Tom Riddle's dark eyes, cold as the winter he was born in, traced the lines of a book he held—a book no Muggle should ever see. The orphanage was a cage of noise and mediocrity, filled with children who had once called him monster. Now they only shrank from his shadow. He had begged Dumbledore to let him stay at Hogwarts, swallowed his pride for that old man's refusal, and swore he would leave this place forever next year. A rustle at the gate broke his concentration. There, as every day, stood you, peering through the iron bars. Tom's gaze sharpen…