Tom The Great
You know how embarrassing it is to have someone else bathe you and wipe your arse?
No I don't think many if anyone not in the same circumstance outside of those who later in life need help would understand
Hello my name is Tom Marvolo Riddle yes that one the one that is the most powerful dark lord to ever walk the earth, the guy who is described as the most dangerous dark lord of all time and perhaps the most intelligent and talented student to ever walk the hallowed halls of Hogwarts's.
Honestly I have no idea how I'm here one moment I'm going to sleep the next I'm being woken up by a bright light and a slap on my bum I shouldn't of been aware as I was considering at the time I was a new born but I have shucked that up to the magic that inhabits this world letting me a baby be as aware as 17 year old
Before all this my name was Derek Haleln pronounce 'Hale - ln' orphan 17 year old above average intellect geek with two close friends and a few acquaintances and a love of fiction
'Ah finally' he thought as the woman who had been cleaning him up finally placed him back into his crib a grimace came upon his face however when she pinched his cheek lightly he was after all 7 months old
anyways back to his monologuing he had been living a normal life doing alright at school had a few friends gone to sleep only to become the villain of one of the most popular book series of all time
He didn't care how he got here or why but one thing was for certain, he knew the world, he knew the people and he certainly wasn't going to let himself be killed by some kid who half-assed his schooling
He may not have the desire to become a Dark Lord but he did certainly have the desire to be the strongest if only to keep himself and whoever he ends up with safe, He had no interest in being controlled by someone else and if he had even half the talent of the original Tom Riddle than he was already a cut above the rest
He would not allow anyone to control his destiny
It may of been his imagination but as he finished that thought he felt something sort of fizzle? no heat up? no that's not quite right either it was indescribable and beyond anything he had ever felt before underneath his skin, It didn't seem to originate from anywhere specifically but rather seemed to just be infused throughout his entire body
before he could get a grasp on it however it vanished leaving no trace of anything at all
He had got used to the name and had discovered a few things in the past few years, one his physical body was better than his previous he was definitely more handsome he healed slightly faster and he had yet to come down with any illness, the second was his mind was better, he didn't know if it was just being a child and being able to pick things up as fast as children did but he was certainly learning things faster than he ever had in his last life and was definitely thinking faster, clearer and had a greater control over his emotions, this had made him conclude that yes he had one of the things that let Tom Riddle become great his intelligence and he had already discovered the other thing that separated others from Tom Riddle
Magic
by god, it was amazing he had eventually through controlling his emotions and willing his magic that he knew he had to do something, do anything.
It was intoxicating he had the power to shift reality to his whim, to change the very world around him according to his will, he had no idea if he was doing it right but when he cleared and focused his mind he could get a sense of his magic it was the indescribable sensation that radiated from every part of his body as if he was the sun, When his mind was cleared and focused he could feel it but not get it do anything it was only when in a bout of frustration that a sliver of anger slipped out of his grasp that his magic acted violently tearing his old bedsheet apart
It had taken a few month's to learn to keep his mind clear, focused and yet allow his emotions to connect to his magic if he didn't keep his mind clear and focused while allowing his emotions to connect then he lost all control or feeling of his magic and the accidental magic of canon happened
it had further taken him around half a year to get the abilities that Tom Riddle in canon had mention to Dumbledore down, 'I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to.'
He thought to himself though that last one he hasn't actually test on people only on animals though he doesn't think that matters all that much, unlike the canon Tom who had cultivated the image of a strange and dangerous boy I had cultivated the image of a strange, smart, talented and kind boy who prefers to be alone
he was 8 years old and had until he was 11 in 1939 before he ever entered the wizarding world, he had a few scant plans and ideas on how he would act but the most important one was how much like the canon Tom he loved magic
Canon Tom or C-Tom wasn't wrong when it came to how magicals were superior than muggles it was after all magic the ability for one to impose their will on reality and have it bend to their whims
He wanted to be the strongest, the best and he would stand for nothing less and anything that got in his way, well he would have to remove them
The time has come and gone, over the last 3 years not only had he solidified his image but he had also managed to test into higher level education despite being eleven he was in year 13 a year group not one but a whole 7 years above his age of 11
He could of gone further but it wasn't needed he had already been allowed to get his GCSE or General Certificate of Secondary Education and was had just finished his A levels in English literature
History, Modern languages, Classical languages, Maths and further maths, Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Geography sure he could of taken all 40+ but he honestly didn't need to most students only take 3 with ambitious students taking 5 but 3 alone was enough to secure a spot in most collages and universities outside of the top ones he had done 8 or 9 if you count further maths as something separate however he still had high school level knowledge on all other subjects
sadly computers were incredibly unrefined which makes sense from what he remembers from his past life the first digital computer would not be made until WW2 which won't begin until a year from now, doing all of this had made of course drawn some attention, nation wide he had even been met by Neville Chamberlain the current prime minister which was clearly a propaganda and political move but the point remained he was a known name in certain circles as an up coming genius
at that moment his bedroom door opened and an a man who didn't look an age over 30 appeared however he knew this man was well into his 50s specifically 56, He had a well cropped beard and hair an auburn colour a grey suit and a dark blue jacket and hat, his eyes indeed did twinkle and were a baby blue as he noticed me he smiled pleasantly
looking at him you wouldn't think he was the currently the most powerful sorcerer on the planet but I could feel it the slumbering power residing within his body, it was strong much like his own but the major difference was unlike his which was wild almost like a vortex Dumbledore's was calm and still and yet he was under no illusion that the man could command his magic to become as chaotic as my own in an instant should he wish it
This was how a trained wizard with experience differed from a child even a child as great as himself, the man has spent decades on his magic and those who could sense such things could feel it
in his mind a single thought was present 'I want that.. No I will surpass that!'
"Ah, You must be young Tom correct?" his voice was strong not yet the old man from the HP movies with the constant need of water
I nodded a slight well practised smile coming to my face "Yes, I am. Who would you be?" My voice was also strong but sadly it was still the voice of boy and as such was high pitched
The next 15 minutes was a nice conversation in which Dumbledore slowly but carefully revealed that magic was something was real, he asked if anything ever strange or unexplainable had ever occurred to me, I revealed that yes, I could move things without touching them, make animals do things without training them and most importantly tell when people were lying
He still wanted the man to know I had a high potential though He had no doubt that if he could sense the man's magic so too could Dumbledore sense his own power
The next 3 hours was a steady introduction to the magical world as he was lead through Diagon Alley, granted a vault in Gringotts's that would be supplied by the Hogwarts's orphan fund and informed on all a muggle-born was to know when he got his wand Dumbledore had actually looked both surprised and pleased
It was only after Dumbledore had dropped him off that he asked
"Professor Dumbledore?" I spoke up getting the man's attention he turned from where he had been walking away a look of slight confusion but upon noticing my carefully crafted face of worry smiled reassuringly
"Yes Tom?" he said softly I turned my face away from him feigning slight fear
"I can speak to snakes, too. They find me... whisper things." I said softly and gravely as if revealing some universal secret, Dumbledore stops, looking surprised as he processed what I said I quickly continue on "Is that normal, for someone like me?"
His surprise doesn't last long however and with a calm smile places his hand on my shoulder
"What you have is a gift, one not very many have Tom whether it is normal or not doesn't matter it is what you do with it that does." once he was done he stood up and turned away but before he go too far he turned his head back towards me and with a quirk on his lips spoke
"However, many would see your gift as the mark of something bad so it would be best if you kept it to yourselves and only those you trust and hold dear." then with a soft pop he was gone, making his way inside the orphanage smiling and greeting everyone as a good child would he made his way back to his room telling them that the day had tired him out
I stood from his bed the meeting with Dumbledore had gone pretty well, the man instead of being suspicious of me had been slightly enamoured with how much everyone was kissing my ass and had even taken to reassuring me on my parseltongue
now one may wonder 'Tom why did you reveal your parseltongue?' and that is quite simple I want Dumbledore to believe me to be good and while I am not evil I am not above doing evil thing's if it were necessary but the point is
I want him to trust me, confiding in him about my parseltongue a power thought to be dark, which I have no way of knowing is from his point of view me a child confiding towards his future teacher
A bond of trust that I shall endeavour to manipulate to my own gain
After all
'Tom Riddle was the angel of Wool's Orphanage, can't you see how beautiful he is he wouldn't hurt a fly'
a chuckle escaped him as he reached into his trunk and pulled out his wand, Yew wood and Phoenix feather, the feeling he got when he held it within his hands was one he was expecting, when he had discovered how to use his magic he had some thoughts on how a wand would work and when he first held his he understood
with the wand in hand he didn't need to clear or focus his mind at all in order to feel his magic just holding it alone allowed for him to be able to feel his power and he suspected that as one used their wand they gradually learned to focus and clear their minds as they learned magic as higher level stuff would undoubtedly need higher levels of focus
he had done a few simple things like levitation with the wand without doing his usual thing and it still worked though it did feel odd to do magic without actually clearing and focusing his mind as he had learned to but he could only imagine what the person who invented the wand went through to actually get it to this level
He wondered if the method he used to control his magic was the one used before the invention of wand's cause with it just by using it over time you learned how to summon your magic and make it do what you want
doing the same thing but this time clearing and focusing his mind he felt the sensation he had come to associate with his magic increase sharply without the wand it was like a buzz in the back of his mind and running under his skin barely noticeable but with practice and experience easy to spot and with the wand but without him clearing and focusing it felt roughly the same
with them both together it was nearly impossible to not feel his magic awaiting his command the plant pot raised into the air without him even intending to he had just thought about it and it did, it clearly allowed for his magic to be better than if he only used one method however the fact he lacked enough control over it that his magic acted before he even decided to use it troubled him
It meant that he would have to work on his control, turn his oppressive vortex of magic into the calm ocean, similar to how Dumbledore's was he had no idea just how long that would take but he would get it done
Author Notes -
Again as is my standard process it is highly unlikely for me to ever update this story outside of the rare moment I get the motivation to do so, if anyone is inspired or likes the idea behind any of my works then feel free to take it and do your own version - X