From Tom Marvolo Riddle to Voldemort

Chapter 1: Life before Hogwarts

Tom Riddle hasn't had the easiest life, but that is all going to change now. Everybody at the orphanage has always treated him like he was different. Tom used to hate it and wished he could fit in, but now he knows why he's so strange; how he could make unexplainable things happen. Tom is a wizard. A wizard! And he just got his letter inviting him to Hogwarts. Everything is going to change there, he will have friends, be normal, and maybe it won't even matter that he is an orphan. The adults at the orphanage almost didn't let him go...

"Hogwarts... Hogwarts? What is this? And wizards, there is no such thing. This is pure rubbish Tom you can't go. It's probably just some scam to con little kids into wasting their money. You are not allowed to go." Tom Riddle's caretaker looked at him sternly trying to end the conversation, but Tom was a very determined boy, especially for an eleven-year-old.

"But Madam, with all do respect, my mother left me money before she died. I don't need your help to pay for this. It is my money I can spend it on what I want." Tom tried to sound confident, but in reality he was terrified. What if they wouldn't let him? Would he be stuck in this orphanage until he was an adult?

"Tom Riddle, don't you have any respect for your elders? It is a scam. There is no such thing as witches and wizards. You're too old to believe in such lies for goodness sakes. Now I can't force you not to go so-"

"-I'm going."

"Tom Marvolo Riddle don't you interrupt me like that. Believe in this rubbish if you will, but I won't tolerate your insolence. Go to bed now and you won't get dinner. Oh wait, before you go to sleep scrub the floor. I'll inspect the floor later to make sure you did a satisfactory job." the Caretaker said harshly and pointed to his bed. God I hate that woman more than anything else, no I hate that name more. How pathetic of a name is Tom Marvolo Riddle? Named after people who abandoned me. If there is one thing I do in my life I'm changing my name. Tom entered the bedroom. It was a stark bare room with twenty sets of bunk beds all with the same ragged sheets. This place is so bloody boring. Tom grabbed a bucket and a sponge and started cleaning. He wanted to be done before the other boys got back. They would make his job impossible and no doubt they would tease him about his mysterious and weird letter. Tom started scrubbing the filthy floor as he tried to ignore his rumbling stomach.

It was a couple of hours later when the other orphans came back from dinner. And Tom was almost done cleaning the floor.

"Mmmmm... that was one of the best meals I've had in a long time. Too bad you had to miss it" Travis sneered at Tom and his cronies laughed dumbly. Yeah right all the food here sucks. Matt, Travis's best friend, kicked over the bucket of soapy water Tom was using and laughed,

"Oh I'm so sorry didn't see that there. I hope that's not too much extra work to clean up, Tommy Freak."

"You do really deserve this after all. I bet this punishment has something to do with that freaky letter you got and with the owl. You were weird before this, always a little off, doing strange things, getting in trouble, and without a single friend, poor friendless Tommy." Travis taunted him and the rest of the orphans laughed. It was common knowledge that Tom hadn't ever had a friend. Tom knew better than to answer them; it would only increase the teasing or worse, it would get him beat up.

"Cat got your tongue?" Travis smirked. Just ignore them. After awhile the other boys realized that Tom wasn't going to lose his temper and gave up the game. The boys slowly made there way to bed, trampling all around the room and getting dirt and mud everywhere. Tom hated them. Why did they torture him so much? It was because he was weaker than they were. Tom was still little and scrawny, while they were older and could easily win in a fight. And they did win in fights with him all the time, if you call getting pummeled into the ground by three or four guys a fight and not a slaughter. Tom couldn't even remember a week going by without getting beaten into a pulp.

Tom surveyed the room looking at the damage. It was covered in mud the others had tracked in. He groaned inwardly as he realized he would be up half the night cleaning it. His stomach ached with hunger and he was already tired, but he didn't think of not finishing for a second. He wouldn't receive breakfast and he was already starving, but he would receive a walloping from his caregiver that he wouldn't soon forget. Tom finished cleaning the room around 1:00 AM and walked stiffly over to his bed. It was in the corner and right next to the window, which let in a cold draft. Luckily it was summer time because in the winter this area of the room was freezing.

The rest of Tom's summer went from bad to worse. The caretaker didn't check the floor until after all the other boys had left for breakfast and gotten it filthy again. The Caretaker was furious. ("What will we do with you.") So Tom, already starving, got to miss breakfast and clean the floor a third time.

The Caretaker was so mad at him for wanting to go to Hogwarts she punished him for the smallest offenses, ("Now really it's not polite to breathe so loudly.") And worst of all Travis realized how mad the Caretaker was at Tom and decided to take full advantage of it. Travis and Matt decided to beat up Tom at every possible occasion. The "fights" got so bad by the end of August Tom had a broken nose. As a makeshift cure the Caretaker roughly slapped a bright pink bandage over his nose, which he was teased for endlessly. By this time Tom was completely miserable and the only thing keeping him going was the thought of Hogwarts. Maybe somebody there will like me.

On August 31^st a man named Professor Nerworth was supposed to pick Tom up along with several muggle-born children who didn't know how to get to Diagon Alley or onto platform 9 ¾. Professor Nerworth was late much to the satisfaction of the Caretaker as she muttered under her breath,

"Scam, scam, scam." Tom really started to worry about a quarter after twelve. (Nerworth was supposed to be there at 12:00.) Finally at 12:30 he arrived, much to the Caretakers disappointment. Nerworth curtly greeted Tom and the Caretaker and they were off.

Nerworth took Tom and five muggle-born children to Diagon Alley and helped the six children find all of their supplies. Tom was absolutely delighted. There was fascinating stuff all throughout Diagon Alley, but that wasn't what he was really excited about. For the first time in Tom's life other kids seemed to like him. Brittany Burkes, a chatty girl, seemed to like him right away. Well, after he explained why he had a pink cloth strip across his nose. At hearing this Nerworh said he could fix his nose and instantly mended the bone with his wand. Tom was able to get rid of the pink cloth across his nose to his great relief. He had been worried about how the other kids would tease him about that. Since all the other kids were muggle-born too they had a lot in common. (A/N He doesn't know his mom was a witch yet and assumes he is muggle-born.) For most of the afternoon they exchanged stories of weird things they had done and became quick friends.

The group of six spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron. Tom lay there on his nice warm bed awake far longer than any of the other kids. For the first time in Tom's life he was happy. He was on his way to wizard school and actually had friends; right now he couldn't believe how lucky he was. Try as he might he was too excited to go to sleep. He had already looked over his books, as much as he could in an afternoon. Tom decided to read them as fast as possible. He wanted to be the best wizard ever. With thoughts of wands, charms, and magic in his head he finally fell asleep.

Professor Nerworth, the Herbology teacher, picked them at six and drove them to the Hogwarts express. He helped them through platform 9 ¾ much to the reluctance of the kids. All the children thought he was mad when he told them to run straight into a brick wall, but Tom thinking of the orphanage was willing to do anything and charged straight into the wall. The other children followed more timidly. The six got on the Hogwarts Express and found a compartment to themselves.

Tom Riddle smiled and said, "This is going to be the best year ever."