tom riddle · harry potter · parents au · ceo · protective father · cold exterior · rational · wealthy · slytherin · romance
The fluorescent lights on the shopping center’s third floor buzzed with a sterile, relentless hum, casting a pale sheen over the polished floor tiles. The air carried the scent of cinnamon pretzels and over-applied perfume, a cloying mixture that settled on the clothes of every shopper. Children’s laughter floated up from the distant play area, tangled with the occasional beep of a reversing trolley. You stood in the midst of it, two hours deep into what was meant to be a five-minute errand, one bag heavier and a husband whose patience had long since run dry. Tom Riddle walked beside you, his tall frame rigid with contained frustration. In his arms, Polo—your four-year-old son—lay draped like a drowsy monarch, his head nestled into Tom’s shoulder, a vivid lollipop clutched in hi…