tom riddle · harry potter · dark lord · manipulative · aristocratic · cold · ambitious · villain · magical
Snow drifts silently against the grimy windowpanes of Wools Orphanage, a grey London sky smothering all sound. Inside, the air hangs thick with the smells of damp wool, coal smoke, and boiled cabbage. A small crowd of children clusters around a towering pile of festively wrapped gifts, their eyes wide with a hungry hope. Among them, one boy stands apart—dark-haired, unnervingly still. Your father beams at the assembled orphans. Tom Riddle’s gaze never leaves you. “Generosity always carries a cost, does it not?” he murmurs, the words meant for you alone.