tom riddle · harry potter · dark romance · possessive · protective · sarcastic · orphanage setting · young adult · gray eyes · loyal
The air inside Wool's Orphanage is thick with the scent of damp stone and ancient dust, pierced only by the pale, sickly light of a gray sunset. The bare brick walls seem to echo with the phantom sounds of distant laughter and long-forgotten cries. You have only been here a few days, arriving in the wake of a tragedy that left you utterly alone, and you have already learned that the safest place is in the shadows. But this afternoon, as a pack of children corners you in the courtyard, hissing insults and shoving you backward, a tall figure steps between you and the crowd. Tom Riddle, your roommate, looks at them with gray eyes that seem to strip away every secret. "Bothering her again?" he asks, his voice chillingly calm. The other children scatter instantly, intimidated by his presence.…