Love and Compassion

Harry took a deep breath, his hands shaking as he looked at the tall iron gates. 

Wools Orphanage.

This was the fourth time in the last ten days that Harry had stood outside the building, trying to gather the courage to go inside.

He had a plan, a plan he needed to stick too but it felt impossible to walk inside.

Impossible to adopt him. 

Harry was the Master of Death, he had won the war but it didn't feel like it.

So much people, good people had died, died because of Harry. 

Voldemort was gone but what was left in his wake wasn't a life. People, children, were traumatised and untrusting. Mothers, fathers and siblings dead. So much innocent kids left as orphans, so much people's lives forever changed. 

Everyone had a hard glint in their eye, there wasn't a soul who wasn't affected by the war, full of emotional or physical scars. 

People flinched at the slightest sudden noise, they were constantly on guard, defensive of what was to come but most of all there was a sadness. A deep seated genuine sadness that followed people.

Teddy was left orphaned, everytime Harry glanced at the boy he saw Remus and Nymphadora. It made his heart clench and his breath catch in his throat, guilt ate him up whenever Teddy asked about his parents. 

Harry was the reason they were dead.

Harry couldn't bare to be around George who looked like a genuine shadow of himself. Harry hasn't seen him smile once since Fred had died, his moods erratic and irritable, always defensive and angry. 

Molly barely left her house, if she wasn't fussing over George, she sat in her rocking chair, muttering to herself with tearful eyes.

Harry was so broken, so messed up that there was no way for him to have any form of a genuine healthy relationship with Ginny. She deserved better than him, so he let her go.

He was alone.

He still had Ron and Hermione, but they were starting their own life now, Hermione pregnant and working her way up the ministry as Ron went into Auror training. Harry couldn't bare to be around them so he stayed in Grimmauld Place, wallowing in self loathing and self pity until his friends would come over and drag him out. 

He felt like a nuisance, burdening them with his problems but how could he speak about what happened?

How could he tell them that he had actually died and that the coldness that came from death never seemed to leave him? How could he tell them that he was so angry at Dumbledore, he had raised him knowing that he was a horocrux and would have to die? Why hadn't he just told him the truth instead of ignoring him and leaving him in the dark, sending him on some wild goose chase?

It was too much to bare and Harry had to do something, something to help.

He spent around a year with Ron and Hermione, trying to figure out a plan when they landed on time travel. They weren't keen at the idea at first, Harry going back in time to raise Tom and stop the tragic fate that would arise in his steed but after a while they saw sense. It was the only way.

So Harry called Death and made a bargain with him.

That was almost eight months ago. 

Harry had bought an eye popping amount of money with him from his vaults, enough to last him a lifetime and had bought a nice house. It was four bedrooms, five bathrooms , with a massive garden, library and brewing room. It was no Malfoy mansion but it was certainly nothing to look down and sneer at. 

Harry introduced himself to the Potters, claiming to be some long lost relative, unsure who his father was and insisting he had been bought up by his muggle mother. He had faked some papers and had said he went to school in America and now he had come back to England.

The Potters were skeptical at first but he had taken a blood test and of course it had confirmed that Harry was indeed a Potter. They assumed his father had been one of their cousins who had passed away a few years ago but was known to be a ladies man and Harry had went along with it. Once he made it clear he wasn't after their fortune, they seemed to somewhat warm up to him. 

They introduced him to society and they would occasionally invite him to balls and dinners. It was ... nice. Nice to have a real family for the first time, be with blood relatives that didn't despise his existence even if they were his great grandparents secretly. But Harry also tried not to get too attached to them, his mission with Tom was his main priority.

Harry had never been particularly academically inclined and after the war, he didn't have the stomach for violence or death so there was no way he would ever be an Auror. It was why he didn't go into training with Ron. But he did love Quidditch. 

There was seeker position that needed to be filled for the  Appleby Arrows and on a whim, Harry had went for it and got it. It felt so freeing to be back on his broom again, to have people cheering and rooting for him for something other than just being Harry Potter. They cared about his talent and skill, not about if he could defeat a Dark Lord or not. 

Harry was quickly gaining fame, dubbed the best seeker the Arrows had ever had. Harry knew Tom would end up in Slytherin and if they didn't like that his guardian was apart of the Potter family, they would love that Harry was somewhat famous and talented. Slytherins were all about connections after all. 

Harry would make sure Tom was armed with everything necessary when he did get to Hogwarts.

Harry would tell him about his past so he doesn't go digging for it on his own and end up killing his father. He would let him know he was part of the Gaunt family, heir of Slytherin. But he would also make sure to show him that there was nothing wrong with Muggles, Muggleborns and halfbloods. 

Harry would teach him not to hate himself.

Because he had too, right, he had had to hate himself so much if he had completely destroyed his once handsome face, erased his past and only associated with people who were blood purists. 

He got himself a house elf, Pebbles, and then tried to integrate himself into society. He didn't know much about Tom, but he knew he valued respect and power. Harry couldn't just adopt him with nothing to show for himself, he didn't want Tom to start Hogwarts the same way he originally had. Blood purity was awful in Harry's time so Harry couldn't even fathom how awful it must have been for Tom Riddle in his time and to be in Slytherin at that. There was no way for the boy to know he was a half-blood and with a last name like Riddle, people would have assumed he was a muggle born.

Dumbledore had said that he was respected and feared but Harry was almost certain that would've came later and the boy would've been relentlessly bullied at first. Harry knew how cruel those Slytherins could be.

Tom's first introduction to magic had been Dumbledore setting his stuff on fire and then the Slytherins, it was no wonder the boy had turned out how he did. He was raised in a muggle orphanage, labelled a freak, he was never shown love and compassion. He was never shown kindness.

Harry was determined to change that.

If he could raise Tom differently, he could steer him away from such a destructive path. Harry was almost certain of it but he was also scared.

What if he saw the boy and hated him instantly?

What if he couldn't show him love and kindness?

Would he mess him up further?

Taking another deep breath, Harry marched into the orphanage, adrenaline pumping around his body. 

The first thing he noticed when he got inside was just how run down it was. This was poverty personified. The building was old, grey and looked like it was on the verge of collapse. The inside had paint peeling off, the faint smell of cigarettes and children running round in clothes either too big or too small for them.

The entire place just looked grey.

"Can I help you sir?" Demanded a woman, her voice gravelly and put upon.

She was skinny and harassed-looking, with a sharp-featured face. 

" I, uh, do you have a child here, Tom Riddle?"

Her eyes widened at that.

"Yes, I do. What did the little freak do now? If you're here to get some money out of us for damages then you're wasting your time. We have no money" She bit out, her arms crossed. 

Harry opened and closed his mouth, taken aback by her rude attitude and the casual use of the word freak.

"No. I'm here to adopt him" Came Harry's tight reply.

After about five minutes of back and fourth, with Ms.Cole trying to persuade Harry to adapt another child, she finally relented and called Tom.

Harry's breath caught in his throat when he saw the boy, feeling genuine fear even though he knew it was silly as the boy was eight years old. 

A child. 

He was tall for his age but incredibly skinny, dressed in grey formal shorts, a white shirt that looked pristine, white socks and smart looking black shoes that were clearly too small for him. His skin was pale but blemish free, his lips pulled down into a frown, he had wide dark brown eyes that were intelligent and looking at Harry curiously and neatly parted black hair.

He was a handsome little boy and Harry felt some of his fears ease.

He wasn't some born evil force, he was literally just a boy.

"You're in luck boy, someone, for Gods knows what reason wants to adopt you. I suspect you'll be returned soon enough so enjoy it whilst it lasts"Ms. Cole sneered.

Toms eyes burned with hatred but he stood there, his hands curled into fists, not saying anything.

Harry ignored her, trying his hardest not to curse her before he turned to Tom.

"Let's grab your stuff and then we'll go."

Tom turned around and took him upstairs, not saying a word. His room was small and cramped and Harry noticed two beds.

"Do you share a room with someone?"

"I did but he died last summer of the flu. I watched him die, heard him take his last breath as the Priest prayed over him" Tom murmured, his cockney accent making Harry almost smile.

Nothing like that evil, high pitched posh drawl that Voldemort had.

He really was just a boy.

Harry shook his head at Toms word, a frown on his face. It was no wonder the boy was so obsessed with not dying and death if he had been forced to witness such a traumatic event at seven year old. He really didn't stand a chance. 

Tom looked uncertain but he raised his chin, his eyes defiant as he said "Why do you want to adopt me? If this is some ploy to get me into a workhouse o-or sell me for my body like they did to Amy then you'll regret it. You should take Ms.Cole seriously, I'll ruin your life."

He sounded downright venomous.

But Harry couldn't even be bothered to be disturbed by the threat as he took in the boys words. Sell his body? Like Amy? 

Merlin.

What sort of things had the poor child been exposed too?

He really hadn't stood a chance. 

After taking a deep breath, Harry showed him some magic, transfiguring his bedside clock into a bunch of yellow sunflowers. Toms eyes had widened and for the first time he seemed to relax. Harry gave him a quick explanation about magic, Hogwarts and said he wanted to start a family of his own and he heard about a child who was different so he had came for Tom.

He assured the boy he was safe and that he wasn't a freak.

Tom had had so many question, clearly very inquisitive and then he bought up that he could talk to snakes.

"That is unusual for Wizards to do and only those who are descendants of Salazer Slytherins, the Hogwarts fonder are able to do it. It's called being a parlsemouth. I suspect you have some sort of connection, I will take you to Gringotts so you can take some blood tests" Harry explained softly.

"Salazer? Then that would make me powerful, right? If I'm related to one of the Hogwarts founders and if this school is as great as you say. I knew it, I knew I was destined for greatness. I'm even different than other Wizards, better, powerful" Tom smirked, his eyes wide and greedy.

"I-no, not better. Everyone is the same, equal"

"There's no such thing as equality. There is only power and those too stupid and weak to grasp it" Tom sneered.

Harry didn't like it, it reminded him too much of Voldemort.

Had he really always been like this?

Was he completely incapable of being normal?

What sort of a child says stuff like that?

"I-sorry. That wasn't nice of me. I'm sorry Harry, it's just that this is all so overwhelming and exciting, I let it get to the best of me" Tom suddenly said, his tone meek and his eyes downcast.

Harry was pretty sure the boy was manipulating him but he let it slide, for now.

Harry stood and put out his hand, waiting, as Tom grabbed it cautiously.

"Let's go home."

~~~~~~~~~

This was the biggest house Tom had ever seen.

It was like something out of those ridiculous fairytales that the idiot girls would read and he couldn't believe this was his new home.

Well, he could believe it.

Tom didn't believe in luck, you made your own luck in this world and of course he deserved such a nice house. It was what he was owed.

This should have all been his to begin but no matter, it was his now.

Harry showed him around and when they got upstairs, the room furthest from the stairs was Toms room. It was big with a large four poster bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, desk and chair, empty bookshelf and en suite bathroom.

It was large and clean but plain.

"We'll decorate it to your taste and make it abit more homely so don't worry. Do you want to unpack?" Harry asked, his eyes scanning the room.

Tom gave him an unimpressed look. 

He had bought two books and spare pair of clothes that obviously didn't fit him.

If Harry was a Wizard, shouldn't he be smart?

Tom wasn't really sure what to make of him.

He looked young, far too young to want to adopt a child but Tom wasn't going to look a gift horse in its mouth. He wasn't that tall but he had an athletic physique, big green eyes that kept looking at Tom as if waiting for him to do something behind his circle glasses and unruly black hair. 

He was pale too.

They kind of looked like brothers. 

He was valuable for information and knowledge about the magical world but he was clearly an idiot, sprouting nonsense about everyone being the same.

Yeah, right. 

However, Tom needed him, for now anyway so it was best to stay on his good side. Pretend to agree with his foolish babbling as he learnt more about his world. Got stronger and smarter.

Tom had knew he was different, and now he had confirmation.

Muggles, he hated them.

They had made his life a misery and he couldn't wait to get bigger and stronger so he could make their life a misery too.