Love and Compassion

"You know, growing up, I had trouble with a house elf too at first. When we first met, I found him annoying and I wanted to get rid of him and then he became someone who I treasured immensely. I loved him. He was brave, kind and loyal. The most loyal being I've ever met" Harry murmured, his voice getting lost as he got caught up with memories that seemed like forever ago.

But, it hadn't even been fully three years yet.

Before going back to the past, Harry had spent so much time wallowing in misery and agonising over the countless deaths that occurred. He spent his nights wracked with guilt and pain, plagued with horrific nightmares and thoughts on the cusp of suicidal.

But ever since he got Tom, everything was different.

He still got the occasional nightmare and he would often see something that reminded him of Ron or Hermione but he was no longer just simply existing. He was living and he was loving.

Tom was like a ray of sunshine on his darkest night and he looked forward to spending time with the boy. He was funny, witty and incredibly intelligent. He had the vocabulary of a fifty year old and pretended he was above so much things but he was just like any other nine year old child.

His giggles when they duelled or gasps of surprise when they made random potions and they blew up or his wide eyes when he would discover something weird and fascinating in his books warmed Harry's heart. It felt like each reaction healed something inside of him, eased his inner child who had suffered so much, just like Tom had.

Tom was far from perfect but this version was capable of love because he loved Harry. Of course, Tom would never say it but Harry knew it. As a kid, he wasn't exposed to genuine love and adoration for just being him so he grew to understand when it was real and that's how he knew Toms was.

Tom had somehow burrowed himself deep into the depths of Harry's heart and carved himself a permanent space. He had truly become the centre of Harry's world and all he wanted for him was to be happy and healthy.

Dumbledore had always said Tom Riddle wasn't capable of love, of empathy, but he did love and he did have empathy. Maybe all he needed was someone to care about him unconditionally because his Tom was a sweet boy who loved holding hands and gorging on muggle junk food.

This Tom was already different. 

Harry was no longer worried that his Tom would grow into homicidal maniac because how could he? How could the same boy who cried tears of happiness after receiving presents and got so upset when Harry was upset with him turn into that? 

It wasn't possible. 

His Tom was too sweet for that.

"He can't love, he's a house elf! He probably just pretended too because you owned him" Tom rebutted, a frown on his face after swallowing a mouthful of a roast chicken, cheese and tomato sandwich.

It was currently 2pm and Harry and Tom were sat in a muggle park having a picnic. Harry tried to integrate Tom with as much muggle children as possible and if he didn't have a Quidditch game, he would drag Tom to the local park.

At first, Tom had been wry and reluctant to socialise but Harry could tell he was slightly warming up to them. Well, he allowed a few of the children to push him on the swings and he would show off on the monkey bars, hanging upside down and flipping perfectly as the other children would watch and cheer with awe. There was an eleven year old girl called Maisie who would sometimes come to the park to play chess and sometimes Tom would join her, although they rarely spoke and would spend hours locked in an intense game. 

Harry would usually spend his time enjoying ice cream as he mingled and spoke to the other parents. It was so mundane and so normal but Harry loved it, it was something he had never experienced before and it felt good to just be Harry. Not The-Boy-Who-lived or Harry- Quidditch superstar, but just plain old Harry.

"That's not true and I wasn't his owner either. He had other owners who were awful, they were mean and treated him terribly. Not unlike how you said the Malfoys treat their own actually. House elves are still creatures with thoughts and feelings Tom and because he was so loyal to me and because he loved me, he saved my life! He turned on his old masters and picked my side" Harry explained, gulping down his bottle of water.

"What was its name?" Tom replied, his tone tight and his posture rigid.

"His name was.." Harry trailed off, realising he couldn't say Dobby as the poor elf was currently in the servitude of the Malfoys which made Harry's heart clench painfully "...Sox. His name was Sox"

"Sox is a stupid name and it doesn't make sense for him to turn on his old masters, house elves are loyal and have to obey their household" 

"I was able too... free him, I tricked the head of the household into giving him a sock and then he was free".

Tom squinted his eyes, his mouth pulled down in a frown.

"Why do you look miserable? Shouldn't you be happy that I had someone loyal by my side who was willing to risk their life for me? I know you don't do friends but you care about loyalty and I'm telling you to not underestimate the power of a loyal house elf. If you treat Pebbles with the respect and kindness she deserves than you'll have a fiercely loyal companion for life" Harry asked, his voice coloured in disapproval as he looked at the sullen boy.

"If he's so loyal then why isn't he here now then?"

"Because he died!" Harry exclaimed, exasperated. 

Tom looked at Harry wide eyed, surprise etched across his features before he let out a vindictive smirk.

"Then he isn't loyal. I would never leave you, I'm the most loyal being you know because I would never let something as silly as death keep me from your side" Tom replied, gleefully. 

Harry's jaw dropped at the young boys words, genuinely bewildered at his train of thought and incredibly panicked too. 

What did he mean death couldn't keep him from his side? 

He couldn't know about horocruxs yet, could he? 

It was impossible!

"Death is inevitable Tom, you can't prevent death, don't be so silly" Harry choked out, his voice strangled and his eyes boring into the boy.

Tom looked back at him, confused as he tentatively grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

"Harry? What's wrong? I- I don't understand?"

Harry gripped Toms hand tightly, his eyes unblinking.

"Tom, what did you mean death couldn't stop you? Everyone dies, you understand that, don't you?"

"I know it's not meant to be possible but I'm smart and when I'm older I'll be the smartest wizard alive! You always say I'll accomplish great things so I don't see why I couldn't conquer death too. Isn't that a good thing, shouldn't you be proud?" Tom replied back slowly, although his eyes were fixated on where their hands joined. 

Okay, good, he didn't know about Horocrux's. Harry let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. 

"Tom, you will be great and you'll perform and master great feats of magic but it's impossible to beat death. It's inevitable, it's the cycle of life and it's sad but it's natural and normal. Not to mention wizards have longer life spans then muggles so you don't need to worry about any of that. It's not even legal, promise me you won't go down that rabbit hole. Promise me you won't search for ways to be immortal" Harry explained, adding a little bit of persuasive magic in his words.

Tom looked at him for a few short seconds before nodding.

"Good" Harry beamed "Look, Maisie is over there, why don't you join her at chess?"

"Fine. Stay here"

"Yes sir" Harry replied back sarcastically, picking up an apple and munching on it.

Tom shot him a withering look before carefully standing up, brushing off his clothes and walking towards Maisie with the poise and confidence of a young prince about to greet his subjects. 

Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Hey Harry, nice to see you here again. It's been so long!" Came a cheery voice behind Harry.

Don.

Don was Maisie's father and someone that Harry often spoke too when he bought Tom to the park. Don had divorced from Maisie's mother and had the her on weekends and would bring Maisie to the park on a Sunday afternoon before he dropped her back home.

He worked as an engineer, although Harry wasn't really certain what that was but he was nice and fun to talk too.

Although, there were times when the older man left Harry flustered with his charm and wit. 

Harry never had a chance to explore his sexuality before and how could he with an insane mass murdering psychopath chasing him down? So he had always assumed that he liked girls because he always liked Ginny. 

But perhaps he had been wrong.

"Don, hi, come sit! Tom has abandoned our picnic so feel free to dig in and yeah, Tom had been grounded for a while so we weren't able to come to the park unfortunately" Harry explained with a light shrug.

"Grounded for an entire month? Oh no, what did he do?" Don asked , a small smile on his face as grabbed a clean plastic fork and dug into the potato salad that Pebbles had prepared for them.

"Just.... lying and other things I wasn't too happy about. Children being children I guess"

"Don't I know it, Maisie can be a handful at times"

"Really? She seems soo... quiet" 

"She is but she's still a child and children are going to always push boundaries and do things that require punishment. Not to mention you're so young Harry and you're caring for your young brother all by yourself. A twenty year old with an almost ten year old is intense, but I think you're doing a brilliant job. Tom seems very charming and thoughtful" Don replied, giving Harry a charming smile of his own which made him flush.

Harry obviously couldn't pass for Toms father at the age of twenty and forever frozen physically at seventeen (unless he decided he wanted to die anyway), so he often told the muggles that he was Toms brother. Harry would have been happy to fabricate a story about busy parents but Tom had shut it down, not wanting any sort of parents involved, imaginary or otherwise. Moreover, Harry didn't feel like he and Tom had a father and son relationship, or even a brotherly one if he was being honest with himself.

He more saw Tom as his ward or his... apprentice of sorts? 

"Thank you, I do try my best" Harry gave him a shy smile " Tom is a wonderful child but he does find it difficult to make actual friends so I'm happy he has Maisie to simulate him intellectually at least"

Don gave him a thoughtful look.

"Maisie also finds it hard to make friends but she likes Tom so why don't we make a play date? I think they'd both be happy about it and I'm happy to host" Don suggested brightly.

"I, uh... I mean, sure, why not? It could be fun!" Harry agreed, although he couldn't keep the wry note from his tone.

Tom did somewhat like and even respect Maisie but Harry knew he probably didn't consider her as a friend and wouldn't be over the moon at going to a muggles house either. However, interacting with muggles was a big thing for Harry, he wanted Tom to like and appreciate them.

Despite his attempts to hide his dislike for them, Harry knew the truth. He even understood some of Toms reasonings but he wanted to nip it in the bud and what better way to show Tom that they aren't all bad than with Maisie? 

Not to mention that Tom was now friends with children who came from families who were humungous blood purists. Harry could only imagine the sort of things that Malfoy or Lestrange came out with in front of Tom so Maisie would be a refreshing change.

With time, Harry was sure that Tom would come to appreciate it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toms lip curled in absolute disgust as he looked around Maisie's startling bright yellow room.

The room was small and cramped, with a single bed that was almost completely covered in stuffed animals, an overcrowded bookshelf, a large plush looking armchair , a table with a chess set and shelves that were also covered in stuffed toys.

He genuinely couldn't believe he was here.

Him.

The heir of Slytherin in a muggle house, it was absurd.

If Wulberga ever found out, he would be done for, he'd never live it down.

When Harry had suggested it, Tom had given him a condescending look, not even bothering to reply to such a silly thing and it hadn't been spoken about again. So when a week later, instead of going to the park, they found themselves taking the bus to Maisie's house, Tom had been shocked.

He had argued with Harry the entire way there and had flat out refused to go and continue to walk. Harry had tried to plead his case and after getting nothing but hateful words ( about muggles) from Tom, Harry had resorted to blackmail.

Harry said if he stayed for at least an hour then he was allowed to request anything from Harry and he could have it as long as it wasn't a danger to himself or others. Harry promised he wouldn't refuse him and he could have it the moment they left Maisie's house and after a beat of tense silence, Tom had agreed.

Tom knew exactly what he would be asking for and he decided it was worth it, even if he had to spend sixty minutes in close proximity to those filthy dogs.

Maisie was smart, for a muggle anyway, and she was decent at chess but Tom had no desire to befriend or get close to the girl. She was perceptive as well and had what she called 'dark humour', she almost reminded Tom of Wulberga. 

Without any of the prettiness.

Maisie had thick glasses and braces.

"You don't look happy to be here" Maisie observed from where she was sat huddled up in her armchair.

"Because I'm not"Tom sneered, his nose wrinkled in dismay "Get out the chair, I want to sit".

"That's not a very nice way to ask" Maisie replied cautiously but she still had the sense to get up and sit on the edge of her bed instead.

Tom ignored her.

After a few more minutes of silence, Tom got a book from her shelf and began reading it and after an additional few more minutes, so did Maisie. 

After about thirty-five minutes of reading, Tom started to feel impatient and almost anxious. His skin felt weird and there was this unsettledness that was surrounding him too. He couldn't explain it but something was wrong.

He needed to see Harry.

Shutting his book, Tom made his way downstairs and to the kitchen until he saw a sight that made him freeze.

Harry was sat on one of the chairs, his face flushed prettily, his vivid green eyes sparkling with warmth and a huge smile on his face as he looked up at Maisie's father who was looming over him. Don was laughing, murmuring something about unruly hair as he dared to run his hands through Harry's hair playfully with a smile on his face.

But there was something about his smile that was wrong, almost predatory and far too comfortable. It reminded Tom of the false smiles of the old men who tried lure the women who worked on the street to them.

Tom had spent a lot of time in the dark streets of London, wondering about and exploring. There wasn't enough staff in Wools to watch all the children so Tom would often slip out on his own, exploring the newly built and previously war torn streets of London. He saw all sorts and sometimes the prostitutes would feel sorry for him and give him food or some money. 

They even taught him how to spot rich men and how to pickpocket from them and they also taught him to spot when men were dangerous or up to no good. 

Don was dangerous and up to no good.

Tom didn't like the way he looked at Harry and at how he dared to run his fingers through his hair, the absolute muggle filth. He wasn't worthy to even lick Harry's shoe.

And Harry!

Sitting there and letting it happen! 

Giving him the wide and comfortable smile he gave Tom when Tom would say something funny or make him laugh. This look was and should be reserved solely for Tom.

Fury climbed its way through Tom, strumming in his veins until his body felt electrified with hot burning anger.

Tom wanted to kill him, he wanted to gauge his eyes out and peel his fingers off one by one and flay him alive.

His magic lashed out and the table splintered, knocking into Don and almost causing him to topple over.

"What the fuck?!" He exclaimed, just about managing to jump out the way.

Tom quickly hid, not wanting Harry to see him.

"How did you do that?!"

Tom looked up, startled, to see a wide eyed Maisie standing at the top of the stairs.

"I didn't do anything!" Tom hissed, his own eyes widening in panic.

"Yes you did!" She took a step further down the stairs "I-I saw you! Your hand moved and then the table collapsed! I saw it!"

"Don't be stupid!" Tom rushed up the stairs to meet her "How could I possibly make the table collapse with my hand ? You sound ridiculous"

Maisie opened her mouth to rebutted him but Toms patience was worn thin between the annoying girl and her disgusting father. He was still burning in anger and as he couldn't get to Don, Maisie would do.

The stairs were incredibly steep and there was a lot of them so without hesitation, Tom took a step above Maisie before pushing her down the stairs viciously. She feel down sharply, her head smacking off the banister brutally before she continued to tumble, blood pouring from the side of her head.

Tom watched the genuine fear in her eyes as she first realised she had been pushed before her eyes rolled to the back of her head after the first hit on the bannister. Tom smiled as she lay at the bottom of the stairs, blood gushing and creating a halo around her head. Her pale skin was a nice contrast to the vivid red staining it.

Tom liked it.

Blinking, Tom arranged his face to fright and concern as he called out "Harry! Don! Come quickly, please!"

"What? What is it?" Harry came skidding out the kitchen, his body tense and looking for danger, Don not far behind him.

Tom lifted a trembling hand towards Maisie.

"Maise? What happened? Call the ambulance!" Don exclaimed, his eyes wet and fearful as he kneeled down next to his daughter and clutched her hand.

"We heard a noise and you swear so we rushed downstairs and s-she tripped!" Tom exclaimed "Will she be okay?"

Harry ran into the kitchen to call the ambulance as Don began to cry, whispering reassuring nonsense to his daughter, making it harder for Tom to cover up his smile.

The next thirty minutes passed in a blur of the ambulance and the paramedics coming over, taking Maisie to the hospital and murmuring words of 'severe head injury' 'potential brain damage' as her father begged, pleaded and cried.

Harry comforted Don as best he could but he looked ashen and shaky every time he looked Maisie and he gripped Tom's hand tightly, telling him not to look. 

Tom refrained from rolling his eyes, he had seen an actual dead body before when he was six. A bleeding girl with head trauma was child's play in comparison. 

They followed them to the hospital and saw as Maisie's mother came sweeping in, tearfully demanding to know what happened to her daughter.

Tom watched in vindictive satisfaction as Don and Maisie's mother hugged each other tightly, completely ignoring Harry. 

Good.

If Harry ever smiled at Don like that again, Tom would sneak in his house and stab him to death.

Tom was doing Harry a favour, he had to understand that he wasn't allowed to trust and rely on other people. They would all let him down in the end, they weren't dependable the way Tom was. He didn't need anyone else but Tom.

Tom would never abandon Harry the way Dobby had or any of Harry's others friends did. Tom would be with him forever and Tom knew Harry had a ridiculously big bleeding heart so if anything Tom was protecting him.

Stopping an unnecessary friendship before he got hurt. 

After introducing himself and giving her some awkward comforting words, Harry decided it was best if he and Tom were to leave and go back home.

"Can I have my prize now?" Tom asked, unable to filter his grin any longer as he and Harry appeared in front of their home.

Harry's face was completely white, the lingering stress and anxiety still clinging to his features.

"Prize?" Harry asked, confused.

"Yes, you said if we spend an hour at their house then I can get anything I want and I know what I want" Tom replied, squeezing Harry's hand.

"I-I mean, y-yes okay. I forgot with everything that happened" Harry blinked owlishly "Are you okay Tom? I know that must've been scary and that you're probably worried about Ma-"

"-It's fine. I want to sleep in your bed with you"

"What?"

Tom didn't like the look of disbelief, confusion and skepticalness that was on Harry's face and he hated how it made his heart clench fearfully. He felt himself flush and his body tense, preparing for rejection.

After a few moments of tense silence, Harry squatted down before gently holding onto to Toms rigid shoulders. Tom couldn't help himself but lean into his touch.

"I'm sorry Tom, I didn't mean for that to come out as harsh, I'm just still... reeling thinking about poor Maisie. But help me understand why you would want to sleep in my bed, is there something wrong with your own?"

Tom swallowed, debating if he should tell Harry the truth or not, not used to showing and exposing his weaknesses. If it was anyone else then Tom wouldn't but this was Harry.

His Harry.

Harry would never use it against him and it would probably increase the chance of him saying yes.

"I don't sleep very well, I never have really. Not since the boy who I shared the room with died of the flu. I can still hear him take his last breath and the fear I felt still haunts me. I've trained myself to not need to sleep to often, I can sometimes go two days without sleep b-but I don't like feeling like that. You know they trapped me in the room with his dead body for almost twelve hours before the coroner could come and collect it, I was terrified. I used to read books about families comforting their children after nightmares, how they'd cuddle up with their mom and dad and everything would be better and they'd feel safe. I used to wish I had that but my pathetic mother was dead and I had no father but I have you now. You make me feel safe" Tom confessed. 

What he said was true, mostly anyway.

He may have added a little razzzle dazzle to manipulate Harry into say yes but the essence was true. 

"Oh Tom" Harry breathed, tugging him into his warm embrace tightly "Of course you may come and stay with me in my room. It breaks my heart that you went through that but I'm so happy that you feel safe with me. You know I love you right?"

"Yes" Came Toms muffled but victorious reply.

Harry hugged him tighter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was surprised, for lack of better word, about Toms request. Honestly, he expected him to ask for something outlandish and expensive but he just wanted comfort.

It did hurt Harry that Tom only felt comfortable asking for something like love and security under the guise manipulation and Harry's 'blackmail'. He wanted Tom to understand that he could've asked for that at the start and Harry would always say yes to him.

However, Harry was a little worried about Toms reaction to poor Maisie. He was clearly somewhat worried about it but there was also an air of impatience surrounded him, he clearly just wanted to talk about his 'prize'. After Harry had agreed, Tom no longer seemed worried or concerned about Maisie, brushing off Harry's words of worry with faux interest.

Harry knew that Tom had empathy because he displayed it with Harry time and time again but he struggled when it came to other people. According to his parenting books, things like this took time and talking about how things affect other people with children was important. The books also referred to giving examples about people close to the child so they could relate to the problem at hand.

Tom slipped into bed in his ridiculously expensive snake silk pyjamas as Napoleon slithered to the bottom of the bed and curled up.

"You look like an old man in those" Harry grinned, looking at where the words Tom Gaunt Slytherin were engraved on his breast pocket.

Tom shot Harry a scathing look, his cheeks flushing.

"You look homeless so I wouldn't be smug if I was you. I mean really Harry, you're one of the highest paid Seekers in history and you're going to sleep in a top that has holes in" Tom retorted, fluffing the pillows.

"It's not about how it looks, it has sentimental value. It's my friend Ron's, it reminds me of him and helps me feel safe whilst I sleep".

"Ron?" Tom narrowed his eyes "You keep speaking of this Ron and Hermione and how you were as thick as thieves but I've never even seen you write to them. If you were so close then why can't you just visit them?" 

Harry swallowed, scrambling on what to say. 

He obviously couldn't tell Tom the truth but he didn't want to lie to him either, not to mention that he was abysmal at lying anyway. Tom was a natural Legiliment, he couldn't fully invade someone's mind and even Harry's poor Occlumency was enough to stop Tom but he could still always tell when someone was lying.

Harry wasn't even sure if Tom realised the skill he had or how his voice would sometimes take a persuasive magical tone when he wanted something.

"They're no longer in my life for reasons that I don't want to talk about anymore" Harry replied, his tone cautious but truthful.

"You? Not wanting to talk, it's a miracle" Came Toms sarcastic tone.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" Tom demanded skeptically. 

"What you saw today with Maisie was scary and its natural to be worr-"

Tom held out a hand, pausing Harry's incoming speech "Whilst I'm usually happy to indulge your ramblings about feelings and expressing them-"

"-They're not ramblings, they're actually important. If I want you to grow up to be a well adjusted and functional person then you need to understand the importance of compassion. What happened to Maisie was sad, can you imagine how her parents must feel? How scared and upset they just be?" Harry argued with a frown.

"No, it's not like she's dead. The doctor said paralysed at worst" Tom replied rolling his eyes.

"Tom!"

"Do we have have to talk about this? I came in here to sleep peacefully and so far I've not received peace or sleep" Tom groaned, flopping down on the pillow.

"Fine, don't speak to me" Harry said, not caring how childish he sounded as he turned away from Tom and moved further away.

After a beat of silence which was ended with Tom cursing, Tom tugged Harry back to him.

"Okay, let's talk about my feelings"

Harry let out a blinding grin in response as Tom glared.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"I dare you to go into Knockturn Alley" Yaxley said, his voice flat and bored.

Unfortunately, Wulberga was in an awful mood and she had turned her irritation on him, snarling out vile and hurtful words. Luckily, Mr Black had some business to do in Diagon Alley and offered to bring the boys with him which got them out the Black household and away from Wulberga and her tantrums.

Harry never let Tom roam around Diagon Alley by himself, he would harp on about how it wasn't safe for a child to walk off by themselves, despite the fact that Tom used to hang around prostitutes and criminals when he was even younger by himself. 

However, Mr Black had no issues with leaving the boys to their own devices after sharply telling them to meet him at a certain spot in exactly an hours time. 

"Boring, I've been there loads of times already" Lestrange scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"How?" Malfoy demanded, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"My father's taken me loads of times. Come on, follow me".

Tom eagerly followed Lestrange, curious and excited to see Knockturn and all it had to offer. They had a vast library at home but none of the books contained anything interesting about dark magic and all Tom really knew of it was things that were taught to him by the Blacks or things he managed to read in Lestrange library.

Of course, Tom kept his usual expressionless mask on, refusing to show anything as childish as anticipation and excitement.

*Just around the corner from Diagon Alley lay the dark, twisting alleyway devoted to the Dark Arts. Tom noticed that the wizards and witches hanging around behaved fairly suspiciously, dark magic seemingly clinging to them. The shops and the street vendors had a range of dark objects available to buy such as; shrunken heads, poisonous candles, human-looking fingernails, and Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent.

"Come on, let's go in here, they've served me before" Lestrange said before walking into a small and run down looking shop.

It was dingy and had a clinging darkness to it but it was full of all sorts of interesting looking items.

Tom browsed the shelves. 

Blood curses for Beginners!

101 spells to kill dark creatures.

So you want to be a Dark Lord? 

10 surprising things you can do with unicorn blood.

"I want this" Malfoy said, his tone leaving no room for argument as he placed a book on the counter.

"You're a little young to be buying that boy, go and look at the toy section" Sneered the cashier.

Malfoys face flushed red and he opened his mouth to no doubt sprout about who his father was when Alphard suddenly stood next to him. 

The cashier turned a deathly white colour "However, I'm willing to overlook it boy. Take whatever you wish"

"It's Malfoy, not boy" Malfoy sneered, his eyes flashing in satisfaction as the cashier went even paler after hearing his last name.

It was no shock to Tom that cashier had immediately recognised Alphard without the boy having to say anything. The Blacks were the closest thing wizarding Europe had to royalty and they all looked so much alike that it was no mistaking who Alphard was.

There wasn't a sane person alive who would dare to get on the wrong side of a Black. Not to mention that Alphard and Wulberga's father, Pollux, was known to be a harsh and severe man who loved a good public humiliation. Tom had heard about the legendary scathing the Minister of Magic had received from him.

As Tom watched the cashier pack up the rest of the items, all he could think about was how Alphard didn't deserve for people to be scared of him. He didn't deserve the fear he inspired because it wasn't about him, it was about his family and his name.

Alphard wasn't self made.

Tom vowed that one day people would fear his name too and not because of his family but because of him. He liked the idea of people grovelling at his feet, doing what he wanted because they were terrified of him and his magical ability.

The fear in those eyes deserved to be directed to him.

One day everyone would fear Tom Gaunt-Slytherin.