Eleven-Year-Old Tom Riddle

Tom Riddle

In the late summer of 1937, the rain fell without end, and the weather was worse than any summer Tom Riddle had experienced at Wool's Orphanage.

The incessant rain made Mrs. Cole cut back on all the children's outdoor time. Trapped in the cramped indoors, he had less entertainment as a result.

Do not misunderstand—Riddle did not enjoy football, rugby, or any other sport. In his view, most sports were unbearably dull. Nothing was more disgusting than a group of idiots gathering together and letting out idiotic laughter.

He enjoyed the fearful looks on the faces of those weaker people when they stole glances at him. If they turned pale with fright, trembled all over, and stammered incoherently, that was simply the most delightful performance of all—more real and nuanced than the films Mrs. Cole had someone screen.

The indoor environment imposed many restrictions. With attendants walking about everywhere and Mrs. Cole occasionally making room inspections, Riddle could only steal the little trinkets others cherished and draw some comfort from their cowardly cries through the walls.

When had this form of entertainment begun?

Perhaps when he had hung Billy Stubbs's ridiculous rabbit from the ceiling beam. What a pity—he had originally intended to hang Billy Stubbs himself. That would have been very interesting...

Or perhaps during that earlier seaside outing, when he had led Dennis Bishop and Amy Benson into a cave and pressed their heads beneath the lake water. Those wails, mingled with pain and despair, had sounded as wonderful as a symphony...

It all relied on the magical abilities he had been born with.

Tom Riddle had discovered long ago that he could move objects with his mind and make them float wherever he wished. He could make animals obey his commands, and he could use