The Flames of Hatred and Love

Fifteen- Summer

Tom quickly learned that he absolutely hated living as a muggle. He wasn't allowed to use Magic outside of Hogwarts because of the Statute of Secrecy that the Ministry had been enforcing the past twenty years. Even though he'd threatened Dudley that he would curse him, Tom knew he wouldn't actually follow through with it so it wasn't as fun.

Vernon was filled with fear every time Tom and Harry were around him. But Vernon had never been one to succumb to his fear; at least not pathetically enough to be useful to Tom.

Well, mused Tom. He still manages to look pathetic all the time anyway.

No, instead Vernon transform his fear into irritation and anger which he would then take out on Tom and Harry.

It had started small, as it always did with Vernon. The first thing he'd done when they returned "home", was lock away their trunks, wands, schoolbooks, robes, and anything else that was "abnormal".

The next thing was making snide little comments about Hedwig and Nagini:

"Who allows an owl and a snake for a pet?"
"I hardly got any sleep with that ruddy bird making a racket the entire night!"
"This isn't a zoo!"
"If I see that snake in my bathroom one more time, Tom, you will be eating snake stew for dinner!"

But Hedwig was bound to screech endlessly when she was forced to be inside her cage for days on end. And as for Nagini, she was exploring her home away from home; Tom preferred her being in other rooms where he didn't have to listen to her constant grumbling over how she had no proper food and was losing too much weight. (Tom hunted for her himself, so he knew she was lying.)

Another thing that freaked Vernon out was the fact that Tom would speak to Nagini. (Harry did not reveal his own ability to do this.)

Towards the end of July, Vernon had seemed to become even more bold. He began finding excuses to punish Tom and Harry: When an actor in his favorite television program quit and the show was cancelled, he figured that Tom and Harry were behind it. And when it had rained when he and his family had planned to go on a picnic, he blamed Tom and Harry for the sudden weather change. (It hadn't help that both boys had voiced their disinterest in sitting for an hour with Dudley and Piers Polkiss as their only social outlet.)

Something else that was slowly driving Tom crazy was the fact that he was cut off from the wizarding world. Draco had stopped sending him letters, despite his promise that they would keep in touch.

And Tom could have used that distraction.

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"Look who it is! The freak is back!"

"Had a good vacation, Riddle?"

"Did they fix you yet, Freak?"

Tom ignored the taunts coming from the other orphans in the small playground at Wool's Orphanage. He carried his small suitcase inside, keen on making it to his bedroom on the fifth floor.

The bullies followed him.

"You're sick, you know that? They're going to keep sending you away until they no longer want you back here."

"I bet the next doctor is going to send you to an asylum."

The boys snickered.

Tom ran up the steps as fast as his small legs could carry him.

Someone grabbed the neck of his shirt, causing Tom to trip and fall face first on the stairs.

Tom felt his eyes water, and he brought his hands up to his throbbing face. His nose was bleeding- Possibly even broken.