Tom Riddle had always seen himself as more similar to a serpent than a human. A creature not bound by a moral conscience or man-made laws, but instead ruled by instinct and made superior by nature. As such, human weaknesses like love and death are not things that Tom needs to concern himself with, especially after he is gifted the secret to immortality. So why is it that one (frankly inconsiderate) Gryffindor has decided himself to be worthy of screwing up all of Tom's carefully thought-out plans? And why is Tom almost okay with this?