The Serpent
[Every great evil
has a humble beginning]

Vanished

A boy stood frozen in upright position, in the middle of a run-down, but clean entrance hall of a vast estate.
He had short, dark brown- carefully to the side combed, hair.
His dark brown eyes were withdrawn.
His washed out pajamas, were patched together on some parts- they were gray; as gray as the color that he exuded.
He had a calm outward attitude and an absent expression, yet one could guess that his inner world- on the contrary to his calm exterior, was anything but calm.

The entrance hall that the boy was in was quite large, about two hundred people could fit in it with ease.
Generally speaking, the design and appearance of the building was very antique.
The only, crucial advantage that this building had to offer, was the extraordinary spaciousness.
From the large entrance hall, one could go through many different doors to enter other rooms, and all of which were occupied by sleeping little souls.
Overall, there were three floors.
A kind of basement and an attic offered even more space.

The majority of the inhabitants of this building is formed by children.
Each of them had a small, bare room, where they had to sleep separately.
The windows were probably a few centuries old- unfashionable for the current decade, they were so old that some of them couldn't be opened,
Instead, they had ventilation holes for air circulation.

Despite the passing of time, the boy still had not moved.
"Strange ... They say that I'm different," he began to mumble.
If some would have looked into his eyes, they might have recognize or perhaps even felt that they lost more and more of innocence.
A kind of disappointment and loneliness settled in.

"I don't get any visitors, no one wants me they say." He paused.
"Who cares if the children don't want to play with me. They are afraid... All the better!"
He looked down at his hands once again and grinned.
"I can do with them what I want." His grin widened. "I'm not crazy damn it, they're just weak!" With these words he paused.

For a tiny moment, his expression changed.
Not even he would noticed this fleeting moment. His childlike eyes were overcome with longing. One would have thought that he wanted to cry and to be comforted by someone, but his tough rigid facial features, unusual for a child his age, came back quickly.

One of the doors creaked open very quietly.
A woman- dressed in nothing more than a white nightgown, came in to the entrance hall and ran towards the boy.
She had auburn hair, where in some places sparkled silvery strands.
She looked like a woman in middle age, although one could suspect that she had to have aged prematurely.
Her eyes were filled with rigor- the wrinkles on her face pointed to a tough and strenuous past. Her body was small and skinny.

The woman approached the boy.
They exchanged no words to each other first, and the boy also didn't react to her presence.
"Tom, I've told you many times that you have to sleep at night just like the others! This will have consequences," said the woman with a frigid voice.
"Cole," Tom replied indifferently, almost provocative.
Despite the darkness, one could bet that the woman's face was slightly red with anger.
The whites of her eyes glittered as she widened her eyes.
"One of these days I'll forget myself and slap you! It's Mrs. Cole! This orphanage took you in, and the people in here provided for you, when nobody else could do so, and this is how you show your gratitude and respect?"
Not only was she angry because of his disrespectfulness, but because he didn't let her rest- even at night.

Tom was not afraid of her, somehow he seemed to know that he was superior to the woman- and therefor said nothing, but by Mrs. Cole became even more enraged.
"You have been behaving even more unusual than normal, since I told you the whole story about your parents."

Tom scrunched his eyebrows together angrily.

"You have always been a bit... I don't know what's wrong with you." Said Mrs. Cole in frustration.

Tom could no longer stay silent at her words.
"A woman who was so weak and to die after my birth? ... All the better!" His voice was trembling. "Someone that, doesn't deserve anything else besides death! ... And my father- apparently an arrogant bastard, simply left his wife- who was in labour walk around in the cold streets of london! So why should care about him? He should also rot in hell!"

Cole's anger disappeared, and was instead replaced by pity.
"We know nothing about your father, except that your mother has given you his name," Mrs. Cole said this time with a calm voice.
"But I know! He must have been the same, " Tom said softly. "My damned Mo ... that woman," he continued, but more to himself.

"That's enough now! You've cursed enough for tonight, that will give you more detentions, Tom!"

Tom still looked indifferent.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied and walked in the direction of his room.

Mrs. Cole went with him and she winced slightly as she felt a pain in her head.
It wasn't a strong pain, but uncomfortable and haunting. Whenever she was afflicted by this pain it seemed that all the colors of this world turned into different shades of gray.
She suddenly felt like everything was unfair, as if the whole world was against her, and that nobody understood her.
She sighed, at the infinite loneliness that grew stronger and stronger inside her.
No one was there for her, absolutely no one. She could only trust herself.

After she had brought Tom to his bed, Mrs. Cole went back to her own room and lay down to sleep.
Her dark thoughts vanished with the pain, and the world suddenly became more bearable.
She was now satisfied and fell asleep with a slight smile on her lips, glad that her soul felt lighter- in the other room, a little boy lay in bed wide awake- staring at the ceiling with an expressionless face, his smile had vanished a long time ago...

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A/N:
This is the last chapter that I'm updating before 'The Serpent's Teeth/The Serpent's Teeth: His Desires' and 'His Mark' are finished.

Quick question; Do you all want me to write 'Amortentia' the story of Merope Riddle neé Gaunt and Tom Riddle senior?
What do you think of the story?
I'm unsure if I'll continue on it once I finish the before mentioned stories.

Much love
Jamz