Taking Him In

1-The man with green eyes

Tom walked down the busy streets of London. It was the middle of December and the weather was unbearable. Young tom only had a thin sweater that he could put on but that didn't stop him.

He made his way to the library in hopes to read for a bit before he had to go back to the orphanage.

He let out a relieved sigh as the warmth of the library swept over him. Avoiding unwanted glances from the others in the library he made his way to the teen section hunting down a book that would interest him.

As time passed Tom slowly started putting the books away. He would have brought them to the orphanage but he didn't have a library card much  to his dismay.

He looked around to where the last book was needed to be placed only to spot a man. He was stood elegantly  with his nose up and his posture perfect. He wore a black turtleneck sweater with light colored jeans and fancy black shoes. He also had on a brown opened coat that folded at the collar. He had fluffy black untamable hair and round glasses that seemed to fit perfectly where they were resting. The man as if feeling his gaze turned to him.

Tom only held his gaze, he wasn't about to show he was weak. Of course Tom had almost gaped at the man's eye color. They were a bright yet terrifying green that seemed to glow the longer they stared at eachother.

The man chuckled and walked over to were Tom was before handing him a plain green card. He walked away after patting his shoulder and didn't turn back.

After the man disappeared around the corner Tom looked down at the card he was given. He blinked in surprise feeling a shiver go down his spine.

It was a library card. But what made him shiver was that fact that the card was made for him. His name, gender, day of birth, and an adress. An adress that didn't lead to the orphanage. Library cards were free but you had to have a legal guardian get you one.

Tom couldn't help but feel grateful as he quickly grabbed a few books to take with him. He did have questions though. Like how did the man know his name? Why would he go out of his reach to get him a library card when they were both strangers. Tom quickly made his way back to the orphanage where he cooped himself up in his room until nightfall. 

The stranger was still fresh in his mind. People of the world are cruel, and for a random stranger to just randomly help him of all people without asking for anything in return was, unusual. But of course it only made Tom curious about the mystery man.

———————

The people of the orphanage hated to admit but the 7 year old boy named Tom riddle had a mind beyond what anyone had ever seen. He was a brilliant boy, and that scared them. It wasn't normal per say. Nor was the fact that strange things happened around the boy with no way of knowing how it happened. Tom didn't care how they felt for him, not anymore. Instead it made him feel smug. He was different and he knew it, he was smarter beyond the Retched adults of the orphanage. Yet years of neglect and hate, the feeling of being cared for and somewhat watched over warmed his still child heart in ways he didn't know possible. That's how the mystery man made him feel that day. A year ago and yet Tom remembered it like it happened yesterday. 

The man he saw only once, who had already stitched back together a part of him, with a single act of kindness. The man who he had never seen after that day. Tom couldn't say how surprised he was when he woke up that morning,

To see that very man in the same clothes as the day they met standing in the middle of the main room of the orphanage.