Chapter 5

"Where did you say they lived?" Tom asked Mrs Cook, narrowing his eyes.

"Little Hangleton," Mrs Bailey replied. Tom swung around to face her. "Yes...that's what she managed to say before she gave birth to him and died."

"Little Hangleton," Tom whispered more to himself. "Can we visit it sometime?" he asked Mrs Cook and Mrs Bailey.

"Of course," Mrs Cook replied, surprised. Tom never displayed any kind of interest in his parents or their lives.

"Very well," Tom said. "I'll go back to my room."

~*~

"This is a good development," Mrs Bailey said after Tom left the room.

Mrs Cook nodded. "Maybe he'll change for the better now," she said. "We must take him to Little Hangleton soon."

They had no idea how wrong they were.

~*~

A week later, Mrs Cook told Tom that they were ready to take him to Little Hangleton. For the first time, she noticed, Tom was enthusiastic about something. He dressed up quickly and met Mrs Cook at the gates of the orphanage.

The two of them travelled in silence. Tom occasionally patted his pant pocket to calm a restless Nagini.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived in Little Hangleton.

"I don't know where your parents lived, Tom," Mrs Cook said apologetically.

Tom shook his head. "Doesn't matter," he shrugged. "Leave me alone for sometime. I'll meet you at the bus stop in half an hour."

Without waiting for a reply, Tom walked away. Sighing, Mrs Cook entered a small tea shop. She wasn't worried about Tom. She knew that he could take care of himself.

~*~

Walking away from Mrs Cook, Tom brought Nagini out. She immediately wound herself around his wrist and looked at him expectantly.

"I know that you are hungry, Nagini," Tom whispered. "But you will have to wait till we are back at the orphanage. I'll smuggle in some milk for you."

"All right," Nagini hissed back, closed her eyes and dozed off.

Tom wandered around aimlessly, not knowing where to go when he heard a voice.

"Here you are, Mr Riddle," a shopkeeper was saying. Tom's ears perked up and he walked in the direction of the shop. He watched closely as the shopkeeper handed over a neatly wrapped package to a handsome man.

"Did you see him, Nagini?" Tom whispered, poking her awake.

Nagini woke up and took a good look at the man. "He looks like you," she hissed back.

Tom started to follow the man and his companion.

"What happened to your child, Tom?" he heard the friend ask the man.

The man shrugged. "No idea," was the answer. "I don't care about the child and his mother anymore."

It didn't take long for little Tom to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"I'm sure that the man there is my father," he whispered to Nagini. His suspicions were confirmed after he questioned the shopkeeper who had handed over the package.

"I'll come back for you one day, Father. And you will regret that day," Tom vowed and walked away to the bus stand where Mrs Cook was waiting for him.