Tom Riddle Headcanons
Wonderful and fabulous artwork by MirrorCradle
I got asked some time ago about what my headcanons were for Tom Riddle Jr. and how his story would have changed if Merope had lived after he was born. WELL, ladies and gents and everyone in between, do I have a list of scenarios for you!
Alright, the way I see it, if Merope had managed to survive past giving Tom his full name, she would have probably had the soundness of mind to be able to love the child and care for him to an extent, but Merope is still not stable. Mentally and emotionally, she is not able to attend to every need of a child, so obviously Tom would still be raised within the orphanage. Because of Merope’s magical abilities, she would be kept within the psych ward of St. Mungo’s. She would be permitted time with the child, but not given a full-time guardian status. Once Tom was old enough travel, he would most likely make the journey to see her rather regularly.
Thus, this introduces the concept that having magic as being normal and prevalent (not just for the entitled, or the pure) and also the concept of unconditional love from a very early age.
Don’t get me wrong, I feel like he would still develop to be rather pompous and arrogant (because his natural abilities are startlingly well honed), but he would have the example of his mother and her expectations to strive towards.
So, little Tom turns eleven and is carted off to Hogwarts, where he is sorted into (surprise, surprise) Slytherin. His talents, natural abilities, quick learning and rather good looks make him very easy to like and popular as well, and thus his sense of entitlement grows. All the while, Merope back in St. Mungo’s is there to ensure that he has a basis and foundation of love and acceptance, but she hasn’t spoken a word about who his father is aside from how very in love with him she was. From this, Tom knows that he was born out of love, and that his father must be magical as well if he ended up in Slytherin house (which is predominately pure-blooded).
Now Tom becomes curious about his father. His mother is useless on the subject, but her last name includes a vital clue to the mix: Gaunt. He researches the house of Gaunt and finds that it connects him to quaint town of Little Hangleton. Traveling there, he finds Morfin, escapes narrowly from him since he took him for Tom Riddle Sr. Taking that clue even a step further, he ventured and broke into the Riddle household.
The meeting, this time around, would go much differently. Tom Riddle Sr, most likely horrified by the mere mention of magic and it’s implications, quickly breaks down as he relays the full story from his perspective to a young twelve or thirteen year old Tom, leaving out no gory detail, because the young boy was the one holding the wand at the ready, and magic has only served to shatter his life up to this point.
He would tell Tom of how Merope had used the love potion on him, of how he had no control over his mind and thus his body, of how she addled his mind so that he would bed her and love her and finally, when she set him free of the potion and told him of the child. He was left confused, empty and broken at being used mentally, emotionally and physically for years. He had left her in a panic, terrified that the torture would continue if he did not and needing to have control of his emotions once again. Hiding in his old household had been the only comfort all of these years following, and even then the waves of panic attacks from the lingering stress still continued. He knew Merope was still out there somewhere, with his ‘child’, and that she would come to finish her handiwork...someday.
In sickened shock, Tom would retreat wordlessly from the household, immediately return to St. Mungo’s. Upon finding his mother, he would entirely lose himself within overwhelming rage. His shame at finding out that he was half-blooded would be entirely eclipsed at the knowledge that his mother had raped his father for years, and his conception had been an act of revulsion by his father, not of consenting love. He would shriek, throw objects, call her disgusting names, accuse her of damning him for being born of her filthy acts, and finally tell her that her weakness disgusted him before storming out.
Later, word would be carried to the Orphanage that Merope’s uncontrolled power burned her from the inside out. With whatever was left of her magical abilities, she had committed suicide.
Dumbledore would, most likely, be the one to tell Tom of this. Not knowing how to properly deal with his emotions, this may even just cause more rage within Tom. All of that anger he had released would be remembered and he would turn it on anyone else, any other target, feeling his own abilities begin to go out of control and after a particularly mean set of slurs he would have sent at older professor, Albus would quite calmly approach Tom, look sternly down at the boy and slap him squarely in the face, cutting off his stream of hatred immediately.
“I killed her. It was me. I killed my m-” Tom would admit in a thin, wavering voice before tears started streaming down his face. Dumbledore would be the only one who would understand, at that point, what it was like to blame one’s own self for the death of another so dear, memories of Ariana flooding back to him with startling clarity. He would hug Tom close to him as the child sobbed.
At this point, young Tom would not only know love and loss, he would also be familiar with the repercussions of one’s actions.
I know, these are only my thoughts so far! And there’s a WHOLE LOT of room for speculation, but if I had the time, I would totally write this fic in a heartbeat. XD Anyway, I have a ton more headcanons where this came from and they go all the way through his journey at Hogwarts and on to his choice of professions and on to who he really has close relationships with. I think I’ve babbled enough for this Tom-canon speculation.
Please send me your thoughts! I’d love to hear them. :) And let me know if you’d like me to continue!
