Chapter 2: Who am I?

After going back to sleep, Tom had the same visions that he did before. Only this time they weren't as overwhelming as they were the first time. He was able to calmly observe as the visions continued.

Physically he was 4 years old, but now with the knowledge and experiences of two lifetimes his mentality was a whole other thing.

When the soul of Voldemort and Frank Ledger fused with the young Tom, there was no battle for dominance or superiority. No, both souls simply nourished Tom's soul and provided it with their knowledge and experiences.

He wasn't Voldemort nor Frank Ledger, he was Tom a 4 year old orphan in Wool's Orphange. But he was also something more, he had the advantage provided by two souls.

Tom finally woke up to the sound of children running and shouting, probably going to the cafeteria. He wiped the remaining cobwebs from his eyes and slowly looked himself in the mirror. He was greeted by black messy hair, pale almost sickly white skin and sharp red eyes.

It was still confusing to him as to who he was. Was he Tom, Voldemort or Frank. Did he get sent back to the past, was he reincarnated or some sort of divination where he saw multiple possibilities. He was currently having an identity crisis and didn't know what to do.

The Matron Anna walked inside Tom's room as he hadn't come with the rest of the children and was worried that he might be sick or something. She saw Tom standing infront of the mirror like a statue with a blank look on his face.

"Tom, are you alright? Tom? Tom!", she called out but making no response to her calls she squatted next to him and held his shoulders.

The physical contact awoke Tom from his chaotic thoughts and saw the worried face of Anna.

"Do you think I am a bad person?", he asked in a monotone voice. Still not knowing exactly what to think of himself.

Anna was surprised by his sudden question but composed herself and answered, "No, Tom, you're not a bad person. Your a sweet and wonderful boy. Remember the time Billy lost his toy and you found it for him? or when Beth had a cut and you healed her with something. You are a caring and kind boy, just misunderstood", Anna looked at him kindly as she rubbed his head.

Hearing those caring words Tom couldn't control himself and hugged Anna as he sobbed on her shoulders. Tom already knew he had magic. He had performed accidental magic on few occasions. He didn't know what it was before but with the visions he now knew why.

He was a magical, a wizard. And there was a whole world hidden right under the noses of the mundane.

He didn't want to end up like Voldemort, no. That life was not something anyone would want. And he very well couldn't live like a normal muggle either.

While enjoying the warmth of Anna, Tom decided it best to ask her of her thoughts, and maybe she might be able to help in his endeavours as to who he is. Is he Voldemort, Tom or Frank.

Tom asked Anna for help in such a way that he spun a tale about a dream where he was three different persons and now didn't know which one he was. Voldemort as a ruthless ruler who ruled with fear and oppression, Frank a normal everyday man and he Tom.

"Mother Anna, who do you think I should be. The dream felt so real, now I don't know which one I truly am", To asked looking towards his feet as he finished.

Anna was surprised by Tom's very detailed dream, as well as his detailed recollection of it. But nonetheless pondered on it more and guessed that he must be quite traumatized by it. 'Probably had to do with the thunderstorm', she thought.

She released her hug and grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye and said "Whatever your dream was Tom, a very kind, smart and special young man. I don't know what this dream of yours means but all I know is that you are special and gifted. One thing that defines us as humans is our ability to choose who we want to be. You could become a tyrant or a saint, or be a normal person. Whatever your choice is your decision and I know that whatever you choose, you will be great. Call it a mother's intuition", she smirked and ruffled his hair at the end which earned her a small smile from the red eyed boy.

"Thank you mother", Tom replied as Anna rose from the bed and said, "Your welcome, now wash up and come down for breakfast or Timmy might take your share", she said with a smile and left his room.

After Anna had left Tom went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. He saw his reflection that was pale skinned, with black messy hair and red eyes with a sharp jawline. If his dreams were anything to go by, he would grow up to be quite the charming man.

Anna's words continued to ring in his ears as he finally came to a decision. He wouldn't be like Voldemort but many of his actions and plans were still very good and would probably follow them. But he would be going around spewing his nonsense.

No, he would be different. With the experience and knowledge that he inherited from two lifetimes from both Voldemort and Frank, he would forge his own path.

A path where he had friends, and family but also feared his enemies and maybe make changes for people like him and other orphans and muggle-borns. Yes, that seems to be a very good plan.

If he could see himself as he was contemplating than he'd had found he was very similar to the young Voldemort in his memories but also different.

After a quick bath Tom finally went down and dined with the rest of the children. He chatted with the ones sitting with him and had an overall pleasant breakfast.

Seeing that he seemed to be in a mich better mood than she had ever seen him Anna was happy for Tom. She had personally been the wet nurse and delivered Tom and was the one who mostly took care of him after his mother died shortly after he was born.

She had told Anna her name, Meroupe Riddle né Gaunt. She seemed skinny and sickly and didn't seem right on the head. Before she breathed her last she had named her baby, Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Ever since then, she had done her best to try and raise Tom as best she can. He was always a quiet boy even when he was a baby, he rarely cried and only did so when he was hungry or had to change his diapers. She knew Tom was special because some unexplainable things with occur in his room when he was very sad or angry. The books would fly or toys levitating and other such incidents were a clear indicator of his special circumstances. The other caretakers of the orphanage were afraid of him and some even muttered the word 'Devil' and 'Demon' but she had forbidden them to never speak of such words near the children.

She knew Tom was a kind boy, he was never one to talk much but was smart and his mind was many years above his peers. This can be easily seen from his very mature nature as well as high vocabulary as compared to the other kids. Bloody hell she knew less words than the boy and he was turning 5 in a few months!.

But for all his maturity and sharpness, it had the effect of ostracizing him among the other children and he was often seen simply reading in his room or the public library.

So, it was a very welcomed suprise to see him smile and interact with the children this fine morning. Anna had to admit that although she wouldn't admit it out loud, she thought of Tom as her own and wasn't playing favourites, no sir, not at all.

After eating his fill and interacting with the children, Tom went back to his room and sat on the floor in a meditative position. It was time to see wether all that knowledge and experience of spells meant he could practice them or not.

The first skill he needed was Occlumency. There were many misconceptions among wizard kind as to what this branch of magic really was. It seems that it was a matter of much debate even in Franks world and many theories and fanfictions were also created.

The truth was that Occlumency and Legilimency were not different branches or even opposite sides. Quite the contrary, they went hand in hand. Much like bread to butter, one was made for the other.

Occlumency wasn't some sort of all purpose skill that lets you become a super genius, God how much they misunderstood this very misunderstood art. No, occlumency was the art of clearing and organizing ones mind. Much like a library or computer, yes! This 'mobile phone' from Franks memories will be the base for organizing his mind.

Now, occlumency enables the practitioner to shift thorough ones memories much like how a person goes through their computers and phones to access the desired memory. And for masters of this art it is very much possible to create fake memories to trick anyone trying to go through their minds. 'Ah, so Severus was a natural Occlumens, very commendable indeed, although Voldemort didn't trust him completely at least he had trusted him enough when he shifted through his memories. Voldemorts ego was truly second to none when he didn't doubt his own skills to the point of not checking for any inconsistencies in what he saw.

If he did he would have seen the various mistakes here and there',Tom thought would wry smile.

Quite ironic that the self proclaimed as well as Dumbledore claimed most cunning dark lord since Morgana was outsmarted by one of his own people, a double spy he knew was working for both sides no less. Shaking his head Tom dived into his mind as he had knowledge and experience from Voldemort, he found himself in a dark empty space which was then quickly filled up by small picture like images, these were all his memories.

Tom then imagined a mobile phone and created various folders that were labelled according to year, date, then type and relevance. Then he added a search option where he would quickly access any memory he wanted. He also created a sort of video player where he could review a memory in-depth, kind of like a pensieve.

Again Franks knowledge was invaluable in providing already existing knowledge and practices to provide a 'out of the box' kind of approach.

What Tom had just done would have taken anyone else no less than 5 to 10 years of constant practice. It was possible only because he already had knowledge and had experienced the process as Voldemort and thus it was sort of like loading a saved game on a new platform.

Tom briefly pondered how his phrases seem to contain a lot of words and meaning taken from Frank's world. After checking his now completely organised mind, he started creating fake memories. Again this was made so much easier with knowledge of the 21st Century. He copied all his memories and then took out any part he wished to hide and patched various bits and pieces from Voldemort's and even Frank's memories. It seems that no matter his life he was always an orphan. 'Must be some sort of fate' he mused.

After he had finished his work, he got out of his mind and slowly opened his red eyes to find that the sun was shining high in the sky.

After looking around his room he decided that it was time to practice some wandless magic.

Again a very much misunderstood manner of magic. Magic isn't some sort of power one is born with, it is present in the whole world. Even muggles had magic, they just weren't able to feel it. Magic was sort of sentient, the closest thing to a real god in his opinion.

It was present in everything and could be wielded by those chosen, how they were chosen was the mystery.

But now wasn't the time for that, first he concentrated and tried to sense the magic. Something most wizards and witches tend to forget as they solely relied on their wands to do magic. Before a child gets his/her own wand they don't know anything to do with magic. This was mostly due to the ignorance of those in power in their attempt to create some form of control over society.

But many pureblood houses have wands created for their children far before they are to go to Hogwarts. This is especially true in other countries where the laws are far more lax in regards to underage magic.

After feeling for a while he sensed the magic flowing inside him, it was like a warm current as it flowed like running water. His experience from Voldemort told him that he was able to wield far more magic than his previous life, hell he might be able to wield far greater magic than an average adult wizard.

This was very welcoming and suprising revelation. This would help in many of his plans for the future.

After he had sensed the magic, he guided the stream with his thought and uttered a spell that is one of the first ever taught to children, 'Lumos'. A bright white light was emitted from his index finger.

Tom had a wide smile as he cancelled his spell then wordlessly pointed his finger towards a book at the top of his shelf and his smile grew even wider as the book flew towards him and grabbed it with his other hand when it flew close to him.

Now he was sure he was gonna be pushing his plans a bit further with this new discovery. 'Oh Joy', he muttered to himself with a wide grin.