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English
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Published:
2022-05-17
Completed:
2022-09-22
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1,790
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2/2
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My way or the highway

Summary:

Romeo Graves was an orphan and Mrs. Cole tends to hate orphans like him. Only he can fake a smile and be a nice kid. Magic is already from Satan and he was an atheist in his past life anyway. Now he just has to shake off those two orphans.

Chapter Text

Romeo Graves like who the hell names their kid as that? Certainly that asshole who left baby Romeo at an orphanage. I mean he was just a baby and everything was confusing.

Last time he checked he had a common name like Peter or Patrick not a romantic sapling's name from Shakespeare. His father was a jerk. No he was asshole after all a bad name was nothing but dumping his kid after his lover died was worse.

Mrs. Cole and the other matrons agreed with the baby in this. When it was feeding time Romeo heard their gossips and it hurt more. His real dad wasn't like that. He cared for him and he was his closest confidant. Maybe in his second life his karma stroke back.

Romeo from a certain moment just knew that he had another life. His baby mind can't comprehend the concept of death, reincarnation and other complicated thoughts he tried too.

He only knew the year 1927 and he knew that he came from the future. He knew that there was a huge war coming and nuclear weapons will be involved. He knew how much he feared bombs and now he gets reincarnated on the years where they were invented. His heart speed up when he thought of the Second World War and that people were bombed. He can die...

He was also a depressed baby as Martha called him. He acted well when he was fed or they put him into new nappies but at night sometimes he just looked around and thought. He barely could sleep and his stare made the matrons and most of the babies uncomfortable.

"Why do I get the weird babies?" Martha complained to Mrs. Cole one day. "Tom never cries and he is well behaved but I don't know when he is tired or hungry. And Romeo," he looked at the matron, "he does this."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Cole looked at the baby. She knew what the strange baby did but she was curious what did Martha have to say.

"Like Tom he is silent, even sad. He's too mature to be a baby. He always just stares with his freaky eyes."

"Hm?"

"Didn't you notice? When he was dropped here he had brown eyes remember? Now it is forest green."

"Maybe Martha darling you worked a long shift. Go home and take off the next day."

"Just pay attention Mrs. Cole." She said then she left.

Romeo had to wonder what did the sudden color change mean. Maybe the matron was crazy or his eye was brown mixed with green. No way his eyes can shift colors. That shit doesn't exist.

---

Time passed in a weird sense. Keeping track was impossible. He did what he had to do eat, sleep and think. He did a lot of thinking or at least how much he could with his brain.

He was considered an orphan which was the worst starting point. He was once part of a poor family, but at least he had love and a support system. Now he has none. The matrons were anything but motherly and he knew that the other kids are not like his siblings.

He even tried to babble along and just not be weird. Everything failed when he grimaced like an idiot and other babes cried when he tried to hang out with them. All of the kids beside one....

"Romeo meet your new bed mate Tom." One day Mrs. Cole said as he blinked. "Martha was right you have blue eyes now? The devil took over this boy. Here Tom is already a weird baby you two can get along." She put another baby next to him. They barely can walk and his soul is already taken by the devil? Anything is possible.

Romeo just shrugged, another person can't bother him right? Tom was peaceful enough, with pale skin and rosy cheeks like a healthy baby. What annoyed Romeo that the baby clung to him.

"Pot found the kettle. I am curious what you two will do in the future." Mrs. Cole smiled sincerely, probably for the last time, because she will regret it. She made a match made in hell. "Right Tom Riddle? Romeo Graves? Make your dead parents proud."

Chapter Text

Romeo was a genius, he was the first one to sit up, to walk, to grip the toys, to abandon said toys in favor of walking around and the first one to learn how to speak.

Tom followed suit not wanting to be left behind. If Romeo crawled Tom started to try to stand up. When his first word was Tom, said infant had to say Romeo as clearly as the adults. It was interesting, both babes slowly growing to toddlers already competed with each other. Tom made him sane, he measured his growth to a semi normal baby.

They formed a bond that Romeo couldn't explain. He only cried once when one night his bed was cold, they took away Tom. Maybe he was adopted his rational side thought. Who would want him, with his color changing eyes?

Tom cried more. He was believed to be sick, so the matrons separated all the babies and infants. Romeo only calmed down when he was back. They both didn't care if they catch a cold, they wanted to be together.

January 1929

"Do it again!" An excited Tom shouted as they were supposed to sleep. As three years old both had a vast vocabulary, a preference to each other over to the other kids and a weird thing that only happened around them.

"Sure. Which color?" Romeo giggled. It turns out he can change his eye and hair color. It is a damn useful skill to have, he really wanted weird colored hair but hair dye or a good hairdresser was expensive.

"Let me think?" Tom said. "Green hair and green eyes." He said. Romeo, already knowing that the boy liked green he kept his eyes green most of the time. Now he concentrated to his hair, imagining a shaved off mohawk with green color. "It looks weird." Tom confirmed. "Where did this idea come from?" Romeo just shrugged, his face blank. A life before this would be a weird answer to a toddler.

He touched his hair and indeed there was a mohawk. "It is green at least?"

"Yes like the grass or the veggies." He said back. Mission accomplished. His shapeshifting ability started to work better.

1930

"Mrs. Cole why don't we have parents like other kids from the street?" Amy Benson a fellow orphan asked. Tom wondered the same just he didn't want to waste matron's time with stupid questions.

"Your parents left you there kids. But any time a lovely pair can adopt you." Mrs. Cole tried to reassure the little kids.

"I don't think so." Romeo responded. "As we get older people will find us more ugly. They want cuddly babies or well behaved infants. Last time I checked we are not babes anymore." Tom agreed, but it hurt to know that nobody wants them. This made the stupid Amy cry and other insignificant orphans, who couldn't handle the truth sniffed along too.

Romeo got punished after his remark, but he said the truth. Tom wondered why was he punished for the truth? Martha said they should always tell the truth, never lie. Yet here they were Romeo had to crawl in the corner for hours.

"I don't get it." Tom stood next to him, never abandoning his only "friend". Only Romeo had the right mind capacity to think the same way as Tom and not play with stupid toys when they can discuss so many fascinating questions like why are there clouds and why can he turn his eyes green?

"What?" Romeo asked, but not in the mood to explain a harder topic to the child.

"You didn't lie. We are unwanted. So why did you get punished for telling the truth? Say the truth they said. Now you get punished for it." Tom wondered.

"I was insensitive. Yes I said the truth, but I shouldn't. Mrs. Cole wanted to sugarcoat the truth. That our families just put us up for adoption because they don't have the money to take care of us and one day they will come back for us and take us back. Probably there are some cases, but most of our parents are dead, uncaring or stupid. And people rarely adopt kids, we are four, not cute babies they can educate and shape as they want." Tom started to think. He knew well he won't get adopted, he was too cold and always serious for the foster parents. Romeo was always sad, if not his eyes gleamed with malice and annoyance.

"Do you know what happened to our parents?" Tom asked after a long pause of thinking. Romeo chuckled.

"Mine abandoned me. I heard the matrons gossiping about him. Mum died of childbirth, his first reacting he dumped me. Like I am not worth anything." He said sadly.

"We are so much more than this place. I know we are valuable but nobody sees it." Romeo's eyes flashed to blue for a moment. "You can do that cool thing and I noticed that I can do this." Tom tried to focus on the book that was in the other end of the room. It flew right into his hand. "We can do magic Romeo."

Romeo's expression changed to calculating. Tom too was wondering what can they do with this new revelation. "We are special Tom and I will make sure that nobody will ever toss us aside. Besides you asked why telling the truth hurts. We won't. From now on you and I, we will lie all the time."

"Even to each other? I promise I am not a wuss like those kids. You can always tell me the truth even if it hurts." Tom promised. Romeo smiled.

"You too have to tell me the truth too. Others will see a different Romeo from now on. I will try to hold back my remarks. I don't want to be punished for stupid things. What do you say?" Romeo held
out his hand for a handshake.

"No lies between each other but we will deceive others. Promise."

"Promise." Romeo said too with a smug face too.

(Romeo realized at age two that he shared a crib with Lord Voldemort. That was a reality breaking day and questioning his whole existence. Then he created a plan. They both will be partners in crime and rule over the world. Not one above the other, no they will be equals, but Romeo will pull the strings. Tom won't see it coming.)