December 31, 1943, the last day of break, dawned bright and cold. It was Riddle’s 17th birthday. He received a few gifts, including a fancy bottle of firewhisky from his previous boss at the Ministry and a nice leather wand holster from Harry. It was an O’Connor. Harry wouldn’t have ordinarily given Riddle a gift – it wasn’t like they were friends – but it was his 17th and given that Harry was with him at Hogwarts it felt rude not to.