He would have spent his last summer at the orphanage, saving every knut of his meager income from the second-hand shop in preparation to live on his own after graduation. He would spend his idle time making plans for his final year and dreaming of life after Hogwarts. He’d eschew the Ministry completely. The fools didn’t realize his power and had rejected every application for a summer internship he’d submitted; they didn’t deserve him, and he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of accepting some pathetic, menial administrative job. No, after graduation Tom Riddle would hunt for treasures to house his soul in, and then he’d disappear, traveling the world and immersing himself in dark and dangerous magic before returning to become Lord Voldemort in truth, so undeniably powerful that no one could deny him.