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1%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExamples are not permitted on trope pages. They have been commented out.
2
3''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/284278/chapters/453146 If Them's the Rules]]'' is an in-progress ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fanfic written by [[http://archiveofourown.org/users/MayMarlow/pseuds/MayMarlow MayMarlow]].
4
5The fic opens with Ginny confronting Harry on his plan to travel back in time to somehow save Tom Riddle. Ginny calls Harry's plan naive and idealistic while Harry retorts she has never been abused or orphaned and if Voldemort never came to be, things wouldn't have turned out so bad.
6
7Harry timetravels to the year 1935 and after setting up his funds and home, sets out to find Tom Riddle.
8
9---------
10!!Tropes:
11* AbhorrentAdmirer: Harry finds Arcturus abhorrent, but unfortunately can't avoid him.
12* AdoptivePeerParent: Tom is eight years old when the eighteen-year-old Harry adopts him.
13* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Ginny makes one to Harry in an attempt to sway him from timetraveling to save Tom Riddle.
14%%* AwfulWeddedLife: Arcturus and Melania.
15* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Because Harry was nice to Tom (and is the first person to ''ever'' show him kindness), Harry becomes Tom's MoralityChain and Tom tries to reign in his sociopathic tendencies for Harry's sake. Tom's loyalty to Harry ''almost'' gets him put in Hufflepuff.
16%%* BigBad: Gellert Grindelwald.
17* BigDamnHeroes: Harry rescues Tom twice: when he stops a couple of boys from smothering Tom to death and when he rescues him from the attic, taking him from the orphanage for good.
18%%* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Blacks.
19* BirthdayEpisode: Tom's birthday is when Harry gets the invitation to Melania Black's funeral and [[DeadManWriting her letter]].
20* BullyingADragon: One of kids in the orphanage rubs into Tom's face that he was adopted and that Tom would never find a family despite him knowing [[EnfanteTerrible Tom's reputation]].
21* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Grindelwald threatens to kill Harry for the Elder Wand and he stabs him. Afterward, Harry heals himself and gets himself a blueberry pie at the bakery.
22* ButterflyOfDoom: Because Harry raised him, Tom Riddle never meets Dumbledore and sees no point in impressing anyone.
23* CallForward: Grindelwald thinks Albus Dumbledore as a his greatest obstacle towards conquest and Harry is just a nuisance.
24** Tom thinks the greeter for the first years should be someone taller for people to spot.
25* CatchYourDeathOfCold: Tom catches one after another kid dumps a bucket of ice water on him in the middle of winter.
26* CelibateHero: Harry denies Ginny's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove because he sees himself incapable of romantic love.
27* ChildrenRaiseYou: Harry finds this whole parenting deal to be more challenging than he expected.
28* TheChosenOne: To his annoyance, Harry discovers he is still the Master of Death.
29%%* ClosetKey: Harry is unfortunately one to Arcturus.
30* CommonalityConnection: The reason why Harry gives Tom Riddle a second chance.
31* ContrivedClumsiness: A kid dumps a bucket of ice water on Tom while they were doing laundry.
32* DeadManWriting: Melania writes a letter to Harry, warning him of Arcturus's obsession and intentions toward him and tells him of the comis piacularis vow to keep Arcturus from enacting on his desires.
33* DepravedHomosexual: Arcturus and Grindelwald, though Arcturus is heavier on the sexual part of villainy, abusing prostitutes and having his conflict center around his unrequited obsession with Harry. Grindelwald is closer to a straight-up Dark Lord, only qualifying based on uncomfortable flirting with Harry.
34* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Arcturus is referred as "[[UnusualEuphemism light on his feet]]" and it's treated as extremely scandalous and shameful for his family.
35* DiggingYourselfDeeper: When Harry tells Ginny that only his friends had the right to stop him. Ginny points out that he doesn't think of her as a friend.
36* DivorceRequiresDeath: Arcturus kills Melania through poison so he would be free to seduce Harry.
37* DotingParent: Harry for Tom, to the ''extreme''--his entire purpose for being here is to give Tom a stable and happy childhood.
38* DramaQueen: Tom tends to be overly dramatic, to Harry's amusement.
39* EmpathicWeapon: Despite coming from an alternate timeline the Elder Wand recognizes Harry as the Master of Death and its true owner and has started resisting Grindelwald ever since Harry arrived into this time and [[LoyalPhlebotinum stopped working completely after they meet in person for the first time. Grindelwald has marked Harry for death for this.]]
40* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Marchosias may be a racist pureblood, but he does love his sister.
41* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Harry is Arcturus's ClosetKey.
42%%* FamousAncestor: Sybill Trelawney's grandmother, Cassandra Trelawney.
43* FantasticRacism: Mudblood is practically Harry's and Tom's nickname.
44* ForWantOfANail: As a result of a better upbringing, Tom ''doesn't'' seeks anyone's approval nor does he try to integrate himself with the purebloods.
45* GoodHairEvilHair: Harry notes in dialogue, that Tom has his hair very gelled and neat like Draco Malfoy.
46* GoodParents: Harry is a loving parent to Tom Riddle.
47* GotVolunteered: Harry was press-ganged into become a Seer's Witness by Cassandra Trelawney.
48* HappilyAdopted: Tom Riddle is certainly happier as Harry's ward.
49* HatesBeingTouched: Tom hates his classmates for this reason and doesn't allow Harry to show him physical affection when they're around. Harry is the only exception to this rule.
50%%* HatesEveryoneEqually: Tom, Harry lampshades how he is the exception.
51%%* HatesSmallTalk: [[RuleOfThree Again]], Harry is the only exception.
52* HeirClubForMen: Arcturus figures it would be ok to kill Marchosias since he already has a heir.
53* HiddenDepths: {{Lampshaded}}.
54--> Tom couldn’t help but think that Harry’s personality didn’t reflect his room at all. ’I guess he, too, has hidden depths,’ Tom thought, rolling his eyes.
55* HopeIsScary: Tom didn't want to believe Harry genuinely wanted him.
56* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Arcturus plans to make Harry his SexSlave if Grindelward's side wins.
57* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Melania starts coughing up blood when she is dying of poison.
58%%* InsufferableGenius: Eileen Prince.
59* JerkassHasAPoint: While not usually mean, Ginny has a point that sociopathy and psychopathy is something that can't be treated.
60* TheKindnapper: Harry kidnaps Tom from his OrphanageOfFear after Tom was punished for defending himself and Tom cried for his help. Harry was planning to do this anyway because he's too young and too suspicious to be adopting a child.
61* LastNameBasis: Everyone in Slytherin House refer each other by their family names.
62%%* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Marchosias.
63* LongLostRelative: Harry pretends to be distantly related to Tom.
64* LoveMakesYouEvil: Arcturus's lust for Harry throws him off the deep end.
65* LoveRedeems: PlayedWith while Tom is less awful than he was canonically, he still has the sociopathic and murderous tendencies of the original Tom Riddle.
66* LustObject: Harry is one to Arcturus to his misfortune.
67* KidsAreCruel: Tom Riddle of course, but not just him. Another kid tries to smother Tom to death when he was too ill to defend himself.
68* KilledOffForReal: Melania is poisoned by Arcturus.
69* MamaDidntRaiseNoCriminal: Harry don’t raise no dark lords.
70* ManBehindTheMan: Grindelwald is one for Adolf Hitler.
71* TheMatchmaker: Marchosias to Madeleine and Harry.
72%%* MoralityChain: Harry is this for Tom.
73* MurderTheHypotenuse: Arcturus murders his wife for getting in the way of him and Harry.
74* {{Nephewism}}: Invoked as Harry takes Tom's last name to pose as a distant cousin or uncle.
75%%* NeverMessWithGranny: Cassandra Trelawney.
76* NotBloodRelated: Harry admits to Tom himself that while they are both of the Slytherin line, the relation is extremely distant and they are related only in name.
77* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Just because Harry is doing everything in his power to give Tom an ideal childhood, doesn't mean that Tom stops being a sociopath. Also while Harry Potter is doing his best to change only what he can, his acts of kindness ends up drawing attention to him both good and bad regardless of his wishes.
78* NotSoHarmlessPunishment: The Attic Punishment at Wool's Orphanage. Tom noted how it would break the toughest kids into crying and simply thought they were weak. He discovers the wonders of total darkness and isolation.
79%%* OCStandIn: Melania, Arcturus and Lucretia Black. Eileen Prince.
80* OriginalCharacter: Marchosias and Madeleine Malfoy, several of Tom's classmates, were invented by the author. They weren't detailed as much in the canon orphanage scenes.
81* OrphanageOfFear: Wool's Orphanage was already awful, the abuse Tom suffers is just a symptom of a bigger problem.
82* ParentalObliviousness[=/=]SelectiveObliviousness: Harry seems to think that Tom is simply an eccentric, brilliant introverted boy.
83%%* ParentalSubstitute: Harry to Tom. They are both surprised over how much they care for each other.
84* PennyAmongDiamonds: Invoked by Dorian [=LeStrange=] who tries to treat Tom as this as a pretext to bully him.
85* PerfectPoison: Played realistically. Arcturus poisons his wife over a period of months with a perfume starting at the beginning of the Hogwarts school year. Initially she thought she was ill, but when she figured out that it was poison, it was too late and she accumulated too much poison in her body and she was dead by New Years. Arcturus didn't get contaminated by reminding her he is sensitive to smell.
86* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Arcturus Black, who constantly refers to Harry to being of lesser status and Gellert Grindlewald, who doesn't even believe that muggles are ''human'', both dream of a Pureblood-only society. On an academic level, Dorian [=LeStrange=] and Rosier.
87* PowerPerversionPotential: Arcturus Black uses Polyjuice on a prostitute to make him look like Harry. Prostitutes can make themselves look like anything their johns want, although this gives them a short shelf life.
88%%* RaiseHimRightThisTime: Invoked by Harry.
89* ReluctantPsycho: Tom is still a sociopath but he tries to stay out of trouble (or at least not get caught) for Harry's sake.
90* RichBoredom: Madeleine is a very rich socialite but due to her illness she can't go out much.
91* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: Cassandra Trelawney sees no point in manners.
92* ShapeshiftingSeducer: The prostitutes can make themselves into whatever the client wants using Polyjuice.
93* ShownTheirWork: A major appeal of the story, is how much work is shown in child/adult psychology, World War 2 history, and the natural progression in relationships.
94* SickbedSlaying: Another kid and his friends try to smother Tom while he was ill.
95%%* TheSnarkKnight: Tom.
96* SocialServicesDoesNotExist: Justified. It's the Great Depression: There's not enough resources to ensure that the orphans are properly taken care of.
97* TheSociopath: Tom is a problem child.
98* SourOutsideSadInside: Tom is a bitter and cynical child, but a child nonetheless.
99* SupremeChef: Tom adores Harry's cooking and prefers it to the meals served at Hogwarts.
100%%* StalkerWithACrush: Arcturus Black.
101* TellMeAboutMyMother: Harry tells Tom the truth about his biological mother, Merope Gaunt. He tries to pretty up the truth, but admits that Merope was a sad, pathetic woman that Harry only cares about due their (distant) relation.
102* TeensAreMonsters: Tom witnesses a couple of six years students torture a cat to death with dark magic.
103* TimeTravel: Harry comes back through an unspecified ritual.
104* TimeTravelForFunAndProfit: Since the wizarding money has not changed, Harry simply takes his money out of Gringotts and takes it with him to the past.
105* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Tom Riddle's favorite food is Harry's homemade croissants.
106* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Tom himself, but another one attempts to ''kill'' him.
107* {{Tsundere}}: Tom is a harsh type to Harry.
108* UnderestimatingBadassery: Grindelward thinks Harry is simply an annoyance while Arcturus underestimated Grindelward and pays for it.
109* UnwantedSpouse: Melania is this to Arcturus, so he gets rid of her.
110* UnusualEuphemism: Being "light on their feet" is used as a sexual euphemism.
111* VillainousCrush: Arcturus Black has a... ''thing'' for Harry.
112* VillainousLineage: Arcturus isn't alone in disturbing behavior--apparently it's called the "Black Family Madness" because the entire family tends to get unhealthy, destructive obsessions to the point of insanity. Arcturus's grandfather abducted and raped the women he wanted to marry and his aunty worshipped a made-up deity.
113* VorpalPillow: Subverted, as a group of kids had to gang up on Tom to hold him down, and it took a while for them to actually cut off his airways.
114* WeDidntStartTheFuhrer: Grindelwald is manipulating Hitler to make taking Wizarding Europe easier and to wipe out the muggles.
115%%* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Melania to Arcturus.
116* {{Yandere}}: [[DepravedHomosexual Arcturus Black, who is totally obsessed]] with Harry to the point that he regularly uses Polyjuice on a prostitute to make him look like Harry, and he [[MurderTheHypotenuse murdered his own wife because she was "getting in the way."]].

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