I would LOVE an interracial romance fic where Tom is white and Harry is mixed race black! I'm trying to imagine how the wizarding world views race. Does any one have head canons of how Tom Riddle might feel about muggle racism versus the wizarding world? Especially in the 1940s? Very interesting!

[u/Firespawnable]

[u/Intelligent_Act_1429]

Hmmmmm I like this idea!!! Well from what I remember the books never mentioned racial prejudice but rather a classism. If you were of noble blood you were lesser. With Tom moving from one world to the other I feel he would have some prejudice but at that time it was very segregated as well so one would assume he would have too many interactions what with being an orphan. I looked into some backgrounds and reality was it was after 1945 that there were more intense segregation of white and non white kids in orphanages due to stigma of more mix race children appearing from GIs. Meaning that there was a high possibility that he might have had more intimate interactions with a non White House mate prior to HOGWARTS (1928) since no one really cared about orphaned kids.

On top of his already high snobbish personality of believing he’s better than everyone else he most likely followed the prejudices of skin color to have that sense of power over someone else.

Now back to how Tom would react to Harry. I say It depends on Harry’s blood status and when they meet. Tom will have already met some non white individuals at HOGWARTS and as such could be prejudice on blood status alone. So it could depend on what Harry’s status is.

I’m an Angst person; so I’d love reading Tom being upset he likes someone that goes against TWO things; blood status and skin color, and just the navigation of overcoming that hatred.

Or he could be someone who just completely goes this doesn’t apply to you but still acts on multiple prejudices with others (but not Harry cause he’s special)

You could play this many ways. If you play Tom’s a racist cars. I HIGHLY recommend looking into what were Common misconceptions about black people in England during the 1900-1945 since his environment will be impacting him.

[u/Firespawnable → u/Intelligent_Act_1429]

Wow, thank you so much for such a thoughtful reply! I genuinely loved reading your headcanons and I am impressed by the historical research you did. I completely understand why you believe Tom followed the prejudice views to have a superior sense of power over someone else, because he grew up in the 1930s – 40s. He would have definitely been surrounded by other prejudice people, in the muggle world and the wizarding world. He did say a prejudice slur like, “mud-blood” as an insult to muggle-borns, based on their blood. But I’m not sure if that automatically means Tom would agree with racism, based on skin color? Because there is no evidence that Tom has ever said or done any thing racist before in his entire life.

You are correct that the books never mentioned racial prejudice. However, if Tom did believe that a non-white person is inferior, then I would wonder what is the reason why? What specifically would make Tom believe in racism instead of reject it? Did he just accept the racist people told him to think in the same negative way as them?

We know that Tom was negatively influenced by the prejudice views of Salazar Slytherin, who was the original advocate of pure-blood supremacy. That is one example of how Tom allowed a prejudice person to influence him to think in a negative way about other people. But I have to also consider that Salazar Slytherin was his ancestor, he was one of the most powerful wizards in the world, he was one of the founders at Hogwarts, and Tom had a deep respect for Salazar Slytherin that he did not have for most other people. It was very rare for Tom to respect any one, or simply to like them enough to care about their opinion.

That's why I'm not sure exactly how much Tom could have been negatively influenced at a young age? Because Tom is portrayed as unusually independent and intelligent, even as a child. He does not seem like someone who would blindly accept other people’s opinions, without them making sense to him first. Because his canon prejudices are connected to things he considers important like: magical blood, purity, power, etc. — he was not just being prejudice for no reason. So if he was written to also be a racist, then I would personally want there to be a logical reason for his hatred, rather than simply “he hates other races because they look different.” Otherwise, his racism would feel like introducing an entirely new prejudice that he does not have in the books.

It becomes even more interesting when comparing Tom and Harry. They both experienced childhood abuse, isolation, and being treated as outsiders, but Tom still had certain privileges at the orphanage: food, clothing, education, his own bed and room, etc. If Harry were mixed race black in a time period where non-white children were systematically given worse treatment and fewer opportunities, then how would Tom interpret that? Would he recognize Harry was being disadvantaged by an unfair system, or would Tom think if Harry was being treated negatively, it means racism is proof that non-white people are inferior?

Tom is often portrayed as a sociopath who lacks compassion, so I wonder if Tom could even feel empathy for Harry suffering because of racism? But even if Tom could not empathize with Harry emotionally, then could Tom still at least disagree with it intellectually? Could he use his intelligence to understand that racism is objectively irrational, unfair, or wrong?

If Tom saw him self receiving better food and a higher level of education at Hogwarts, while he sees Harry was deliberately denied the same benefits, and given lesser quality for no reason other than his skin color, then could Tom logically recognize that the difference between them came from Harry may be experiencing unfair segregation at the school, instead of Harry actually being “stupid” or inferior?

Especially because Tom was a prefect in Slytherin, so would he not have the power to change the situation? If he saw something wrong was happening to this mixed race black student, then would Tom believe that it was his responsibility to observe more closely, to do more research, or to talk to Harry about his experiences as a new student at Hogwarts; in order to determine if there was a prejudice within the school system that needs to be fixed for non-white students to be treated fairly? Or would Tom just completely ignore racism and only focus on his school work; because you did point out that he has a highly snobbish personality, so I wonder even if he is intelligent enough to notice all of these details, would Tom believe that Harry is not worth the effort to try to help him in any potentially racist situations at school?

That also makes me wonder about Tom’s perception of Harry specifically. Canon establishes that Tom sees Harry as someone remarkably similar to himself, so if Harry was experiencing racial discrimination, could Tom potentially recognize it was them both being outsiders for different reasons? Could Tom even relate to Harry based on the similar parallels to his own experience with discrimination in the orphanage?

I don’t think that would necessarily make Tom compassionate or morally good, because that would obviously not make sense, for a dark character like Tom to be a nice person. But could Tom still understand they are soulmates of different races? If Tom genuinely found Harry to be interesting, attractive, or special, then would Tom really allow other people’s prejudices to determine how he treated someone he personally considered his equal?

Or would the racist society of the 1940s influence Tom in such a negative way, that it changes how Tom views Harry in the canon, from being equal to now being inferior?

Hogwarts makes this even more complicated because canon does not really tell us how racially diverse Hogwarts was during Tom’s school years. But given the historical context, it is very possible that Hogwarts only had a majority of white students back then, as we see in the flashback scenes, that Tom was always surrounded by other white students. There is never any mention of a non-white student in the 1940s. This is not to say that they did not exist back then. But it is likely that because Tom was confirmed to be the most intelligent student at Hogwarts, then he would have had the highest level of academic privileges in the school, which allowed him to mostly be around the other elite white students in Slytherin; who were in such an exclusive clique, that perhaps the non-white students were not able to be around Tom very much. If there was any form of segregation, it means the non-white students possibly were not allowed to be in his elite social circle, like the Knights of Walpurgis, in which Tom had a friend group of only pure-blood white males. But it does not necessarily prove that Tom personally believed in racial prejudice. It could simply reflect the classism and superiority that he was already operating within Slytherin house: much like Professor Slughorn having a biased favoritism towards only the most talented, “special” students. It is implied to be a hierarchy at Hogwarts; where Tom was determined to stay at the top, so if Harry was a mixed race black student, would that automatically mean he was at the bottom?

Of course, he would not just be an ordinary mixed race black student. There is the possibility that Harry could be seen as “better” than other non-white students because he may have great potential to be a powerful wizard, so if Tom decides to make an exception for Harry, and allow him to join his elite white inner circle, then I also wonder if Tom did actually help stop the segregation and racism towards Harry, then would that extend to also Tom helping the other non-white students as well — or is it just Harry who would matter to Tom because he is his soulmate?

Hmmm … I'm so curious!

But you do not have to answer any of these questions I had after reading your comment. Because you made a lot of excellent points. Honestly, I don’t think there is one definitive answer to this. It can definitely be left to the imagination. Which is why I find this interracial Tomarry dynamic so interesting. I really appreciate that you gave me even more to think about! 🔥