INTERLUDE II

Autumn 1935

Unlike the last time he had run away in the middle of the night, Tom was far more prepared this time around.

The strange machines that operated in the kitchen were generous with their food, even at all hours of the night, and Tom was happy to take advantage of it. He had stuffed his bag with as much food as it could contain, leaving hardly any room for his spare undergarments. While his feet had long since been healed with witchcraft, Tom remembered the pain of his bleeding feet all too vividly, so he kept glancing down at his shoes as though afraid they might disappear.

This divided attention was what led him to being caught.

Tom had hardly left the Citadel gardens when he heard a familiar voice calling out from behind him. "You going somewhere?"

Tom took off running without looking back, and with a whoop of laughter, the other boy gave chase. Tom led the way from the London Citadel towards Hyde Park. The early morning sky was already turning blue, but it was still too dark to see properly, so he couldn't run as quickly as he would like, but the other boy ran at full tilt, utterly fearless.

Too fearless.

Tom heard the pained cry that came from far behind, and he immediately turned back towards the sound. The other boy had run directly into a bush that had been hidden in the gloom, and Tom rushed to help him. As he extended his hand, Matthew smiled up at him.

"Fooled you." He said in a sing song voice.

Tom gritted his teeth. "Why would you do that? I thought you were hurt!"

"Why would you runaway?" Matthew shot back, climbing to his feet under his own strength. "I can't believe you didn't even say goodbye. I can't believe you didn't even invite me to come!" He glared at Tom as though he had committed a great offence.

Tom was confused. "Why would you want to run away? Everyone loves you." It was true. While the Aurors all stared at Tom as though he were a demon, they had nothing but fond looks and kind words to say to the Commander's son.

Matthew shrugged. "You're my brother. I want to keep you around." Tom scowled at the word "brother", as Matthew had been forcing it on him for almost a month now, since they had first met in fact. While the Commander had made it clear that he was a ward of the Citadel, Matthew had been acting as though they were kin.

It was driving Tom mad.

He had long grown used to people being wary of him, disliking him even, from the servants, the villagers, even his own father, but he found the relentless friendly attention of his new foster brother to be far more excruciating. While he could guess that Matthew had been as lonely as he was, as children were a rarity in the Citadel, it still didn't excuse his behaviour in Tom's mind.

Matthew continued as though he couldn't see Tom's scowl, which in this gloom, he might not. "If I hadn't gotten up so early to go into the city, I never would have seen you sneak out of the kitchens."

Tom frowned. "Why would you go to the city at this time?"

Matthew smiled. "I like watching the Muggles busy themselves about. They're so interesting." Tom frowned, as the Commander had made his opinions on Muggles quite clear to him by now. "Now, where were you planning on going?"

Tom shook his head. "I don't have to tell you." He said, resolutely.

"Yes, you do!" Matthew insisted. "I told you my secret, so it's only fair you tell me yours."

Tom hesitated for a moment, before admitting, "I don't know where I'm going."

Matthew chuckled. "You're crazy! You can't go out there on your own. There are more Witch-Hunters out there, you know." He warned Tom in the wise manner all older kids did to their juniors. "Monsters too. And evil wizards who would chop you up into little pieces for their potions and-!."

Tome had heard enough. "Your lying!"

"I am not!" Matthew snapped back. "Ask anyone! Why do you think the Aurors even exist, hmm? It's to protect kids like us from all the bad things in the world."

Tom was less sure that Matthew was lying now, as his words sounded like something his mother would say. "So, I'm supposed to hide here forever then? Like you?" He hadn't meant for his words to sound so insulting, but he couldn't help it.

Fortunately, Matthew didn't take any offence. "There's this place, a school, where we can learn how to protect ourselves. Then we can be Auror partners when we graduate!"

Tom didn't care about becoming an Auror, but he like the idea of protecting himself from monsters like his father. "What the name of this school?"

"Hogwarts." Matthew whispered the name as though it were sacred.

"If it's so great, why aren't you there now?"

Matthew sighed. "I'm not old enough." He perked up immediately, as Tom had come to expect from him. Very little seemed to bring him down. "But I'll be going next year." He smiled at Tom now. "Two more after that and you'll be joining me there. It'll be so much fun. I promise."

Tom was less concerned with having fun then he was about the education Hogwarts offered. "I'll learn to protect myself there? You promise?"

Matthew stared at him for a long moment, and then his smile softened in understanding as the sun finally rose enough to bathe the park in its earliest golden rays. "You won't ever have to worry about being hurt again, Tom. I'm going to protect you."

He had made this promise several times before, but looking at him now, as he was silhouetted by the rising sun, Tom couldn't help but believe him.