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Reaching Through Time
Chapter 2: Halloween

It was late October when Harry was finally able to visit again.

Tom had just finished his classes and was walking home from school when he felt a presence walking right next to him.

"When do you start school?" Tom asked even before he looked to see who it was that had taken his free hand. He didn't need to look; there was only one person that had permission to touch him in any way, shape, or form.

Harry made a small noise in the back of his throat before speaking. "Next year. Everyone thinks I'm to little to go to school this year."

Even though the boy had just turned 5 this past summer he still looked so tiny and young. He had barely grown in the last couple years and it worried Tom greatly.

Tom knew how badly Harry wanted to start school, if only to get away from his wretched relatives for a few hours a day. Their visits were wonderful, but they were too infrequent for either of their tastes.

"Want me to show you what I've been learning?"

A few months after Harry had visited for the first time Tom had discovered that his young friend was incredibly intelligent; something else that they shared. So Tom had taken it upon himself to start teaching Harry how to read.

The green eyed boy had absorbed everything Tom had taught him like a sponge.

Those lessons were also when Tom and Harry had discovered that Harry couldn't take anything with him when he vanished. Tom quickly recalled that memory as he squeezed Harry's hand gently.

"Here." Tom was carefully drawing the alphabet for Harry to copy. Despite being so smart harry was still not even 4 years old yet so his hands didn't have the dexterity that Tom's did. So Harry's letters were wobbly and uneven.

Tom smiled as Harry took the paper that he had written on and once again began working out how to draw the letters. The boy's tongue was caught between his lips and his brows were crinkled in concentration.

When Harry had finished the page Tom took it to look over. The younger boy waited with baited breath until finally Tom nodded his head. "Your lines are still shaky, but you understand the letters at least."

That was more than Tom could say for most of the other children in the orphanage. Even some of the kids older than Tom had trouble reading and writing; and Tom was only 7.

Tom then grabbed one of the children's books that he knew Harry would enjoy practicing his reading with. It wouldn't do for the younger boy to grow stagnant in his lessons while they were not together.

All too soon the two boys felt the familiar tugging in their chests that told them that Harry was about to go.

"Take this. Practice. When you come back I want you to read the entire book to me." Tom pressed the book into Harry's arms. Those deep green eyes looked down at the book and then up at Tom in wonder and it shocked Tom like it always did to have someone looking at him in such a way.

"Can I...I can keep this?" Harry asked slowly and hesitantly as he looked down at the book again. It was a simple children's book with only a dozen pages with large script, but it was still something that he'd never had before!

Tom cleared his throat. It was times like this that Tome realized that in some ways he was better off compared to Harry. At least Tom had access to things like books and clothes that fit relatively well. "Yes. It's for you."

Harry's cheeks turned a bright red and he hugged the book close. His smile was so bright and his eyes so big that when he did vanish that brightness stayed.

There was a thumping sound against the floor and Tom looked at the object that had fallen. It was the book that he had given Harry to read.

He had been unable to take it with him.

Tom kept the book in his room, hidden in the wardrobe, for when harry returned. And when Harry did return he was instantly in tears begging Tom to forgive him because he had no idea where the book had gone.

With the memory ending Tom found he was holding onto Harry's hand a little too tightly. He hated seeing Harry upset, those green eyes even brighter and shimmering when there were tears there.

"Tom?"

Quickly Tom looked down at the much shorter boy and he gave Harry a small smile to show he was fine.

Harry returned the smile and lightly swung their clasped hands back and forth. "So what did you learn today?"

When Tom had started school in September the school had quickly realized just how gifted he was and had quickly advanced him. Even though he was a grade ahead of his peers Tom felt like he was still eons ahead of others.

"Well I borrowed the math book for the third grade class." Tom reached into his bag and pulled out the battered text book that he technically was not allowed to take out of the school. "We're going over adding and subtracting larger numbers in my class...but this talks about so much more."

As smart as Harry was he wasn't exactly ready for things beyond addition and subtraction.

Back at the orphanage Mrs. Cole didn't even bat an eye at Harry's arrival. She'd accepted long ago that Harry was probably a local child that had made friends with Tom.

Martha was encouraging of the friendship. Tom had become so much calmer since Harry had started visiting and he was much less angry with the other children. So, with encouraging words from Martha, Mrs. Cole let the black haired boy visit.

Once up in Tom's room he handed Harry the literature book that his own class was reading. "Read the first few pages then we'll go play."

Harry pouted. He had been hoping the two of them could go to the park.

"Just the first few pages." Tom repeated when harry didn't open the book he had been given.

With a very dramatic sigh Harry sat down on the floor next to Tom's bed and opened the book. He enjoyed learning, but his time with Tom was never enough and Harry wanted to enjoy that time together.

After a few minutes of reading Harry closed the book. "Halloween is almost here." His words were softly spoken and it made Tom look up.

Harry only spoke like that when something weighty was on his mind. Tom stayed silent as he waited for his friend to continue.

"Aunt Petunia told me my parents died on Halloween. Died in a car crash."

Tom closed his own book then with a quiet snap and set it down on his bed. "Come on." He helped Harry up and then led him out of the bedroom and out of the orphanage.

"Do you think you'll be able to come here then?"

Those first visits Harry made had been chaotic and unplanned; he appeared and vanished in no order. Sometimes he would visit on consecutive days, other times it'd been weeks before Harry showed up. The two were able to figure out that if Harry focused hard enough he could usually visit Tom at least once a week.

They had tried every day, but after a few visits Harry had started to become pale and lethargic; his eyes dim and his words slurring together.

Sometimes it didn't work, but for the most part if they planned ahead of time they could control when Harry visited.

Harry nodded quickly. He would much rather be with Tom on the day of his parents death then with his horrible family. Harry would probably just end up locked in the cupboard again anyway; like last year.

"Halloween is...nice here." Tom told Harry slowly. Last year they hadn't really thought about Harry visiting on a holiday; they had been too distracted with the fact that Harry was coming and going. "Martha gives everyone a piece of candy. The little kids make paper masks and the older kids help carve pumpkins.

It wasn't anything fancy, but at least it was something. Tom had always declined to participate, but maybe this year he would enjoy it more with Harry present.

With the plan for Harry to visit on Halloween made, the two went to the park and climbed their tree together.

Harry visited one more time before Halloween, but that had been a relatively short visit; just long enough for Tom to grab Harry some food for him to eat as they went over Harry's lessons. Too soon Harry had to leave because he could hear one of his relatives open the door to his cupboard.

Which angered Tom further.

He didn't show Harry his anger, no he kept it locked away when his small friend was visiting, but Tom knew if he ever got his hands on Harry's relatives he would most definitely do something gruesome to them.

At least Tom had his own ROOM and wasn't forced to sleep under the stairs in a tiny storage space.

Finally Halloween arrived. Tom had been looking forward to showing Harry a good time; something the boy had never gotten to experience on such an important childhood holiday. He himself might not have cared about the childish holiday, but he cared about Harry and just the thought of Harry being happy made Tom happy.

Harry didn't come at breakfast.

Tom knew that Harry couldn't stay the whole day. That would mean his relatives had shut him away and had forgotten about him.

He did come at lunch.

That was fine. Harry was probably doing chores or other things that his horrible aunt and uncle made him do.

An hour before dinner Tom was physically displaying his worry. The festivities would be starting soon and he didn't want Harry to miss any of it!

He was about to go to one of the adults for help when he felt a hand grabbing at the back of his shirt.

Tom spun around smiling only for his smile to vanish and his already pale skin to grow whiter.

Harry was smiling, the best he could, but he was injured. Blood was dripping a slow path down from the boy's black hair down his forehead and into his eye. There were cuts on Harry's exposed arms and he wasn't wearing any shoes. The poor boy's feet were blistered, cut, and bleeding. His shirt was torn up on his side like some wild animal had tried to grab him there.

And yet Harry was smiling like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Martha!" Tom screamed as Harry collapsed. Tom flung out his arms to catch the falling boy, not caring about the blood or dirt that Harry was getting on him.

Tom screamed for an adult again. He must have looked quite a sight yelling for help, his eyes wide with terror. The other children, even the ones that would bully and abuse him, quickly moved out of the way when Tom picked Harry up and carried him towards the kitchen where Martha would be.

Not just Martha came out at the sound of someone yelling for help, Mrs. Cole came charging out of her office as well.

In the course of the last couple years Harry had somehow endeared himself to the two women with his timid and polite nature. The attention Martha had paid Harry had always annoyed Tom, but in this case that affection was a benefit.

The moment Martha and Mrs. Cole say Harry, bleeding and unconscious in Tom's arms, they both burst into action.

Mrs. Cole gave Martha quick orders to call for a doctor while she ushered Tom into her own bedroom where she kept bandages in case of emergency.

"What happened?" Mrs. Cole asked as she began looking over Harry and categorizing all of his wounds. She began cleaning the cuts even before Tom could answer.

"I was waiting for him all day. I invited him for Halloween." Which Martha had known about since Harry had insisted they ask for permission first. "He came in a few minutes ago like-like that!"

Other than the injury to Harry's head it didn't seem he had anything worse than the cuts on his arms and feet.

It was a blessing that Martha knew of a doctor that lived down the street from the orphanage, otherwise they would have had to wait much longer for someone with actual medical experience to arrive to look over Harry.

Mrs. Cole did a decent job cleaning little Harry's wounds and the doctor was able to tell them that the boy had only cut his head and there weren't any signs of swelling. The man was concerned over Harry's health, practically accusing Mrs. Cole of starving the boy.

"He doesn't live here." Tom told the doctor sourly. "He lives with his aunt and uncle." As much as Tom disliked Mrs. Cole since he'd met Harry Tom had grown to marginally respect the woman. As apathetic as the woman seemed at least she protected the children in her charge.

"Despicable." The doctor mumbled as he cleaned up his kit. "The poor lad is so severely malnourished it's a miracle he's alive. There's evidence of past trauma as well. Judging on the cuts on his feet I'd say he was running from something."

The adults in the room left, Martha making a small comment about how children should not be privy to such talk. Tom caught a few words about how the doctor would need to report this obvious abuse and asking if they knew who Harry's family was.

Tom stopped listening in on the adults and turned his attention to the small boy that he had grown so attached to.

He'd seen Harry will all sorts of bumps and bruises, but he had never seen Harry so pale from lack of blood. Tom felt enraged as he stared at his friend who seemed to be barely breathing. He swore, to every god, power, or unknown entity out there that if he ever got his hands on Harry's relatives they would feel all of Harry's pain ten fold. No, a hundred fold!

"T-Tom."

The voice was so soft and broken that Tom was afraid it belonged to a ghost rather than his little Harry.

"Tell me what happened." Tom's voice was stern and demanded Harry to tell the truth. He would not stand for his most precious person to try and cover up what had happened to him.

Harry's eyes fluttered open and he turned his head stiffly to look at Tom. He sucked in his breath painfully at what he saw.

He knew that Tom had a darkness in him, an anger that could easily be riled and brought to the surface like a sudden summer storm. That much raw rage and power had always been kept locked away from Harry. Now though he could feel the power that swirled around Tom and Harry thought he saw a strange dark shadow moving in the corner of his vision.

Harry licked his lips and coughed a little as he tried to speak. Tom's ire broke long enough for him to realize that Harry's throat was painfully dry and he got up to grab a glass of water.

Once his throat wasn't dry and aching Harry was finally able to speak. "Aunt Marj was visiting." He winced and flinched at just saying her name. "She brought one of her bulldogs with her and it...it got lose and chased me."

And now there was yet another of Harry's relatives that Tom had a reason to dislike. He so wanted to just wrap his fingers around each and every one of their throats for putting his sweet and innocent Harry in danger.

"A-at first I thought m-maybe she'd call her dog off." Harry stammered weakly. His eyes grew distant as he recalled what had happened so very recently. "But the dog chased me down the road. She didn't care. It chased me into an alley and a-almost...it almost..." Harry's hand went to the ripped part of his shirt at his side. "Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon forbade me from doing any funny stuff around Aunt Marj. I couldn't even try to get to you until then."

The fear in Harry's voice and in his beautiful green eyes made Tom's heart twist in his chest and he climbed up onto the bed to pull Harry into his lap. The smaller boy whimpered, but not from pain, and he clung to Tom in desperation. Only in Tom's arms did he feel even remotely safe.

"Harry dear." Both boys looked up at when Martha opened the door. Tom's eyes were sharp and almost predatory like while Harry's were filled with trepidation and fear. "There's an officer here that would like to speak with you. Would that be alright?"

Martha had always been kind to Harry, even when Tom had tried to keep her away from Harry, so the small green eyed boy at least trusted that she wouldn't do something to purposefully harm him.

"Tom can stay with you if you want."

Finally Harry nodded and the uniformed officer was escorted in. Since Tom had elected to stay with Harry Mrs. Cole had to be present as well seeing as how Tom was her ward.

Harry answered the officer's questions as best he could, slowly and fearfully giving the names of his relatives and where he lived. The uniformed man was kind though and spoke gently. He told Harry that he was being a brave boy and that he would get some candy after all this was over.

Sure enough once the officer had all his answers questioned he gave both Tom and Harry several pieces of candy.

It was decided among the adults that little Harry would stay at Wool's orphanage while the police looked into the abuse charges that the doctor wanted to charge against Harry's legal guardians.

"Everything will be alright now." Tom whispered as he held onto Harry while the smaller boy unwrapped his candy slowly and ate the pieces carefully. There was a look of sheer bliss on Harry's face as his eyes closed and his lips turned up into a smile as he enjoyed that small sweet treat.

It was a short lived dream. They both felt the start of the tugging that would inevitably pull Harry away from Tom and the safety of his arms.

"No!" Harry cried out as he clung to Tom in desperation.

Tom's arms tightened around Harry and that rage that had slowly receded as he watched Harry enjoy his Halloween candy came back. The shadow that Harry had barely witnessed before filled the room that they were alone in.

"I'll keep you safe!" Tom swore as he fought blindly against the pull that was trying to steal Harry away from him; to whisk the fragile small boy away to a house of pain and neglect.

The pulling feeling grew stronger, but Tom struggled and snarled at whatever presence was trying to take Harry. Another power, one gold in color, joined the darkness that was swirling and spinning around them as Harry clung to the first person to have ever show real affection towards him.

The battle raged silently with the strange power that always pulled Harry away and the two boys that had created the storm of dark and light around them.

Suddenly the fight ended and it was like a rope had snapped and broken from the strain of trying to pull Harry away. Both the darkness and the gold that had created a bubble around the two boys vanished instantly.

"I-" Harry reached up to rub at his chest. He felt light as a feather and even the pain from his cuts was gone.

"You're still here." Tom struggled to keep the solitary sob from getting past his lips, but it did and he quickly buried his face into Harry's shoulder. "You're still here."

Somehow the two of them had won against the power that had kept them a part. And yet, despite the weightlessness that Harry felt, unease settled in the back of his mind. A feeling of wrongness that slipped around in the back of his mind.

A ghost of a whisper slipped through Harry's mind telling him that he could stay for a little while, but he would eventually have to go back. The voice was sorrowful and strangely familiar, but as quickly as it had come it had gone.

Tom held onto Harry and gently rocked him. They were both so exhausted after what had happened so when the doctor came in and offered to help Harry up to Tom's room both boys accepted without complaint.

Harry was still there, with Tom, and the older boy was determined to never let the younger out of his sight again.

Little did they both know their respite would be brief.