Written while listening to Fitz and the Tantrums- Fools Gold.

July 31, 1933

"Tom! Please!"

Tom sighed. It seemed that today was not his lucky day. Of course, it wasn't really his day. It was Harry's birthday, and Harry was turning into a right menace.

From the very morning, Harry had been pestering him about "birthday rights." Somewhere, Harry had come into the idea that on one's birthday, they were supposed to get everything they wanted. Tom tried to educate Harry about how it was utterly unrealistic to get everything one wanted, even if for a day, but Harry resolutely stated that it was birthday law.

Tom suspected that he was going to have to find a way to dispose of Alyssa Harkins before she put even more inane ideas into Harry's head.

This led Tom into his present situation. It was a fine morning, surprisingly cool for midsummer, and Harry had been pestering him about going out and playing all day. The only other alternative that Tom managed to wheedle out was perhaps a few hours of reading. But Tom had forgotten to stipulate who got to choose the reading material.

So, Tom was stuck with the choice between reading The Cat Who Went to Heaven, and Emil and the Detectives.

Both were children's books.

Tom briefly lamented Harry's young age. For surely, if Harry were Tom's old age - a few months was definitely a long time - he would not be insisting on reading children's books. Obviously.

A little nagging part of Tom's mind insisted that he was wrong, but Tom, quite used to pushing down some part of his mind at one point or another, stifled it very quickly.

"But why?" Tom whined. "They're not even that interesting."

Harry gave him a shifty look. "How do you know they're not interesting if you've never read them, huh?"

Tom opened his mouth, but he failed to come up with a suitable lie fast enough. Harry's eyes glimmered with satisfaction as he tackled Tom off the bed and onto the floor.

"I'm right!" Harry cheered, lifting his upper body on his elbows, which happened to be digging into Tom's kidneys.

"Get off!" Tom screeched, internally wincing at the volume. Alyssa was no doubt going to investigate, and Tom would probably be forced into suffering the dubious pleasure of her presence. Harry persisted in keeping relatively amicable relations with her. While Tom could appreciate the value of having one of the major gossips in the orphanage on their side, it didn't mean he had to enjoy it.

"No!" Harry said. "Not until you agree to read one of them to me. And to Alyssa, if she comes in after hearing that scream of yours." Harry grinned evilly.

"Fine," Tom sniffed. "I'll read you a blasted baby book. For babies."

"I'd believe that," Harry said, still grinning, "if I didn't see you smile every time you read me a 'baby book'. Admit it. You like them."

"Never!" Tom said, trying to shove Harry off of him. Harry simply dug in his elbows further. Tom gave his rather impressive glare of death towards Harry, but his eyes didn't stop twinkling from his pure evilness in the slightest. Oh well. Tom would eventually perfect that.

"Never what?" a voice called from beyond Harry. Tom scowled. "If I admit I like them, will you make her leave?"

Harry glanced behind him. "Oh, hey Alyssa."

"Hey, Harry," Alyssa said. "Why is Tom on the floor and glaring at you as if he's trying to make your head explode with the force of his mind?"

"Oh," Harry said, leaning on his elbows a little more with a wicked smirk, "he just doesn't want to follow the birthday rules." Tom narrowed his eyes. So it was her, after all, who had put that idea into Harry's head.

Alyssa gasped loudly. "Oh my! That must be fixed immediately!"

"Exactly," Harry said smugly.

Harry and Alyssa had struck up an odd friendship that seemed to revolve mostly around gossip and tormenting Tom. Never mind that Alyssa was three years older and used to be terrified of Tom, and that she was a girl. Everyone knew that boys and girls didn't associate with each other! But Harry liked being himself without a care for how much Tom was irritated by his association with that…Muggle.

Tom had been forced to admit to himself on numerous occasions that while he thought he himself was different from everyone, Harry was no less different. It must be a wizard trait.

"What shall we do?" Alyssa said. "Although it looks like you have everything under control."

"I do," Harry said proudly. "He was just about to admit to me that he...likes 'baby books'," Harry admitted with a faux whisper.

"Oh, really?" Alyssa said. "Do continue."

Tom watched angrily as she perched on their bed, smiling happily. He furrowed his brows a little bit. Maybe he could get his magic to unobtrusively do something evil to her without breaking that "Statue" of Secrecy that Harry was always going on about.

As Tom felt the taste of the sea flood his senses, it was brutally knocked away as Harry backhanded him across the face.

"Harry!" Tom whined, knowing that he deserved it.

"Tom!" Harry called back mockingly. "Come on. Just say it. Then you can read me the first ten pages and then we'll go to pester Mrs. Cole to let us go out into the city for my birthday."

Oh. That was a new addition to the plan. Tom liked going out into the city. For one, he was assigned to watch Harry, something that went without saying, but allowed them a modicum of independence. As Harry was expected to be rather slow, being the "poor little blind child," they were the youngest children to be allowed freedom of movement. Not that Martha was particularly good at chaperoning anyway.

Additionally, venturing into the city allowed them to update their collection of books, and allowed Tom some opportunities to engage in one of his favorite activities...thievery. He thought he was particularly successful, as Harry's attention was almost constantly on him and yet Harry hadn't noticed a single of his steals yet. He wondered where exactly Harry thought all of the new clothing, books, and sweets were coming from…

"Fine," Tom said. "I like baby books. Now get off me."

Harry smiled winningly at Tom, hopping off and offering Tom a hand. Tom patted at his kidneys, sighing gratefully when it seemed like he was mostly intact. He then grabbed on to Harry's arm, pulling himself up. He was tempted to pull Harry back down on the floor with him, but that was surely inadvisable after finally compromising with Harry.

"Alright!" Harry said, throwing himself with perfect aim onto the bed behind him. To Tom's smug amusement, Harry had forgotten about Alyssa's presence.

"Ow!" Alyssa screeched. "Harry!"

"Sorry!" Harry said, sounding completely not sorry at all. Tom snorted. Maybe he hadn't forgotten about her.

"Start reading, crup!" Harry said imperiously, pointing a finger at Tom while inhaling deep enough to swell his chest.

Tom forgot all of his reservations in breaking their tentative truce with that little jab, throwing himself at Harry and tickling him madly. Alyssa growled from underneath them, trying to wiggle out from underneath the wriggling pile of shrieking boys.

A few minutes later, a huffy Alyssa, a panting Harry, and a smug Tom finally settled around the bed, where Tom began reading Emil and the Detectives with his usual dramatic flair.


Harry sighed happily. This was certainly a very hilarious birthday. Tom's facial expressions were absolutely priceless, and the way that Tom's magic practically hummed its irritation and mirrored Tom's no-doubt devious thoughts was a never-ending source of amusement for Harry. He wondered when Tom would catch on to how well Harry could read him.

Tom still thought that Harry was oblivious about his little habits out in the city. Harry didn't entirely approve, but he did have to admit that Tom's stash of candy was definitely a plus that they wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. Harry had a fondness for nougat and toffee. In fact, as time went on and he continued to joy Tom's illegally obtained goods, he began to think that if the shop owner was so dense that he didn't notice Tom's constant thievery, then he deserved to get stolen from. Tom was so glaringly obvious whenever he made a steal that Harry was considering actually informing Tom about his transparency, lest he be caught. That would put a stop to Tom's endless supply of goodies.

But sacrificing his candy! Not going to happen.

But that was for later. Maybe he could inform Tom today.

Right now, he was just enjoying the sound of Tom's voice reading out loud that funny book about a child detective, of all things, with at least five different voices and tones. Tom might prefer books with actual information, but he was very good at reading what he called 'baby books.' Harry was unsure why exactly Tom thought that only children read books for fun, as he was pretty sure that the laughter Martha occasionally barked out in the playroom, flipping pages, wasn't something that was caused by an encyclopedia, of all things. But he would fight with Tom about it later.

Right now, he was in heaven.

Alyssa was constantly sighing happily to his left. Harry couldn't even find it in himself to poke her in the side with his conveniently located elbow.

Just as Harry was slipping into a pleasant meditative doze that always left him able to recall everything he heard word for word, Tom stopped with a cheery "done!"

"Alyssa, check to make sure he's not lying. That he actually read ten pages."

Tom could be a sneaky bugger.

"Okay," Alyssa said, leaning over Harry. "Yeah, he did read ten pages. No brodie."

"Did you understand the meaning of the story?" Tom asked in a scholarly voice. Harry was pretty sure that he had copied it from Alyssa that one time she was ranting about her teacher being pure evil. No doubt Tom took it as inspiration.

"What meaning?" Harry sighed. "You only read ten pages!"

"Don't take candy from strangers, because then they'll have drugs inside it that will make you sleep and then they will kidnap you and Mrs. Cole will throw a party."

Harry shot a glare at Tom. "Whatever. Let's go and ask Mrs. Cole if we can go outside!"

"Can I come with you? Alyssa said hopefully.

Harry watched as Tom sneered and spitefully said, "no way!"

Possessive twit, Harry thought fondly.

"But Tom!" Harry whined. This would be fun. He bet himself that he could get Tom to agree to bring Alyssa along in three minutes flat. He absently started counting down from...what was it? 180? It was a good thing that they had learned to count a few weeks back from a neutral ten-year old who had lost his allowance in a bet. Harry had to admit that it was terribly useful.

"What?" Tom asked snappishly.

"It's my birthday…"

"Birthday rules!" Alyssa called joyfully.

"But that's only if Harry really wants you to come," Tom said, looking at Harry with a look that almost seemed to plead with him.

"Harry?" Alyssa asked. Harry jumped a little bit when Alyssa laid her hand on his arm. He wasn't expecting that.

"I want Alyssa to come," Harry said firmly. Tom gave him a look of despair, his magic visibly drooping.

"I win!" Alyssa said. Tom sighed and nodded.

Victory, Harry cheered. That was only at 124! Now if only he could master subtraction…


Tom scanned the street warily, gripping onto Harry's arm tightly. Those automobiles moved with very little regard for pedestrians. The air was muggy and humid, filled with the exhaust fumes of countless cars. The cool summer morning was long gone, disappearing the second they left the more residential part of London. The walk had been rather long, but Tom rather appreciated the distance from the shopping district. They lived just far enough away to breathe relatively easily. It wouldn't do for them to damage their health with dirty air.

A few cars shot by, and Tom could see a lull in the traffic. Knowing that they weren't going to get much of a chance to cross the road for the next few minutes if they didn't take this one, Tom yanked on Harry's arm.

"Harry, now!" Tom said urgently, jumping into the street. Glancing warily back and forth, Tom deemed it safe to cross. Harry followed him quietly, eyes focused on Tom's form. Behind him trailed Alyssa, who had been looking into the window of a shop that sold ugly-looking dolls in dresses that looked more like doilies than respectable fabric. Tom couldn't quite fathom where the attraction in those ruffle-covered monstrosities lay, but he was fine with them distracting Alyssa. Unfortunately, she had heard Tom's command to Harry and was consequently trailing them.

Tom really wished that he could throw her off. But he wasn't making much of a serious attempt at it. Not today. While he was a little bit cynical, he did want to make Harry's birthday very happy. It was his first birthday at the orphanage, after all.

They finished crossing the road, Harry tripping a little on a loose cobblestone. Tom checked him carefully, but he looked fine. That was good; an injured leg would be a major drag to their expedition.

"So where are we now?" asked Harry, smiling brightly.

"Around that candy store you like so much," Tom said, looking at the store in question. It was brightly decorated, the small windows filled with boxes of candy of all kinds. Just from a quick glance, Tom could see that Harry's favorites were in stock. Brilliant.

"Candy?" Alyssa said. "Oh, are you going to buy some?"

Harry looked at her sadly. "No, we need to save up our allowances. Tom used it all last time."

"Oh," Alyssa said, looking pensive. "Well, in that case, maybe I'll buy you some for your birthday!"

If Tom hadn't been watching very carefully, he wouldn't have noticed that tiny twitch of Harry's mouth. For a second, there had been a little pleased smirk on Harry's face.

Oh, clever, Tom lauded Harry mentally. If Tom stole some candy now, they would have twice the haul that Tom usually got. He hoped Harry wouldn't ask where he would get the extra candy, as he had supposedly run out of money.

Well, it wasn't as if Harry had made a point of asking about that before.

They moved into the store, Harry sniffing deeply while Alyssa began darting around excitedly, looking at all the displays. There weren't many people in the store. It was strange, Tom thought. It was a weekend, and this was the only candy store for a rather sizeable area. Maybe it had something to do with the economy. Tom was sure that he had heard something about that in conjunction with an impressively creative string of curses from Martha last week. He made a note to investigate.

Tom led Harry over to a shelf labeled New Arrivals. It was a large box filled with bright-yellow packaged candy.

"The new candy they have looks like the sun exploded, it's so bright yellow," Tom whispered to Harry, picking up a candy and examining the package. It was a chocolate.

"You better steal some," Harry commented casually, fingers rifling through the box.

Tom froze. He whipped his head around to stare at Harry, who continued digging through the box, smirking.

"You thought I didn't know? Do you think you're actually sneaky?" Harry asked, snickering.

"I am!" insisted Tom, quickly glancing around to make sure the owner was still trying to sell Alyssa some new kind of candy. All clear.

Tom quickly palmed the chocolate, then moved his hand around as if to scratch his neck. When he was sure the owner wasn't looking, he quickly let go of the candy, which fell into his shirt. He carefully shifted the shirt, which he had tucked into his trousers before they had left the orphanage. The candy lay flat against his back. He was sure it wasn't visible.

"That was sneaky, you have to admit," Tom said proudly. To his dismay, Harry didn't look impressed.

"Really?" Harry asked. "You can do better. What if someone saw you when the candy was sticking out from your back before you fixed it?"

"You have a better suggestion?" Tom sniffed. "This has been working forever."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "But I've been thinking about this for a while. You really need to change how you do it. It's obvious to me, and I can't even really see the candy, you know?"

"You could've told me earlier," Tom said, offended. And there went his plans of being a world-class pickpocket. How else was he supposed to get them funds for books and decent clothing? And something to sate Harry's sweet tooth?

"I have an idea," Harry said suddenly. "How about I pretend that I'm hurt?"

"No," Tom said. That wouldn't work. If there was really a problem with the economy, there would be no way that the owner would give Harry free candy.

"Why not?"

"Well, nobody's just going to give you candy if you cry."

"That's not what I meant," Harry said, eyes aflame with an emotion that Tom couldn't place. "I meant that I fall, knock over a box, maybe get a candy for my injuries, while you help put most of the box candy back."

"Since when did you get so sneaky?" Tom asked. It wasn't like Harry at all. He was the one who objected to 'borrowing' gloves half a year ago.

"Ever since I realized that I really like toffee and nougat," Harry said with a wistful smile.

Tom wouldn't put it past Harry to completely shift his fledgling set of morals into a path that allowed him to have more sweets. Tom sighed. Harry was so ridiculous. But, Harry would work with him today! Maybe it was something Harry was only willing to do on his birthday. But still. Tom felt terribly excited about it.

"Alright!" Tom said, fighting down the urge to make his glee known. "How are we going to make this work?"


Harry finished going over the plan with Tom. To his amusement, from what he could hear, Alyssa was being terribly annoying. The owner kept telling her about this and that candy, but she rejected them all because she was buying special candy for a special friend on a special day.

Harry was really excited to try whatever candy Alyssa deemed special enough.

Having spent about five minutes loitering near the entrance, Harry decided it was time to initiate their plan, lest the owner became suspicious. He turned toward Tom, a scowl firmly planted on his face.

"I don't need you to lead me around everywhere!" Harry said, voice high-pitched. "I'm old enough to move around on my own!"

"No you're not!" insisted Tom, grabbing onto Harry's arm. "You know it's dangerous for you to move by yourself!"

"It's not dangerous!" Harry cried, faking a struggle with Tom's arm. After a few seconds of fake struggling, he 'broke' free of Tom's grip.

"I want to look at candy by myself!" Harry said, turning angrily, stomping forward. He wondered if the shop owner had started paying attention to their little spat yet. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see strands of blue magic frolicking around him, twisting in amusement. Of course Tom would enjoy this. He had a taste for acting, especially if there was something to gain.

"Harry!" Tom said sharply, grabbing onto the back of Harry's shirt.

"Let go!" Harry said, yanking himself forward after feeling Tom grab his collar. That was the signal that Harry had strode far enough to crash into a stand with maximum destruction. Stumbling forward, Harry yelped as his knees impacted with something hard. He carefully braced his hands as he fell forward with a crash and the crinkling of numerous candy wrappers.

"Harry!" yelled Tom with fake worry, kneeling down beside him. "What did I tell you?"

"Harry?" asked Alyssa. "Are you okay?" She sounded a little worried.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Harry said, sitting up with a wince. Despite his best efforts, he had banged his forearm some.

"Son, are you alright?" a kindly voice asked. Harry looked up in the direction of the voice. It sounded slightly creaky, like the second step on the third floor staircase back in the orphanage. It also sounded a little breathy, as if the owner of the voice had trouble catching their breath. It painted an interesting mental image for Harry. Was this person old? Maybe they were...sixty! Harry shuddered. Old people creeped Harry out, something that Tom found really hilarious.

"My arm hurts," Harry said, faking a whimper. He rubbed at his arm, wondering vaguely if it would bruise. His magic deemed the injury insignificant; Harry couldn't even see a little bit of magic tasting the area. How rude. He would appreciate the loss of the ache. What was the point of having fairly accelerated healing (something that Tom kept trying to find the answer to in those oblivious Muggle-written books) if it only worked whenever it felt like it? Harry sighed.

"Oh, dearie! Here, have a lolly. It'll make the pain go away."

Harry waited a few seconds. The owner hadn't moved away, and he was just standing there. Harry saw Tom move from the corner of his eye. Tom moved forward and crouched a little, covering the area around his face with a cupped hand. Despite his attempts at having a 'private' conversation, Harry could hear it perfectly clearly.

"Sir, he's blind. You have to hand it to him." Tom's voice had just the right amount of apology and chastisement. Harry had to fight down the urge to laugh. Not now, not now. Later, Harry!

"Oh…," the owner said, sounding unsure. "Here you go, son."

Harry accepted the lollipop with a smile. "Help me up, Tom?" he asked, voice saccharine. "Of course," Tom replied, grabbing onto Harry's extended hand and pulling him up into a hug. Harry suppressed a little gasp as Tom's happy, satisfied magic danced around him, tickling him slightly.

"How much did you get?" Harry whispered into Tom's ear.

"It's a birthday surprise," Tom whispered back smugly. "Can we do this again?"

"Maybe," Harry said noncommittally. "I'm sorry for making a mess, sir," Harry said, arranging his face into a blank expression and purposely training his eyes two feet to the left of the owner. Might as well play up the charade while at it. He separated from Tom, offering his hand. "I'll stay near you," Harry muttered.

"Good," Tom said, turning a little. "Alyssa, Harry and I are going to go to the park. Meet us there when you're done."

"Okay," Alyssa said. "You sure you're fine, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry said, shuffling his feet. He was impatient to get to the park to see the no-doubt large stash that Tom managed to sneak. He was unsure where exactly Tom had hidden it; he didn't feel any lumps in Tom's shirt during that hug except for that one chocolate from before.

"Let's go," Tom said, turning to the exit and starting to pull Harry out of the store. "Thank you, mister!"

"Come back again, lads!" the creaky voice replied.

Harry and Tom left the store wearing identical, slightly evil grins.


Note: The books The Cat Who Went to Heaven and Emil and the Detectives were real, period books published in 1930 and 1929, respectively.

Additionally, the word "brodie" meant 'a mistake' in 1930s slang, as far as I can tell.


Woo, I got this chapter out at a fairly decent clip! This fic is turning out to be a bit research heavy, but I find that I don't particularly mind. It's interesting learning about pre-war Britain.

Right now, Tom and Harry are just being silly children. They are currently both six. I find that it's so hard to keep them from having silly interactions. But eventually, it'll get more serious as they get older and certain events draw nearer.

I want to know if anyone has an idea where the plot is going to be going; I've given a few hints! Also, the lack of searching for Harry isn't a plothole; I have plans!

As always, reviews are welcome.