Author's Note:
Anakin/Anthony's adventures with radios is inspired by Richard Feynman's childhood stories. Also, there are cookies.
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= Riddles =
'-
Freedom, Radios and Cookies
The scrapes and escapes of the Riddle twins.
'-
The Riddle twins had escaped from the open windows of the east room.
They were silently glad that it hadn't been raining in a while because it wouldn't be possible to jump into an open flowerbed that blocked the exit that way; the mud tracks were hard to hide. Their current minder, Talbot, was already a little too used and a little too resigned about their escapades that they actually tolerated him better than most of the older kids. He didn't panic, and he was rarely in a hurry to recover them whenever he recognised them as being missing from among his current charge.
It gave them enough time to practise lightsaber katas in the backyard with pieces of old brooms that they had liberated from the shed. That went well for only the first half hour. The next one had them messing around in mock sparring. Anakin might have more experience as a lightsaber fighter, but their different balance of his children's body negated that a lot. Tom's reflexes and reaction time were enough to match him at this point—and he'd admitted after many suspicious queries from Anakin that he used to fence too. Years from now, Tom might not be able to keep up with him in a pure saber fight if Anakin had had gotten even more used to his body, but that day was not today.
It was fun even if they had to brush grass away from their knees and make sure they didn't leave too-obvious stains. It was no longer as tiring as it had been months ago, and they had barely broken sweat at the activity as they entered the orphanage again.
Mrs. Cole's presence in the hallway was not an expected part of the plan at all. Her arms were folded in front of her chest as she stared down at them. Tom stilled, probably trying to figure out what face to present. Anakin didn't bother holding back his sigh.
"Anthony and Thomas Riddle." She greeted, a warning tone in her voice.
"Yes, Mrs. Cole?" The blond twin asked, some resignation entering his voice. He ignored Tom's wordless warning as to how he should try to hold it back. It doesn't matter, he sent his thought it's not as if she'd take special note of it. There were far stranger things about them that she could note, anyway.
She stared at them for a little longer without saying anything. The Riddle twins stared back, giving their best impression of harmlessness—not that anyone in the orphanage will ever consider them as harmless. Still, why admit more guilt than is necessary? Anakin could feel the artificial placidity his brother was subtly broadcasting and smiled inwardly.
"Is there anything you needed, Mrs. Cole?" Tom asked, perfectly polite and helpful in tone.
If Mrs. Cole thought they could be intimidated to spill their guts, she was sorely mistaken. She sighed.
"You do realise that you've just run away again, haven't you?" She asked.
"We were about to go to the study hall, to be honest," Tom said, glancing at his brother.
Anakin nodded. "Either that or your office, actually. Ma'am."
He could feel rather than see his brother's surprise while the one on Mrs. Cole's face was visible. He explained further. "I've noticed that the radio gets wonky after a while, and it loses sound completely when it's been turned on for too long. It sounds like it's overheating and has faulty heat sink or circulation. If you have the tools, would you mind if I take a look at it?"
There was a mental nod from Tom. That explained the last book you were borrowing from the library.
He had chosen two books on electrical engineering; one was a comprehensive textbook that will provide him with the depth he was looking for while the other was a more practical and popular one that showed the examples of various projects that he could use immediately.
"Are you sure?" She asked. It showed how well she had known them that she didn't meet his offer with looks of incredulity, just an uncertain one.
"Sure." Anakin said.
It didn't take long for Mrs. Cole to usher them to her office, nor for a toolbox to be located. Anakin had already rolled the sleeves of his shirt at that point as Tom sat in front of him and opened the box. The blond found the appropriate screwdriver to use and set forth to taking it apart, all while telling his twin what exactly it is that he was doing and asking for the occasional helping hand. Working on repairs was practically second nature to both of them after all the hours in Watto's shop.
It was only when Mrs. Cole spoke again that the twins realised she hadn't gone anywhere.
"Anthony… Thomas." There was a strange note of finality in her voice that caught their attention. It was rare that she was this subdued "I think it's past time for me to realise that neither of you are exactly like the other kids your age."
It's not as if we're like other older children either, Tom thought dryly.
Anakin replied that with a mental eyeroll. It's not as if we're children.
"Perhaps I should take that into account, and allow you greater freedom—" Their faces lightened up at this "—and greater responsibility than is usually granted to your peers. You will have free passage throughout the orphanage at all times, because I trust that you can behave responsibly without having people to mind you."
She received two nods at that. "From now, I will include your name in the weekly duty rosters as well. If you want to know what responsibilities you'd have to take on this week, you can ask Anderson about it. Please show me that I was right to trust you, boys."
"Certainly, Mrs. Cole." Tom said with his best smile.
"Of course, Mrs. Cole." Anakin said.
"Right. I'll leave you two to it, then."
Mrs. Cole turned to leave. Anakin turned his attention back to the radio he was fixing while Tom was in a good enough mood to decide to humour him and keep him company for a while. For all the satisfaction the two Riddles exchanged through their bond, they might as well have been high-fiving and shaking each other's hands in congratulations.
"We are finally free from minders." Anakin let out a long, satisfied sigh.
"Which is long overdue."
"But it's not as if it was that much of a hard work to wear them down either," he pointed out, taking more screws out. "All we had to do was keep evading a bunch of kids."
"A bunch of taller kids with better reach. Being short really is a hassle."
"So now you owe me some dessert." Anakin smirked. He was wondering when his brother was going to realise that, but he was too impatient to wait. The dubious snort he heard was just as he expected.
"What dessert?"
"You lost the bet about when she'd given up on trying to lump us with the other younger kids. This is still within my chosen week instead of yours."
The scowl on Tom's face was usually enough to clear the way for them, but it only made Anakin laugh.
'-
"Why are we spending our free time in the kitchen, again? We already did kitchen duties yesterday." Anakin groused. It still didn't stop him from walking beside Tom.
"I have a plan," he said cryptically, which did not stop him from receiving a glare courtesy of his brother. "It will probably bear delicious sweet fruit tomorrow or the day after that, but it requires some effort now. Besides, we could always talk unhindered in the kitchen."
"I haven't finished reading the books and I intend to at least return one at the end of the week so I could borrow something else. Urgh. When would people invent datapads here?"
The dark-haired twin shrugged with no apparent concern. "You can go back and read, but you wouldn't be part of my plan that way."
"What is your plan, anyway?"
"That would be telling and I can't do that, the walls have ears, you know," Tom said mildly.
Then don't say it out loud! Anakin gave a mental yell. From the way his brother winced and sent him warning looks, it was almost as annoying as actually doing it.
It's less fun if it's said out loud, even for me, he said. Come on, trust me on this. Or don't, and go read your book, but no regrets if you do that.
Anakin was sure that this was payback from Tom for losing one rice pudding, one blackberry pudding, one jelly, and one apple strudel over a period of several days due to their last bet, but he didn't have any proof. That said, Anakin knew that Tom never did anything without a good reason and thus there wasn't any chance he was just roped into more work, not when Tom was right beside him. Yet he also knew himself well enough to realise that just as Tom revelled in secrets, they drive him up a wall. Probably the main reason why he did it anyway, he thought.
He sighed. "Fine. But if it's not as great as you claim it, I'll get you for it."
Tom merely grinned.
'-
We're going to the kitchen? Again? Anakin asked with frustration.
What were the appropriate Jedi words, again? Oh, 'patience, Padawan'. You should know by now that I play the long game.
Oh, did he ever know just how long a game Tom could play. If the way he had always left minor inconveniences to Greg Nesbitt for all the small troubles he made for them was any indication, it was too damn long for Anakin's taste.
Just how long is long? Because if I have to do this for a week with nothing to show—
I think it's today; just wait. Well, it's either today or tomorrow, at any rate.
Mrs. Swinburn greeted them with a hearty slap on their shoulder, and they found themselves moving to their usual spot. Anakin went dragging around the stools while Tom went around finding vegetables that needed chopping.
There was a gangly teenage orphan with dirty blonde hair by the stoves; she was Liddie, if Anakin wasn't mistaken. She was as almost a permanent fixture of the kitchen as the Cook, and one of the few who could care less about them that they soon found they could relax behind her. Both twins had tried scanning her surface thoughts once (legilimens, Anakin, you'd have to remember all the other names too somehow, Tom had said), and they'd found that her main concern was indeed tied to what meal she was working on right then. Their only worth to her was being labelled as 'kitchen brats'. He wasn't even sure if she'd remembered their names at this point beyond them being the Riddle twins to her, but he was actually glad for it.
The kitchen, as always, was one of their bolt holes.
"What did you want to talk about?" Anakin asked. It wasn't that hard to put a low-level distraction field around them (harder than it would have been, what with the way the Force was difficult to hold here. Yet since it was a simple act that he didn't have to think about, it didn't exactly change much). Tom had observed it once and told him that it was definitely a notice-me-not charm, to use the wizarding world's parlance.
"Talk about?" Tom asked.
"You wouldn't have chosen the kitchen if there wasn't anything we need to discuss properly," he said. True enough, the dark-haired Riddle had that vaguely amused smile on his face again. If he wasn't getting so used to it and if he was as young as his actual physical body, Anakin would've wanted nothing more than to wipe it from his twin's face.
"I almost forgot," Tom started, which earned him a snort from Anakin, but he ignored it. "While I have no doubt that being able to fight with a lightsaber is useful, I'm not sure we can find lightsaber crystals around here."
The blond sighed. "I know. You didn't think that I never thought of that?"
"What I meant was, we might as well go to Diagon Alley sometime soon and get wands of our own."
He was never quite sure what to think about this magic business, but since it felt exactly the same as the Force, he might as well start to get used to it.
"And the money?"
"I'll take it from Slytherin's vault," the dark-haired twin said casually. His brother was still wordlessly staring at him, so he explained. "I thought I went over this with you. You know, Salazar Slytherin? One of the four Hogwarts Founders who made the Chamber of Secrets in the school? All four founders have their own family vaults in the earliest and lowest levels of Gringotts bank, being part of the old wizarding families as they are. The vaults also have a lot of gold in them."
"And…?"
"I'm a descendant of Slytherin's main branch…well, since now there's also you, I suppose it's more correct to say we're Slytherin's descendants."
That seems to have broken through Anakin's stupor somehow as his eyes widened in shock and, his eyes were closer to pale blue. "We inherited from a Hogwarts Founder? Are you telling me that we have lots of money? Why are we still even here?"
If it wasn't for their notice-me-not charm, his rising tone would've drawn the attention of everyone else. As it was, they barely received a glance from Liddie.
Tom considered it idly, his tone flippant. "Hmmm, I've never really thought about the money—"
Anakin's tone could've peeled paint.
"Tom,"
His lips twitched into a smirk. "—but I thought it was easier to keep a low profile when we're just muggle orphans and not Slytherins' underaged heirs running unchaperoned in the wizarding world."
His twin threw his hands up in the air. "Oh come on! How would they even figure that out?"
"I'm not sure I know of all the ways they do, but I do know that some of the old pureblood families have sworn allegiances to one of the Hogwarts founders. If we were going to draw a lot of money, we would have to activate the vault and that would require a Proof of Inheritance document activated by blood. On the upside, it would formally cement our claim as heirs and all would have to admit what power and influence we can still wield. On the downside, once the lineage is confirmed to be active again and our blood registered, all sorts of other blood wards tied to other houses and families that are allied to Slytherin in various degrees will also become active."
Tom collected all the carrots on his chopping block and tipped it into the pot. Then he took the next bunch of carrots.
"All those people would immediately be informed of who the current, active heirs of Slytherin are—because vassals should obviously be able to recognise their liege lords and give them what bowing and scraping is their due." Tom didn't hide the dry tone of his voice.
"Yet we'd have minions. How can you say no to minions?" Anakin asked with over-the-top enthusiasm. If Tom had one weakness, it had to have been that.
"Said minions would also enthusiastically introduce us to their families. I could expect knowing their sons and nephews, but I don't think I have enough patience if I was herded towards daughters, nieces, female cousins several times removed, et cetera." Tom finished.
"But we're kids!"
"All the more reason to start while we're young and impressionable. The family could not afford to miss the opportunity to make such important connections. Then ten years from now, they're well placed to act. 'Look at those handsome young men darling, and do get to know them properly!'" Tom said with all the false cheer of a debutante's mother. "'We wouldn't mind if you know them more thoroughly than other young men. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, and soon you get more décolletage shoved to your face than you ever wanted. I knew I experienced enough of that when I was in seventh year."
Suddenly he stilled at a particular memory, his expression was dark. Anakin wasn't sure if he wanted to know what it was about or not. "Then, there's the fangirls."
His tone was ominous. The blond groaned at that and palmed his face.
"Even wealth comes with its own set of troubles, doesn't it?"
"It would be easier to manage if we tell them we've only found out about when we're teenagers. We'd have a better excuse since we can say we've researched our family history through the Hogwarts library. Others won't be so daring in their manipulations, not after a good number of them snubbed us so obviously when we were but mudblood orphans. If we were just about to take small amounts of money once in a while, it would still be manageable without having to activate Proof of Inheritance. Thus, buying a wand is still achievable."
"…but not living away on our own." Anakin muttered from behind his hand.
"But not living away on our own. Correct."
'-
One meal later and several batches of cookies done in the kitchen, Anakin was almost certain he'd never be able to stop smelling like a bakery after all that. Mrs. Swinburn thanked them on their hard work, gave the three of them a bag of cookies each and sent them on their way. It was done in a whirlwind of activity that Anakin wasn't sure if he'd had managed to say his thanks before he was suddenly standing outside the kitchen.
"What… just happened?"
"Plans bearing sweet fruits," Tom said casually, raising his bag of cookies in a mock salute.
And then Anakin gets it. It was clear when it happened; his eyes lit brilliant blue like stars in the sky.
"Oh, wow. That was some pretty long plans. And here I thought Cook was famous for never giving anyone more desserts than they deserve. They say it doesn't matter how much you try to sweet talk or charm her into it, no one had ever succeeded against her defence."
"To be sure, she never gave anyone more than what they had earned," Tom corrected, a smug smile on his face. "For some reason no one had figured that out before."
He nodded. "Okay. Great plan. Now, we need a new plan. We have to find a hiding place for these and quickly."
"Why for?"
Anakin stared at him in disbelief. Didn't he know what other kids are like? The easy camaraderie, the food sharing and possibly food nabbing? Force, what was his childhood like? He stopped his thoughts of planning to correct possible defects in his brother's childhood and returned to his initial concern.
"Here we are, carrying two bags of cookies that we've managed to acquire through mysterious channels? The curious and the desperate would be after us. We'd be mobbed. We'd have crowds baying for our blood and we'll live a life on the run to secure our stash. Trust me, we better find some spare tins before any of the other kids sees us."
'-
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