Chapter 2
"We must assume that our privacy is compromised."
Those dreadful words echoed over and over again through Tom's head as he stared at the darkened ceiling of their room. It filled him with loathing and disgust to think that somebody else could have listened in on a conversation he had with Tanya, but it was now a possibility to be considered... From what Dumbledore had described, magic was even more vast and diverse in its applications then they could have ever imagined!
The man had brought a bloody pen to life and made it dance with a flick of his hand!
To give a dead piece of wood animated life was beyond absurd and yet…
Every single one of their socks could now be watching over them. Hell, even the walls could become spies for the shadowy 'Ministry of Magic' at a moment's notice.
His sister had subtly indicated that he shouldn't worry too much , because she was working on a solution, but how could he not fear that unknowable power?
Realistically, they were just two orphans. Mages – or was it wizards? – were rare, yes, but according to Dumbledore around two-hundred of them were born each year, so they would definitely not be the only children of interest. Naturally, Tom was expecting them to be mostly snivelling, inbred nitwits, unworthy of any real attention, but adults were stupid enough to not recognize his or his sister's greatness.
In this case, the apathy that authorities usually displayed towards penniless, low-born orphans, would hopefully work in their favour. No one would expect them to do anything extraordinary or ambitious, like for example, completing the entire Hogwarts curriculum in one year instead of seven. In theory, it sounded like madness, but Tanya was certain that the approaching war would spill over into the magical world as well.
After all...
"Where do you think the German mages will start bombing first?"
It would be the most strategically sound decision. First, they would attack the Ministry of Magic, wherever that was, and then Hogwarts, the breeding ground of tomorrow's magical soldiers. By Dumbledore's own admission, it was the only school of its kind in Britain! Which made it a critical point in the entire country's infrastructure, making it so that Tom really didn't want to be there when it collapsed.
That was why they needed to absorb as much knowledge as they could from the place, in as short a time as possible before snatching a place on a passenger ship sailing westward. The cramming would be monstrous, but he was confident in his ability to surpass the average child's progress by at least seven times over. Not to mention that Tanya would easily find a way to teach him whatever bits and pieces he missed. If she could devise multiple spells entirely without the help from supposed experts like Professor Dumbledore, then she would certainly manage to do that.
Why would he, the future strongest mage alive, be content with the creations of lesser minds? If he wanted to be the strongest there ever was, then only the creations of the most brilliant mind would be fit to find a place in his arsenal...
o-TxT-o
He was equal parts bewildered and awestruck by Diagon Alley. Since it both surpassed his wildest expectations and fell awfully short of them at the same time.
Each of the crooked, half-timbered houses lining the winding street looked positively ancient , as if the middle ages had never left this bustling corner of London while the rest of the city embraced modernity. Weren't wizards supposed to be better than the non-magical 'muggles'? Where was the electricity? Or the automobiles? Tom would be highly surprised if this place even had sewers!
On the other hand, the very air was buzzing with invisible energy. Bright, multi-coloured lights lit up the many overflowing shops and market stalls selling the most fantastical curiosities. Plants with human eyes instead of leaves, candles that burned upside down, a talking teapot, clocks with way too many hands to be showing the time, a spectral bear that languidly spun around on one foot and other, infinitely more wondrous contraptions, potions or things that he had no name for.
It was all so much and between those mountains of mystical oddities, men and women in the most puzzling outfits pushed and shoved against each other in a manic race to acquire their items of choice. Everything was loud and vibrant and hectic...!
"Tom? Here, take my hand so we don't lose each other."
Wordlessly, he took his sister's hand and let her drag him where they needed to go.
His eyes roved over the dazzling scenery, utterly transfixed by the chaos. Tanya handled their purchases and he carried them, which he felt was more than fair. Slowly, his cauldron grew heavier and heavier with each book or vial or telescope placed within it, but he soldiered on, even when his shoulder started to ache. There was just so much to see still...
"Hey, do you kids want a pet?" their guide suddenly asked, pointing towards a shop window stuffed full with cages of all sizes. Owls, rats, cats and far, far stranger animals fluttered or hopped about inside and Tom instinctively sneered. Why should he care for a stupid animal that would only serve to waste his precious stipend?
Tanya, however, shrugged her shoulders.
"Can't hurt to look, right sir? Don't wizards send their post via owls?"
"Yeah, that's correct, little Miss. Every proper wizard has at least one owl. Can't get by without one really." Professor Barkbite explained genially.
Hiding his scowl, Tom followed the two into the dark interior of the building and was immediately assaulted by the smell of hay and bird droppings. Disgusting .
"Greetings, what can I do for you on this fine morning?" chirped the sales woman and he rapidly tuned out the annoying tone of her voice in favour of inspecting all of the different pets on display.
Outlandishly named monsters like 'Kneazles' and 'Australian Ringhoppers' sat side to side with regular rats and toads. How queer. Though if he was to be honest, their mindless busywork or broken submission was beginning to bore him.
Peering through the bars holding a large black snake, Tom gazed directly into the beast's eyes, daring it to try something, anything , to prove that there was still a predator beneath the limp veneer of an overly long noodle.
"Oh, bother... I'd kill you little human, but I'm not feeling up to it right now. Come back when it'ssss... ughhh... warmer..."
What.
Had that serpent just talked to him?
"Are you a magical snake?" he asked the thing and it just stared dumbly at him.
"Maybe not." Tom sighed in disappointment and was about to turn away when the animal spoke up again.
"You... are a Ssspeaker?"
Hah! He hadn't been wrong!
"Speaker? Do you mean how I am able to speak to you?"
"Yessss..."
"What are you doing, Tom?" whispered his sister who had silently appeared at his side.
"Uhm, I think I can talk with this snake." he replied lamely.
Because when he just said it like that, it sounded like he was going crazy!
Tanya raised a sceptical eyebrow and regarded the reptile carefully.
"Hello? Can you understand me as well?"
The stupid snake only darted its tongue in and out, not doing anything.
"Answer her!" Tom ordered the beast that was embarrassing him in front of his sister.
"Wow, Tom, how did you do that?"
"Do what?" he asked, confused.
"You hissed! Just like a snake!"
"But I didn't..."
Realization set in. And the damned snake had the gall to look smug!
In the end, he bought it, if only to teach it a painful lesson later. If it defied him like this again he would feed it to Tanya's new owl, piece by piece...
o-TxT-o
"And that's it, kids. Saved the best for last. Getting your first wand is an unforgettable experience! Go on in. I'll keep watch over your stuff outside, wouldn't want to intrude."
The professor shooed them through the creaking door inside of 'Ollivanders', but Tom shot him one last distrustful glance. Barkbite better not think of stealing their property while they were distracted or he would gut him , magical police be damned.
As the door closed behind them and the busy sounds of Diagon Alley abruptly cut off, he turned his attention towards the man behind the counter, who was smiling way more than appropriate for such a simple transaction.
"Greetings, children! I am Gervaise Ollivander and I assume I will have the honour of assisting you with your wand picking today?"
They both nodded quietly, but the smiling man's enthusiasm was not dampened in the slightest.
"Yes, yes! You must be so excited! Which of you wants to go first?"
Tanya looked at him questioningly, but Tom waved her off. He really didn't want or need a silly magic stick when he already had a far better alternative. Still, he would take one if only to blend in with the rest of the wizard population.
"Ahh, ladies first then! Very gentlemanly. Now, dear, please hold still while I take your measure."
Measuring tape shot out of his sleeve and wrapped around her midsection. Moving on its own, the ruler took her dimensions from head to toe, all the while Ollivander animatedly mumbled to himself about ridiculous terms like 'moderate springiness' or 'dragon heart contender'.
When he pressed the first wand into Tanya's palm however, nothing happened.
"That's not it!" exclaimed the vendor, rushing into the back of the shop to poke through the ceiling high shelves full of identical brown boxes to find another one.
This process repeated multiple times until he finally presented her with one that just worked .
Golden sparks shot out from its tip and a deep, echoing gong rattled the room as the piece of wood settled between her fingers. Even Tanya looked impressed as she inspected the thing.
"Yes, very good! A cherry wand with a dragon heartstring core, reasonably flexible, thirteen inches... You have great times ahead of you, young lady!"
Turning toward Tom, Ollivander beckoned him closer. He endured the pompous measuring ceremony without complaint and after quite a few quiet failures, he received yet another new wand to try out...
"Yew with a phoenix feather core, thirteen and a half inches!"
Except, instead of merely doing nothing like Tanya's unsuitable wands, the blasted piece of junk caught fire!
Throwing it away he glared at the idiot peddling such faulty wares. Did that moron want to kill him!?
" Oh my! Please forgive me... I was so sure that... You, young man, appear to be... You seem to already possess a wand. Is that right?"
" No. Never used one before." he bit out, still furious that he had nearly burned his bloody hand.
"Mmh... Curious. Most curious indeed!"
Tom knew what he meant with that question. But like hell would he show this creep his focus orb!
"I might have channelled my magic through a kind of... gem before. Does that change anything?" he admitted while gritting his teeth which seemed enough to mollify the wizard.
"A gem, you say? Mmmmmmh ... I haven't heard of anyone doing that for centuries ! But then again you seem like a rather extraordinary young man, no? Mmmhh ..."
Humming to himself, Ollivander wandered back into the labyrinth of boxes that he called his shop and began noisily rummaging through his wares.
He returned with a few incomprehensible tools in hand that did not inspire confidence in his continued safety.
"Wands are sometimes quite fickle when choosing their wielder. They are like people in that aspect. A strong-willed wand requires a strong-willed wielder... And in that case, just like their masters, they never like to play second fiddle to anyone but their chosen partner. Mmmh... You wouldn't have to have this 'gem' on you by any chance?"
Projecting utter calm into his voice, Tom crossed his arms and sized up the nosy wandmaker.
"And if I did?"
Obviously catching onto the threat of imminent violence hanging in the air, Ollivander held up his hands in a placating manner.
"Well, hypothetically speaking, if you did, I would kindly ask you to permit me to examine this gem and maybe discuss a way to integrate it into a wand core. Otherwise, I would be forced to outfit you with a subpar replacement wand which would be far from ideal. It would permanently stain my pride as a professional to send a child on their first day of Hogwarts with an ill-fitting wand after all."
Unexpectedly, his sister agreed with the insane man: "I think you should do it, Tom."
What!? Tanya wanted him to hand over her masterpiece?
"I am sure that Mr. Ollivander is skilled and experienced enough to handle sensitive magical artefacts with the care that they deserve."
Despite not being worded as a question the man hastily nodded.
"I swear on my magic that I will take the utmost care."
Reluctantly, Tom produced the focus orb from under his shirt and laid it gingerly onto the ancient wood of the countertop.
Spindly fingers reached out for it and he had to bite his tongue in order to avoid doing something rash.
It was absolute torture, seeing the man hold and wave his instruments so closely over the orb in those nonsensical patterns of his.
"Remarkable... Absolutely remarkable . It's undeniably magical, but the whole design... It's so very... muggle?"
At this point, his amazing sister chose to try and share some of her genius with someone who clearly had never seen something as great as it before: "Sir, it functions based on the natural principles of thermodynamics and motion mechanics. In essence, it is a miniaturized computing machine that channels mana through a crystal at its centre. Can you see it here?"
"Mana? Hmm, this is genius! Truly the work of an inspired mind. And yet... It's also complete rubbish."
Tom's arm short forward without him even needing to think , the sharp force field projecting outward from his index finger poised to obliterate that heathen's worthless heart! And yet, before he could enact just vengeance on that bastard for slandering his sister's work, Tanya caught it and sent him a deep disapproving frown.
The worst part of it all, however, was that the scumbag hadn't even noticed anything, as absorbed as he was with his focus orb.
"It's missing the fundamental part that makes a wand special! The individuality! You could probably manufacture these things in one of those muggle manufactories by the thousands and nothing would be lost! It's just a fancy tool, like a pair of scissors or a hammer. No, no, no... This won't do at all for the young man!"
How would that insane scumbag like a hammer to the face then, huh?
"Runes might just do the trick. Yes, yes... The form will be a bit odd, but..."
Abruptly straightening up from where he had been crouching over the orb, Ollivander looked grim but determined.
"Tell you what, young man... This endeavour will require an extensive custom modification that will likely take me more than the rest of the day. Normally such a thing would cost hundreds of Galleons, but because of the never before seen nature of this gem and your impending school year, I will do so for free. Please write down your address on this piece of parchment here and I will owl you your wand tomorrow morning!"
Could this be a ploy of the Ministry to get ahold of their superior technology? Sadly, on second thought it didn't seem like this was the case. Everything in Diagon Alley appeared so behind the times that these people probably could not even conceive inviting such modernity into their culture. He had no solid reason to refuse this offer.
To distract himself from this mortification he gripped his sister's hand tightly as they exited the store.
As soon as they stepped out of the building, the door slammed shut behind them and they could hear the lock clicking shut. The sign in the window flipped from 'open' to 'closed' and above them, thick blue smoke began rising from the chimney.
"Old Ollivander is closing up shop real early today, huh? You were lucky that you caught him right now, then, haha!" laughed their guide.
Tom didn't feel very lucky though...
o-TxT-o
They would have ended their trip to the side of magical London right then and there if Tanya hadn't wanted to see the local bank.
' Money is the lifeblood of civilization and it behoves us to examine those places where it flows to and from ,' was what she had said, but Tom was cranky enough to disagree. Silently.
Even their guide was uncomfortable with the detour, citing his healthy fear of 'goblins' as the cause and urging them to be especially polite to the bankers. Apparently entire wars had been caused in the past by arrogant wizards who tried to screw over the goblins running their financial system.
Why then didn't they establish their own goblin-free substitute? Tom just couldn't understand these people at all!
From the outside, Gringotts looked horribly distorted, each floor slightly angled in a different way, like a warped house of cards threatening to get toppled over by a fresh breeze. Inside it, thankfully, was far less architecturally repulsive: A lot of polished marble and gold contrasting heavily with the ugly, wrinkled dwarves scribbling industriously upon high oaken lecterns.
Professor Barkbite already made to leave after vaguely gesturing at the central hall, clearly eager to escape the place. His sister foiled his efforts by boldly walking up to one of the clerks.
"Hello, Mr. Ripbolt sir, I would like to inquire about your loan and credit options, if you would be so kind." Tanya asked earnestly, projecting an entirely fake aura of shyness and naiveté at the ugly creature.
"What kind of loan could you even pay back, child ? Where're your parents?" it sneered with a mouth full of very sharp teeth.
"I don't have any, Mr. Ripbolt sir. I was unfortunately orphaned at birth, sir."
"Then get out of here! No job, no family! Laughable."
The goblin went back to scratching around on his paper, though Tanya seemed undeterred.
"While that might be true, Mr. Ripbolt sir, I have well-founded hopes of acquiring large monetary profits from several technological patents within the decade and as such would like to be able to consider my options until then, if it would not be too much trouble. I have heard much praise for Gringotts' services and would be gladdened by your patronage. It would be too sad a fate if I had to turn to a lesser competitor in the field, simply because I could not convince you of my sincerity, sir..."
Ripbolt stared at her as if she had said something funny before his leathery lips curled into a cruel smirk.
"There's no other wizard bank other than Gringotts, girlie!" gloated the creature and Tanya was completely caught off guard by that statement.
"Really? None? "
"How sheltered are you, child? Did you live under a rock your whole life?"
"Not even in the United States, sir? Or the colonies? From Canada to India, no other bank ? Truly?"
Tom relished how the goblin's glee slowly vanished and its brow furrowed in obvious frustration.
"Not entirely... No. There are some... imitators ."
He looked physically pained at the admittance and Tom knew that his sister had won the exchange. The chance that she was correct might be slim, but the bank would lose out on far more if they ignored a possible up and coming visionary for such petty reasons.
Barkbite let out an undignified whine at the prospect of having to spend the next hour here while Tanya and the goblins talked business.
o-TxT-o
Once they returned to the orphanage they had found that the solution to their privacy problem was simpler than expected. Now they both sat huddled together under a heavy blanket, while Tanya channelled her magic into it through her new wand to prevent any sounds from escaping. Tom provided the illumination by producing a tiny ball of light with his own magic. Talking and casting magic at the same time was always a good exercise!
"What do you need the money for?"
He had, of course, some inkling of her ideas, but he wanted to know what exactly she had meant with 'patents'. She couldn't be thinking of selling her focus orb design, right?
"Our world is about to radically change. The communists in the east grow more and more daring and soon the nations of Asia will experience the benefits of industrialization as well. When Germany inevitably loses the war after dragging Britain and America into it, the world will be split into two blocs: West and East."
Tom attentively listened, trying to visualize that description in his head. He could only come to one conclusion:
"There will be another war..."
"Yes."
War on such a scale? He could hardly fathom it. Not just two nations fighting with each other, but entire continents!
"And you want to make weapons, so that the West wins?"
"Not weapons, necessarily... I know of a few promising avenues for research and I'd also like to stop the extreme pollution of our environment, but that is secondary. The real point is: I don't know the future. With magic becoming a variable, there will be tons of possibilities that I could never consider. That's what I need the money for. To find a way to stop the world from ending."
"I mean, sure , a few million people might die, but the world as a whole will probably be fine! It bounced back from the Great War too..."
He was mostly playing devil's advocate, yet a small part of him simply didn't want to believe her.
"The first World War was comparatively tiny to what we are about to experience. With every year technology becomes better, faster, deadlier . Twenty years ago, armies still charged at each other with horses and bayonets. Now, they mow each other down with machine guns and artillery. It takes one second to kill a dozen men; an hour to depopulate a town! All without magic. Soon, somebody is going to develop bombs that can wipe entire cities off the map... One lunatic in the wrong place could shift the entire balance of our society disastrously. I know it's scary," she squeezed his hand when she focused back on his face and gave him a sad smile, "but there is no limit to human stupidity..."
"Always prepare for the worst." Tom echoed hollowly.
Was the world really doomed? Were they actually speeding towards the apocalypse?
He recalled the first thing he had ever asked her and what she had told him in reply.
"You can always lose."
Tom wanted himself and Tanya to be immortal. He hated losing after all.
...
Would just that be enough, though?
Could it even be considered winning if humanity got destroyed?
What good was a king piece without a chess board?
A ruler without subjects was merely a hermit with delusions of grandeur and a single student could never be the best of the class.
If he wanted to be powerful, then...
"I'll help you."
And his sister simply smiled back at him, discerning his reasoning with a single look.
Together they would find a way to save this miserable world from itself!
By any means necessary...
