A/N: Hi would you like a fuck-off long chapter to make up for radio silence? Because you're getting a fuck-off long chapter. Writing the summer pieces is always difficult for me because on the one hand, I want to glaze over it to some degree (similar to how the HP books do), but on the other hand, there is stuff going on that needs to be conveyed. Also- you'll notice I use both "magic" and "magick". "Magic" is a general use term for all forms of magic, while I have the character use Magick when they are talking about it as more of a proper noun. Ex: "Wizard magick vs goblin magick, but both wizards and goblins and house elves use magic in their day-to-day lives."

London both felt the same and so very different. Streets and buildings were the same but had sandbags piled out in front of them. Metal fences and the like were ripped out haphazardly- some windows even boarded up, despite being open. Flowers which might have been struggling to survive the summer heat last year were dead and gone- completely forgotten about, the pots either having been broken or grabbed to use for who knew what.

Chadwick's mum retrieved them from King's Cross when they arrived. Tammy and Mia had given both him and Chadwick tight hugs and demanded letters to let them know they were alright. There was a lot of crying on the platform around them as some of their classmates received bad news about their families on the continent, things their parents hadn't wanted to tell them via post and Tom found himself watching his classmates around him. On one hand, he'd never had people like this to worry after- he'd had no family and few to no friends for so long that it felt strange to worry about Mia and Tammy as they went off with their families. He felt his gut churn as he and Chadwick both looked to see if they could spot the Lupins, but neither Lyall nor his brother were anywhere near them.

Mrs. Chadwick promised if they evacuated she would come retrieve Tom, which gave Tom a whole new set of worries. On one hand, the idea of the Chadwicks evacuating without him and leaving him behind, made him stressed. On the other hand, the idea of leaving with the Chadwicks and leaving Jack behind at Wool's made him feel even worse. He wondered if having friends always felt so worrying, or if this just happened to be a spectacularly horrible time to have made them.

As Jack had described in his letters, Wool's was dead silent with all the younger children out in the countryside. He found out from both Mrs Chadwick and then from Mrs Cole that they'd sent loads of kids out of the city in droves after they announced the war in September, but when there'd been no bombings, many had filtered back in by Christmas. As soon as the news had hit that France was overtaken by Germany, the evacuations started again. Pregnant women and small children were the first of it- school children next, but given their status as orphans, it seemed the elder children of Wool's were further down on the priority list, and him attending a boarding school meant he didn't need to evacuate at all unless air-raids began. The only others still around were those old enough to work. He had stood on the steps of Wool's awkwardly with Chadwick and Jack as Mrs Chadwick conversed with Mrs Cole and gave her her address in case there was an emergency.

It was odd, having Chadwick on one side of him, his hand on his face as he tried to act like his mother wasn't embarrassing him, and Jack on the other side, looking like the entire thing was too comical. He'd changed so much in the year that Tom had been gone- he was taller (though both Mrs Chadwick and Mrs Cole insisted Tom and Chadwick were also taller) and more fit. He'd also lost weight- his face was less round and more defined. When Jack wrapped an arm around Tom's shoulders, Tom felt a blush rising from his neck to cover his whole face.

Tom had worried once he realized just how few children were left at Wool's that Mrs Cole would be hovering around them constantly- breathing down their necks, but his fears were unfounded. Mostly. Without as many children around, there was less of a mess to clean up, but there were also fewer people to distribute the chores amongst, so the two largely cancelled each other out. Mrs Cole was apparently in a group of women who were in charge of extradition and tracking the children and pregnant women and babies and finding places for them to be evacuated to and places to stay long-term. She ended up out of the house a lot, especially during the day, and when she was there, she spent large amounts of time going through correspondences from women in different towns in the country trying to assign homes for those evacuating. Cook and Miss Garter were both gone, having been evacuated with the younger children back to the countryside, leaving the few older children who remained with little to no supervision except what Mrs Cole could give when she checked on them in the morning when she served their rationed breakfast, and again in the evening with their rationed dinner.

Tom was not very excited about the fact that there was no lunch but found with Mrs Cole gone, he was able to do as he pleased. He could freely head to Chadwick's or the London Library depending on his mood. Often he'd start with the library before heading to the Chadwick's, where he was usually able to get a small bite of something to eat. He often thought about how much had changed on those walks- just a year prior Mrs Cole hadn't allowed him to walk to Chadwick's by himself, and now he was allowed to wander around with little oversight. If she didn't look so exhausted in the evenings he would have wondered if it was because she trusted him, but he knew that wasn't the reason.

No matter how much time he spent in the library, there was little he was able to find about the current Lord Riddle or any current information on the family. The library was understaffed- though Tom didn't know if it was because they had joined the war effort in some way or if they had been evacuated. The few who remained were overwhelmed with trying to keep the place in order and he felt no desire to stress them out further or bring their attention to him, an unaccompanied scruffy thirteen-year-old, so he stayed out of their way and searched the archives and old news articles himself.

Not that there was anything to find other than what Jack had already sent him. The Riddles were a lesser house of the peerage and in a rather remote area with a smaller population to preside over. Lengthy articles followed the current events of the lords who presided over large bustling cities, but there was little to be said about Hangleton. Oddly enough he did find a book about a lumber company that had spent ages trying to buy up some of the land near Hangleton, but most of it seemed tied up in trusts.

Once his eyes began to hurt or his stomach growled loudly enough that other patrons were staring at him, Tom would leave and make his way to Chadwick's house. With the heat of the summer, the windows were usually wide open. Mrs Chadwick had picked up a second job, leaving the boys alone for the most part- which was both nice and a little lonely. She permitted them to practice magic but only if they were upstairs and out of sight of any of the neighbors. It was the only way to incentivize Chadwick to work on any of his schoolwork since he claimed the heat made him tired and his wand was only just allowing him to begin getting a hang of some of the spells they'd learned the two years prior. The piece of wood continued to act as though it had a mind of its own entirely.

If the heat was truly too oppressive, the pair would wander, further from home, memorizing the city they'd grown up in but never been allowed to just exist in without an adult keeping a close eye on them. Eventually, as it got later in the afternoon, Tom would head back to Wool's and make sure he was there before dinner was called. Mrs Cole still did a headcount for them at dinner and Tom didn't feel like pushing his luck and having the matron tighten her rules, or even worse, miss out on what food they had rationed to them each for dinner.

At night the lights had to go off and stay off. He couldn't stay up and read, so most nights if he couldn't sleep he'd go sit on the roof, and sometimes Jack or another one of the boys would join him, but given that they all were working, they tended to all be too tired and passed out after dinner.

Jack had Tuesdays off and if there was a day Tom didn't make his trip to the library and then to Chadwick's, it was Tuesday. At first, they'd done what he did with Chadwick (which was to say, not much of anything), wandering the city and talking about the year prior. Tom found it interesting having to explain things without mentioning the magical aspect of it, like a unique challenge, but occasionally found it tiresome. He wondered what Jack would say if he told him the truth. He doubted he'd believe him. Like so many of the other children, Jack had grown out of believing Tom could talk to snakes when they were younger and scoffed at the idea of fairy tales and happy endings.

One afternoon when Tom was telling Jack about what a ponce Nott was, Jack offered to teach Tom to fight.

Tom made a face at first- after all, he and Nott were both wizards and Tom needed to learn to be a better wizard than Nott, if only to shove it down the other boy's throat. But on the other hand, he thought about all of the times he'd easily dropped out of the way when Nott or another student had tried to peg him with one of the rubber balls in Defense, or how satisfying it was when Nott, who had never needed to be fast enough to get away from those who would harm him, couldn't duck out of the way in time.

And what if one day Nott did catch Tom without a wand? For all Tammy's talk of punching Nott in the nose, Tom couldn't say he'd ever actually punched someone. Pushed them off, sure, run away, definitely. The only thing he'd ever found himself able to do was make a scathing remark or tear into someone with a vicious insult.

Tom agreed and on Tuesdays and at night, after Mrs Cole had dismissed them to bed, Jack and Tom would take time to wrestle. The whole first month Jack easily overpowered Tom, enough so that it was discouraging. It wasn't until he showed up one afternoon at Chadwick's with a bruise on his cheek that he told the other boy about his roughhousing with Jack. Which was, yet again, very odd. Tom compartmentalized his entire life to Muggle vs Wizard and when they started to cross over, even just a hair, it felt wrong.

Chadwick thought it was brilliant though. "Is this how you got so good at Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he asked after Tom told him. "Joined a muggle boxing club?"

Despite the remark, Chadwick was interested and Tom had to fend off his irritation at the boy interjecting himself into his quality time with Jack. Tom also didn't like that Jack, yet again, seemed amused by the entire thing. Somehow his Tuesdays with Jack had quickly become Part-of-a-Tuesday with Jack, and then the rest with Jack and Chadwick.

At first, it started with Chadwick showing up around Wool's. Once Jack found out that Chadwick had his house mostly to himself with a proper garden in the back, their fighting lessons and their "boxing match," as Chadwick called it, moved there.

"It's a proper garden, Tom!" Jack said in awe and Tom felt uneasy about it all once more. Letting the lines of those two worlds blend and also sharing Jack with Chadwick. For some reason that bothered him more than it should and he chalked it all up to the fact that, like Mia and Tammy had pointed out, he'd never really let anyone get close enough to him to be friends and Jack had never been in that "friend" labelled box before. He'd finally accepted that Chadwick, along with Mia and Tammy were both there, but putting Jack in there with them didn't feel right because his… relationship, friendship, whatever it was he felt about Jack was different than what he felt about Mia, Tammy, and Chadwick. Never mind the clear divide between Muggle and Magic.

It didn't help that those feelings were getting increasingly more confused the more Jack taught him to fight. Half the time it just ended up with Tom struggling to get out of one of Jack's holds, which Jack insisted was an important skill and instead it just made Tom's stomach flip over and his face turn bright red with embarrassment.

Nor did it help that Chadwick didn't seem to have an issue with this and constantly seemed to just slide out of the grip and try to take Jack out by his legs, earning the older boy's praise. Something was stress-inducing about Chadwick and Jack making jokes at each other, and watching Chadwick excel at something that Tom himself was struggling with. More than once Tom wondered if this was how Chadwick felt when he struggled to produce spells in class.

At least until Jack told Tom to go at it with Chadwick instead. It had stung a little bit when Jack first suggested it- like a rejection he hadn't been expecting, but Jack explained that Chadwick was closer to Tom's height and only was a bit heavier than Tom, unlike Jack who was both taller and weighed more than both the younger boys combined, at least in his own words.

Surprisingly enough, Tom fared far better against Chadwick than he had against Jack. It was easier to do all of the things Jack had been trying to teach him that Chadwick had picked up with no issue and he was also less concerned by how it felt when Chadwick put his arms around him and tried to flip him.

Once Tom was finally catching up and getting the hang of the roughhousing, Jack began to show them other things, like how to hold your fist when you punched, or how to get your fingers under someone's hand or arm if they tried to choke you.

Mrs Chadwick caught them at it one day when she came home early from work and looked thoroughly worried until she realized the boys were just messing about and warned them to be careful. Jack seemed equally unsure as Tom had been at how to handle Mrs Chadwick's warm demeanour or how she offered them lemonade and some sandwiches for tea, "Just to tide them over for dinner," she said happily as she ruffled her son's hair before heading out to do some shopping.

It made Tom feel less alone, seeing Jack watch Mrs Chadwick, waiting to see if there was a catch to her friendliness, neither of which of the Chadwicks seemed to notice or if they didn't, didn't comment on.

The roughhousing ended up being a good incentive for Chadwick to practice his schoolwork, in a roundabout way. They set time aside when Tom got there after leaving the library, at which he was spending less and less time as he continued to find no further information about the Riddles, and more and more time roaming London or hanging about with Chadwick at his house.

The pair were practising charms when Mrs Chadwick came home from work a bit early. Tom felt he could shrink or grow just about any of the nonmagical items in the house at that point (though magical items still were giving him a few issues), but unsurprisingly Chadwick's wand was fighting him tooth and nail to shrink just a hair.

"Language," Mrs Chadwick warned as she set her bag down on the dining room table, flipping through some of the muggle mail she'd pulled in from the mailbox. Chadwick was red in the face and Tom didn't know if half the words that Chadwick had said were even technically curse words, but the way he'd spit them out certainly gave the implications they were.

"I need to nip down to Diagon Alley to exchange some pounds for sickles and knuts and pick up some cleaning supplies," Mrs Chadwick called, sticking her head out of the dining area to look at the two boys as Tom shrunk back down the end table that had suddenly decided to indulge Chadwick and grow three times the size it had been originally, nearly knocking both boys over.

"Would you like to join me or shall I leave you be?" Mrs Chadwcik continued, undisturbed by the scene before her.

Chadwick let out a grumble but Tom readily agreed. He'd only ever been to Diagon Alley specifically for school shopping, and the idea of going before that was necessary, even just to spectate, was wonderful. His relationship with the Chadwicks was great because he didn't feel as cut off from the Wizarding World while in London, but their house certainly looked the part of a muggle residence. Diagon Alley meanwhile was filled to the brim with the eccentricities that made it magical, like Hogwarts.

"Now behave- Tom set a good example for Keegan if you don't mind," Mrs Chadwick said, tying a handkerchief around her hair which was a bit fuzzed up from work- she like many others had been recruited to work in the factories in place of the men who had been enlisted and besides her hair being a bit messy, the only other indication of her job was a slight smudge on one of her hands, something she'd likely tried to wash away as she was leaving.

Tom stood a bit straighter at the command and gave Chadwick a smirk, but the other boy stuck his tongue out at Tom and his mother's back as she led them into London, towards the Leaky Cauldron.

This time, he knew the way much better than he had either of the previous times he'd made his trips to Diagon Alley. This time he'd been allowed to roam for much longer on his own and knew more of the London streets themselves, and knew the route to the Leaky Cauldron effortlessly. Beyond that, he hadn't had the gumption to go on his own- his walks to the library and the surrounding areas felt secure, none of the muggles there knew who he was or cared, and he was invisible. If he took his wandering to the Leaky Cauldron and beyond, then it wouldn't be unlikely that he may bump into one of his housemates, and need to answer an uncomfortable question about who he was there with or how his uncle was doing. It was largely that they kept him away from exploring Diagon Alley further. At least in going with the Chadwicks, Mrs Chadwick's presence kept the awkward questions at bay.

After Mrs Chadwick tapped on the bricks behind the pub, Tom took a deep breath, savouring the way the air shifted as the brick moved aside. He wasn't too surprised to find that the wizarding stretch of London was more subdued than he remembered, given a war and everything, but not as subdued as muggle London had been- there were still colourful and silly things in the shop windows. Still witches and wizards walking around in intricately woven robes and patched witch hats. There was a large red parrot on a stand outside of the pet shop and many of the shops had propped their doors open, likely trying to air out the heat.

Gringotts Bank was as much a constant presence in the street as it always was, but given it was the first time Tom had ever been inside, he paid special attention to detail as he followed the Chadwicks inside.

Tom had never been in any bank before, so he didn't have anything to compare it to. He stepped off to the side, leaning his shoulder against the wall with Chadwick while his mother spoke with the goblin at the teller. He tried not to stare but besides some pictures in a few of the books at Hogwarts, this was his first time seeing a goblin. It was interesting to see how they looked compared to the illustrations and to put a physical image of the goblins described in their History texts.

Besides, he didn't feel the need to stare them down when the inside of Gringotts was just as enchanting. Everything was marble and gold- the natural sunlight streaming in from the window panes and the light from the candles and gas lamps made all the gold shimmer and shine.

"She'll be the death of me," Chadwick grumbled beside him and Tom turned his head to look at the other boy, who was scowling in his mother's general direction. Tom followed his gaze and saw Mrs Chadwick, who was laughing lightly about something at the teller, who looked surprisingly stoic.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked, confused. Mrs Chadwick was always friendly with everyone and Tom didn't expect she'd be any different in dealing with the bankers.

"Well it's not very… what's the word Sable used last year?" Chadwick paused as he thought before continuing, "In vogue? That's it- to be friendly with goblins. All the political stuff aside, most wizarding families treat it the same as being friendly to a house elf."

"Ironic, considering," Tom said, pressing his mouth into a thin line. It reminded him of how the purebloods acted about "lesser" wizarding families. It was all just an arbitrary line to exclude those they thought of as… well, lesser.

"Considering what?" Chadwick asked, looking over at him.

"Hm?" Tom looked back at him, pulling free from his own dark thoughts about the wizarding families he'd met. They weren't all bad- the Chadwicks were lovely and he knew others were likely as well, but there were also plenty of families that spawned people like Nott.

"You said 'ironic, considering,' didn't finish," Chadwick said, putting on a fake posh voice when he imitated Tom, and Tom shoved his shoulder into the other boys.

"Ironic, that all these "proper" wealthy families spend all their time looking down on everyone and then think it wise to entrust all their gold, in the case of goblins, or their food, their homes, their clothes in the case of house elves."

"I still don't see the irony," Chadwick drawled, sounding just as lackadaisical as he always did, but Tom knew him well enough to hear the actual question in his tone.

"If the goblins didn't manage their gold, then who would?" Tom deadpanned.

Chadwick thought about it and then shrugged, "I dunno- probably other wizards, yeah?"

"Where?" Tom demanded. Chadwick stared at him with more confusion.

"Gringotts is owned by the goblins, yeah?" Tom pressed, remembering it from one of the books he'd read on the history of Diagon Alley he'd found in the Hogwarts Library. It had been one of the materials he'd re-read several times his first year to pretend to be a normal wizard around Nott and his other classmates.

"Yeah?" Chadwick replied slowly. Tom could see the gears working, but Chadwick hadn't quite gotten there yet.

"Gringotts is the only wizarding bank in all of the United Kingdom and it's owned and run by goblins," Tom continued, becoming irritated. Not by Chadwick, but by the absurdity of the pureblood families around him who would deign to treat half-bloods and muggle-borns and goblins and house elves as lesser, while not being able to look a step beyond their own prejudice to realize how screwed they'd be if everyone stopped putting up with them. "If all of the goblins decided that they didn't want to put up with them anymore, the majority of Wizarding Britain would lose access to their gold- and whatever else is in their vaults."

Chadwick opened his mouth and then closed it. Tom watched as several emotions reflected on the other boy's face and smirked as Chadwick finally broke into what Tom could only describe as a feral grin. "Okay- I love that, imagining my aunt and uncle completely unable to access their funds is a bit brilliant."

"At least half-bloods and muggle-borns would have some kind of workaround," Tom continued, looking back to the rest of the lobby and wondering, not for the first time, just how many wizards were purebloods, versus half-bloods or muggle-born, "They can use a muggle bank and if there's no wizarding money in circulation then the shops would likely turn to taking pounds instead, just to keep their doors open. If Gringotts decided they'd only keep clientele that were courteous to them and treated them like they'd treat any other wizard I'd wage that your mother and only a small handful of other witches or wizards would be allowed to bank here."

Mrs Chadwick was shaking the teller's hand and Tom and Chadwick both straightened up, pushing off the wall and stepping forward as she turned and headed over to them. "Keep out of trouble?" She asked, still smiling.

"Yes ma'am," Tom and Chadwick both said and her smile deepened into something more affectionate, something that still made Tom feel just a bit uncomfortable when it was aimed at him- though he'd given up on ignoring the warm feeling that spread in his chest, like when Mia or Tammy roped him into a hug. She reached out and tried to smooth some of her son's hair, but it didn't help.

"I trust everything was to your satisfaction, Madam Chadwick," A voice directly behind Tom said and Tom had to physically restrain himself to keep from jolting.

He looked over his shoulder to see a goblin directly behind him- this one looked not unlike the rest of the goblins with all the same signature features but had wavy black hair that was pulled back tightly into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He had a suit on like most of the other goblins but had a lapel pinned to the collar of the suit with the Gringotts' insignia on it.

"As it always is, Head Goblin Ulkras," Mrs Chadwick said, turning her attention to the goblin. "I know you've met my son, Keegan, before but this is his friend Tom. Tom, this is Head Goblin Ulkras, he is in charge of the day-to-day function and management of Gringotts."

Ulkras extended a hand and Tom instinctively reached out and took it, returning the firm handshake. Ulkras's eyes bored into him and it felt like the goblin was watching him like a pet that had just performed a very impressive trick. It was unnerving.

"I do not believe I have ever seen you in here before, Master Tom," Ulkras said, releasing his grip on Tom's hand. "Surely your family has a vault."

Mrs Chadwick and Tom both opened their mouths but immediately looked at each other as if waiting to see what the other would say, while Chadwick looked between the two of them with his eyebrows raised.

Tom didn't see any other classmates or families he recognized in the immediate vicinity and didn't think it would be good to try and lie to the goblin who would immediately expose anything that he said. "I do not know," he finally said, looking back to Ulkras. "My mother was a witch, but she died when I was born. I was raised by muggles."

Which was the truth- there was no need to bring up that for all intents and purposes he was an orphan.

"That would explain your progressive views on how wizards should interact with goblins then," Ulkras said and a shiver went up Tom's spine as he looked to Chadwick and then immediately back to the goblin. Had the goblin been near them the entire time and Tom just hadn't noticed?

Before Tom could reply, Ulkras continued, "You have never tried to access her account then?" Ulkras tilted his head slightly, his eyes still lancing into Tom like he was accessing every word that came out of his mouth. It was beyond unsettling- it was like the goblin had managed to take all of the countenances of all his housemates and put them together into one person.

Tom shook his head- he hadn't considered she might have had one or if she did, that there was even anything in it. Otherwise, why would she have died alone and cold in the middle of winter in an orphanage? From what Mrs Cole had told him, his mother had been half-starved and frozen to death when she'd shown up at Wool's and what he'd managed to find of the Gaunts made it sound like they were largely destitute by this point.

"Curious," Ulkras said. "Would you be interested in finding out if she left anything for you?"

Tom didn't know how to respond. For one, he doubted very much that she'd left him anything. If she'd had anything, she could have used it to help herself or left it with Mrs Cole. For another, he didn't particularly want to subject himself to confirming the fact that he had nothing in front of Chadwick and his mother, even with them knowing he was an orphan. It would just add insult to injury.

"If she did not have an account with us, we can set one up for you," Ulkras said as if reading his mind, again sending a shiver over Tom's skin. "Every British wizard should have an account at Gringotts." He smiled and showed off his pointed teeth and Tom didn't know if it was supposed to endear himself to Tom or scare him.

Tom felt a touch on his shoulder and looked to Mrs Chadwick. "I don't think I can afford to help pay for a Blood Test, but I could spare some sickles to help open an account," she said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Tom immediately felt mortified at the idea of Mrs Chadwick spending money he knew she didn't have much to spare of on opening a bank account that Tom knew he had no money to put into it. "No- thank you Mrs Chadwick, but I'm fine, I'll open an account when I come of age." He hadn't even realized he'd be able to open one before he reached his majority, based on what Professor Dumbledore had told him before his first year.

"On the house," Ulkras said definitively, "Consider it my investment in your future dealings with us."

"That is most generous Head Goblin Ulkras," Mrs Chadwick said, but for the first time her smile slipped just a bit and she appeared nervous, though Tom wasn't entirely sure what about- he could hazard a guess, maybe about the goblin's ulterior motives, or about not wanting him to feel embarrassed.

"Follow me," Ulkras said, turning on his heel, despite Tom not technically having agreed to any of this, but instead of turning and walking out of Gringotts, Tom found his feet following the goblin past the line of tellers.

"What does a Blood Test entail?" Tom asked. He could hear the Chadwicks behind him, following after a moment. He wondered if they were surprised he had followed Ulkras, given Tom himself was a little surprised by the split decision.

"A single drop of blood," Ulkras answered shortly. Tom didn't know if he wasn't for pleasantries or if he was mirroring Tom's curtness. "It is goblin magick, so it is not performed with a spell or an incantation."

"What is the difference between goblin magick and wizard magick?" Tom asked, curiosity getting the better of him. He knew from History of Magic that goblins were not allowed to own a wand but were still able to perform magic, similar to young witches and wizards who performed accidental magic, or older magical folk who could perform wandless magic. The textbooks used in his History class though tended to favour the idea that goblin magick was crude and elemental, and at the time of reading it, it had reminded Tom much of how the different books tended to write about Salazar Slytherin in a wide variety of ways depending on who the author was.

"Surely they teach you about that at Hogwarts," Ulkras said, opening a door to the side, revealing an office with an ornately carved desk and several chairs resting in front of it. Tom assumed it was his office and was proven correct when he spotted a golden plague on the front that read, "Head Goblin of Gringotts Management".

"I'm only just starting our third year," Tom explained, though he wouldn't be truly surprised if they would teach that at all in History of Magic. If anything it felt like something Merrythought would teach in Defense. "Besides, I would wager that a wizard's view of goblin magick is far different than a goblin's view."

Mrs Chadwick gently closed the door behind her and gestured to Tom and Chadwick to take the seats available in front of the desk, while she hovered behind one of them, still smiling but quietly watching the exchange. She seemed less anxious than she had been only several minutes before and Tom realized the worry had definitely been at her trying to determine what Tom would have wanted. It was both heart-warming that she was thinking of him, but also a relief that she didn't seem to feel worried about Ulkras or his intentions.

"Wizards very rarely think to ask a goblin for an opinion on anything, least of all goblin magick," Ulkras finally said, giving Tom that long look again that made him feel like he could peel back the layers of Tom and see under his skin. The hairs on the back of Tom's neck were still standing up and Tom's hand itched to seek out his wand and touch it but knew that Ulkras would take it as an insult.

"I would also wager that's why there were so many goblin rebellions," Tom said, unable to keep some of the snark out of his tone when he said it. If there was one thing that Tom did like about Ulkras, it was that he was not speaking to him as if he were a child. For some reason, Tom knew immediately that Ulkras likely talked to all witches and wizards with this same tone and inclination, like he needed to be as polite as possible, while also hiding the fact that he most certainly had some level of disdain for them.

Tom recognized it because it was the same he often had in dealing with several of his classmates and housemates, and how he'd had to handle the majority of his childhood at Wool's.

"Would you like my opinion on the matter, or what wizards would assume is the difference between our types of magick?" Ultras said, snapping his fingers and a form appearing in his hands.

"I wouldn't have asked unless I wanted your answer," Tom replied. He hadn't sat yet, because neither had Ulkras, though he saw Chadwick sprawl in the chair in front of his mother in the same way he did when he slumped into one of the chairs in the library. If it offended Ulkras, he didn't show it, his eyes still mostly locked on Tom.

"Many ask questions without knowing what they want," Ulkras said simply, setting the form down on his desk and pulling a long red quill out of a little vase that said besides a standard quill and its inkpot. "There has been little study in the difference between the two magicks because that would require wizards allowing goblins to study them, and goblins allowing wizards to study us, but in my professional opinion, there is no distinct difference between the two at all. Without wands, we have had to adapt to utilize our magic. A wand doesn't produce magic itself- it is simply a tool used to better channel one's magical ability."

Tom nodded his head in agreement. All of what Ulkras had said made sense, from wizards and goblins not working with each other enough to study it and allow for a definitive answer to the magic itself. It reminded him of how so many wizards and witches tended to classify certain spells as either 'dark' or 'not-dark' when Tom didn't think any magic at all was dark, just what it was used for and the intention behind it. Staring at the red quill in the goblin's hand, Tom suddenly wondered if goblins used other tools to help channel their magic.

Ulkras set the form down on the desk then beckoned Tom forward and held out his hand. "We usually take a drop of blood from the tip of your finger, unless you have somewhere else that is preferable."

Tom shook his head and stepped forward, stretching his arm forward, across the desk. Ulkras grasped his pointer and middle finger and pressed the tip of the quill into his pointer finger. There was a brief pinch as the sharp quill bit into his skin, but then it was over and Ulkras pulled back the quill and touched it to the blank form.

Red ink- or rather, Tom's blood, immediately began to swirl cursive across the form, in Tom's handwriting no less.

Vault Owner: Thomas Marvolo Riddle IV

Home Address: Wool's Orphanage, London, England, UK

Date of Birth: December 31st, 1926

Marital Status: Single, Unbetrothed

Blood Status: Half-Blood

Mother: Merope Gaunt

Date of Birth: September 22nd, 1906

Date of Death: December 31st, 1926

Marital Status: Single, Unbetrothed

Blood Status: Pure-Blood

Active Titles: N/A

Inactive/Former Titles:

Heir of the Pure and Noble House of Gaunt, Second in Line at date of death

Heir of the Pure and Most Anciet House of Slytherin, Third in Line at date of death

Heir of the Wise and Most Anciet House of Peverell, Second in Line at date of death

Father: Thomas Riddle III

Date of Birth: May 1st, 1905

Date of Death:

Marital Status: Married

Blood Status: Muggle

Active Titles: Lord Riddle, Viscount of Great Hangleton

Inactive/Former Titles: N/A

Approved Vault Access:

Personal Vault #: 636: New Vault Application

Peverell Family Vault #: 018: Accessible upon determination of Heirship

Gaunt Family Vault #: 372: Accessible upon determination of Heirship

Vault Access Pending Approval:

Slytherin Family Vault #: 046: Refer to specific family rites for further information*

Black Family Vault#: 397: Refer to specific family rites for further information*

Lordships & Heirships:

Heir of the Wise and Most Anciet House of Peverell, First in Line: Eligible to inherit on sixteenth birthday, with the passing of the current Lord

Heir of the Pure and Noble House of Gaunt, First in Line: Eligible to inherit on seventeenth birthday, per family rites* & with the passing of the current Lord

Heir of the Viscount Hangleton, First in Line: Muggle Peerage, defer to Muggle Parliament

Heir of the Pure and Most Anciet House of Slytherin, Third in Line: Eligible to inherit on eleventh birthday & per family rites*

Other possible Heirships are too distant to appear on this list.

*Refer to specific family rites for lordship availability & vault access

Tom felt himself going dizzy as he frantically followed the scrawling blood across the form, and then realized he hadn't breathed since it had begun. He took a deep breath and he and Ulkras' eyes moved from the form. If Tom had thought the goblin's gaze before had been bad, now it was infinitely worse.

"Are you alright, Tom?" Mrs Chadwick asked from behind him. He'd honestly expected her or Chadwick to move in and hover to see the results, but both had graciously granted him privacy. Chadwick was still in his seat, though now he was perched on the edge of it, watching Tom closely and Mrs Chadwick was still standing behind said chair, though her brows furrowed with worry.

Tom gripped the edge of the desk with both hands and nodded his head slowly, his brain still trying to process everything he was seeing on the form and he looked back to Ulkras, a quiet plea to know if this could possibly be right. He knew his speculations, what he thought might be the case, but to see it laid out in print- in his blood- felt so wholly unreal.

Ulkras did not say anything, no reassurances or niceties, and Tom didn't know what to say or do as his brain tried to process everything. The Gaunts had a vault, which he wasn't too surprised about, given it could still be empty, given their current destitution. He hadn't even considered there would be a Slytherin family vault, given that Gringotts had been formed in the 1400s. And he had no clue who the Peverells even were, or why he was their Heir. Never mind the confirmation about his father, alive and well- married, probably to the woman discussed in the paper.

His given name wasn't even Tom- it was Thomas. The Fourth.

Unable to answer Mrs Chadwick's question, not able to form a lie or half-truth as his mind wrapped itself around this new information, he simply stepped to the side and gestured at the paper silently. He knew he wasn't a muggle-born, he had figured out that Merope Gaunt was likely his mother, and Lord Riddle was likely his father, that he was a Slytherin because of his ability to speak Parseltongue, but to see it all laid out, and then some shook him for some reason.

It didn't make complete sense in some ways- the Slytherin lordship didn't mention needing to wait until the current lord's passing- did his grandfather not have claim to it? And he could claim it at eleven? He was thirteen already. Would Ulkras know how to claim it? He didn't think that his grandfather's lordship would be able to pass to him, given he was technically a bastard- it brought back the question of if the man knew he existed in the first place, or if the lordship would just automatically pass to him as the closest blood kin.

He was pulled from his thoughts as he heard Mrs Chadwick take a sharp breath beside him.

"Bloody hell!" Chadwick gasped and Tom looked over. Both the Chadwicks had taken his invitation to look over the Blood test and were staring at it, seemingly as awestruck as Tom.

"Is this…" Mrs Chadwick did the same as Tom had, looking from the form up to Ulkras, "This is completely accurate?" She lifted the end, making it a question and Ulkras raised his eyebrows at the witch. Mrs Chadwick immediately became flustered, "I'm-I'm sorry, I do not mean to imply you conducted it incorrectly, I have never witnessed a Blood Test before- my sister told me about it when she married Henry- Lord Potter, but," She took a deep breath, looking down at the paper and then to Tom, "This is a lot to take in. Are you sure you're alright, Tom?"

Tom wanted to say something, but it felt like his mouth was trapped shut and any words he tried to summon got stuck in his throat. Instead, he took a step back and sat in one of the vacant chairs before the desk, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to straighten out his thoughts.

"What does it mean, 'per family rites'?" Chadwick asked, sounding the least unsure and most intrigued out of the three.

"Some of the ancient wizarding families would add additional stipulations that needed to be met before an heir could claim their lordship," Ulkras explained. "Just due to their notoriety, I can tell you that Slytherin's lordship has not been claimed in over two hundred years and has been existing in limbo, though I do not know the immediate details as I have never had the need to view them. The vault is also one of a few vaults that can only be accessed by the Lord, and not just by the heir or by subsequently approved family members. If I recall correctly when the last Gaunt was unable to lay claim to it, they forsook their vaults all together and have not been back to Gringotts since."

Well, that explained the lack of a lord for Slytherin, at least. Tom rubbed his hands over his face one more time, finally coming out of the initial shock and stood back up, feeling restless and wanting to pace, but reigning the compulsion in. If the Gaunts had forsaken their vaults due to their own pride, then that would explain why they had become seemingly destitute overnight. He tried to remember what year the family had begun selling off their land and assets, but for the life of him couldn't remember. If it was over two hundred years, then it would explain the sudden shift in their affairs.

A bit ironic, given the conversation he'd had with Chadwick in the lobby.

"It says I have access to the Gaunt Vault- do I need to acquire the key first?" Tom asked. The information he'd received on Gringotts was largely all at face value, either from what little he'd read in books or what he'd seen or heard from the wizards around him.

Ulkras shook his head as he took the form off the desk and began to roll it back into a scroll. "If you should require a key, I have the authority to grant you one as you are the primary heir to the vault and the lord- though it is not the current one, did not place a lock-out as such with the Slytherin Vault. I believe the same can be said with the Peverell Vault."

Tom looked to Mrs Chadwick. This had started as a quick trip into Diagon Alley for the witch to exchange her muggle money for wizarding coinage and purchase some basic supplies, so he would understand if she and Keegan needed to leave, but the woman had not hurried him along. "Would it be alright if we saw them?"

"Of course," Mrs Chadwick said, looking almost scandalized at the idea they wouldn't and Tom felt a surge of affection for the woman. Yet again, Tom wondered if this is how most mothers were with their children, or if Mrs Chadwick was just kinder than the standard woman.

"Yes, please, can we see both?" Tom asked, turning his attention back to Ulkras, who was still holding the scroll and standing behind his desk, though the red quill had been returned to its original place in the vase on the desk.

"Yes, Heir Riddle, would you prefer to visit all three of your accessible vaults?" Ulkras said, dipping his head slightly. His tone had shifted and sounded more amenable and bland like he was masking his facial expressions and words in a way he hadn't been before.

Tom felt a blush creep up his neck and onto his cheeks at the term 'Heir Riddle.' It made him uncomfortable. "Tom is fine, Head Goblin Ulkras, but yeah, all three, please."

Ulkras tilted his head again, and the mask slipped, the sharp look returning to Ulkras' eyes. "You are a curious wizard, Master Tom."

"Just Tom," Tom reiterated, still feeling uncomfortable with any title, despite what the blood on the scroll had displayed.

Ulkras nodded his head but didn't question him further. "Then I am just Ulkras if we speak without titles. If you will wait here a moment I will retrieve the keys to your vaults for you and will assist you in reaching them. The Peverell Vault is especially deep." The goblin stepped around the side of the desk and headed out the door, closing it behind him, and leaving Tom along with the Chadwicks.

There was only a moment of silence before Chadwick punched Tom in the arm, rather hard.

"Ow! What the hell?" Tom demanded of the other boy while Mrs Chadwick admonished, "Keegan Chadwick!" from behind him.

"You said your mum was a witch, you didn't tell me you were a bloody heir!" Chadwick snapped, looking feral, "Not just an heir- an heir three-bloody-times over!"

"I didn't exactly know, now did I!" Tom snapped back, rubbing his upper arm, "I only found a little bit out about the Gaunts and it said there was a lord but my mum is dead and to my knowledge, I'm a bastard so I didn't think I would be able to inherit it."

"And Slytherin!" Chadwick continued, almost as if Tom hadn't spoken, "No wonder the sorting hat put you in bloody Slytherin-" Tom didn't argue with him on that point- even if he'd only just realized it that previous year when he'd been able to locate information about the Gaunt family.

"Keegan Chadwick," Mrs Chadwick said firmly, "You will not screech like a banshee while in a proper office at your friend and you will not hit others unprompted."

"Unprompted?" Chadwick demanded, turning to glare at his mother before turning back to Tom, "I would say this is prompted! Warranted, even!"

"Tom was clearly as shocked by it as the both of us, so I doubt very much he was expecting any of that," Mrs Chadwick said decisively. "Now, we're going to accompany Tom down to his vaults so he can see if he's able to make any use of them, and then we will finish our shopping and head home. And you will not continue to make such an unhinged fuss."

Chadwick ignored his mum, "And did you see there wasn't a death date next to your dad- it said he's alive and he's a lord too!" Tom had never seen Mrs Chadwick look so furious with her son. "Did you know about that?"

"Jack sent me some articles last year where he found a lord named Riddle, but I didn't know anything for certain and like I just told you, I'm a bastard, so it's not like I'll be able to inherit anything- especially if he doesn't know I exist." Tom snapped back harshly. And even if his father were to find out about him- it's not like Parliament was super welcoming to bastards, even if apparently the wizarding peerage was.

"If you figure out what the family rites are- you could be bloody Lord of Slytherin!" Chadwick practically growled, "How do you not see how big of a deal this is?!"

"I do- but if the Gaunts couldn't claim it, then what makes you think I can?" Tom demanded.

"We can cross that bridge when we come to it-" Mrs Chadwick interjected, trying to reassure Tom.

A hush fell over the three of them as the office door opened and Ulkras stood in the frame, holding a ring with dozens of keys on it- several much larger than the rest. "Follow me, if you please."

Ulkras led them out of the office and back through the main lobby and towards the elevator at the end of the hall. The goblin standing beside the closed gate flipped a large switch and they could hear mechanical swirling as the lift began to ascend to them.

"I will say, I am not looking forward to this," Mrs Chadwick admitted, giving Tom a pained smile. "The ride always makes me a little woozy. It's part of the reason I prefer to work with the tellers."

Tom pressed his lips into a thin line in contemplation and Chadwick on his other side had gone quiet. He wasn't quite sure if the boy was thinking too hard or if he was sulking. Either way, Tom ignored it and looked up at the half circle that indicated how far down they were. Underneath each of the numbers were the word "miles"- as in, 1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles. They slipped down lower and lower until they hit 5 miles underground and the lift shuddered to a halt. Tom followed Ulkras off the lift and blinked as he stepped into absolute darkness, his eyes struggling to adjust.

There was a click and a warm glowing light filled the platform- Ulkras held a lantern aloft and placed it on the front of what only could be described as a cart. Tom had heard that there was a trolley-type system underneath Gringotts that took you to your vault but had not anticipated it to look like this.

He hesitated, but Ulkras was already climbing into the front seat. Mrs Chadwick gestured for her son to take a seat, which he did with a small huff, and Tom slid in beside him before Mrs Chadwick slowly lowered herself down into the seat, gripping the sides tightly. It was interesting considering Tom knew that Mrs Chadwick owned and drove an automobile, but seemed terrified of the carts.

A whirring noise began and Tom opened his mouth to ask Mrs Chadwick about it when the cart took off fast enough that it slammed Tom back into his seat. He instinctively also reached out and held onto the corner of his seat and the cart twisted dangerously fast around the corners while Ulkras steered the cart. Tom didn't know how the goblin even knew where they were going with how fast the cart was moving, and he struggled to focus on each vault they flashed by. Much of the pathway the cart was on was cavernous, but each platform housed rows and rows of large vault doors and cobbled paths.

With no warning, the cart slammed to a halt and Tom nearly bashed his head into the seat in front of him where Ulkras was sitting. He could see now why Mrs Chadwick might not like the carts- his heart was beating a mile a minute and his mouth was dry. Honestly though- it had been rather enjoyable. Like when he'd been in flying lessons his first yet.

"Vault Three-Hundred and Seventy-Two, the Gaunt Family Vault," Ulkras said, turning and climbing swiftly out of the cart- much more nimbly than Tom thought the three of them could, given the ride they'd just had.

Ulkras waited as the three humans climbed from the cart, looking just a tad impatient, and then held an old ornate key out to Tom.

"This vault requires two to open it- you will need to stand there," Ulkraus pointed at a keyhole on the centre left of the door, "and turn the key, while I stand on the other side and we unlock it at the same time."

Tom frowned, but took the key and moved to the spot that Ulkras had motioned to. Chadwick and his mom stayed back, standing on the side of the platform by the cart. It was only as Tom prepared to put the key in the hole that he realized that Ulkras did not have a key of his own. Instead, the goblin slid his thumb and fingers into a grip of some kind and looked over to Tom.

"Place your key in the hole," Ulkrase repeated impatiently. Tom jumped and did so, sliding it in and then looking back to Ulkras.

"On the count of three, we will both turn the locks and the vault will open," Ulkras said, eyes on Tom. "One. Two. Three-" On three, both turned their locking mechanisms. Tom's key clunked loudly in the lock, the metal dragging and scraping as though the lock had not been used in ages, which he knew to be the case. The lock on Ulkras' side seemed to be just as decrepit, but ultimately both stopped turning and Tom could hear a loud clicking of gears rotating somewhere, and finally, the vault door came unlocked and began to spread open slowly.

Ulkras stepped back and Tom looked at him before reaching out to grab the doors that had just barely begun to open. He pulled on one- it was as heavy as it looked and it dragged gently on the floor.

The inside of the vault was dusty- not nearly as bad as Tom thought it would be after over two hundred years, but a fine layer coated everything inside.

Tom had never been in a Gringotts Vault before, so he had nothing to compare it to. It wasn't empty at least, but there were stacks and stacks of old ornate furniture- rugs rolled up and stacked in a corner. Several bookshelves were stacked to the brim with books that also spilt over onto the surrounding ground space and furniture.

He stepped inside slowly, looking around. Everything screamed posh, old-money posh, like something he imagined he'd see in Buckingham Palace. There were frames of paintings, a few portraits who were blinking up at him sleepily, while others were landscapes, clouds rolling across the sky. Past the piles of furniture stacked precariously were shelves with what appeared to be burlap sacks wedged onto them.

He paused in front of the shelf and hesitated for a moment before reaching out and grabbing one of the smaller burlap sacks off the shelf. Dust flew up in his face and he coughed, wiping the dust away as he unfolded the bag and pulled on the drawstring.

Ancient papers and smashed scrolls were stacked inside and he moved closer to some of the stacked furniture to set the burlap bag down and he looked through it.

Most of the writing was so slanted and scratchy that he had a hard time making it out. Some of it appeared to be receipts, but there were thick stacks of papers between the stacks of receipts that were clearly supposed to be ledgers. Numbers and notes next to them spanned the pages and Tom shoved them back into the burlap and placed it back onto the shelf.

He turned and walked back towards the entrance of the vault. Chadwick had moved up off the platform and was standing at the entrance looking around at the inside. He could see Ulkras and Mrs Chadwick just past him, looking, but not standing inside.

"What the hell do you suppose that is?" Chadwick asked. Once Tom was beside him he followed the pointed finger and saw a large roll of what appeared to be leather. The ends appeared the be able to lace up, and there were hooks along the outside rims, linking two large sections of leather together. Tom shook his head.

"I don't know-" The vault seemed to branch off in different directions but would loop back in on itself, the paths artificially created with stacked furniture and over-run bookshelves. The large leather thing wasn't the only thing he couldn't identify- he found an assortment of bits and baubles- tools and things he had no hope of understanding shoved onto shelves haphazardly.

"This will take ages to get through," Chadwick said from a few rows down, though sounded more intrigued and far less irritated than he'd been before. "Do you think there's a chest filled with gold or jewels or something like that around here?"

"Keegan!" His mother practically hissed. Tom looked over to see she had ventured further into the vault, though from the looks of it, it was to keep more of an eye on her son than anything else.

"What? You know Uncle Henry has something like that in his- there's no way he doesn't- the Potters are loaded." Chadwick shot back.

If his mother replied, Tom didn't hear it- it was just a lot of stuff for sure- if there was money, then it was hidden there somewhere among all the miscellaneous junk. It was a bit irritating, if only because he could certainly tell from some of the furniture his mother could have hocked it to feed and clothe herself. Keep herself off death's doorstep at least for his sake.

He immediately felt uncomfortable again and withdrew from the vault and stepped closer to Ulkras. He ran his hands over his forearms uncertainly, trying to ignore the tightness in his gut.

"Did…" He paused and looked at his feet and then back at the goblin, "Did she ever come and get anything out?" He felt the "she" would be implied, given the start of their conversation in the main hall.

Ultras shook his head slowly. "The last member to access any of these vaults was Marius Gaunt. When he discovered upon taking over the Gaunt and Peverell lordship from his father that he was unable to take over the Slytherin one as well, he spent several decades trying to litigate his way in," Ultras's smile grew a bit feral, and despite that and the pointed teeth, it looked more legitimate than his last smile had. "But as the founder of the vault had set the stipulations and the last Lord before him, his father, did not update them, there was no way for us to make any alterations until the rites had been met."

"And none of his children tried to claim it after his death?" Tom pressed.

Ulkras shook his head, his grin more subdued into a slight smirk, but no less genuine-looking than any of the other faces he'd made at Tom before. "No. It is not our job to remind wizards of the treasures they abandon and leave behind."

It was possible then that his mother hadn't known she'd had access to a vault either, or any of the people between her and Marius had never bothered trying to come back. Instead of offering any comfort to Tom, it made him feel so much worse for his mother.

"Were you able to look up what the family rites were that were mentioned?" Tom asked instead, switching topics.

"I asked the archivist to retrieve the files as to ascertain the exact wordage for the family rites for all three Lordships, but one of the archivists had been working here as a teller during the whole debacle with Marius Gaunt and could tell me what the rites are for the Slytherin Lordship," Ultras said. "I can convey it if you wish. I can not guarantee that it contains the entirety of the specifics, but I do not doubt that what he said is incorrect."

Tom paused, but Chadwick and his mother finally realized Tom had stepped out of the vault and were walking over to the pair by the cart. "I'd appreciate it if you would tell me," Tom finally said. He wanted to know what exactly it was that Marius Gaunt had been unable to do that had put their family into the poorhouse.

"Every Heir of the House of Slytherin must locate and open the Chamber of Secrets at some point during their tutelage at Hogwarts," Ulkras said, his grin turning just a bit feral again.

A/N: 1. Tom's Bisexual Awakening? Tom's Bisexual Awakening.

2. I'm constantly trying to double and triple check myself to make sure things are correct both chronologically for the war and culture-wise for the time period and I found out that apparently "to suss out" was not seen in media until the 1950s, or used broadly until the 1970s, so I had to take that erm out and switch it for something else.

3. We know that Tom and Harry were supposed to be very similar in many ways- I think given the differences in this Tom and the Canon Tom, this Tom would be even more similar to Harry, hence why you might notice some direct references to things Harry had done/thought/acted.

4. Also yes, if it wasn't entirely clear Ulkras was using a goblin form of legilimency on Tom, hence all the warning bells and skin crawling.

5. I wrote this several months ago but did not have time to edit until recently, but it is by far the longest piece I've written yet. Don't get used to it. This was originally also supposed to happen a year later in the story line and with someone else entirely, but again it just sort of wrote itself and I was able to bend the story around it. Chadwick was supposed to be such a minor character originally and now he's just wormed his way in, the little shit.