Chapter Text
Tom was sitting under a large oak tree, reading a thick book. The cover was weathered and under tear, making it hard to read the title. The wind was ruffling his hair, and he sat in silence away from the other children, trying to ignore the loud scream and sounds coming from the children.
A red ball, bouncing its way towards him, rolling until it hit Tom's foot. It bounced off his foot, making Tom look up, wondering which of the other children had decided to pick on him. He would win the fight, of course. He was good at making people hurt, making them feel pain. It's what made him special. Important.
However, when he glanced up, it wasn't another orphan trying to bother him, but a small, short child.
The child looked down on Tom, blinking his green eyes at him. He reached down, picking up the ball.
“Hello… “
“Hello.”
The child was wearing a rich, smart outfit. In mostly black, with red shades, you could tell he came from a high family.
“What are you playing?”
Tom tilted his head.
“Playing? I’m reading, with a book. Not a toy.”
“Oh. I’m not good at that, mama tells me I’ll get better though. But father tells me it doesn't matter, ‘cuz books are overrated. But I don’t really know what that means…”
“... Right. Your father sounds like a dunce.”
“Oh. I don’t know what that is.”
Tom simply stares at the child, dumbfounded. A child born and raised in high-birth, yet has ignorant parents.
“The other kids don’t like to play with me, will you play with me?”
“No.”
“Oh. Can I sit next to you? I won't speak. Please?”
His eyes were large, almost deer-like. Tom nodded, moving over so the child could sit next to him. If he was lucky, he could grab some of the silver and gold buckles off his clothes and sell them for cash.
Time moved slowly, every now and then, he would glance up, look at the child rolling the ball around, then glance and see if any adults or children were walking towards them. This continued for at least an hour, before Tom heard a sharp ‘Harry!’ coming from the park.
The child beside him jumped, his eyes looking towards the park.
“I have to go. I’m Harry.” The child got up, still holding his ball, "What's your name?”
Tom continued to stare at the kid, thinking.
“I’ll tell you my name, if you give me 2 of those gold buckles on your shirt.”
The kid blinked, his head tilting.
“Ok.” He picked to clasps off, tearing his clothes a bit, handing them off to Tom.
Tom took them, pocketing them along with the ones he had grabbed discreetly while Harry was sitting beside him.
“I’m Tom. You should go now, Harry. Before your parents come looking for you.”
“Ok, will you come back to the park tomorrow?”
“Most probably.”
“Will you teach me how to read?”
“If you bring me more silver and gold, sure.”
Harry smiled. It was bright and filled with all his teeth. His eyes crinkled and sparkled.
“Ok! I’ll see you tomorrow!"
Tom watched Harry run off, back to his parents. A tall lady with pale skin and bright red hair, and a shorter man with bronze skin and black hair.
Harry was almost a perfect mix of the 2, pale skin and black hair. He wondered who he got his vibrant green eyes from.