𝕬 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖎𝖘 𝕭𝖔𝖗𝖓 | 𝑇𝑜𝑚 𝑅𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 |

Chapter 5- The Last Night

Mrs. Cole was absolutely furious when Tom and Frankie walked in nearly three hours later from when Dumbledore had promised they'd be back. They didn't arrive until nightfall and, not only were they incredibly late, but it appeared they'd ditched their chaperone somewhere along the way. The demonic children had obviously given the kind, handsome educator 'the slip'. They often did it to Mrs. Cole when they went out together. Sometimes she prayed for them to get lost in the city and continue on with their lives as street vagabonds, but the two always managed to find their way back to her. Last winter, they'd ditched her while out shopping and didn't turn up for nearly an hour. When she asked where they'd been, Tom made up some rubbish about trying to help a lost girl and Frankie had claimed she'd only gone running after Tom. She didn't understand their convictions. Why bother coming back, if they clearly hated the orphanage so much and were only intent on making the place worse?

It was clear by the look in Mrs. Cole's enraged eyes that she assumed the absolute worst had happened that day. They'd surely gone gallivanting throughout the city causing mayhem and destruction in their path, like the hell spawns they were. Even though Tom and Frankie had two cauldrons filled with extraordinarily odd things, like robes, wands, scales, and telescopes, they went unnoticed by the eyes of an ignorant old hag. Frankie went back inside willingly and apologetic, but Tom was naturally intent on causing as much trouble as he possibly could. Despite his skeletal structure, he could still semi-successfully deadweight the situation, and very purposefully collapsed to the ground without warning. Knowing Tom far too well by now, Mrs. Cole instantly knew he wasn't ill and just being a stubborn little menace. She started forcibly yanking him back through the doorway with every ounce of her strength, shouting about how they both weren't going to be eating any meals during their last week at the orphanage, despite the fact Tom was the one on the ground. He was immediately tempted to show off some of the potion ingredients they'd bought while they were out. It would be an immense struggle to hold himself back from dumping his vial of salamander blood into the various meals they would be missing this week.

Tom was being slid just barely inside, when he spotted a small envelope lying on the steps. It was far past the time for post, and it was bare of any stamps or addresses. Tom looked closer and saw it had both of his and Frankie's names scrawled across it in a dark emerald ink. He immediately turned back and dove to retrieve it, but Mrs. Cole slammed the door closed in his face before he got the chance. He glared at her in annoyance for a brief moment. Suddenly, there was a giant crash coming from the next room, followed by wailing and howls of pain. Tom might've 'cursed' a block tower to fall on Billy Stubb, but no one would ever have the physical evidence to prove that brutish brick of a boy hadn't knocked into it on his own accord. Mrs. Cole was forced to rush into the room to see what had happened, while Tom managed to sneak the door back open and grab the letter. He silently beckoned for Frankie's attention, and they sat crouched near the door to read it together,

"I hope you both managed to find all your school things and return safely back to Wool's Orphanage. I apologize for leaving you so suddenly, but there was an emergency that could not have been avoided. Enclosed are your tickets for the Hogwarts Express. The train will leave King's Cross Station from Platform 9 ¾ at precisely 11:00am on September the 1st. If you would, please make sure to arrive well before that time. I would escort you myself, but I fear I will still be dealing with the matter at school, and I find myself a little tied up at the moment. However, I'm confident you two will do fine on your own.

I look forward to seeing you at school in a week.

Best regards,

Professor Albus Dumbledore"

Tom took out two tickets from the envelope and handed one to Frankie. She stared at it oddly, probably in disbelief, and he couldn't help but do the exact same with his own ticket. All of this was still pretty unbelievable, even after spending the entire day in Diagon Alley. Tom, for one, was still waiting for the catch. Logically thinking, there had to be at least one. A school for magic, filled with other kids just like them. Kids who were different and freakish. The girl they had met a few hours ago at Madam Malkin's was already seemingly unreal. They'd also had that brief encounter with a boy in Flourish and Blotts. They had both been friendly and did not look at them with automatic disgust, like everyone in the orphanage did. Would that really be everyone's reactions? Yes, they could still hate them. Tom's personality needed serious adjustments before he could even consider the possibility of having anymore friends. However, if they were going to still be hated at Hogwarts, it certainly wouldn't be for being able to use magic. After the horrible lives they'd lived up until now, that simple notion of acceptance seemed too good to be true.