In a room illuminated by several bright torches sat five figures around an oval shaped table topped with green felt on a raised platform. Around the platform stood roughly two dozen influential and, or rich spectators of different races watching the game of poker taking place before their eyes. The spectators and players were all dressed in their finest silk or dragon hide clothing; the males were wearing expensive suits while the females were looking beautiful in their evening gowns. One could tell that by merely looking at the gold-trimmed oak and polished furniture that this event was more prestigious then your regular house game.
The game in particular was a yearly event held by the Goblins of Gringotts in Britain for their richer clients. The clients often lost, and it was to the Goblin's great pleasure to rob them dry of their galleons in a very legal way; the fact that the losing wizards kept coming back was just a bonus for them. Being invited to actually participate was a great honour and a sign that majority of England recognized your family as a wealthy and worthy one – to refuse to participate would be a great insult to the Goblins and a sign of weakness (that's at least what the Goblins 'said', they just wanted their free money) – so the fact that wizards continued to lose their money in such a spectacular way wasn't much of a surprise.
Luckily for Harry, the fact that he was fourteen years old didn't bother the Goblins in the slightest. Gringotts was Goblin territory and hence, Wizarding laws on underage gambling didn't apply. All they saw was a wet behind the ears child who didn't know what else to do with his rather extensive inheritance – and the two hundred thousand galleon buy-in was a considerably large amount of it; almost half of his family's vault in galleons to be exact (properties and shares excluded). The Potters weren't the wealthiest family in England, not even close, but Harry and Remus together had garnered more than enough favour from the Goblin nation to be able to request a seat in the game from the bank's directors. The Goblins merely saw it as an attempt to increase the Potter fortune considerably on Harry's part while Remus had yelled at him until his throat was dry about squandering hundred of thousands of his family's fortune on a fruitless and immature 'business' venture.
Not only does the winner of this game win almost one and a half million galleons (eight players with a buy in of two hundred thousand galleons each), but they also earn the right to participate in the game hosted by the Switzerland branch of Gringotts once every ten years. The Switzerland branch was considered to be the 'head' branch of Gringotts and one of the wealthiest; the Goblins' richest clients often used and trusted that bank with its security being nigh impenetrable. The buy-in for that game was ten times the amount of the yearly one hosted in England, two million galleons to be exact, and as such, the winnings were all the more rewarding.
All of that mattered as much to Harry as Remus's lecturing however, he was not here for the money - he had his own agenda; though it should be known that he had no intentions of bankrupting himself and ruining any chances of curing his mother should he need money to do so.
The players this year consisted of two Goblins, four wizards, a Vampire and a Veela. The Goblins that participated were the same two that participated every year and Harry was certain they were specifically trained to just play Poker, as if it were their jobs; they were certainly good enough for his estimation to be a valid one. Bronzespear and Ripgore have been playing for two decades now and have won every game between them since they have started.
The Vampire who had attended, Vladimir Mikhaylovich, a Russian born businessman who was a pure-blooded vampire that inherited his family's English based business at a young age was one of the first to go out, having gone head to head against Ripgore only to have lose to an ace high straight.
The Veela was a woman from France by the name of Francine Delacour who was merely here on a business trip but decided to try her luck with Poker. It was unfortunate for her that her skills in the game were not as revered as her looks, otherwise they'd all have been bled dry hours ago.
The wizards invited to join the game were, not surprisingly, Lucius Malfoy, who seemed to make it his mission to try and make a fool of Harry and make him go bust early. Unfortunately for everyone but Harry, his little escapade allowed Harry to take the position as chip leader early one, a fact that the Goblins were sure to remember, especially if the glares sent in his direction by the Goblins dealer were anything to go by. The other two wizards, aside from himself, were Robert Cook, the owner of the Daily Prophet and Jeremy Taylor, CEO of the Nimbus Racing Broom Company.
Now, the only people remaining in the game were Harry, Ripgore, Bronzespear and Jeremy, the rest having lost already. The dealer collected the large pile of chips and moved them over towards Bronzespear.
"It seems you are getting a little overconfident Lord Potter, perhaps being up so late past your bedtime has hindered whatever thought processes your puny mind could conjure up, hmm?" he jabbed with a false politeness, earning several chuckles from the inhabitants of the room.
Harry merely ignored him, frowning as he lost that hand. It was clear to all that he suspected he was going to win, and who wouldn't with a hand like his with the river the way it was?
"Just deal the cards" he said darkly, locking his hands together in front of his mouth and hunching over his chips which were, for the first time that night, smaller then the two Goblins' piles.
Bronzespear looked pleased with himself and Ripgore didn't look too upset either, no doubt they'd be praised no matter who won as long as it was one of them. Jeremy was sweating bullets, he didn't have all that much left and this next hand would probably be his last, especially since he was up to pay big blinds.
A hush overcame the room as everyone was dealt two cards. Harry plucked the corner of them up slightly, giving no outwards expression of whether he was pleased or not with his hand – a fact which annoyed his opponents to no end – while the other three players did the same. Bronzespear's grin turned savage after looking at his cards as Harry raised his eyebrow in amusement.
Everybody called and the dealer laid down the flop in the middle of the table, the cards being an ace of diamonds, a jack of diamonds and a jack of spades respectively.
Bronzespear opened the betting high as everyone checked, forcing everyone to call if they wanted to remain in the game. When it was Harry's turn to call, he hesitated, ever so slightly, and Bronzespear immediately picked up on it.
"Finally realizing what it is you're playing with Potter?" he jeered "there's no more useless Malfoy lords playing to give you their money, perhaps you should just fold? Actually, disregard that, it would be in my best interests if you bet as much as possible…"
Harry almost laughed when he saw Malfoy's expression darken, the losers were drinking cocktails while watching until the end of the game which didn't seem to far off. Bronzespear on the other hand must not think much of him, using petty intimidation tactics during a game. Harry figured he could have one of two goals, goad him into betting more, or scare him off because he has nothing.
"Call" Harry called casually, throwing in the appropriate chips required as the dealer dealt the next card, a King of hearts. Once again, Bronzespear bet high, almost forcing Jeremy to go all in, while Harry and Ripgore called. The pot was one of the largest of the night and drew the attention of all the spectators.
The dealer dealt the last card, revealing a seven of diamonds. Harry let out a quiet disappointed sigh.
"Ah, and all has come tumbling down then Lord Potter?" Bronzespear asked with faux sympathy "hoping for the queen were you?" he asked with a grin before pushing all of his chips in to the middle of the table, eliciting gasps from all watching.
Harry had to hand it to the Goblin, if there was one thing they had down to a 'T' it was intimidation…
Ripgore took one last look at his cards before nodding and calling the all in. Jeremy, who really had no other choice by to follow, did and called also.
Harry reclined back in his chair and played with his cards in their face down position in the table. The entire time, he was eyeing Bronzespear with a piercing glaze that, if the Goblin was honest with himself, unnerved him somewhat.
"What do you say to making this pot a little more interesting?" Harry asked, as the Goblin snapped at him.
"Your arrogance knows no bounds!" he snarled "is one and a half million galleons not interesting enough?!"
Harry shrugged "I am not playing for the money" he paused "a side bet on this hand, between the two of us, one that could be extremely profitable to the winner" he prompted "what say you?"
Harry knew he may as well have dangled a bag of galleons in front of the greedy goblins face at the mention of 'profit' but he had no choice, this had to be done.
"And what, pray tell, would we be betting?" the Goblins asked, intrigued. The spectators looked on in interest while the dealer frowned – what they were doing wasn't exactly illegal, as it didn't affect the game, but what could the boy be wanting?
"I would be betting the Potters' shares in all businesses, including those of 'Moony Nights'" he prompted, getting gasps and incredulous looks from all those in the room, Harry was thankful that Remus wasn't there or he was sure the werewolf would explode.
The Goblin immediately got a greedy look in his eyes and it was at that moment that Harry knew he had him "You have offered something of great value, what could me, a lowly Goblin, hope to offer to match such a bet?" he asked with sarcasm.
Harry got up from his chair and leaned over to the Goblin's bat like ear before whispering something. Those watching - slightly put out that they wouldn't hear what is being bet - were surprised to see the Goblin's eyes widen in shock before narrowing dangerously.
"How do you know of that item?!" he all but snarled – Harry shrugged dismissively as he took his seat again.
"I have friends in high places" he replied; a vampire sitting at the bar drinking a glass of premium blood grinned into his cup at those words.
"You are so eager to lose your money?! Why should I be one to stop you!" the Goblin snarled as the dealer eyed Bronzespear with narrowed eyes.
"You are aware that you are bound by our laws to deliver whatever Lord Potter has asked of you to him, should he win?" he warned dangerously.
"As is he to me!" he snarled, eyes still narrowed in anger, seemingly unfazed by his dealer's subtle threat.
The dealer shrugged as the players flipped their cards, Jeremy going first.
"Queen high flush" he said proudly, rightfully so too, it was an excellent hand.
"I'm sorry to disappoint" Ripgore said with a grin as Jeremy paled "but I'm afraid I have the King" and indeed, Ripgore produced a King high flush.
"It doesn't matter" Bronzespear spat "I have full house, Aces over Jacks" Bronzespear said with a vicious grin, showing his pocket aces as he turned them.
All eyes in the room immediately turned to Harry, who gulped down the last of his Butterbear before casually flipping over his cards "I will expect you with what I asked for at Moony Nights tomorrow evening, no later."
Bronzespear, and everyone else in the room, looked on in shock at the pair of Jacks Harry had revealed. Instantly, a people began to talk amongst themselves in their little groups until the room was filled with excited chatter. A boy of no older then fourteen had just cleaned up over one and a half million galleons! This was ludicrous!
"Where do you think you're going?!" Bronzespear snarled as Harry collected his chips in a plastic holder and readied to leave. He didn't look quite ready to concede defeat and by the murderous look the dealer was giving the enraged Goblin; he shouldn't be ready to concede defeat either.
"As you so nicely pointed out, it is far past my bed time" he said with a grin before heading out the door. Before leaving, however, he walked past the bar and slipped a fifty thousand galleon chip to the pale, black haired vampire seated there.
"Give Lucile my regards, Lestat" Harry recited in perfect French.
"Of course, Lord Potter" he replied demurely, though the grin on his face told another story"She'll be happy to hear from you".
Harry was awoken, rather rudely in his opinion, by a slap to the face – several in fact – from his 'best friend'.
"What the fuck Archades?!" Harry snapped in anger, perhaps another side-effect of his feline Animagus abilities was his need and yearning for sleep; waking him up after only three hours of it was probably not the best way to get on his good side in the morning.
"Don't get bitchy at me!" he snapped back, though his grin didn't leave his face "Remus has been asking for you all morning, its nine o'clock already!"
Harry groaned and looked over to his wall where an analogue hung; it definitely was nine in the morning.
"I got home three hours ago you twat, tell Remus he can pick off his own goddamn fleas!"
With that ever so witty response, Harry dived back under his silk blankets and covered his face with the pillow, hoping Archie would just go away.
"He said you might say that" Archie mused to himself, though Harry heard him clearly as his pranking senses were tingling "he also said that if you did, I should do this…"
"Don't do it" Harry warned with an oddly serious tone from beneath his pillow; Archie would remember at a later date how funny it was to be threatened by someone who looked to have a pillow for a head.
"Don't do what?" he asked innocently, as he pulled a bucket of something over his head.
"I'm warning you Archades, you don't want to do what you're about to do" his warning was unheeded though as Archie emptied a bucket of freezing cold water on his friend causing Harry to rise slowly from his bed, seemingly unfazed, with water dripping all over his body.
Archie was howling with laughter on the floor, thinking he was the funniest person in the world, while Harry quickly went for his wand.
"Lesson number one Archades" Harry said with a grin, pointing his wand at his friend who looked at Harry was fear.
"Now, now, Harry, revenge isn't worth getting expelled over is it?" he asked but to no avail as Harry flicked his wand, vanishing Archie's pants.
"Who said anything about getting expelled?" he said with a grin, as he flicked his wand a couple more time sending a screaming Archie out of his room and down to the diner area of the inn.
Harry arrived downstairs, dressed and ready for the day after his shower, feeling as tired as he looked. His day immediately picked up however at the sight of a pantless hanging from the wall by his underwear in a position that looked extremely painful.
"Harry!" Archie called, happy for some reason to see him – he couldn't see why – "my bestest friend, I think you should let me down and we can let bygones be bygones, what do you say?" he said, wincing every so often from the obvious pain he must be in.
"I don't think so" he said with a shrug as he sat at the bar and let Lizzy make him some breakfast.
"Harry, this isn't funny" he begged, however the people who were already present at the inn didn't seem to agree with him "more people will be coming soon and this is extremelypainful" he wailed "I think I'm bleeding!"
"What, you're not?" he asked with a fake frown as the boy paled. Deciding he had tortured him enough, Harry discreetly waved his wand under the bench, letting Archie fall to the ground with a thump and a groan.
Eventually, the damaged boy took a seat beside him, wincing in pain as his ear end made contact with the stool.
"What the hell did you do to me?" he said, sitting awkwardly on the stool with his thighs instead of his behind to avoid pain, this was just a prank that kept on giving!
"It's called a wedgie, don't wake me up like that again" he said as he continued to eat. Archie nodded distractedly before looking around and making sure they had no one's attention.
"Are you going to tell me how you can do magic and not alert the ministry?" he asked in a whisper – Harry was surprised the boy had the foresight to not blurt it out in a room full of school children.
"Remarkably insightful of you to not alert the world…" Harry said warily, as if judging if the boy seated beside him was really Archades.
"The Parselmouth thing was different" he said waving his hand "that's not something you should be ashamed of and being one isn't against the law, this on the other hand…"
Harry nodded, understanding Archie's view on the matter. The boy, in an unnatural emotional display, revealed to him his feelings regarding his mother, her condition and her…unfortunate…demise, it isn't too surprising that he would think Harry was ashamed of such an ability, and force him to live with it by telling the world.
"I can't say much" he said ominously "but you should know that it has nothing to do with where we are, or who I am, and everything to do with the wand itself – you can't replicate the effect" Archie didn't seem nearly as disappointed as Harry thought he'd be "and if you let it slip, I'll hurt you" he seemed to ignore the threat.
"That's cool I guess, the only magic I want to do on the holidays doesn't need a wand so I don't much care" ah, well that made sense. When he wasn't working at the inn, Archie spent the majority of his time in his own room brewing and experimenting with potions – Harry was more surprised that he hadn't blown himself and the place up, but he guessed it went to show how skilled he was with a cauldron.
Remus came out from the back wearing an apron and a towel hanging over his shoulder glaring at Harry.
"I waited nearly all night for you, when did you finish squandering your families fortune?" Archie perked up at this, not knowing himself where Harry disappeared to last night.
"I got home at seven" he answered, as he chewed on his bacon.
"What the hell where you doing up so…oh you sly dog you, who is she?" Archie asked with a grin as Remus shot him a glare.
"He wasn't with some girl" Remus said, but pause slightly "but if there is an indication at school that he may be considering such actions, you come and tell me okay" he said with a conspiratory wink as they both giggled "no, this idiot boy went and joined the Lord Game of Poker that the goblins hosted last night, using half of his family fortune to join in!"
Archie was gaping at Harry like a fish out of water "…the buy-in for those games is like…a hundred thousand galleons…"
"Two hundred thousand" Harry corrected, as if it were the most common thing in the world. This only seemed to shock Archie more.
"And you lost two hundred thousand galleons…for what exactly?" Archie asked, still shocked "if you wanted to just throw away from gold…you could have thrown it my way…I've seem some ingredients shops in Knockturn Alley with some expensive shit…"
"Why does everyone assume I lost?" he asked, hiding his grin expertly.
Utter silence met his question, only to be broken by Remus "Don't tell me you actually won?..."
Harry remained silent as he continued to eat his breakfast "This is beautiful, as usual, Lizzy" he praised his little house-elf who flushed with embarrassment and busied herself with washing the bench.
Remus and Archie by this time were getting annoyed with the silence "Well? What happened?!"
Harry looked up to them in confusion "Egads man, make up your mind, you said not to tell you if I won, and now you want me to?"
"DID YOU WIN OR NOT?!" he snapped, while Harry shook his head in amusement.
"Mhmm" his proclamation shocked the two into silence once again.
"…what were the winnings exactly?..." Archie asked, his voice faint.
"Eight players, two hundred thousand galleon buy-in, I won exactly one million, four hundred thousand galleons" this proclamation seemed to shut down both Remus's and Archie's brains – both of whom were now gaping at him like idiots, not sure exactly what to say to that, until…
There was a thump as Archie slid off his chair and fainted dead on the ground. Remus used his hand to steady himself on the bench, feeling quite faint himself.
"I'm too old for this shit…"
"Ah Lucius, what a surprise, please, come in…" Cornelius Fudge moved aside from his office door to usher in the tall, blonde haired man carrying a cane with the head of a silver serpent.
"Cornelius, how are things today – not too troublesome, I hope?" Lucius Malfoy drawled, his voice nothing but polite and courteous, yet one couldn't help but feel like he was the stranger offering candy your parents always warned you about.
"Ah, just another meeting with the Wizengamot, as you know, bothersome as usual" he said with a sigh as he took a seat in his rather large and comfortable chair, motioning the Malfoy Lord to take a seat opposite him "Merlin, if I have to listen to Bones go on about the lowering number of werewolf attacks, or the decrease in crimes committed by dark creatures ever since the opening of that hovel of an inn, I think I'm going to scream" he said, sounding as irritated as he looked.
"You don't sound too fond of the Potter heir and his werewolf guardian, if you don't mind me saying, minister" he said with an enticing voice, he couldn't help but be intrigued in the matter.
"That…brat!" he spat, spittle leaving his mouth as he did so and Malfoy couldn't help but feel disgusted "is the bane of my existence! Ever since he embarrassed me in the Wizengamot and opened that inn of his with his…monster… of a guardian, my public opinion has been slowly dwindling – can you believe, that witches and wizards, ones we used to consider good and wholesome, frequent that hole of an inn and mix with those monstrosities!" Lucius already knew this, but let the man vent regardless "at first I thought it was just some means for those half-bloods and beasts to drink themselves silly, without warranting the attention of the Aurors, but now I hear that they have stolen a majority of mister Wright's customers too from the Leaky Cauldron and families are starting to take their children there for dinners and what not!"
"There's nothing you can really do about it though, is there, Cornelius?" he asked, as his eyes bored into the balding man's own "after all, it's just…good business on the brat and his pet werewolf's part" he pointed out as the minister nodded, though it looked to be begrudgingly.
"So what brings you here Lucius?" Cornelius asked "surely you have more important matters to attend to then listen to someone like me rant about his troublesome life, I presume?"
Indeed, was the response Lucius Malfoy wanted to give, but he held his tongue "As you may know, I have, myself, returned from the annual game of lords yesterday evening with the goblins…"
"Another problem if I've ever heard of one…" the minister grumbled.
"Yes, yes, but they do hold the majority of our money, so that should earn them our respect – for now" he said with a grin "regardless, you wouldn't believe who took the winnings" he said, fighting down the urge to scowl at the memory.
"Oh? Who? I'd imagine the Goblin took great pleasure in doing so yet again" Fudge said with a frown of his own.
"Oh, I assure you they were anything but pleased when your favourite, half-breed loving, now millionaire heir, took the winnings for himself" he said with a grin, though remembering quite bitterly how the brat had bested him.
"POTTER?!" he shrieked "how did he even get a seat in that game! Surely his family's fortune doesn't the likes of your own! I would know for I've seen its balance many times!"
"Obviously" he drawled "he has garnered enough favour with the Goblins nation to waver such petty rules" he waited for the minister to calm down "and trying to steal the young Potter heir's fortune? How utterly devious of you minister" though he kept his disgust in check, as if this half-blood, incompetent minister could ever take the Potter fortune for his own, as if he'd ever allow such a thing!
Fudge had the decency to flush in embarrassment "Well, you see, that brat has caused me enough embarrassment then he was worth, I figured I could control him somewhat if I had a hold of his fortune…"
Lucius ignored him and continued to speak "Regardless of whatever your ill-planned schemes entail, I have one of my own that will remove the thorn that mister Potter is from our sides permanently, should you play your part to the tee, minister" Lucius said, leaning in closer when he offered his plan, yet frowning slightly when he realized how he had worded his proposal, luckily the minister wasn't astute enough to pick up on his error.
"I'm listening…" the minister said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Have you heard, that young mister Potter is a Parseltongue?..."
Harry stood in the centre of his room, any obstacle or piece of furniture banished to the far walls, while only clothed in a pair of football shorts as he waved his wand in intricate patterns, one following the other, as if he were in a trance.
With every new spell he learned, Harry made sure he could perform it to such a degree, that it could be done successfully while micro-managing several other conjured beings through animation charms and conjuration. This is why Harry reading a floating book labelled'Charms: Battling with Nature by your side' while several globs of water twirled around him at different speeds, morphing into the shapes of random animals or objects he could think of. He would then guide the floating masses of water through several moving hoops, all of which were still under his control.
The book described that to master Elemental Battle Charms, you had to start small and build up from there. From conjuring water and learning to manipulate at, you learn the basics of creating ice or steam – once you learn to manipulate the water's shape, what is so difficult about manipulating its temperature and density?
With a few more expert twirls and flicks, one of the globes of water surrounding him split up into hundreds of thin, pin shaped objects the size of pencils. Harry focused some more until the temperature in the room dropped considerably, and even in his exhausted and sweaty state, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Suddenly, with one final flick, the hundreds of pencil sized darts frosted over as their translucency disappeared and they took on an icy appearance.
Looking around his room, he looked for a worthy target for his practise, when he found a pile of letters girls from school he had never spoken to had sent him in hopes of creating some sort of correspondence. With a flick of his wand, the letters rose up to his eye level against the wall and with a jab, the ice needles were launched at a high speed towards them.
To his delight, around twenty shattered on impact, failing miserably, but more then fifty connected with the wall and pinned the letters there in position.
Getting an idea, he grabbed one of the other globes of water and concentrated on it, waving his wand in a circular motion above his head as it transformed into a compact, cannon-ball, like projectile. Bringing his wand from over his right shoulder, he practically punched the air with his wand, sending his newest projectile to where the letters were stuck, pinned to the wall.
The result was more then satisfying as the cannon-ball of water made a crunching sound with the wooden wall, impacting in such a way that would leave a true cannon-ball proud. Increasing the density of the water globes, compacting them in a tight sphere and launching it at high speeds was definitely a fun thing to do.
Harry looked around for another target and found, to his disappointment, that he had none – but he wasn't skilled in transfiguration for nothing!
Giving a quick leftwards flick towards a broken piece of the wall that had hit the floor, it grew in size as it was transfigured into a wooden baby like doll. This baby, while looking remarkably like a doll young witches would get as children to play with, had one glaring difference that put it apart from the rest. It had long greasy hair, a hooked nose and two beady eyes.
The door to his room opened as Stephanie and Archie let themselves in, having gotten fed up with knocking for five minutes with no response. Imagine their shock when they saw a baby doll, eerily sharing several key distinguishable features with their head of house and idol respectively, floating mid-air not four feet from them.
They didn't have much time to appreciate it though, as, to their shock, a sphere of water the size of a Quaffle came speeding towards it and completely smashed it into a million splinters.
Stephanie and Archie turned slowly to the source of the watery projectile to see a glaring Harry, the former flushed madly in embarrassment to catch him in such a state of undress while the latter was glaring at him for being caught in such a state of undress. Clearly, the hours of Quidditch practise and duelling had an effect on his body, as Stephanie would attest to when she saw his athletic figure.
"Put on some clothes you hooligan!" Archie shrieked as he feebly tried to cover the blushing Stephanie's eyes with his hands, the girl was viciously swatting them away, trying to get a better look "There's a lady present!"
"I believe you are the ones to trespass on me" he said dryly as he sent a silent banishing charm towards the door to close it "and the lady seems to like what she sees" he said with a grin, causing the poor girl to flush more. Archie just glared harder at him for flirting with someone that was clearly 'out of bounds'.
Harry disappeared behind a screen as Stephanie elbowed Archie, now that Harry was gone, so he could remove his hands from her eyes. Harry appeared from behind the screen, as fresh as if he had just come out of a shower, wearing the same football shorts and a black singlet.
"More clothes!" Archie hissed "Have you no decency, we are practically in the presence of royalty!"
Archie missed the brief look of surprise on Stephanie's flushed face at such a proclamation while Harry shrugged "It's rather hot in here, wouldn't you agree Stephanie?"
The girl just nodded, too stunned to actually put two words together. This time it was Archie who elbowed her in the ribs, to knock her out of her daze. Shaking the cobwebs out of her head, she regained her bearings before glaring at Harry.
"Yes, clearly you should dress more appropriately when someone who is clearly your better decides to grace you with their presence" she said snobbishly, though the smirk on her face lessened the effect.
"Yes, well, seeing as there is no one in existence that can call themselves my better, I guess I should feel safe walking around like this then?" he said with a shrug as he righted his room, getting incredulous looks from Stephanie with the more magic he used.
"Rather high opinion of yourself then Potter, and will you stop using magic?!" she finished off in a harsh whisper "are you trying to get expelled?!"
Archie looked to Harry with a raised brow to which he just responded with an unconcerned shrug.
"Magic cast by his wand can't be detected by the ministry Stephy" she just glared at him after he finished his short explanation, as if waiting for something expectantly.
"Steph" he amended, but the glare didn't lessen.
"Stephanie" her eyes remained narrowed and she rolled up her sleeve.
"Miss Zabini?" he tried hopefully, though she continued to advance on him.
"Madam Zabini?" he tried feebly, and while her glare lessened to an amused smirk, she didn't stop her advance.
"QUEEN ZABINI! FINE!" he relented, as the beautiful girl nodded in approval at her title.
Harry shook his head in amusement "You two aren't even married yet and you already have him whipped."
"Say something Harry?" she asked dangerously, as her ire was basically transferred to the ebony haired teen while Archie looked like he was off in his 'Happy Place' as the implications of what Harry said set in.
"I said" he said, raising his voice "you're not even married yet and you already have him whipped" he enunciated, as if reiterating to a toddler "Merlin, I like how you have you hair down and all, but if it affects your hearing so much, perhaps you should tie it up again" he said in mock seriousness while Stephanie just glared at him.
"Hey, why don't you hit him, you would have probably killed me by now if I said something like that!" Archie whined while Stephanie stopped glaring and looked to Archie.
"First of all, he has a wand and can defend himself should I try to attack him…" Harry cut her off before she could make any other bullshit excuses.
"That, and the fact that what I said is completely true" Harry added, getting a flush of embarrassment from Stephanie and a victorious grin from Archie as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
Stephanie merely glared at the offensive appendage as Archie's smirk faltered "Right, well, I got to get back to work, Steph, tell him what Remus wanted, and Potter…" Archie trailed off as he walked out of the room backwards. Stephanie couldn't see what he was doing as her back was to him, but Harry had no such problem. With his limited Charades experience, he deduced he was trying to convey something on the lines of 'I like exploding cheesecake' or 'Don't even try make a move on her or I'll slip a poison into your breakfast'.
He assumed it was the latter, but you could never tell with Archie…
"So, what the hell was that with your wand? I know there's more to it then what Archie said" she said, as she took a seat on his very expensive desk chair and put her feet up on his equally expensive desk. Using his wand, he levitated her away from the desk and deposited her on the couch that was replaced in its original position.
"The couch is for sitting" he said with a glare, as he ignored her inferior one "and my wand was created before the ministry was formed, it's hard to have tracking charms when a wand predates the people tracking them, hmm?" he offered as he put away the books he was reading in his private bookshelf while cleaning up his room and repairing the damages he caused "I suppose I don't have to tell you to keep this a secret?"
Stephanie nodded, having already assumed that and knowing she wouldn't tell anyone anyway even if he hadn't mentioned it "You know, when Archie told me you fantasized about kicking a baby Snape, I only thought he was kidding…" she trailed off with a grin.
Harry shrugged "He was being rather generous really" he admitted "I pictured myself doing much worse then kicking, as you could see from my earlier display" he motioned to the splinters on the floor that were once 'Baby Snape' which he promptly cleaned with a quick charm.
The two lapsed into an awkward silence, well, it was awkward for Stephanie; Harry was just busying himself with cleaning his room.
"Why do you keep ignoring Archades's advances?" he asked, a grin tucking at his lips as his back was to the girl – manipulating people was fun.
"I don't see how that's any of your business" she replied curtly, her back suddenly straightening as Harry went down a line of questioning she didn't fancy following.
"Is there a reason, perhaps, for you to dislike him then?" he slightly changed the topic while keeping her on her toes.
"You mean other then the fact that he's annoying, he embarrasses me on a daily basis, he's clingy, and he's a nerd?" she shot back irritably.
Harry turned around at that "Nerd, you say?" he sounded intrigued "what makes you say that?"
"Oh come on, Harry, you may be his friend, but surely you realize" she said with a scoff "if he's not annoying me, he has his nose stuck in some potions book, his head over some cauldron, or his head up Snape's arse…"
Surprised by the mean, if not slightly accurate depiction of Archie's life, Harry almost lost his train of thought, but he didn't give up. Archie was annoying when he was depressed, and as long as Stephanie would continue to ignore him and his feelings, he would remain depressed, and thus, annoying.
"Is that right? Yet you had no qualms about asking me to Hogsmeade?" he said, completely ignoring the embarrassed flush that crept up on her features at the mention of that embarrassing experience.
"I don't see how that's relevant at all; you're nothing like him…" she said, her embarrassment regarding the topic of conversation clearly in her voice.
Harry looked at her with amusement "Is that so? What do you think I was doing when you came in my room?" he asked, ignoring how embarrassed the girl looked as those memories resurfaced "I was doing what I do during ninety percent of my holidays; studying" he neglected to add in that what he was doing wasn't on the Hogwarts curriculum, but that didn't matter at the moment.
"Yeah, but…"
"But what?" Harry interrupted, a little harshly "you think because Archades excels at Potions, it makes his feelings regarding you any less real?" he asked with a scoff "the boy adores you, I'd probably say it was borderline obsession if it weren't for the fact that he decided to move away from living with you so he could work" he emphasised the key words in his argument "how many boys our age would willingly do that? Move away from life with a rich family where he no doubt could 'annoy' you all he wanted, only to come here, and work, to make his own way in the world?"
Stephanie had no answer for that as she looked to her lap, her hands clenched in fists on her knees.
"You know what I find most amusing?" he asked, getting her attention "do you know how many girls would give their right arm to even have a date with him?" he asked the incredulous girl "Oh, I kid you not, despite how perverted the little letch is, he has – continuously I might add – knocked back every female asking him to either go on a date, snog, or become his girlfriend" he said, however the doubt in his eyes angered him slightly "they seem to find something in his qualities that makes him good boyfriend material, what it is, I don't know, but they definitely do."
"I doubt that…" she said, only to be cut off as Harry turned on her, peering intently into the girl's eyes. Stephanie wasn't sure what was happening, but she felt a slight tingling in her mind and had the urge to look away, but she just couldn't…those wonderful emerald eyes… it was like if she continued looking into them, everything would be alright.
As quickly as the feeling arrived, it left, leaving her confused as to what had actually happened. Her thoughts must have conveyed themselves to Harry, for he answered them for her.
"You may be able to lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me" he said in a low whisper "you project your thoughts as if you were yelling them to the world, you know" he began "Firstly, you say that you think he's not one of the best looking guys in our year level, even if you actually believe quite the opposite, so you can't not like him for superficial reasons" he stated, ignoring the look of horror on her face "Secondly, despite the fact that you say he annoys you, you find the constant attention he gives you to be flattering and sweet, and now that you've learned that he ignores other girls who willingly throw themselves at his feet, that belief has only increased…"
Stephanie's eyes widened in horror as she backed away from Harry around the couch "You read my mind!" she accused with indignation and horror, which he promptly ignored.
"Thirdly, not only are you impressed by his obvious skill with potions, you are slightly envious because you yourself don't have a field of specialization to excel in like he or I do; the praise your parents gave him for it only served to increase that envy, yet you still admire his determination and find it to be an appealing quality" Harry would normally feel guilty about using Legilimency to delve into someone's thoughts like this, but Stephanie was being childish and he didn't much care of what she thought of him – if anything, his actions now would probably forever destroy any thoughts she may have regarding the two of them becoming a pair, a concept he had no problem with. He did though, if he was honest with himself, feel a little bad for completely betraying her trust like this, but it couldn't be helped.
"I wonder what you would think when you realize that the entire reason behind his drive to better himself in Potions is because of his mother?" he asked, causing Stephanie's anger and indignation at having her thoughts read to disappear, only to be replaced by shock "yes, he told me, we're a lot alike in that regard; we both have our mothers as motivators to better ourselves; except with his mother, things were a lot more tragic and dark" he hissed, almost reverting to Parseltongue, as he sometimes did when he was annoyed.
Stephanie wanted to know how Harry thought he had something in common in regards to Archie and their mothers, but kept her thoughts to herself and cleared her mind, hoping such things couldn't be read too by the boy she once considered a friend...
"His entire reason for bettering himself at Potions wasn't because he loved the art - not at first anyway - it is so he can find a cure for Lycanthropy" he said to the shocked girl "a fool's errand, you think?" Harry had quickly used Legilimency again to ascertain her thoughts on Archie's dream, not surprised with what he found.
"I wouldn't think like that if I was you; while not as skilled in the art of Potions as Archades, I can understand the theory behind it just fine, he's closer to discovering the cure then Potions Mastersdecades his senior!"
Okay, Stephanie thought; that definitely stumped her. Archie was that good at Potions? Or was it that no one else tried to find a cure? Perhaps she just didn't want to admit that something Archie had done had impressed her? She put those thoughts away for later.
Harry eased up and straightened himself, looking down at her seated position while cleaning his glasses with the underside of his singlet.
"No, I didn't read your mind, a mind is far too complicated to be read" he explained, his voice sounding slightly soothing after the grilling he had just given her "I read your surface thoughts, and sifted through some relevant memories. It is a difficult branch of magic called Legilimency, if you want to stop me doing it in the future, I would suggest you research its counterpart; Occlumency" he told her in a softer voice.
"You bastard…" she muttered, her voice cracking slightly at having her mind so easily violated.
"Realized it, have you?" he asked apathetically "yes Stephanie, I am a bastard, I am an asshole, I am despicable, the sooner people learn this the better, because that fact is likely not to change, its who I am, amongst many other things…"
Harry locked eyes with her again "Despite what you think you know about me, I assure you, its not even close to what I really am" he said, sending shivers down her spine "I care little for schoolyard squabbles and childish dreams, I don't care for people's feelings when it comes to getting what I want – unless the person's feelings in question are a close friend of mine – and would sooner ignore most people entirely then be forced to have conversations with them if they annoy me" he explained "You judged me on appearance alone and readily asked me out on a date – knowing me now, would you do so again?"
"NO" she bit out; Harry nodded in approval and gave her a small smile, which shocked her somewhat – Harry seemed so bipolar sometimes.
"Then you've learned something valuable" he said, with an approving nod "You know, I'm hardly the person to ask on such a matter, but do you want to know what I think love is?"
He didn't wait for her answer, but she did look at him curiously, wasn't he the one not a moment ago saying he didn't care about such things? Love was a kind of emotion, the strongest in her opinion. What did this even have to do with anything anyway? "Love isn't finding your 'soul-mate' and living happily ever after, or what have you, I don't believe in such things" he said as he waved his hand dismissively "Love is finding someone who loves you as much as you love them despite their flaws, you can't love only 'parts' of someone after all, that's just ignorance at its best" Harry shook his head and looked down at her "Yes, Archades may annoy you, embarrass you, 'cling' to you, and frustrate you, but you can't lie to me, we both know its what you love about him – the sooner you realize this the better, you understand?"
She gave a small nod and looked away from his eyes; she didn't want to look at him right now as she still felt sore about him violating her privacy like he did. Suddenly, as Harry continued to clean his room, something in her mind clicked as she replayed his speech over in her mind.
With his explanation of what 'love' was, and what he revealed about what he thought of himself and his personality, she came to a shocking realization.
"You don't think you're worthy of love…" she whispered, though Harry heard it perfectly and she was shocked to see him stiffen slightly "You purposefully push people away so they won't ever be given the chance to, that's why you ignore everyone and are so cold to them…" Before she could push further however, she was startled to see him turn on her with no emotion whatsoever in his eyes and interrupt her revelation.
"Archades said something about Remus wanting to tell me something?" he asked, his voice betraying nothing yet at the same time, it betrayed everything. Stephanie couldn't help but feel pity for him.
"He…err…said somebody was here to see you, oh! I probably should have told you sooner" she grinned, flushing in embarrassment. Harry nodded distractedly and just looked at her. She was somewhat elated to see a spark of mischievousness enter his emotionless eyes.
"I usually don't do free shows, so unless you'll be paying, I suggest you leave so I can get changed…" he drawled as she bolted out of the room after only a moment's hesitation so he could do just that.
Harry shook his head slightly at her antics, she and Archie were perfect for each other; they were both equally annoying in their own ways. Putting on a pair of jeans and a cardigan, he put on some cologne before heading downstairs, using Occlumency to clear his mind of the painful thoughts Stephanie's words had made surface earlier.
Harry appeared downstairs, spotting the visiting Stephanie sitting at a table by herself playing with her dinner while staring off into space – she seemed to be deep in thought. So she should be, he thought.
Moony Nights had become a fairly popular location, was the main thought running through Harry's mind, as he scanned the busy crowd of people dining and socializing while looking for a particular Goblin he had scheduled to meet with.
No one could blame him for being confused when his search ended in vain. Had Remus not called for him? Telling him that someone was here to meet with him? If it wasn't Bronzespear, then who else would be meeting with him? He hadn't made any other appointments.
"Harry, over here!" he heard Remus call for him from the bar. Harry turned to see the werewolf chatting with a rather plump, and jolly looking old man wearing an expensive suit with a rather oddly coloured tie. The suit was predominantly black in colour while his tie was mostly white with two red stripes meeting towards the upper left part of the piece of cloth, creating a cross.
Walking over, somewhat annoyed at being called down to meet some random friend of Remus's, he nodded to the stranger before turning on the werewolf.
"What is it Remus? I thought I asked you to call me when Bronzespear arrived; is he here?" he asked, making sure the man heard of his confusion.
"Sorry to lead you on Harry, but there's someone who would very much like to meet you" he said, motioning to the large man "This here is Thomas Redbridge, the coach for the English national Quidditch team" he stated, trying and failing to hide his glee.
Hiding his shock expertly, Harry turned to the man expectantly "And what does mister Redbridge want with me exactly?"
The smile never left the man's face "You wouldn't have known, mister Potter, but last year, I sent some of my scouts to watch some of your games after I was told from a very valuable source of your skill" he said "and after what my scouts told me, and given the situation I and my team find ourselves in, I have come to make you a proposition" he said with a grin.
Harry cocked his head to the side, as if waiting for him to elaborate. Catching himself, the England coach continued.
"Right, well, basically, one of our main chasers has received irreparable damage to his left arm, ending his Quidditch career earlier then we would have liked…" he was cut off by an incredulous Harry.
"Which one?" he asked.
"Robert Beach" he answered, to Harry's shock. England's best chaser, nicknamed 'the cannon' for his super powerful throws, had his career ended by an arm injury?!
"How is it I've never heard of this? I don't much follow the international leagues until the World Cup is on, but surely others would have been talking about it…" Harry trailed off, leaving his question in the air.
"Ah, yes, well that was a collective decision made by management and the team – no need to worry the public by telling them that we have only two chasers mere months before the World Cup qualifiers – there'll be a press conference soon when we find a replacement" he beamed.
Harry wasn't the smartest student in his year for nothing, he easily connected the dots with the English coach's appearance, the information of England lacking a chaser and the meeting with himself personally.
"Okay, I think it's obvious why you're here, but why me? Surely you can find someone better then I am from the national league?" he asked, clearly confused.
The English coach laughed loudly at Harry's proclamation, much to the confusion of his two hosts.
"My boy, clearly you underestimate your own skill; I have watched Pensieve memories of the matches the scouts watched you play. Your passes, they're like speeding bludgers shot with pinpoint accuracy from a world class beater; Your shots, not only powerful, but fast and skilful, I've seen you bend that Quaffle like you were controlling it with your will! Let's not forget to mention your flying skills, you act as if you were a bird and the broom is your wings, the two of you together are like one and are an inspiration to watch!" he praised, as Harry began to feel uncomfortable with Remus beaming at him and the coach's continuous praise.
"Yes, fair enough, but you do understand I am still in school, correct?" the fact didn't seem to bother the man though.
"Merely details, my boy; you're not the first student to be requested to represent your country on the Quidditch pitch and you certainly won't be the last" he informed the overwhelmed fourteen year old "Team training will only occur in the evenings and on weekends, with permission of your headmaster, of course, to accommodate your school timetable; unfortunately, you will have to quit your house's Quidditch team, we cannot run the risk of injury in any game other then England's" he said, with remorse "this doesn't seem to be an issue though, because from what Professor Flitwick has told us, your attendance to classes is hardly an issue when it comes to your grades…" he said with a grin.
"You talked to Professor Flitwick about this?" Harry asked, surprised "what did he have to say about it? Surely he wasn't pleased with the prospect of losing me on the house team" he said "should I accept of course" he hastily amended.
"Ah, on the contrary, he seemed delighted. He may have been a little put out with not being assured the Quidditch Cup every year while you attend school, but he made it understood that he would rather see you succeed then have an old cup placed in his office every year, as it were" he said with a grin.
Harry remained silent while Remus listened on, his anticipation growing by the second.
"Should I accept" he began "what is the pay like?" he asked, and Remus almost fell of the stool he was sitting on. He is asked to play for his country, an honour people would normally kill for, and all he asks about is the pay?!
Thomas, however, seemed to find this amusing as he gave out a loud laugh. After calming down somewhat, Harry asked what was so funny, and the man answered.
"Mister Potter, I have been the coach of this team for many years, the last Potter I invited to join my team asked me the very same question you just did after the offer was made" he said with a grin, much to the shock of Harry and Remus.
"James never played for England…" Remus said, still in a daze "and he never mentioned anything about being approached to play for them either…"
"I'd imagine as much" he said, more sombrely now "he was incredibly tempted to accept at first, but unfortunately, with the road the war was taking, he decided his talents would be of better use in the Auror corps" he said with a sad smile "fortunately for me, there's no war currently on that I know of and we'd be happy to have you play for us, mister Potter" he said with a large grin, officially making his offer "your salary mainly depends on your performance during our games; the current rate for our chases, from memory, is five thousand galleons per goal, twenty five hundred galleons per goal assist, one thousand galleons per interception, forty thousand galleons should we win the game and ten thousand galleons if we lose" he said, grinning at the gob smacked expressions on Remus's and Harry's faces "there's also the basic ten thousand galleons a month salary when we are simply training and no matches occur; the training is intense and you should be compensated for the hard work you are putting forth for your Country" he said, as the two listening were still very much shocked "yes, new players usually react the same, Quidditch is a very popular sport with very few skilled players, therefore, it pays quite well, don't you think? After all, a game on average can pull in over one hundred thousand fans easily" he said with a smile, as Harry and Remus snapped out of their stupor.
"I accept" Harry said immediately, much to Remus's and the Coach's delight.
"Wonderful!" he said with a smile "here's my card, this meeting was an unofficial one, we will have to have your official signing at a later date" he handed Harry a regular card with his information on it. The card itself was a creamy parchment colour while otherwise devoid of all but one decoration, a moving snitch picture behind the coach's contact details "my secretary will owl you with the time of our meeting, be there and we can finalize this arrangement, have a nice evening" he said, as he bowed shortly and left the two in a stunned silence.
"Even if you only play up until this next world cup…" Remus began, as the two stood in silence "that will earn you enough so you'll never have to work for the rest of your life…" he said, still in a daze "I need a drink" he admitted, sitting heavily down on his stool.
"Supposing I don't spend it all" he said with a shrug, luckily Remus was out of earshot or he probably would be drinking from the bottle instead. The sound of the door to the inn opening quickly and being shut caught his attention over the hustle and bustle of the crowd of patrons. Looking over, he noticed Bronzespear sneaking around, eyeing everyone he passed suspiciously with a heavily wrapped package held under his arm – Goblins weren't known for their subtlety.
"I'll talk to you later Remus, my guest is here" he said with a grin, as he made his way over to the Goblin.
Bronzespear and Harry sat on the comfortable and antique looking chesterfield chairs by the fireplace with a small Victorian style table separating them sporting the package the Goblin was carrying. Due to the fact that business had been going so well, Remus had been able to upgrade the furniture to that of a more expensive and classy variety, he did however make sure to have unbreakable charms placed on them – no need to have them replaced if they broke, these things were damn expensive!
"You brought what I asked for?" Harry asked, eyeing the package with a hidden delight.
"Yes" the Goblin ground out "as per our deal, I don't know what use it is to you though, you won't be able to read it…" the Goblin grumbled.
"I assure you I will be able to, I am a Parselmouth after all" he said, sliding the package over to him as he unwrapped it slowly, and reverently ignoring the Goblin's shock at the revelation of his abilities.
Inside the package was an worn looking black leather covered book, no larger then your average diary with a buckle coming from the back cover, over the side and attaching to the front, keeping its contents inside a secret to all then those who could unlock it. The buckle itself, instead of having a padlock for a key to unlock it, was simply the head of a serpent with two emeralds placed in its eye sockets to emulate its eyes.
To anyone that wanted to read the title of the book, all they would see is a set of strange, unintelligible markings, but to Harry, who had studied the language extensively and to the best of his abilities given the lack of information, the letters seemed like perfect English.
In Parseltongue, the title read 'The Diary of Salazar Slytherin'
Several weeks had passed he received the diary of Salazar Slytherin and these weeks were far from normal. At first, when Archie heard of him making the English national team at such a young age, he had hugged him and started jumping around the room in a ball of excitement, which is why Harry was caught completely off guard when his friend punched him in the mouth immediately after.
Stephanie had told Archie about their little discussion and use of Legilimency, and while Archie appreciated the effort, he didn't appreciate her being attacked in such a way – even though he did thank Harry for talking to her about it. Harry didn't much care because he knew, in some level, that he deserved it. That and the reaction he got out of Archie when he told him about the fact that if the media ever found out that he had punched England's new chaser, he'd be crucified.
The meeting had gone as planned, with both parties happy with the contract drawn up that would keep Harry at England until the world cup campaign had ended. Mister Redbridge was a little disappointed that he'd only be staying on for one campaign, but Harry had said that he would have other plans that he was already committed to after school, he understood.
The Press Conference to officially announce his signing was met with mixed reactions. Shock that one of their best chasers had a career ending injury, and excitement of the prospect of Harry playing for them, especially with the coach singing his praises like he was the next coming of Thierry Henry, but for Quidditch. His training sessions had already begun, immediately after signing the contract, with the English team…
If he thought training with Ravenclaw was tough, their training was ridiculous. While there was no school, Harry was required to attend training five times a week, from seven in the evening until midnight – needless to say, the gruelling physical workouts and tactics training with his fellow chasers left him with little energy to spare. After all, it wasn't often school children were recruited into the chaser position, it was the more physically demanding position of them all and was hard for someone his age to play well, luckily, in his opinion, he was just that good…
It only took two weeks for Stephanie to talk with him again after their little conversation, in private of course, in which she had still said she was angry with him for invading her mind, but thankful for opening her eyes, and while she didn't admit to having feelings for Archie, she did admit to being unfair to him. Harry had thought that was more then he had bargained for and let it slide, but Stephanie did ask him for any help on Occlumency he could give her, saying that it was his responsibility after having violated her so.
He agreed, somewhat reluctantly, mainly because Archie would probably try to punch him again if he didn't. He had given her his personal notes on his progress in the art that had formed a small book that should be simple enough to follow and learn from, she was thankful.
Without a doubt though, the most frustrating thing of all was the fact that he couldn't get Slytherin's diary open. He had thought it would simply be an 'open' command to get passed the lock, but unfortunately, the password seemed to be much more difficult to guess then he had originally anticipated. Obviously, Slytherin didn't even want his descendents reading his private journal.
Another unfortunate thing that plagued Harry's time up until he went back to school however were reporters and new fans mobbing him whenever he left the inn to go shopping or get some fresh air. Luckily, he could safely Floo to the warded stadium where he trained with his new team, or eat his meals in the inn without getting mobbed or he'd probably never leave his room. The most annoying of all the reporters, however, was Rita Skeeter, who, for some reason, deemed it necessary to print complete fabrications in her article on the daily prophet about him – amusing because he hadn't once had an interview with her…
Things like how he had several girlfriends 'on the side' while keeping with his bad boy image. Rumours of him being a dark wizard due to his Parseltongue ability, which was now common knowledge to anyone who knew his name, were also common place. Not to mention, his personal favourite, that he was hiding a pregnant girlfriend while he remained locked in his room, hoping his fans wouldn't find out and think less of him. He'd probably sue her for character defamation if the articles weren't so damn amusing.
His newfound fame also meant that he couldn't even go to Diagon Alley to get his books for the next year without getting mobbed. So instead of placing a glamour charm over himself, claiming that he couldn't be bothered, he just gave his booklist to Archie, Stephanie and Cedric who had agreed to go shopping together on the same day, so they could get his books and potions supplies – he later regretted giving Archie his vault key temporarily to buy Potions supplies, especially when he arrived back with his stores holding rare ingredients he knew he'd never find a use for, like Gillyweed, though he was sure Archie would ask to borrow them sometimes down the road for his experiments…
What he did find annoying though, was what Archie had reported to him about from his shopping trip. Apparently, the three of them had gone to Flourish and Blotts to buy their books only to find Gilderoy Lockhart signing his new autobiography 'Magical Me'. Apparently, he and the boy-who-lived had milked the public attention for all it was worth, however, that wasn't what annoyed him. What annoyed him was that the famous wizard had announced that he would be the 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' teacher at Hogwarts this year.
Why would he be annoyed with such an accomplished Wizard becoming a professor? The simple answer was his accomplishments were all a load of bullocks. Archie had, during their holidays, with his work money, bought one of his books that were on sale at 'Flourish and Blotts', thinking it would be a good read from what he had heard about the man. Unfortunately, Harry and he had both read it and found a total number of two hundred and fifty three mentions of the man's own name in it and more then enough inconsistencies that it was painfully obvious the man was a joke and completely loved himself.
Aside from practising with his new team, continuing his personal studies and daily attempting random passwords in Parseltongue to try and open Slytherin's diary, Harry did nothing else with his time. So it was with a glamour charm that Harry travelled to King's Cross Station with Archades and Remus to head off to his fourth year at Hogwarts, a year that he knew would promise a shit load of annoyances…