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Harry Potter

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Tired of it.

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Chapter Two, New Friends.

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Angus McDuffie looked up as the door opened. He watched as the young man entered. He noticed the young man was well dressed but something was off about him. When he looked into the young man's eyes, he looked old, like a young man who had been under an intense artillery barrage, much like he had endured in France, during World War Two. Picking up his tea he took a sip as the young man walked over to Millie McDowell who had just finished ringing up a customer, and spoke with her. Then the boy nodded and turned back towards the door, and he saw the look again as the boy headed for the door. His eyes locked onto something he hadn't seen in many years on someone other than his grandson. The boy pulled the door opened, stepped back outside, and crossed the street to the far sidewalk where he sat down on a bench.

Finishing his tea, Angus called Millie over.

As Millie neared him he said, "Millie, what did that young man want?"

"He was looking for a job, but I told him it had just been filled," Millie replied and then said, "He sure looked depressed. I think he needs help."

"That he did lass. Get me two teas to go. Maybe I can help him," Angus replied as he pulled out his wallet and picked up his check.

"Two teas coming right up," Millie said as she turned and headed for the water pot.

Millie quickly had two teas prepared along with several creamers and sugar packets in a paper bag. Carrying them to the register, she set them down and quickly rang up Angus's bill

Angus paid the bill and popped the top on the two teas and quickly added some of his Lagavulin to each cup from the flask he always carried. Taking his change, he resealed each cup and stepped out of the restaurant and saw the young man was still sitting on one of the benches looking out at the harbor.

Looking both ways, he crossed the street and stepped up behind the young man and tapped him on the shoulder with one of the cups of tea. He was surprised by how the boy moved as if he was a combat veteran and how his hand went to his left wrist.

"Calm down, lad, you don't have to be so jumpy," Angus said as he offered the boy the cup of tea.

"Sorry, Sir," Harry replied as he looked at the cup.

"No problem," Angus replied and then said, "It looked as if you could use a cuppa."

Harry looked at the elderly man and then the tea, slowly his hand dropped from his left wrist and he took the cup, "Sorry about that, you just startled me."

"Like I said, it's no problem, lad. Names Angus, Angus McDuffie. Now what has you so depressed looking," Angus asked as he sat down as he handed the boy the small paper bag of creamers and sugars.

Harry took the offered bag and pulled out two creamers and poured them in the cup of tea, "You wouldn't understand, Sir."

"Try me. Does it have to do with the other world," Angus asked and he saw the boy stiffen, "I'm a squib so I know about the M world but haven't been back since my granddaughter was murdered in eighty-one just before the head bastard was taken out."

"I'm sorry to hear about your granddaughter," Harry replied.

"Thank you. Now what seems to be your problem?" Angus asked as he looked the boy in his eyes.

Harry sighed and stared back at the man before he remembered Nelson's words about he would find a confident that he could speak with and he hoped it was this man because he really needed to talk to a live person about what he went through growing up. Taking a sip of the tea his eyes went wide as he tasted something strong in it and looked at the cup.

"I put some scotch in it. I thought it would help," Angus said as he looked at the surprised look on the lad's face.

"Oh," Harry replied and took another sip of the tea and thought it was quite tasty.

With another sigh, Harry started talking and he spent the next two hours telling the man what had happened in his life, from living with the abusive Dursleys to attending Hogwarts where every year he was either the hero or the villain to the magical world. He told him how over the last year he was in hiding trying to find some special items that would allow him to destroy the man who had killed his family, and caused so much death and destruction in the world. It went from there to how everyone was trying to control his life from what job he had to do to whom to marry.

He explained how that he couldn't even walk down Diagon Alley without being mobbed by the people or being called a thief by the goblins every time he entered the bank. That it gotten so bad that it was either stay in his home and drink or get away so finally he had emptied his vaults except for a few thousand knuts, converted over half of his money into pounds, and put it in a mundane bank. He told Angus how he had then bought a pair of cross country bikes, the tent and supplies and started seeing his country for the first time. He explained Admiral Nelsons chat and how he had started by leaving Portsmouth and heading north by rail and pedal until he arrived here where he found lodging and was now looking for work to keep him busy.

Angus listened to the young man and if anyone was suffering from PTSD it was the lad beside him. Rubbing his chin he looked at the man and then stood up.

"Come with me," Angus ordered as he turned and started walking away.

Harry looked at the man, and then tossed his empty cup away and ran to catch up to the older man.

Slipping in beside Angus, he asked, "Where we going?"

"My home! I'm hungry, and I'm sure you are, too," Angus replied as they turned down a side street.

"I'm fine," Harry said just as his belly rumbled.

Angus snickered and asked, "Do you like fish?"

"Only had it a few times since I started my cross country trip, but yes I do," Harry replied as his belly rumbled again.

"Well, my great-granddaughter Katie fries up a mean batch, and since her daddy just docked he will be hungry once he empties the Katie-Jane," Angus said as he opened a gate to a path that led up to his family home.

"The Katie-Jane?" Harry asked in confusion.

"That's the name of my grandsons fishing trawler. It's named after his sister and daughter. Katie is his daughter and Jane was his sister's middle name," Angus replied as he wiped his feet on the mat and opened the door to the house.

"Oh," Harry replied as he followed Angus in after wiping his feet.

"Katie dear, I'm home and I've brought a guest for dinner," Angus called out.

"Ok, Granddad, dinner will be ready at six, and Pop called said he should be here in a few minutes," a voice called out from another room.

Angus led Harry into the living room that was cozy. A fire was flickering in the fireplace and on one wall a TV was showing the local weather. Angus had Harry take a seat on the couch while he sat in his worn but well tended leather recliner. A desk was against one wall that had several laptops open on it. Above the desk was a large painting of a young woman and man that looked identical and Harry assumed they were twins.

Harry was about to sit when a dark haired beauty walked in. She was about five feet two inches tall, with long black hair that went to mid back. Her bright blue eyes sparked as she walked over to Angus and gave him a hug and then she turned back to Harry and held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Katie McDuffie," she said as she smiled.

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter-Black," Harry replied with a blush as he shook her hand.

Angus sat there and smiled as the young man spoke to his great-granddaughter, and both just stood there staring into each other's eyes.

With a small cough Angus asked, "Is there any tea?"

"I just put a new pot of water on for Da. I'll go get the pot and bring you both a cuppa," Katie replied.

Harry sat down and watched as Katie left and then looked around the room again. He noticed the walls were covered with pictures of ships and people.

"Harry, are you alright?" Angus asked.

"I'm fine, Sir," Harry replied.

"Call me Angus, as I was never an officer in her majesties service," Angus said as Katie came in and set the tea service down.

"Thank you, Katie," Angus said as he set up his own tea and poured the water in his cup.

"Welcome, Granddad," Katie replied as she headed back to the kitchen and stopped as the front door opened and in stepped her father with an ice chest.

"Daddy, welcome home," Katie said as she rushed out of the living room entrance and over to the front door and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Katie, I brought three good size cods for dinner," Ian replied as he handed her the chest and watched as she took the chest and rushed into the kitchen.

Ian turned into the living room and stopped as he looked at the young man sitting on the couch and he blurted out, "James?"

Harry's head snapped back to the man when he called him his father's name.

"No, you can't be. You must be Harry," Ian said as he stepped into the room and offered his weathered hand.

Harry stood up and took the hand, "Yes, sir, Harry James Potter-Black at your service and my father was James. Are you a wizard?"

"Well, lad, you look like your dad; but I see a lot of your mum in your face, too. Yes I am, or was, a wizard; but left that world when my twin sister was murdered," Ian replied as he shook the hand.

"Thank you, Sir," Harry replied.

"Call me Ian," Ian said as he released the hand and walked over to the small liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of Lagavulin before sitting down in a second recliner, "So tell me, lad, why are you way up here in Peterhead?"

"I suggested Harry wait until after dinner, as it's quite a tale," Angus said as he picked up his tea and took a sip.

"Ok, I can handle that," Ian replied as Harry let out the breath he had been holding.

Ian picked up the remote and flipped through the channels until he found a football game on and then leaned back in his recliner to sip his scotch.

"How was the fishing?" Angus asked.

"Brought in six hundred and twelve boxes of cod, haddock and monkfish, it was a good haul," Ian replied.

"Boxes?" Harry asked confused.

"We box the fish we catch, cover them in ice after we gut and clean them and then sell them at the fish market by the boxful," Ian replied.

"Oh, I see," Harry stated and then asked, "Is that a lot of fish? In the boxes I mean."

"Just over twenty tons of fish in seven days," Ian replied.

"Wow… that's a lot of fish," Harry said as he tried to imagine all that fish in one spot.

"Yes it is, just wish it was like that all the time," Ian replied as he took another sip of his scotch, "Sometimes we get good hauls and sometimes everything is against us from the weather, to the ship, to quotas that are imposed on us."

Ian then went on to explain what the day to day life was like aboard a deep sea trawler and the dangers as well.

"Sounds like it's a lot of work," Harry said as he listened to Ian and Angus talk about fishing.

"It is, but the rewards are out there, too. Seeing that first haul come in and seeing the smiles on your crew as they know they have work and that they will be paid, also helps. As to hard work, a good haul of say six tons could have the crew working almost twenty hours gutting, cleaning, storing and cleaning up the lines before they could fall into their berths for a few hours sleep just to start over four hours later as a new load of fish is brought aboard," Angus replied as he refilled his tea.

"Ok, you three! Dinner is ready," Katie said from the doorway, "Clean up and come to the table."

"Ok, Katie," Ian said as he stood up and everyone heard his back pop as he stretched.

"Follow me, Harry," Angus said, as Ian turned to go upstairs and wash up.

Harry followed Angus into a small downstairs bathroom, where they both washed their hands and faces and then went to the dining room, where Katie was placing the last plates of food on the table.

The four of them sat down to plates of fried cod and chips along with some that was baked with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans on the side as well as fresh baked bread for dinner. The conversation was light and nothing was mentioned about Harry's past. For desert, Katie had made custard pudding to welcome her father home. As they finished Harry helped Katie with the dishes and leftovers and soon the four of them retired to the living room to talk. For the next hour, Harry told Ian and Katie what he had already told Angus. By the time he was finished, Katie had tears running down her face at the injustice of it all. She finally had to leave the room just as Harry finished explaining why he left the magical world to find his muggle roots.

Ian stood and went to the bar where he filled three tumblers with Lagavulin and passed one each to his grandfather and Harry.

Raising his glass, he said, "Absent friends," and then took a drink of the scotch.

Angus and Harry quickly mumbled the same and took a drink. While Angus handled the hard liquor fine, it caused Harry to cough and his eyes to water.

"What is that?" Harry asked after he caught his breath and looked at the glass.

"Ten year old Lagavulin Scotch," Angus said as he smiled, "ahh memories. I had my first taste when I was your age and had just come back from the war. My second taste was when I proposed to my Gretchen to gather my nerves."

"Gretchen?" Harry asked and then said, "I'm sorry it's none of my business."

"Nay, lad, that's ok. I miss her. We were married forty years before cancer took her," Angus replied as he patted Harry on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Sir," Harry said.

"Loss happens to us all, lad. All we can do is remember and go on with life," Angus replied as he finished his Lagavulin and sat back down in his chair, "Now, Harry, you said you're looking to keep busy. I am sure Ian could put you to work if you want. Its hard work, long days, and it gets very smelly at times; but I think you can do it. Ian, think you could give the lad a chance?"

Ian sat back down in his chair and looked at the boy. He was scrawny but looked like he could move if he had to. A few weeks working the trawler with good food and hard work would build muscles on the boy, and he did need to fill the last slot since nineteen year old Josh Henderson was going off to uni for the semester.

"Aye, I think I can. If! And I say again if Harry is willing to put the work in," Ian replied.

"I always work hard. It's all I have known. If I didn't, then my uncle would beat me," Harry replied.

"Then you start in two days when we prepare the Katie to go back out to sea. First we will be going over the nets checking for damage then stocking the ship with supplies and making sure everything is ready aboard. We pull out in three days," Ian said

"I will be ready," Harry replied.

"I'll take him around the shops and show him what gear he will need," Angus said as Katie came back into the room.

"Feeling better, love," Ian asked his daughter.

"Yes, Dad," Katie said as she sat down and then asked, "So what are you three up to?"

"Well, Katie, you're looking at my newest crewman," Ian said as he gestured to Harry.

Katie smiled and turned to Harry, "Watch out, he is a hard taskmaster on the boat."

"I will," Harry replied as he stood up and said, "Well, I'd better get back to my room and get some sleep. I would like to thank all of you for dinner, it was delicious. Angus, where do you want to meet up, tomorrow morning?"

"Let's meet at the bench where we first met, at eight. We can grab some grub from the café and then I'll take you around the stores to get you set up," Angus replied as he stood up and offered his hand.

Harry shook the hand and headed for the door, where Angus showed him out. With a whistle on his lips, Harry set off for the inn he was staying at.

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Edit By TeNderLoin

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Harry Potter™ is a registered trademark and copyright (©) of JK Rowling and all that crap. The only thing mine is the idea and several characters. Everything else is hers including all the money...