Harry woke up and laid there for a few minutes, reluctant to get up. He looked at his watch and saw that it was barely four in the morning. "Why am I awake already?" He asked himself out loud. Harry groaned and got up to get changed. As soon as he put on his shoes to step outside for some fresh air and to explore the Alley before Gringotts opened, he felt his magic start to tug towards his door.
Harry blinked in confusion. He had never felt his magic tug before. Warn him of danger, yes, tug him towards something, no. He hesitated on leaving his room with his magic, acting oddly. His magic gave a more significant tug in response. 'Am I a Gryffindor or not?' He thought to himself a bit annoyed. He made his way to the door and went out into the hallway. His magic changed the direction of the tug to down the hall, down the stairs and outside the lodge. He paused when he stepped out into the Alley. Even though it was four in the morning, there were a lot of people walking around.
Harry's magic started insistently tug him to the left. He took a deep breath and started following the tugging again. He made his way further down the Alley and ended up in front of a store called Folmar's Creature Shop. Harry looked up at the sign that had a Hippogriff on either side. 'Why is my magic bringing me here?' Harry pondered for a minute.
The door opened while Harry just stood there. "Kid, if you found this shop, then your magic brought you here. It's better to come straight in than to stare. You're going to annoy lady magic if you don't hurry up."
Before Harry could say anything, the door closed. Harry was confused, and his magic was lightly tugging him towards the shop again. 'Lady Magic? Does that mean Magic itself is sentient?' Harry thought to himself as he went into the store. He stepped to the side so he could look around the store without blocking the doorway.
There were shelves going floor to ceiling full of Eggs of various sizes. The person that had come to the door cleared their throat, "Kid, close your eyes and follow your magic to what's calling you. I'll make sure you don't run into anything. Don't keep Lady Magic's gift waiting." When Harry made to question the person, they said, "I'll answer any questions you may have after you do what I tell you."
Harry looked a bit disgruntled but closed his eyes anyways. He felt his magic reach out and split into two strands. One headed right in front of him and stopped and curled around something not far from him but the second led to the left and was still going. "My magic split into two strands and went to two different places," Harry informed the shop person.
"Heh, two strands? You're going to be interesting indeed. Go to the closest one and then head to the next after picking the first one up." The person replied.
Harry made his way slowly to where the first strand led, all while trying not to fall from being unbalanced because of having his eyes closed. As he got closer, the magic strand seemed to vibrate in excitement almost. Harry stopped in after he felt he was close enough and asked, "Can I open my eyes so I can pick it up, or do I need to keep them closed?"
"You can open them. You'll just need to close them again to find the second."
Harry opened his eyes and looked at the egg in front of him. It was a sky blue with a white swirl going around it, the edge where the blue and white met was a purple color that seemed to fluctuate between dark and light. The swirl almost looked like it was moving. He gently picked up the egg. It was a little bit bigger than a softball. The egg was warm to the touch, and he felt his magic curl up around it. He closed his eyes again and brushed the second strand. It was further into the shop. Harry carefully made his way towards where the strand had stopped.
The strand, instead of being curled around the egg it was poking at it. Harry was getting closer when he heard.
"Wait, you're about to run into a door. Open your eyes, since you need to go through it apparently."
Harry opened his eyes and saw a door that had an employees only sign on it. "Er, is it really ok for me to go through?" He asked, slightly confused.
There was a sigh from behind, "If you couldn't go back there, I wouldn't have said that you could."
Harry flushed slightly in embarrassment. He opened the door and passed through and was going to look around, but his magic started vibrating again, so he closed his eyes to focus again. He followed his magic to the right about five steps then went to the left three steps and stopped. His magic was insistently poking at the egg.
Harry opened his eyes and saw an egg that was an emerald green with light gold polka dots on it. It was the size of a tennis ball. He gently picked up the egg with one hand while cradling the first. He turned around and looked at the shop employee.
The employee was standing there grinning gleefully, "Kid, you just made my day. My boss owes me a month off." the person didn't give Harry a chance to say anything. "Welp, let's go back into the main part of the shop so I can tell you about the eggs and answer any questions you may have."
Harry sighed, 'Is everyone that works in a shop here insane? I guess that's a little unfair to Mica; he might be the only sane person though." Harry left the room he was in, when he stepped back into the main part of the shop he saw the employee was in a part of the shop that looked like a living room with two pillows on a coffee table. Harry decided to ignore the pillows for now and started walking over.
Once they were both seated, the employee said, "Alright, hit me with your questions and put the eggs on the pillows so once you have gotten your answers I can show you how to get them to hatch."
Harry carefully put the eggs on the pillows. He turned to the employee and started with a question he had from before he came into the store. "First of all, can I get a name to call you? Second, when you told me to come in when I was standing outside, you mentioned Lady Magic. I've never heard of magic being talked about like that, does that mean Magic is sentient?"
The lady stared at Harry for a moment. "You can call me Tansy. As for Lady Magic… What school are you going to that you didn't know magic was sentient?"
"Hogwarts?" Harry replied, confused.
"Ugh, of course. Hogwarts is notorious for their decline in education. It figures they stopped teaching about Lady Magic. Yes, Magic is sentient. It would be better if you get a book about it from the bookstore, or if you want an actual education, get a book that talks about the different schools, and leave Hogwarts behind." Tansy told him.
Harry made a mental note to do that and went onto his next question. "Why did Magic guide me here?"
"To find your Familiar, or rather Familiars in your case."
"I already have a Familiar, though?"
"Since you go to Hogwarts I'm assuming it's a cat, owl, or toad?"
"She's a snowy owl."
"She became your familiar because you chose and accepted her. The Familiars Magic chooses for you are different because you find them before they hatch. Most people will only ever have chosen familiars, like your owl. Your Familiars in the eggs are different in that they are compatible with your magic and if you get the right training you can telepathically communicate with them."
"Ok… I will get a book about Familiars as well, I guess. Do you know what they are from looking at the eggs?"
Tansy grinned, "I know what the first egg you picked up is. The second has been in the store under preservation spells for around 100 years neither my boss or I know what it is. That's what the boss and I were betting on. He thought no one would be chosen in our lifetime for the egg. I said there would be, so I win." she cackled the last part.
Harry sweatdropped, "Right. Can you tell me what the first egg is?"
"A Blue Phoenix. Also known as the Royal Phoenix in most places and the Emperor Phoenix in Asia. They are usually adults when they bond with people like you and your owl. Sometimes magic chooses who they bond with, like in this instance. When they hatch they start off with a sky blue body and lavender tipped wings. When they bond with Good people, their body turns cerulean, and they have bright violet tipped wings. When they bond with an evil person, their bodies turn to a dark navy and their wings are tipped with dark plum. Every burning day their appearances will change based on what you are like."
Harry stared wide-eyed at the egg, "But why would I be chosen to have a Blue Phoenix as a familiar?" He asked, incredulously.
Tansy smiled sadly, "Because Lady Magic thinks you'll have challenges ahead that will have far-reaching consequences. She wants to help ease your journey by giving you, loyal friends. Blue Phoenix's are known for being connected to people who are important to history. It's said Merlin had a Blue Phoenix in his later years."
A few minutes went by as Harry was lost in thought. He shook his head and focused back onto Tansy. "Is there a store here that I can go to get food and anything else these guys might need?"
"Yes, it's called Amazing Animals, and it's two stores down to the right when you step out."
"Right, can you show me how to hatch the eggs so we can find out what the second egg is?"
Tansy grinned and nodded. "Alright, what you need to do is put your hand onto the egg and envelop it with your magic once you feel the egg start to crack you can move your hand."
Harry took a deep breath and followed the directions with the first egg. The moment his magic finished enveloping the egg, he felt foreign magic make a connection to his. Underneath his hand, he felt the egg start to crack. He quickly moved his hand away so he could look at the Phoenix that was slowly making the egg release it. After the Phoenix was able to get out of the egg, it looked at Harry and did a small chirp at him. Harry was looking at the Phoenix a bit awed, he reached out his hand to the Phoenix and said, "Hey, little one. Aren't you a Cutie?"
He looked at Tansy, "Can you tell what gender they are?"
"If my boss were here, he would know, but I always tend to be wrong when I try. Amazing Animals should be able to tell you, though."
Harry nodded and looked back at the little one. "Looks like naming you will have to wait. Sorry, little one." He still had his hand out to the Phoenix. The little one inspected his hand and slowly went and perched on it. Harry moved the little one onto his lap and shifted his attention to the second egg. He put his hand onto the egg and enveloped it with his magic. The same process as before happened and after he felt the egg crack, he moved so they could see. The first thing that they saw was a snakehead poke out. The snake slithered out of the egg, and it was a deep green with a light gold swirl pattern going down its back.
§Hello§ Harry hissed, figuring that he should introduce himself before asking Tansy anything. §My name is Harry.§
The snake looked at Harry from where it was by the eggs shell §Hello. I do not have a name, but I do know that I am a male. I could hear everything that was going on while inside the egg. I do not know what species I am though. It was never said around my egg.§ Harry blinked in surprise.
Before Harry could say anything else to the snake, Tansy interrupted. "Well isn't that a stroke of luck, you can talk to one of them before the telepathy link. It doesn't look familiar to me though so I can't help you there." Tansy got up and went to the front desk and started writing something down. After a few minutes, she came back with a small notepad paper. "Here, this will tell Amazing Animals what they need to know to help you. Remember to stop by the bookstore. I need to make sure that the preservation spells are still up and protecting the animals."
Harry blinked and quickly picked up the two animals and grabbed the note. The snake went around his wrist so Harry could move well enough. He thanked Tansy and left since she seemed to be in a hurry to get him out. He stepped out into the Alley and blinked in confusion as to why she was in such a hurry to get him out. 'I wonder if it's because of my speaking in Parseltongue? I know a lot of people don't like it.'
He made his way to the Amazing Animals store. As he was walking, he looked at the time. 'I have thirty minutes before Gringotts opens. Hopefully, the trip into this store won't take long. The bookstore will have to wait until after Gringotts. Maybe Mica will be able to help me today.' Harry walked into the shop and saw a variety of animals along with everything that any of them would need.
From further into the shop, Harry heard, "I'll be right with you. Take a look around." Harry started looking around and saw a few Perches that he thought Hedwig and the little one would like.
§I have no idea where to even begin to look for stuff for you. We also need to discuss your name, what do you think of the name Salazar? Nickname Sal?§ Harry asked the snake.
§I don't mind the name Salazar, or the nickname Sal, but is there a significance to the name?§
Harry snickered softly, §It's the first name of one of the Founders at my school. People hate him because he could talk to snakes like I can. Honestly, they hate anything to do with snakes, even the people who were sorted into his house.§
§You want to name me Salazar to piss people off while also giving me a name that is respectable for a snake to have… I like it!§
Harry started laughing and was about to reply when, the as of yet unnamed, phoenix chirped annoyed by the jostling the laughing caused. "Sorry, little one." Harry started walking around the store some more, hoping to see something other than the Perches that would be good for the two flyers.
As he was passing by a cage of kittens, he heard from behind, "Hi, so sorry to keep you waiting! What can I do for you?" Harry turned around to look at the guy, he had silver-blue eyes, pointed ears, and blonde hair pulled into a half-bun. He had a name tag that said Lazuli Woodwork.
"Er, Hi. Tansy from Folmar's Creature Shop said you could help me get everything I need for these guys." Harry said while handing the note, Tansy wrote to him.
Mr. Woodwork took the note and quickly read it. "Oh, you ended up hatching two animals! I'll get all that you will need immediately. She said you got a Blue Phoenix along with an unknown snake creature. May I take a look at them?"
"Sure. The snakes' name is Salazar, but the Phoenix is unnamed at the moment until I find out their gender." Harry said, moving the Phoenix from where it was cradled in his arms.
The guy looked closely at the Phoenix "The Phoenix is a girl. You can tell by her beak. The beak is slightly more curved than males. The differences between are really subtle. Now. You named the snake Salazar? Is that just to annoy the Hogwarts people?" he asked, amused.
"Partly because of that, in all honesty, though it's because that's the name I first thought of, Salazar thought it was funny though and liked it at least," Harry said.
"You can speak Parseltongue? Can you teach me?!" Mr. Woodwork asked excitedly. From the front of the store, the door opened. Harry glanced passed Mr. Woodwork to see if he could use the person as an excuse to get the things he needed and leave.
It was Tansy, and she had seen that Harry looked a little overwhelmed. "Lazuli! Hurry up and help him get everything he needs for his Familiars. Lady Magic warned me while he was talking to his snake that he needs to hurry along." she scolded Lazuli as she walked over to them.
"So it wasn't because I was speaking Parseltongue?" Harry asked a little unsure.
Tansy looks a little surprised, "No, of course not! Being a Parselmouth is really cool. I'm sorry I made you think it was because of that kid." she genuinely looked upset that he had thought that.
"It's fine. I had to deal with people who hated it at school in my second year. That's the only reason I thought that." Harry said shrugging. Lazuli and Tansy exchanged a look as Lazuli went around collecting stuff around the store.
"People who get mad at others for having different abilities than themselves seriously annoy me," Tansy grumbled. "Right, before coming here I went to the bookstore and told the Mica Griffins kid to put the books about Phoenixes, general snake care, the differences between hatched Familiars and fully grown found Familiars, and education to the side for you since Lady Magic has you doing something soon. I'll help Lazuli with putting stuff to the side. You really only need food for them immediately." Tansy told Harry as Mr. Woodwork came back with a bag of seed for the Phoenix and a dead mouse in a bag for the snake.
"Once you are done with whatever you're doing today come back, and I'll help you with everything. Sorry about rushing you." Mr. Woodwork told Harry.
Harry thanked them both and hurried towards Gringotts. It had taken twenty minutes for all this to take place. 'Where is all the time going?' Harry thought to himself. He made his way through Carrakat Alley to the entrance into it.
§I'm hungry, can I have the mouse after we get to wherever we are going?§ Salazar asked
§Yes, sorry about the wait you guys. I'll get you both food once we get to Gringotts. We should have about five minutes before they open for you to eat.§ Harry was right on the money for how long they would have to eat. He stopped by the steps up to Gringotts. He sat on his knees and put the mouse onto his lap for Salazar and put a bit of seed for the Phoenix onto his hand. They both quickly ate their meals.
Harry heard from a distance the voice of Malfoy. Salazar was contently curled around Harry's wrist. The Phoenix was still eating her seed but paused when she felt Harry stiffen. §What's wrong, Harry?§ Salazar asked.
§I thought I heard someone from school who I don't exactly, get along with.§ Harry replied softly. §With everything that's going on that could change though. I'm not sure how my friend 'Mione would react to it though.§
Harry looked down at the Phoenix and asked softly, §Salazar, can you translate the little ones answer for me? I want to try and get her named.§ Very obviously trying to ignore the fact that Malfoy was nearby.
§Sure, why not?§
"Right. What do you think of Rowena little one? It's the name of the Ravenclaw founder at school. Her house is for intelligent people."
The Phoenix chirped §She said no.§
"Helga? Founder of the loyal house."
§No§
"Azula? A character from a show I sometimes was able to watch at my babysitter's."
§No§
"Katara? Another character from that show."
§Yes§
Harry smiled, "Katara it is then. She was one of my favorite characters along with Toph." He got up from where he was still sitting. The doors to Gringotts was just starting to open. He went passed the Guards and said hello before he went all the way through the doors. He was ushered into Bannok's office immediately.
"Hello, Bannok. What happened during the audit that I had to come back the day after saying ok to it?" Harry asked, keeping in mind that trying to start small talk was a bad idea.
"When you did the inheritance test, something about it bothered me. It was the first thing I checked during the audit. Your trust Vault is supposed to have 50,000 Galleons in it. It refills itself each year on the first of January from the Potter Vault. I looked at the transactions for your trust Vault. It seems every year until your first year your trust vault was emptied by Dumbledore. I tracked down how it was allowed to happen without me being informed. It was found that a low-level teller and cart runner were being bribed not to document the transactions by Dumbledore. They have both been dealt with. Instead of emptying it Dumbledore had started taking only 7,000, so you would still just see piles of gold."
Harry frowned, "Do you know what Dumbledore did with the money?"
"I do. He took the majority of it, but he did give a Molly Weasley some of it, after your first year, a Ronald Weasley also started getting paid by Dumbledore with it."
Harry thought for a moment. "Bannok, can you tell if anyone in the Weasley family knows about this other than the two directly involved?"
"The transactions look to only involve those two, however, to be completely sure Gringotts can investigate Mr. William Weasley and if he is found not to be involved, we can have him discreetly investigate the others."
"Please do. The only two that I'm not worried about are the twins. They are the ones that told me about Dumbledore and Ron to begin with." Harry said, "Would it also be possible to get a few people here, discreetly, for a meeting without Dumbledore being tipped off? I need to talk to my friends about finding a different school to go to. I don't want to leave them behind."
Bannok stared at Harry for a moment then nodded approvingly. "Loyalty towards your allies is an excellent thing to have Mr. Potter. Here is some parchment to write the names you need to meet with. It will be a ten Galleon fee for each letter to the individual, however."
"Thank you, Bannok. I would also like your advice at the meeting. " Harry replied.
People to contact for the meeting.
Hermione Granger
George Weasley
Fred Weasley
Neville Longbottom
"Here you go Bannok. Is there anything else that I need to be informed about?"
"Not that I'm aware of. I will send a letter if anything else pops up. When do you want to have the meeting?"
"Tomorrow if at all possible. The two Weasley's might not be able to make it. Especially with Mrs. Weasley being in close proximity." Harry said, "Oh, before I forget Bannok. If I go to Potter Manor, where will I be able to floo to other than the Leaky Cauldron? I don't trust Dumbledore not to be informed if I enter from there again."
"If need be you can floo to Gringotts. Paradise Lodge also has a floo you can use. Will you be going to the Manor tonight?"
"Not tonight. Probably tomorrow after the meeting though." Harry said, "Thank you, Bannok. I'll see you tomorrow."
Harry quickly left Gringotts with Katara and Salazar. He practically ran for the entrance to Carakkat. He didn't feel safe in Diagon Alley. It had too many people that worshiped Dumbledore. 'Alright, I need to go to the bookstore to pick up the books Tansy told Mica to put to the side. Then I need to go back to Amazing Animals to pick up the stuff I need for Sal and Katara.' Harry thought to himself.
§What are we doing next?§ Salazar inquired.
§Bookstore, then back to animal supplies store then I am going to call it a day afterwards. I feel like today has been very long.§
Sal hissed softly in agreement. Katara chirped from where she was in Harry's arms. On their way to the bookstore, Harry noticed people starting to stare at him. He warily kept an eye for anyone that looked familiar as he got closer to the bookstore. When he stepped in, he saw a few people browsing. Mica was at the front checking someone out. After he was done with what he was doing, Harry approached the front. "Hey Mica, Tansy said she asked you to put a few books to the side for me?" Mica looked up a little startled.
"Haven! Nice to see you again so soon. Yeah, I have the books right here. Tansy told me to mark the school's I would recommend checking out. I marked them with bookmarks for you." Mica told him.
"Thanks, Mica! I really appreciate it. Would you be willing to shrink the bag with them in it? I have a lot to pick up from Amazing Animals for Katara and Salazar." Harry said, pointing at his Familiars as he said their names.
"Of course, I can. It's nice to meet you, Katara and Salazar… Did you name Salazar to piss off Hogwarts people?" Mica hesitantly asked at the end.
Harry snickered, "Sal thought it was a good name and for a good cause."
Mica laughed and shrank the bag for Harry. "Try not to cause too much trouble, Haven."
"No promises!" Harry called on his way out of the store. Harry continued to laugh as he made his way to Amazing Animals. When he stepped in, Lazuli who had been talking to an employee saw him and excused himself to approach Harry.
"Hey kid, I have everything you'll need for your Familiars behind the counter," Lazuli said while fidgeting. "Alright Tansy told me not to bug you about it but… Can you please teach me how to speak Parseltongue?" he begged.
Harry eyed him warily. "I don't know if I can teach anyone Parseltongue, but if I say that I will try could you teach me about all three of my Familiars and how to treat any minor injuries that they might get?"
Lazuli seemed to vibrate in place, "Yes! Absolutely!"
Harry sighed, a little amused by how excited he was. "I won't be able to start today."
"That's fine. Today would be a bad time to start anyways. I usually close early on Mondays we could do the lessons then?" Lazuli offered.
They quickly came to an agreement while Harry paid for the snake and Phoenix setups. The trip didn't take very long compared to the morning trip. Once he got back to his room, he set up the snake habitat for Sal and the two Perches and sets for food and water for Katara.
After he got done, he looked at the time; it was five in the afternoon. It was far too early to go to bed. He looked at Katara and Sal, "It's too early for me to go to bed, I think I'm going to try and find a hairdresser and get my hair done, so it's harder for people to recognize me. The spell I have on it will wear off in the morning. I might also get some better clothes so I can burn my cousins hand me downs." Katara chirped from where she was eating.
Sal looked out from his little cave. §Do you want me to come with you? In case of anyone attacking you.§ Sal asked.
Harry thought for a moment, §No, I think I'll be okay. Thanks though Sal.§ Sal just nodded and went back into his cave. Harry left after making sure that he didn't forget to put anything out for them. He went down to the main lobby of the lodge and saw that it was Opal again.
"Hi, Ms. Opal. I was wondering if you could recommend any hair places or clothing places for me to check out?"
"Mr. Evans! Of course! Let me think… for Hair, hmm I recommend Bodo's Magics they have the best color potions and hair growth potions. When it comes to clothing though it has to be Madam Ansegar."
"Thank you, Ms. Opal! I'll check them both out." Harry grinned. He first decided to check out Bodo's Magics to get his hair out of the way.
There was a bit of a wait for the hairdresser, so he ran back to his room to grab the book about education to prepare for tomorrow. He got back to Bodo's and took a seat. He turned to the first bookmarked school that Mica suggested.
Eagle Mountain Institute of Magic
This school is in America in a separate dimension that was made by Bayou Silverberry when the mundane were starting to get suspicious of the magical people of the time. Once the dimension was made, a group of wizards manipulated the mountains in this dimension, so the paths did not cross any longer. The school offers its students classes like:
Light and Dark Necromancy (need death magic to be able to take these classes)
Demon summoning
Healing
Potions
Transfiguration
Herbology
Charms
Divination (Only for true seers)
Arithmancy
Astrology
Mundane studies
Care of magical creatures
Parselmagic (only for natural-born Parselmouths)
Before Harry could continue to read the list of classes available, one of the Hairdressers said they were ready for him. Once he was seated in the chair, the hairdresser asked, "So what do you want to be done, hun?"
"I wanted to get my hair down to a little past my shoulders and maybe dyed to a silver that turns into a Dark purple?" Harry asked.
"Absolutely! Just drink the hair growth potion, while I get the two hair dye potions that will have to be washed into your hair. I'll cut it to to just past your shoulders, and then I will dye your hair. I just need to cancel out the coloring spell that's on your hair right now."
It didn't take long for it to be done. He looked into the mirror after she was done and with it being longer with the silver and purple to it he didn't look like himself anymore. He grinned at his reflection and bought one of the hair ties they had for sale and put his hair up in a half-bun. It changed how he looked even more.
Harry made his way to Madam Ansegar and saw in the stores' window that it had jeans and muggle suits. He went in and was greeted with a cheerful "Hello, welcome to Madam Ansegar. My name is Anissa. Can I help you find anything?"
"I need a completely new wardrobe. I don't know where to begin." Harry said nervously.
"Well, I think the best way to go about getting stuff you want to wear is to wander around and touch everything that catches your eye. It's better to touch and find out that you don't like the feel of the fabric than to just try everything you like the look of on. Take a trolley with you and if you want an opinion on how it looks come find me, and I will tell you what I think." Anissa cheerfully said.
"Thank you. I'll do that." Harry said, grabbing a trolley. He went to the area marked for guys and started looking at the shirts first. He saw a t-shirt that said t-shirt on it. He was trying not to laugh at it while he felt the shirt, it was very soft. He grabbed three of them. He stayed in the shirt section for a few minutes taking at few button-up shirts of various designs along with a few vests. He eventually made his way to the pants area. He grabbed a few jeans to try on along with some slacks.
Harry got over to the dressing room and decided he didn't want to bother anyone for opinions on how he looks while he tries them on. He figured out what fit and what didn't and swapped the things he didn't need out with the things that would fit. As he made his way to the checkout area he saw a few hats. He decided to get a few beanies and baseball hats to cover his scar. He paid for everything and made his way back to the lodge. It was now late enough for him to go to bed.
§Good night Sal. I'll see you in the morning.§
§Good night Harry.§
"Good night Katara. Have a good rest."
Katara chirped in reply and tucked her face under her wing.
Harry got changed and put his glasses onto the nightstand after turning the lights off. 'Today was long but informative. The school I first read about sounds interesting but I should read about the others before the meeting with everyone at Gringotts tomorrow.' Harry adjusted how he was laying and fell asleep soon after.
