Chapter 2.1 Summer holidays 1992

The first five weeks of the holidays were boring but productive for Harry. He got up early, had breakfast, studied Runes until his attention began to wonder, then he went for a run, showered, and went back to studying, had lunch, practiced runic writing, did his homework for his other classes, and then had dinner. During the first week he used the evenings to write a letter to the Daily Prophet with details about the teaching, or lack thereof, that Professor Snape did, how the headmaster and the board of governors had refused to take action, and that the Wizarding Examination Authority agreed with the students that Potions teaching was inadequate, but that they didn't have the power to fire Professor Snape. And also, how he single-handedly turned the House Cup into a joke. He sent a copy of his letter to several of his friends. After that, he asked Mrs Figg to help polish it up, and then sent it to the Daily Prophet, who published it in the letters from readers.

The reply he'd gotten from Justin, who had his own owl, mentioned that he understood if Harry had been too busy writing the letter to the Daily Prophet to reply to Justin's letter, but that if Harry hadn't received it, that it would be useful to know that magical mail could get lost in transit. Harry had asked Hedwig, who clearly understood what Harry was asking and was upset about it, but Harry had not been able to ask the right questions to figure out what was wrong.

During the rest of his stay with the Dursleys, Harry used his evenings to try and understand the finances of House Potter, using the journal to ask Feslup questions, and instruct him to try and find new investment opportunities, favouring requests by muggle-borns, after Feslup answered him that on average, they had better thought-out business-plans, and recognised that starting businesses had a high failure rate, so were prepared to pay higher interest rates and not to be handed their opportunities on a gold platter.

A month into the holidays, a house-elf showed up, watching Harry while hiding in the hedge. "Hello, what can I do for you?"

"Dobby has come to warn the great Harry Potter. He must not go back to Hogwarts."

Harry was sceptical, but decided to hear Dobby out. "Why is that?"

"There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts this year. Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir!"

"And everybody else can go hang?"

"Harry Potter is noble to be concerned for his friends, even when his friends haven't been writing to him."

"That's just because there's something funny … Hang on, how do you know my mail has been disappearing?"

Dobby shuffled his feet.

"I see. You thought that if the mail from my friends didn't reach me, it would be easier to convince me not to go back." Harry thought for some moments, and then continued, "you are not the only one who has an opinion about whether I should go back, Dobby. Professor McGonagall has made it quite clear to me that they would have made me go even if I hadn't wanted to. So your little scheme is not going to work. You could make it less dangerous, though, by explaining what you know of the plot."

"Dobby cannot say. Dobby will already have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see Harry Potter."

Harry nodded at that. If Dobby had known for months, then obviously he was owned by someone who was organising the plot. He'd have to make do with the information he had gotten, and said, "I thank you for coming to warn me Dobby, but even if I decided I didn't want to go, they would make me, so you may as well give me my friends' letters."

Dobby looked conflicted for a long moment, but then apparently decided that he believed Harry and handed him several letters before popping away.

A few days later Madam Bones came, as previously arranged, to collect Harry for a two week stay at Bones manor. Harry mentioned the visit by Dobby to warn him about an unspecified plot, and the problems he'd had with his mail. Madam Bones had a look at the wards and did find a mail ward, but she said it looked like a human-made ward, and that the house-elf had probably removed his ward after talking to Harry. When they talked it over that evening, Sinclair McKinnon said that he didn't have all that much to do, and would be happy to respond to Harry's fan mail. Madam Bones agreed to remove the mail ward around Privet Drive, and put a different one in its stead to redirect to Bones Manor.

The rest of the holidays were much more enjoyable than the first half. Harry discussed their homework with Susan, talked about his discussions with Feslup with Sinclair, talked about pureblood customs, managing a wizarding House with a Wizengamot seat between the four of them, and was told about magical law enforcement, both the daily grind of petty crime and paperwork, and the fighting during the war against You-Know-Who, by both Sinclair and Madam Bones.

While he was a Bones Manor, the Hogwarts letters arrived, and on his last day, they went to buy their school supplies, after which Susan went back home, and Harry joined the muggle-raised students to visit Justin. Sally-Anne had gotten permission to visit as well, her parents had been talked around to allow her to visit a non-magical home, and also to study Charms at home. Professor Flitwick had given them a list of the second-year spells that were least likely to go disastrously wrong, so that they could practice those for an hour or two every day. Where the week at the Finch-Fletchleys' had been fairly hectic, with nine twelve-year-old witches and wizards running around, the weeks at Kevin's and Hermione's were much quieter, though Harry enjoyed them just as much.