A SUMMER PLACE
(an interlude between year five and year six of "Wizards Duel")
by Patrick Drazen
a/k/a monkeymouse
2.1: Back to the Family
[If you found your way this far, you don't need me to tell you that JK Rowling created the Potterverse, and is still creating it…]
When Harry's taxicab pulled up to number four, Privet Drive in the late June afternoon, everything about the house looked as it had since Harry could remember--except for the penguin on the lawn.
As the Hogwarts students made their way into the Muggle side of King's Cross, Harry was actually relieved to see that Uncle Vernon was nowhere to be seen. Harry's uncle was of two minds about fetching Harry from the station this year. As much as he hated the wizarding world, Vernon Dursley wasn't about to leave a minor to his own devices—especially if the minor in question could call on his misbegotten friends for help. Harry might show up in Little Whinging with a flock of man-eating minotaurs or something.
Yet Harry would reach age sixteen in about a month—an age when a youth in Britain could begin living as an adult; even get married if he wanted. Uncle Vernon therefore decided to grant Harry a little bit of independence. He had contacted Arthur Weasley and gotten Hogwarts' postal address, then mailed a five-pound note to Harry (knowing that this wouldn't be enough to cover the cab fare) and told him that he could find his own way home, as he'd done it often enough.
While the driver gave Harry his trunk and settled up the fare, with Hedwig eyeing the strange bird through the bars of her cage, the penguin hopped up and down on the grass. When the taxicab left, the bird waddled happily over to Harry and started flapping one arm. The arm had a message tied to it.
Even at a glance, he recognized Cho's handwriting. Forgetting where he was or how the penguin would look to the Dursley's neighbours, he tore open the letter:
"Ohayo Harry! (That's hello) I hope you got through your OWLs all right.
"Japan--well, there are so many thing to talk about I can't possibly put them all in this letter! Maybe the best thing about Kesshin Maho Gakuin is that it's up in the mountains, so high up that there's skiing even in the summer. I was never keen on it, but I think I'll take it up, especially since I'll have lots of time here this summer.
"That's the bad news, I'm afraid. My parents are keeping me here all summer, and probably right through next year until I graduate. But it's only a year, and then it'll be over! I know one year won't change how we feel.
"Please write as soon as you can. The buildings here are beautiful, but the scenery is so barren—nothing but snow-covered mountains. I live for the day when I see Hedwig flying over the mountains with your scroll.
"All my love, Cho
"PS: Don't worry about Andy; he's keeping his distance.
"PPS: I never had the chance to tell you how magnificent the stag looked that said good-bye to me in Hogsmeade. For a moment--but only for a moment- -I wished I could turn into a deer. Someday, I'll tell you why..."
Harry didn't know exactly why it happened, but he felt the colour rise in his cheeks. He was fairly sure he knew what Cho was referring to...
He felt a tug on the knee of his trousers. The penguin was pulling at the cloth, trying to get his attention.
"Oh! Er, no reply just yet. You may as well go back. It wouldn't do for you to hang about here."
The penguin cocked its head sideways at Harry, then waddled down Privet Drive. Harry hoped the Dursleys weren't anywhere about. The Dursleys were the worst kind of Muggles, because they knew about the magical world parallel to their own and still wanted no part of it. While some Muggles don't have a clue about the wizarding world going on all around them, others like the Dursleys disapproved of flying on broomsticks and casting spells and all the rest of it. Even something mildly unusual--like a penguin on a lawn in a housing development in Little Whinging--was most unsatisfactory in their eyes.
Harry took the trunk up to his room, closed the door, then pushed his trunk up against it. This was the nearest thing he had to a lock. The Dursleys used to lock him in at night; only recently had he decided he wanted to lock them out. He probably could have secured the door with a spell of some kind, but there were rules about underage wizards using magic, especially in Muggle communities. Harry knew all about those rules; he had broken them several times, though not always on purpose.
Wait a moment, Harry thought. I'll turn sixteen this summer. Is that still underage for wizards? Hermione would know, but she would be unavailable most of this summer. She said she would be going with her parents (who were Muggle dentists and apparently well off) on a long holiday on the Mediterranean, spending time in Spain and Greece.
Ron might know, and if not Ron then certainly his father. Arthur Weasley had a job at the Ministry of Magic; so did his son Percy. No; wait. They're no good either, Harry thought. Percy is marrying his girlfriend Penelope this weekend. Mrs. Weasley had wanted Harry to come to the wedding, even though it was for the families only, but Harry didn't want to be the exception yet again. He also told Mrs. Weasley that he didn't want to distract anything from Percy and Penelope on their special day. (Privately, Harry doubted that the Dursleys would let him attend in the first place. He also wanted to wait until the day when he was at the altar, watching Cho Chang walk down the aisle toward him.) After the wedding, the whole Weasley family--including its newest member--would spend the summer traveling around the country, starting in Cornwall the day after the wedding. Even Bill and Charlie, older than Percy but still single, would be flying back for the first wedding in the family.
Don't reckon that Percy and Penelope will have too much privacy on their wedding night, Harry smirked to himself; not if I know what Fred and George are capable of. No sooner did he start to think it, though, than he realized his "other wand" started to stiffen. That had been happening more and more often, whenever he thought of anything vaguely to do with sex. Unfortunately, in his adolescent perspective everything seemed to have something vaguely to do with sex. This was less of a problem at Hogwarts; the school robes covered up anything potentially embarrassing. Here on Privet Drive, though, he couldn't wear his robes without attracting attention.
At least nobody seemed to be at home now. Uncle Vernon would be at the office, as he had written Harry, and maybe Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley were shopping at the market. They didn't seem to be around, in any case. He pulled out a blank scroll, his inkpot and a quill.
"Dear, Dear Cho--
"After what happened, I'm sorry that I got you involved with me and Snuffles. I didn't mean to get you sent halfway round the world. We should be spending this summer together. Surely next summer, when you get out of that place.
"Maybe you heard that you won the Cup for Ravenclaw. Seriously--even though you were gone, at the banquet Dumbledore awarded you points for being in Hogsmeade to fight off the Death Eaters. Maybe something good always comes out of something bad. I don't like that--it would mean that something bad will come out of something good. I hate to think that something bad will come of our being together, because that's the best thing I know.
"I've missed you every day since you left. I don't know how I'll get through the year without you to see and to talk to and to touch..."
"WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?"
Harry jumped straight into the air. Someone had snuck into the room and was standing behind Harry while he was concentrating on his letter.
He turned to face the intruder. It was a boy about Harry's age, but a little taller and much broader. It truly took Harry a few seconds to place him...
"DUDLEY?!"
Two summers ago, Dudley Dursley had been told in no uncertain terms that he had eaten his way to the end of his rope. The school he attended simply didn't have uniforms large enough to suit him. Uniforms, however, were the least of his worries; the nurse at his school warned of dire health consequences if he didn't lose weight. He was put on a strict diet, which Aunt Petunia then inflicted on the rest of the family. Harry hadn't noticed any real improvements the last time he was home. All that concerned him was Dudley's temperament: as mean and stupid as ever.
While Harry was at Hogwarts this year, however, the last piece of the puzzle had been added: lifting weights. Dudley found this to be the least objectionable form of exercise, since it was mindlessly repetitive and he could watch television while doing it. Then he started getting good at it; his parents fitted out the basement as a gym for him, and the results began to show. He'd lost enough of his bulk to fit into a school uniform again. The rolls of fat were gone, and what was left was solid muscle. Unfortunately for his schoolmates, Dudley wasn't shy about using his new muscles. Dudley was wearing a sweaty t-shirt and smelled like a changing- room, so he was apparently in the basement when Harry arrived.
Dudley had snatched the letter from the desk where Harry was writing it.
"Give it back!"
He reread the last line Harry had written. "You writing to some girl?"
"I said, give it back. Please."
Dudley looked at the top of the scroll. "What's Cho--some sort of nickname?"
"That's her name, if it's any of your business. Cho Chang."
Dudley's eyebrows went up. "Don't they have any sense of decency at that school? Mummy and daddy would go berserk if they thought I was shagging a Chink."
Until this moment, Harry had never been foolish enough to take a swing at Dudley, but he took one now. Dudley side-stepped it easily, then shoved Harry across the room.
"You watch your mouth about her!" Harry yelled.
"Or else what?" Dudley sneered. "What are you gonna do--try to turn me into a dog or somethin'? We know the rules now, you know, and we know you're not allowed to practice magic at home at your age." He opened Harry's trunk and grabbed the first thing he saw. "So there's not a lot you can do to me, is there? Just like old times."
Harry saw that Dudley had grabbed Cho's Christmas present to him. His mind raced. "Yeah, okay, whatever you say. Just don't open that."
"Don't what?" Dudley said, pretending he hadn't heard.
"Please, don't open that box."
Dudley being Dudley, he opened the box. Sure enough, the translucent sphere bloomed out of the box. Dudley screamed and dropped it on the floor. There was the miniature mountain within the sphere, and climbing up and down the mountain were the three miniature Chinese Fireballs. In Hogwarts, though, the dragons took no notice of Harry. All three of them were looking at Dudley now, with sparks flying from their mouths. They did not seem happy to see him.
Harry shook his head solemnly. "You've done it now, Dudley."
"What? What did I do?"
"That's a dragon egg. I just had it for show, but you've gone and set it off. Those three'll hatch out of that in about fifteen minutes. Five minutes after that, they'll make a quick meal of Privet Drive, and then move on from here. Good thing you've got a strong back."
"Huh? Whaddya mean?"
"I reckon you'll have to work for about sixty years to pay all the damage off."
"WHAT?! Nothing doing; it's YOUR egg, Harry!"
"Yes, but I told you not to open the box, didn't I? There isn't a court in England--or a wizarding court, for that matter--that would blame me for this."
"You've got to do something! Help me!"
"But I'm not allowed; you said so yourself."
"HARRY! PLEASE!"
Harry pretended to take a few seconds to think about it. "All right, then, but you can't be in here while I try to stop it. If it backfires, no sense in both of us getting burned to cinders. Go down to the kitchen and wait for me there. Oh, and while you're there, do you think you could make me a sandwich? Is there any roast beef?"
"Uh, no, but there's ham left over from Sunday."
"That'll do fine, then. I'll be right down. Better hurry."
Dudley seemed to come out of his trance and tore down the stairs.
Harry couldn't help but chuckle as he took the letter he was writing to Cho, the inkpot and the quill, and put them back in the trunk. Then he collapsed the sphere back into its box and put that in the trunk as well.
Now Harry had to stop and think. Even Dudley has his limits, and he might not be so easy to fool the next time. Then there were Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, who weren't as dim as their son. If he had to try to trick his way through the summer...
Then he stopped. WHY stay here all summer? The Dursleys wanted him gone as much as he wanted to be gone. He'd spent part of the last few summers away from Privet Drive; why not all of this summer?
But wait. The Dursleys were still family. His mother's family. Yes, he thought bitterly, and they loved her about as much as they love me. Petunia called Lily a freak--her own sister. The Dursleys may be relatives, he decided, but they're not family. And there's no point in staying where you're not wanted.
He knew he had to rush before he changed his mind. Placing Hedwig's cage on the trunk and picking them both up, he carried them to the front door. Dudley, in the kitchen, heard the noise and came running out with Harry's ham sandwich.
"Problem solved," Harry smiled, as he threw the sandwich into his trunk as well. "That was a near thing, though. You ought to be more careful in the future." Harry started out the door.
"Hey, wait!" Dudley shouted as Harry walked to the street. "You just got here! Where are you off to now?"
Harry set down the trunk and turned to Dudley. "To tell the truth, I don't know yet. Maybe I'll backpack around Europe, or maybe I'll just ride the Underground for two months. All I know is, you lot never could stand the sight of me, and I'm giving you what you want most. I'm off!"
Harry picked up the trunk and walked to the end of Magnolia Crescent. The streetlights were just winking on as he set the trunk down and stuck his arm out, as if he was hailing a taxi.
Dudley watched him in disbelief. "Stark staring mad," he muttered.
A minute later, he'd turned his gaze away from Harry--he MUST have turned away--because he looked again, and
Harry and his trunk were gone.
…to be continued…
(an interlude between year five and year six of "Wizards Duel")
by Patrick Drazen
a/k/a monkeymouse
2.1: Back to the Family
[If you found your way this far, you don't need me to tell you that JK Rowling created the Potterverse, and is still creating it…]
When Harry's taxicab pulled up to number four, Privet Drive in the late June afternoon, everything about the house looked as it had since Harry could remember--except for the penguin on the lawn.
As the Hogwarts students made their way into the Muggle side of King's Cross, Harry was actually relieved to see that Uncle Vernon was nowhere to be seen. Harry's uncle was of two minds about fetching Harry from the station this year. As much as he hated the wizarding world, Vernon Dursley wasn't about to leave a minor to his own devices—especially if the minor in question could call on his misbegotten friends for help. Harry might show up in Little Whinging with a flock of man-eating minotaurs or something.
Yet Harry would reach age sixteen in about a month—an age when a youth in Britain could begin living as an adult; even get married if he wanted. Uncle Vernon therefore decided to grant Harry a little bit of independence. He had contacted Arthur Weasley and gotten Hogwarts' postal address, then mailed a five-pound note to Harry (knowing that this wouldn't be enough to cover the cab fare) and told him that he could find his own way home, as he'd done it often enough.
While the driver gave Harry his trunk and settled up the fare, with Hedwig eyeing the strange bird through the bars of her cage, the penguin hopped up and down on the grass. When the taxicab left, the bird waddled happily over to Harry and started flapping one arm. The arm had a message tied to it.
Even at a glance, he recognized Cho's handwriting. Forgetting where he was or how the penguin would look to the Dursley's neighbours, he tore open the letter:
"Ohayo Harry! (That's hello) I hope you got through your OWLs all right.
"Japan--well, there are so many thing to talk about I can't possibly put them all in this letter! Maybe the best thing about Kesshin Maho Gakuin is that it's up in the mountains, so high up that there's skiing even in the summer. I was never keen on it, but I think I'll take it up, especially since I'll have lots of time here this summer.
"That's the bad news, I'm afraid. My parents are keeping me here all summer, and probably right through next year until I graduate. But it's only a year, and then it'll be over! I know one year won't change how we feel.
"Please write as soon as you can. The buildings here are beautiful, but the scenery is so barren—nothing but snow-covered mountains. I live for the day when I see Hedwig flying over the mountains with your scroll.
"All my love, Cho
"PS: Don't worry about Andy; he's keeping his distance.
"PPS: I never had the chance to tell you how magnificent the stag looked that said good-bye to me in Hogsmeade. For a moment--but only for a moment- -I wished I could turn into a deer. Someday, I'll tell you why..."
Harry didn't know exactly why it happened, but he felt the colour rise in his cheeks. He was fairly sure he knew what Cho was referring to...
He felt a tug on the knee of his trousers. The penguin was pulling at the cloth, trying to get his attention.
"Oh! Er, no reply just yet. You may as well go back. It wouldn't do for you to hang about here."
The penguin cocked its head sideways at Harry, then waddled down Privet Drive. Harry hoped the Dursleys weren't anywhere about. The Dursleys were the worst kind of Muggles, because they knew about the magical world parallel to their own and still wanted no part of it. While some Muggles don't have a clue about the wizarding world going on all around them, others like the Dursleys disapproved of flying on broomsticks and casting spells and all the rest of it. Even something mildly unusual--like a penguin on a lawn in a housing development in Little Whinging--was most unsatisfactory in their eyes.
Harry took the trunk up to his room, closed the door, then pushed his trunk up against it. This was the nearest thing he had to a lock. The Dursleys used to lock him in at night; only recently had he decided he wanted to lock them out. He probably could have secured the door with a spell of some kind, but there were rules about underage wizards using magic, especially in Muggle communities. Harry knew all about those rules; he had broken them several times, though not always on purpose.
Wait a moment, Harry thought. I'll turn sixteen this summer. Is that still underage for wizards? Hermione would know, but she would be unavailable most of this summer. She said she would be going with her parents (who were Muggle dentists and apparently well off) on a long holiday on the Mediterranean, spending time in Spain and Greece.
Ron might know, and if not Ron then certainly his father. Arthur Weasley had a job at the Ministry of Magic; so did his son Percy. No; wait. They're no good either, Harry thought. Percy is marrying his girlfriend Penelope this weekend. Mrs. Weasley had wanted Harry to come to the wedding, even though it was for the families only, but Harry didn't want to be the exception yet again. He also told Mrs. Weasley that he didn't want to distract anything from Percy and Penelope on their special day. (Privately, Harry doubted that the Dursleys would let him attend in the first place. He also wanted to wait until the day when he was at the altar, watching Cho Chang walk down the aisle toward him.) After the wedding, the whole Weasley family--including its newest member--would spend the summer traveling around the country, starting in Cornwall the day after the wedding. Even Bill and Charlie, older than Percy but still single, would be flying back for the first wedding in the family.
Don't reckon that Percy and Penelope will have too much privacy on their wedding night, Harry smirked to himself; not if I know what Fred and George are capable of. No sooner did he start to think it, though, than he realized his "other wand" started to stiffen. That had been happening more and more often, whenever he thought of anything vaguely to do with sex. Unfortunately, in his adolescent perspective everything seemed to have something vaguely to do with sex. This was less of a problem at Hogwarts; the school robes covered up anything potentially embarrassing. Here on Privet Drive, though, he couldn't wear his robes without attracting attention.
At least nobody seemed to be at home now. Uncle Vernon would be at the office, as he had written Harry, and maybe Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley were shopping at the market. They didn't seem to be around, in any case. He pulled out a blank scroll, his inkpot and a quill.
"Dear, Dear Cho--
"After what happened, I'm sorry that I got you involved with me and Snuffles. I didn't mean to get you sent halfway round the world. We should be spending this summer together. Surely next summer, when you get out of that place.
"Maybe you heard that you won the Cup for Ravenclaw. Seriously--even though you were gone, at the banquet Dumbledore awarded you points for being in Hogsmeade to fight off the Death Eaters. Maybe something good always comes out of something bad. I don't like that--it would mean that something bad will come out of something good. I hate to think that something bad will come of our being together, because that's the best thing I know.
"I've missed you every day since you left. I don't know how I'll get through the year without you to see and to talk to and to touch..."
"WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?"
Harry jumped straight into the air. Someone had snuck into the room and was standing behind Harry while he was concentrating on his letter.
He turned to face the intruder. It was a boy about Harry's age, but a little taller and much broader. It truly took Harry a few seconds to place him...
"DUDLEY?!"
Two summers ago, Dudley Dursley had been told in no uncertain terms that he had eaten his way to the end of his rope. The school he attended simply didn't have uniforms large enough to suit him. Uniforms, however, were the least of his worries; the nurse at his school warned of dire health consequences if he didn't lose weight. He was put on a strict diet, which Aunt Petunia then inflicted on the rest of the family. Harry hadn't noticed any real improvements the last time he was home. All that concerned him was Dudley's temperament: as mean and stupid as ever.
While Harry was at Hogwarts this year, however, the last piece of the puzzle had been added: lifting weights. Dudley found this to be the least objectionable form of exercise, since it was mindlessly repetitive and he could watch television while doing it. Then he started getting good at it; his parents fitted out the basement as a gym for him, and the results began to show. He'd lost enough of his bulk to fit into a school uniform again. The rolls of fat were gone, and what was left was solid muscle. Unfortunately for his schoolmates, Dudley wasn't shy about using his new muscles. Dudley was wearing a sweaty t-shirt and smelled like a changing- room, so he was apparently in the basement when Harry arrived.
Dudley had snatched the letter from the desk where Harry was writing it.
"Give it back!"
He reread the last line Harry had written. "You writing to some girl?"
"I said, give it back. Please."
Dudley looked at the top of the scroll. "What's Cho--some sort of nickname?"
"That's her name, if it's any of your business. Cho Chang."
Dudley's eyebrows went up. "Don't they have any sense of decency at that school? Mummy and daddy would go berserk if they thought I was shagging a Chink."
Until this moment, Harry had never been foolish enough to take a swing at Dudley, but he took one now. Dudley side-stepped it easily, then shoved Harry across the room.
"You watch your mouth about her!" Harry yelled.
"Or else what?" Dudley sneered. "What are you gonna do--try to turn me into a dog or somethin'? We know the rules now, you know, and we know you're not allowed to practice magic at home at your age." He opened Harry's trunk and grabbed the first thing he saw. "So there's not a lot you can do to me, is there? Just like old times."
Harry saw that Dudley had grabbed Cho's Christmas present to him. His mind raced. "Yeah, okay, whatever you say. Just don't open that."
"Don't what?" Dudley said, pretending he hadn't heard.
"Please, don't open that box."
Dudley being Dudley, he opened the box. Sure enough, the translucent sphere bloomed out of the box. Dudley screamed and dropped it on the floor. There was the miniature mountain within the sphere, and climbing up and down the mountain were the three miniature Chinese Fireballs. In Hogwarts, though, the dragons took no notice of Harry. All three of them were looking at Dudley now, with sparks flying from their mouths. They did not seem happy to see him.
Harry shook his head solemnly. "You've done it now, Dudley."
"What? What did I do?"
"That's a dragon egg. I just had it for show, but you've gone and set it off. Those three'll hatch out of that in about fifteen minutes. Five minutes after that, they'll make a quick meal of Privet Drive, and then move on from here. Good thing you've got a strong back."
"Huh? Whaddya mean?"
"I reckon you'll have to work for about sixty years to pay all the damage off."
"WHAT?! Nothing doing; it's YOUR egg, Harry!"
"Yes, but I told you not to open the box, didn't I? There isn't a court in England--or a wizarding court, for that matter--that would blame me for this."
"You've got to do something! Help me!"
"But I'm not allowed; you said so yourself."
"HARRY! PLEASE!"
Harry pretended to take a few seconds to think about it. "All right, then, but you can't be in here while I try to stop it. If it backfires, no sense in both of us getting burned to cinders. Go down to the kitchen and wait for me there. Oh, and while you're there, do you think you could make me a sandwich? Is there any roast beef?"
"Uh, no, but there's ham left over from Sunday."
"That'll do fine, then. I'll be right down. Better hurry."
Dudley seemed to come out of his trance and tore down the stairs.
Harry couldn't help but chuckle as he took the letter he was writing to Cho, the inkpot and the quill, and put them back in the trunk. Then he collapsed the sphere back into its box and put that in the trunk as well.
Now Harry had to stop and think. Even Dudley has his limits, and he might not be so easy to fool the next time. Then there were Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, who weren't as dim as their son. If he had to try to trick his way through the summer...
Then he stopped. WHY stay here all summer? The Dursleys wanted him gone as much as he wanted to be gone. He'd spent part of the last few summers away from Privet Drive; why not all of this summer?
But wait. The Dursleys were still family. His mother's family. Yes, he thought bitterly, and they loved her about as much as they love me. Petunia called Lily a freak--her own sister. The Dursleys may be relatives, he decided, but they're not family. And there's no point in staying where you're not wanted.
He knew he had to rush before he changed his mind. Placing Hedwig's cage on the trunk and picking them both up, he carried them to the front door. Dudley, in the kitchen, heard the noise and came running out with Harry's ham sandwich.
"Problem solved," Harry smiled, as he threw the sandwich into his trunk as well. "That was a near thing, though. You ought to be more careful in the future." Harry started out the door.
"Hey, wait!" Dudley shouted as Harry walked to the street. "You just got here! Where are you off to now?"
Harry set down the trunk and turned to Dudley. "To tell the truth, I don't know yet. Maybe I'll backpack around Europe, or maybe I'll just ride the Underground for two months. All I know is, you lot never could stand the sight of me, and I'm giving you what you want most. I'm off!"
Harry picked up the trunk and walked to the end of Magnolia Crescent. The streetlights were just winking on as he set the trunk down and stuck his arm out, as if he was hailing a taxi.
Dudley watched him in disbelief. "Stark staring mad," he muttered.
A minute later, he'd turned his gaze away from Harry--he MUST have turned away--because he looked again, and
Harry and his trunk were gone.
…to be continued…