Much of the next two week progressed the same as the last couple days. No or little sleep, work, pizza place, bus. Harry had become even more bored, which two weeks ago Harry didn't believe possible.
Harry lay sprawled out on a spot on his floor that he'd cleared by pushing everything against the wall. Music was blaring in the background, normally he wouldn't have it so loud but as Vernon was at work and Dudley and Petunia were out shopping for paint to redo Dudley's room, Harry had the house to himself. Just Harry alone with Children of Bodom, OTEP Disturbed, Tool, cradle of filth and others. What could be better for a work-free Saturday with nothing that had to be done? Harry could think of lots of things but was to lazy to actually do them.
Finally Harry managed to drag himself from the floor and to his desk. He felt drawing but his mind was blank of ideas. He either had to many or none at all. So instead he just stared blankly at the piece of paper before him, his head on his hand.
His mind re-played old memories. Like when he was still in his old muggle and he joined the school band, vocal quire and arts club just for an excuse to miss recess and not be bothered by Dudley and his friends. That was when he was taught to play guitar. Harry doubted he'd be able to play one now, it had been to long since he last played. Harry soon began to day dream of ditching the Underground and playing guitar on the streets for money, or doing both would be ok too. He was pulled back into reality moments later by the burning of his eyes, for he hadn't blinked the hole time he was zoned out. He switched his CD player that he'd bought in a pawn shop last summer, to the radio, now feeling like another human voice might make him feel less alone. It was on his favourite radio channel 'London's Best Rock.' The host DJ introduced the next song as Press Gang by Murder City Devils. The song started with a keyboard opening and soon a guitar joined it and then drums.
Pecked
by the seagulls, hanging from the gallows
Twisting in the breeze,
dripping something on the streets
I can see him from my window,
they can see him from the water
Just a victim of the press gang
Harry nodded his head lightly to it. He stopped what he was thinking about before and just let the song take over.
Twisting
in the breeze
(Cut him down, cut him down)
Left for the
children on the street
(Cut him down, cut him down)
On the
street
He
should've kept his mouth shut
He never shoulda' left that
ship
Don't go drinking down by the docks
You don't know if
you'll wake up
Harry used the sheet of paper he had previously wanted to draw on to write down the name of the song and artist. There, now Harry had something to do, he would go to the mall and buy the Murder City Devils CD.
Harry listened to the rest of the song.
I
knew him when he was breathing
He was a good man, he was a young
man
He was like you, he was like me
It could've been you
It
should've been me
But
it shoulda' been the press gang
(Cut him down, cut him down)
But
it shoulda' been the press gang
(Cut him down, cut him down)Cut
him down, cut him down
Cut him down
On the street...
Harry pocketed the paper, grabbed his jacket and left the house with the song still ringing through his head, glad he now had something to do. He walked past the bus stop this time deciding to walk. He made his way down to same part of town the Underground was in. The streets were small and the buildings old. There were coffee shops and cafes, book stores and open air sales booths. Buskers played various instruments all along the streets. There was even a french sector consisting of a block filled with expensive looking shops.
He went past his favorite place of all, it was a large building with the ground floor dedicated to live music. It was called the Freak Zone, dedicated to the local bands to get some recognition. Harry came here often but today he passed by it. He could here the muffled beat of music coming from inside and a crowd of teens standing around the door smoking. Obviously there was a show going on right now.
Harry could see the record shop now as he turned down a small side street. It two story building, the upper floor was a set of apartments owned by the manager of the store below. Harry pushed the door open as he read the announcement for some singers' knew album release.
"Yo Harry." Matt, the store owner, greeted him looking up from his magazine. "Look they published the story I was telling you about." He said tilting the magazine towards Harry.
"That's great Matt." Matt was one of the few people in this town he got along with. Harry was trying to get an apartment upstairs so sometimes he worked here for free hoping that Matt might lower the rent price for him. He said he might.
Harry went in search of the Murder City Devils CD. The rock section was near the back by the poster rack. There were two boys there stacking nearly a hundred dollars worth of CDs together. One looked up at Harry who watched with a raised eye brow.
"B-day cash." the boy said as a way of explanation. Harry nodded and turned back to the rows and rows of CDs. He looked for the Ms and soon found the Murder City Devils, he flipped through the CDs by them looking for the one with Press Gang on it. He found it. He took the album R.I.P. to the front counter. And dug through his pockets and extracting only fifteen dollars, he searched for more. He was sure he had more on him. The CD cost 19.99₤, he didn't have nearly enough.
"Dammit!" Harry continued to look through his pockets.
"Sorry Harry, if you were only down a couple of pounds I'd let you walk away, but sevens' to much." Matt said sympathetically.
"Hey, you short on cash or some thing?" it was the two boys from the rock section. One of them looked over Harry's shoulder to see what he was trying to buy.
"Yeah, Im down by about 7.00₤." Harry said dully stuffing his money back into his pocket.
"Murder City Devils, good choice. Here." He took a twenty from his pocket, "give me what you've got. I'll lend you some cash." Harry took the money back from his pocket and handed it over. The boy paid for Harry's CD.
"Thanks, I'll pay you back." Harry said taking the bag from him with a grateful look.
"No prob, you work at the Underground don't you?" the first boy said while pilling his own CDs onto the counter.
"Yeah." Harry thought he recognized him. "Just drop by while Im working sometime and I'll give the money I own you. "Thanks again, see ya." Harry left in a good mood, having gotten a new CD. Harry stopped a open air café a block down the road he knew the manager who bought him a cappuccino and sat down with him for a moment before she had to get back to work. Harry wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere and the weather was great so sipped slowly at his drink for awhile, he lit a cigarette and relaxed.
"Hey!" Harry looked up and saw the two boys again. "Can we sit?" Harry shrugged moving his bag with the CD off the table so the others could sit.
"My names Alix and that's BJ." The first boy introduced them.
"What's BJ stand for?"
"Blow Job." Alix ducked as BJ attempted to punch him.
"It stands for Billy-Bob, sick isn't it?" He confirmed turning from Alix who rubbed the spot on his arm where he'd been punched, and back to Harry grinning slightly.
"I see. Im Harry." they nodded.
"You look familiar." BJ stated looked closely at Harry, BJ had never been to the Underground before, or at least not since Harry had worked there so he couldn't have recognized Harry from there. Oh no, he's not a wizard is he? Harry thought nervously.
"You went to Public School with us I think, Little Winging Public? You were the Dursley kid's cousin weren't you?" BJ asked. Harry wasn't sure if he'd have liked it better if he'd been recognized for being The Boy Who Lived or the class dork six years ago.
"Yeah you were that little weirdo we all picked on." Alix grinned.
"Thanks." Harry said sarcastically, suddenly becoming icy.
"Sorry, we don't mean it like that! It's just that was you wasn't it? But obviously you've changed right, so it doesn't matter." Alix said still grinning good naturally. Harry calmed down a bit, realizing they weren't trying to harass him. He sighed looking back down at his food.
"So are you still living with that fat tubba' lard cousin of your's?" Alex said while drowning his fries in ketchup.
"Hopefully this is the last summer. Im saving up for an apartment. I want to enough money before I go back to school so I can move out at the beginning of next summer."
"What school do you go to now?" Alix asked looking up at Harry with curious brown eyes.
"A boarding school in Scotland." Harry hoped they didn't press further.
"Scotland? The Dursley's ship you all the way to Scotland every year? Jeez I wish my parents would do that to me sometimes." BJ said with a wince, obviously BJ and his parents don't get along. Harry decided to change the subject.
"What's Stonewall like?" Harry was referring to the high school he would have gone to had he not gone to Hogwarts.
"Shit. The math teacher, Mis. Figg, is a bloody witch, I swear!" Harry grinned to himself at that comment. 'Not quite Alex, a squib is not a witch.' Harry thought to himself. "She gave us two hundred calculus questions to do over the summer!."
"Well you're the one stupid enough to sign up for Figg's calculus class!" BJ laughed.
x-x-x-
Harry decided to take the bus home since his feet were sore from wandering around town with Alix and BJ for two hours. They had decided to meet up next Saturday to hang out and do whatever.
As Harry was coming up Privit dr. Harry spotted a police car parked in his driveway.
'What the hell?' Harry hurried through the front door and went into the living room where he found two uniformed cops siting on the couch and chair waiting. When Harry entered the room they looked up.
"Are you Harry Potter?" One asked in a monotone.
"Yes, is there a problem officer?"
"Sit down." he said motioning towards the other chair.
"No Im fine, what's happened?"
Then he said the three grim, horrible words,
"Im so sorry."
