"You want me to learn how to fire a gun? !" Kad asked incredulously, several days after he had found said weapon.
A bit of research at the local library which Arthur Weasley had shown him on one of his days off over the weekend had shown Boba what sort of ammunition the weapon took, and fortunately there was some of the required ammunition in the shed, in one of the boxes under the table on which he had found the antique rifle.
He had struggled to keep a straight face as he thanked the head of the Weasley family for the weapon. The man had come into the shed shortly after he had found the firearm, noticed him admiring the rifle, and apparently being rather ignorant of the society to which Kad and the library that he rarely had time to enter belonged, hadn't known exactly what he had given the old man turned boy who seemed to share his appreciation for "Muggle" things. Arthur Weasly seemed to be the opposite sort of man to the type of people who would hand a weapon to a kid and tell them to go nuts. If he clued the man in however, he would be without a weapon, and he would be unable to teach Kad some necessary survival skills.
Fortunately, the home was isolated enough that he'd been able to get a little bit of target practice in while Kad played "Quiddich" with his friends without the local security forces poking their noses into things investigating the sound of weapons fire which often meant trouble. He had little trouble picking up the use of this weapon, as his father had started him on weapons training at a very early age. The only thing he had any real problems with was the recoil, which he was able to adapt to and compensate for.
His response to Kad's question about shooting lessons had of course been yes. He wouldn't have brought it up otherwise.
Soon a rather nervous looking Kad whom he'd never been able to get anyone else to refer to as anything but Harry was following him out of the house as if he expected to be caught and gotten into trouble at any moment. Eventually the two of them made their way to a clearing that was far enough away from any dwelling that he was confident that Kad wouldn't accidentally shoot anyone other than him or himself.
Once they reached the clearing, he set up several cans and bottles for the training exercise that his father had started him on when he was about four or so. That lesson had been with a blaster which had a negligable amount of recoil, but Kad looked strong enough to handle the rifle, if only just.
"I will lay down the same rules my father gave me when I was starting out." he said before carefully handing the unloaded rifle to his new son. "Until I say your skills are proficient, you will not be firing this unsupervised. Weapons safety is key, and if I catch you acting stupidly or suicidally with any weapon, I will cease all lessons and not start them up again."
The lesson, which started with the proper handling and care of the rifle went well enough, even though Kad seemed quite nervous throughout, as if he thought he was doing something wrong and expected to be punished for it at any moment. Eventually, the lesson ended, and they made their way back to the "Burrow" where Kad's cousin had just returned from his trip to the hospital.
&!&!&!&
Harry wasn't sure how he should feel when he learned that Dudley was out of the hospital. He didn't care for Dudley all that much, and for his entire life, the feeling had been mutual. But, what had landed Dudley in the hospital in the first place had left him feeling sorry for his cousin who would now be forced to wonder about the love his mother supposedly had had for him. What sort of parent poisoned their children?
On one level he was surprised that Aunt Petunia had been poisoning Dudley, and on another level he wasn't. There had been times when Dudley had gotten so sick that he had to go to the hospital for a long time, before he miraculously recovered when everyone thought he'd die. Uncle Vernon had blamed him each time this happened, and had punished him accordingly, sticking him in his cupboard without meals for increasingly longer periods each time. While Dudley was in the hospital, everyone gave Aunt Petunia sympathy, and if there was one thing Aunt Petunia liked, it was sympathy.
Headmaster Dumbledore had come a few days before and explained that Dudley would be living with him here at the Weasleys' since the blood wards that had protected him since he was a baby were tied to him and those related to him, which included Dudley. Dumbledore then apologized and told him that when he'd left Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep he hadn't expected them to treat him like he was their own child, but he also hadn't expected them to treat him the way they had. He then told him that the Dursleys would be getting what they deserved, and that they were in jail as he spoke.
That evening, at dinner, he sat as far away from Dudley as he could without being at a completely different table. Boba had sat next to him as always. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted the other boy to do so since he was both extremely weird, and extremely dangerous, as he had learned this afternoon. In the middle of the meal, Mr. Weasley had a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he asked how the lesson with Boba had gone.
"F-Fine." he stammered as soon as he stopped choking on his mashed potatoes. He'd been watching Dudley uncharacteristically pick at his meal, and the question had caught him off guard.
"Muggle boys do seem to find those "Pellet gun" things very interesting." Mr. Weasley said with a smile.
Harry wondered how or even if he should tell Mr. Weasley that the weapon that Boba who had asked him to call him "Buir" had taught him to fire wasn't a pellet gun by any stretch of the imagination.