Harry and the Pirates

Chapter 42

A Ray of Sunshine

by Technomad

It was a few days after Harry and Dudley had returned to Roanapur. As always, Petunia Dursley had met them at the Bangkok airport, along with a couple of Balalaika's men. Even though Petunia had lived in Asia for years, she still did not quite trust herself driving alone there, and Balalaika was happy to help out a valued employee. On the way back to Roanapur, Petunia had eagerly questioned both boys about their year in school, and been very pleased with the answers. She had calmed down considerably about the Basilisk, and was agog at the money that they had made from their shares in the payments being made for the rights to milk the creature's venom. At the news that Gilderoy Lockhart had been convicted of a long laundry-list of crimes, and was going to be spending a long time in Azkaban, her eyes glowed with satisfaction. "Serves him bloody well right for threatening my boys!" she muttered. Harry and Dudley grinned at each other behind her back.

They were in the outer reception room of Bougainvillea Trading, talking with some of Balalaika's Russians, when the phone rang. Petunia, always diligent about her work, picked it up. "Bougainvillea Traders, Petunia Dursley speaking. How can I help you?" She looked rather startled. "Why, yes, Dutch, he's right here. Shall I put him on the line?" She held out the receiver. "Harry, darling? Dutch wants to talk to you."

Puzzled, Harry picked up the phone. He'd known Dutch, and the rest of the Black Lagoon crew, for years, but this was the first time that the black PT boat captain had ever called him. Usually, he and Dudley were sent to tell Dutch what Balalaika wanted him to know. This was unprecedented.

"Harry?" Sure enough, that was Dutch; that bass rumble was unmistakable.

"Yes, Dutch."

"Good to hear your voice. I hope you and your cousin had a good time at school? Learned a lot, did you?"

"Lots and lots! What can I do for you, Dutch?"

"Well, you know we're primarily a courier service…" Harry grinned. While the Black Lagoon was, ostensibly, a courier service, they did have a sideline in piracy if the price was right, and the goods they carried were often not strictly legal. "We have a delivery here for you. It's up here at our office."

"Oh, and you want me to come over and pick it up?" Harry was instantly wary. While he'd always got along well with the Lagoon crew, he was also perfectly aware that their services were for sale to the highest bidder. Although he didn't know that Voldemort had agents in place in Southeast Asia, he wouldn't have been a bit surprised to find out that such agents existed. And Voldemort, not to mention many individual Death Eaters, would pay very well for him.

"That's about the size of it. Can you come?"

"Let me talk to my aunt." Covering the receiver with his hand, Harry called out: "Aunt Petunia, Dutch says he has something for me over at the Lagoon Company's offices. He wants me to come over and pick it up. Could you ask Balalaika for the loan of a few of her men?"

Aunt Petunia's eyes narrowed. She was no longer the suburban English housewife she had been when she and Harry had first met. She had lived in Roanapur for nearly a decade, and had not survived all that time without developing street-sense. "That's an excellent idea, Harry. You…and Dudley…should be safe enough with a few of Hotel Moscow's men along, just to remind people who it is you work for."

When she was asked, Balalaika was quite willing to detail a few men. "That's excellent thinking, Petunia. Sergeant Boris is here, and I can send Privates Ivanov, Godunov and Spassky along as well. They should be all that's needed to keep things in order." The Russian woman's eyes narrowed slightly. "And if the Lagoon Company's trying to pull a fast one on me…let us say that I got along before they set up shop here, and I can and will get along after they're gone, should that prove necessary."

Soon, Harry and Dudley were walking along, with Sergeant Boris and his men beside them, enjoying the ambience of a Roanapur morning. The smell of exhaust fumes from badly-tuned engines mingled with the odors of food being cooked, and Harry knew that he was home. He loved Britain, and his friends there, but he was never happier than when he was in Roanapur.

At the Lagoon Company's offices, they knocked at the door and were greeted by Rock, the Japanese ex-sarariman who had, improbably, made a place for himself with the Lagoon crew. "Harry! Dudley! Sergeant! Good to see you all again!" Harry had to smile back; the Japanese man's friendly demeanor was hard to resist. He knew it was why the Lagoon Company found Rock so very useful in negotiations. Where someone like the volatile Revy Two-Hands would likely end up in a fight, Rock could smoothly cut through conflict and somehow or other get his own way.

"Good to see you, Rock. Now, about this delivery…?"

"She's right in here." Harry's eyes went very wide, and he knew that Dudley was just as surprised as he was. Sitting in the middle of the Lagoon Company's office, looking as much at home as if she'd spent her life in Roanapur, was none other than Luna Lovegood. She gave them both a beaming smile.

"Hullo, Harry and Dudley! My, it's good to see you two again! And who are these people with you?" She bounced to her feet and came over, offering her hand to a flabbergasted Sergeant Boris. "My name is Luna Lovegood, and I go to school with these boys!"

"Uh, hi, Luna! It's good to see you, too! The tall man with the scar on his face is Sergeant Boris, and these are Privates Godunov, Ivanov and Spassky," Harry finally managed to get out. "What in the world are you doing here…in Roanapur?"

"You've told me so many interesting stories about this place, and about the nice people you work with, that I just had to see them for myself! So here I am!" Luna seemed to think that was all the explanation required.

Watching with great interest, Dutch rumbled: "She contacted us and paid us to deliver her from Pattaya to here. I haven't the faintest idea of how she got our contact information."

Luna explained: "Daddy's here in Thailand for the summer, looking for the Chinthe. I got bored in Bangkok…the city's awfully crowded, and I'm a country girl at heart. So I asked Daddy if I could come visit you, and he said 'yes.' I remembered what you told me about this place, and found out how to contact these nice people from one of the local wizards."

Harry and Dudley both goggled. They had dealt with the Lagoon Company many times, mostly delivering messages for Balalaika, and while Dutch and his crew were famously reliable, the word "nice" was not often used about them. "You say they treated you well?"

"Oh yes. That man in particular," Luna pointed to Rock, who smiled. "That woman who loves him wasn't very friendly at first, but after I showed her what I could do with my wand, she calmed down considerably." That did explain how Luna had arrived unscathed, aboard a small boat with Revy Two-Hands on board. Besides the standard curriculum, Slytherin had its own special extra tuition, where young Snakes were taught offensive and defensive spells in advance of where they would usually learn them in the normal course of a Hogwarts education. Luna had been a very apt pupil, winning the upper-years' praise. Not to mention what she had learned in the Duelling Association.

If Revy had been foolish enough to threaten Luna, Revy was lucky to still be alive, in Harry's estimation. Luna wouldn't deliberately kill, unless she had no choice…but she'd have had no compunction about, say, Banishing Revy somewhere unpleasant. Or paralyzing her and "forgetting" to take the spell off.

And, speak of the devil…Revy Two-Hands herself came in from where Harry knew the loos were. "Hi, Harry, Dudley. We brought you your friend, all safe and sound. And, before you ask, I didn't try anything at all. Learned my lesson about people with wands last summer, didn't I?" She popped open a beer. "A lot of people wouldn't believe it, but I can control myself. And besides," she took a long slurp of beer, sighed with pleasure, and gave Harry and Dudley a gamine grin, "if I screwed up a delivery, Dutch would use me for a boat anchor!"

"Well, you didn't. And after Miss Lovegood showed us a few tricks, you were even polite!" Dutch smiled. "Maybe we need to hire ourselves a wizard or witch!"

"I don't know much about the local magical community," Harry answered, as Luna came over to hug him and Dudley. "Some places, they're pretty open about who they are and what they do; others, not so much. When we get back to Britain, I can ask around; there'll be people who'll know, and if you can hire one, we'll let you know how and whom to contact. In the meantime, though, we need to figure out what to do with our friend, here. We weren't expecting her."

"Mum will see her right," said Dudley. "Come on, Luna. Let's get you back to where we belong. Thanks everso, Dutch, Revy, Rock." Harry and Dudley waved as they turned to go, and Luna slung a backpack over her shoulder, taking Dudley by the hand and smiling up at him. Dudley blushed, and Harry grinned to himself. All of the Lagoon crew looked very knowing. Revy gave him a wink.

At first, the Russians were not at all sure what to make of the blonde witch. Luna, on the other hand, was utterly at ease, as she always was. She cheerfully engaged Sergeant Boris in conversation along with her two friends. To her disappointment, the three privates knew no language but Russian. "And I can't speak any Russian!" she lamented. "Oh, well."

By the time they got back to Bougainvillea Traders, Harry was amused to see that the tough Sergeant Boris was wrapped around Luna's little finger. He had been all business at first, but her artless questions and clear friendliness had melted him, and he was answering her eager questions about what Russia was like, and whether there were any of the creatures her father was always looking for, as though she were a favorite niece. His men were also clearly taken by his little friend, smiling at her and making remarks in Russian about how cute and innocent she was.

Petunia Dursley's eyes went as wide as saucers when she saw who Harry and Dudley were escorting. "Oh, my God! Where did you spring from?"

"Hullo, Mrs. Dursley. I've seen you at Kings Cross Station. My name is Luna Lovegood. I'm one of Harry and Dudley's housemates, and I've come to visit them." She put down her backpack and held out her hand for a shake. "Those nice people who own the Black Lagoon boat were kind enough to bring me to town. Their prices were very reasonable, and the boat trip was lots of fun!"

Balalaika, curious, came out to see what had happened. Luna saw her and gave her a beaming smile. "Oh, hullo, ma'am! You must be Miss Balalaika!"

"Yes, I guess I must be. And you are…?"

"I'm Luna Lovegood. I'm in school with Harry and Dudley, and came to visit them while my Daddy's off looking for the Chinthe."

"And your father let you wander off alone, in a strange country?" Balalaika looked sternly disapproving. "Don't you realize how dangerous that is?"

"Oh, I have my wand, and I've got used to taking care of myself since Mummy died. Ever since then, I've taken care of myself…and Daddy, of course." Luna cocked her head to one side. "Some of the places we've been make the worst I've heard of Roanapur look like a fun faire."

"Bozhemoi!" Balalaika seldom showed much emotion, but this time, she was clearly croggled. Luna did have that effect on people. "In that case, Miss Lovegood, I suppose you may stay. Petunia, can you see to her needs while she's here, as you did for Miss Granger? My men have many virtues, but caring for a young girl is not on their lists of skills."

"Your Sergeant Boris was very nice to me," Luna said. "If he's an example, I look forward to meeting all your men. And in their spare time, Harry and Dudley can show me around town. If that's all right with you, ma'am?"

"Yes…yes…that sounds good. You can help the boys with their work, running errands and the like. I'll put you on the payroll, as I did for Miss Granger. Maybe we can talk again before you go. I've a business to run, but I'll try to make time for you," Balalaika promised. She was obviously eager to get her balance back.

Luna gave Balalaika a penetrating stare. "You know, you may think you're a bad person, ma'am, but I don't think you are. I think you're a good person who had bad things happen to you that weren't your fault." Harry, Dudley and Petunia stared at Luna in awe, then turned their eyes to Balalaika, to see how she'd react to that sort of bald statement.

Balalaika gave Luna back stare for stare. "And you, young lady, are one of the more perceptive people I've ever seen. I will make time to talk to you." Just then, the phone rang, and Petunia picked it up. She turned pale at what she heard, and handed it to Balalaika.

"Balalaika speaking…what? What? Who did it, and how?"When she finally hung up, her face was grim. "Two of my men were just shot while on their collection rounds. Whoever did it will rue the day!"

END