Harry and the Pirates, Chapter 43

Dark Clouds Gathering

by Technomad

Over the next few days, things in Roanapur became very tense. Men from all of the major crime syndicates were slaughtered, usually with wholesale violence far in excess of anything that was actually needed for the job. Harry and Dudley generally kept themselves to known safe places, and both of them kept a wary eye on Luna, since she didn't know the town.

Luna, herself, was unperturbed. "I'm not a member of any of the syndicates here, so why would anybody target me?" she asked. Harry and Dudley just smiled and continued guarding her any time they went out. Their wands were always close to hand, and they never went out without pistols, as well. Petunia was also never to be seen without her Makarov in its shoulder-holster under her arm.

Having Luna in Roanapur was an experience Harry would not soon forget. He and Dudley had warned Luna, in very specific language, about provoking the locals: "Even though they aren't wizards or witches, many of these people are extremely dangerous if they're crossed! So, for the love of Merlin, don't go piping up with personal questions to them! They might take it wrong, and there'd likely be a gunfight!"

Luna nodded solemnly. "I understand, Dudley. And while it's very sweet of you to be looking out for me this way, honestly, I've been following Daddy…and Mummy, when she was alive…all over the place since I was very little. I've been in dangerous places before. I know when it's safe to speak up." Harry and Dudley had to be satisfied with that, although they did not relax their vigilance. They also made a point of seeing to it that Luna visited the same leather worker who had crafted their wand-sheaths, and Luna was delighted with what he made. At Harry's quiet suggestion, the Slytherin emblem was worked into the leather, and both older boys also charmed it so that Luna wouldn't lose it or have it stolen.

They were sitting around in the Yellowflag one afternoon; Balalaika had given Harry and Dudley the afternoon off. Harry looked around. "Man alive, I don't think I've ever seen so many people packing at one time! Have you, Dudley?" Dudley paused in eating a sandwich he'd ordered to shake his head.

"You mean this isn't normal for this town?" Luna asked, taking a swig of her Coke. She had never had the Muggle beverage before coming to Roanapur, and had fallen in love with it. Harry and Dudley were planning to find a way to smuggle Coke and some other Muggle drinks into Hogwarts; they figured that the Muggle-born or –raised would be willing to pay premium prices for it. And if the purebloods also developed a taste for the Pause that Refreshes…their Galleons were just as golden as anybody else's, and both boys were perfectly willing to sell to them. Visions of wealth danced in their heads. And, unlike the money from their share of the Basilisk, this would be theirs alone!

"No, Luna. People like Revy Two-Hands pack openly as a matter of course, but most of the people you see in here don't normally carry weapons." Revy was sitting up at the bar with Rock, quietly drinking and talking with Bao. Rock looked over into the corner they were in, saw them, and waved hello. The boys waved back to him; they liked the ex-sarariman, although they could never figure out just how he stayed alive around someone like Revy. Luna gave him a smile, just as Revy looked over to see who he was looking at and spotted them.

"Hi, Harry and Dudley! And Luna! How do you like Roanapur?" The Chinese gunsel was apparently in a friendly mood. Or else, thought Harry quietly, she's acting respectful because she thinks we can turn her into a toad. Personally, Harry didn't much mind Revy…but there were some people flapping around Roanapur whom he wouldn't have minded seeing end up on a lily pad. Whoever it was that had been shooting up the town was currently right at the top of that particular list.

"Oh, I like it fine here, Rebecca! Tell Captain Dutch and Mister Benny I said 'hello,' would you?" Luna gave Revy a beaming smile. "And hello to you, Rock! It's always nice to see you!"

Just then, a blonde woman came breezing in, planting herself on the stool next to Revy. "Hey, Two-Hands! How ya hangin'?" She winked at Rock, heedless of Revy's mounting anger. "Hey, hot-shot! How's about ditchin' this sow an' comin' with me for some fun?" Harry and Dudley were both startled to see that it was "Sister" Eda from the Rip-Off Church; they knew that she was no more a nun than they were, but they'd seldom seen her out of her nun's habit. Harry did think she was less obtrusive in the Yellowflag dressed in civvies, though. He liked the way she looked in her pink tank top and shorts.

Luna watched this byplay with wide eyes. "Is that woman insane?" she asked, her voice low enough to not be heard over the usual hubbub. Luna Lovegood did not grok fear, Harry believed, but she had heard enough from him and Dudley, and seen enough, to know just how dangerous Revy could be if provoked. Other local people who'd noticed this little bit of byplay were unobtrusively edging toward cover, or toward the doors. Bao himself was still on duty behind the bar, but looked like he was ready to duck for cover at the first sign of violence.

"Don't call me a sow, Eda," Revy snarled, through gritted teeth. "And keep your sticky fingers off Rock!"

Eda was conspicuously unimpressed. "See why I say you're permanently on the rag, Two-Hands?"

Revy went red, then white with rage. "Okay, Eda, that's it! Let's go outside and settle this, once and for all! Come on!" Harry and Dudley both had their wands out. Luna had also followed their example. Both women were armed, and Harry and Dudley had seen them both in action before.

Luna called out: "Rebecca! Would you like me to paralyze her?" Eda turned, and went pale with fear when she saw Harry, Dudley and Luna with their wands in their hands. She clearly hadn't forgotten her encounter with Hermione, the year before.

"Oh my God…another one?" Instinctively, Eda crossed herself.

Harry grinned mirthlessly. "Yes, 'another one.'"

"This isn't fair!" Eda howled.

"Neither is life, I believe," Dudley pointed out. "So why don't you civilize up before we show the people here what we can do? What do you want to go picking a fight with Revy for, anyway?"

Nonplussed, Eda sat up and became all business. "Actually, Revy, I was here to tell you about a money-making opportunity I've heard about." At the mention of the word "money," Harry's ears pricked up and he knew Dudley was also paying very close attention.

"You mean the murders?" Revy was also riveted at the mention of money. Her eyes lit up.

"Yeah, the murders. You heard about the Caribbean Bar yet?" Eda took a slug of hooch. "It got shot up this morning, about four a.m. Fry Face is furious about it."

Luna whispered: "Is that woman talking about Miss Balalaika?"

Harry nodded. "Do not ever say that name where she can hear, Luna! She doesn't like being called that!"

Luna's eyes went wide. "Oh. Thank you for warning me. I would never say anything like that to a person, though. I know what it's like to be made fun of." Harry and Dudley exchanged scowls behind their friend's back. Silently, Harry promised himself a long, long talk with the Slytherin girls when he got back to Scotland. Slytherins are supposed to stick together and watch out for each other, not spend their time picking on each other! He privately suspected Pansy Parkinson of having been the ringleader of any such shenanigans. It was just her style.

From what Eda was telling Revy, it was a lot worse than Harry had thought. He went pale, and heard Dudley gasp, as they heard that the two Russians who had been targeted were friends of theirs. Sakharov had helped train them with weapons, and Menshkov had always been willing to make time to talk with them when he wasn't on duty. The boys knew that death walked alongside everybody in Roanapur, but having friends cut down like this was something new. Harry and Dudley exchanged grim looks.

"I think we may be going for that reward ourselves," Dudley muttered. "This has just become personal."

Harry nodded. The smile that spread across his face felt wonderfully evil.

Back at the apartment they lived in, Harry and Dudley pulled out a map of Roanapur. They marked the place where the Caribbean Bar had stood. "Now, let's find out where the other attacks took place. I wonder who'd know?" mused Dudley.

"The police would have to know," Harry responded. Although the Roanapur police force was corrupt and in the pockets of the local racket bosses, it did at least make a show of taking care of business, and would have complete records of every attack.

"But how would the police differentiate these attacks from any others?" wondered Luna. "I don't know much about Muggle-style police, but how would they know which were which?"

"Good question, Luna. Violence here isn't really that common; the bosses frown on it as bad for business, which is part of why they're so upset about all this. Maybe Balalaika would know, but I'm not keen at all on disturbing her. When she's angry, she's dangerous, and she despises losing her men. She cares about each of them. They've been with her for years, ever since they were in the Soviet Army together."

"Maybe Mum would know?" Harry nodded at Dudley.

"Let's ask her when she comes in. She's done working in a couple of hours. In the meantime, who's for some videos?" Luna squealed happily. She had never seen Muggle-style videos before coming to Roanapur, and had taken to them with a convert's enthusiasm. Unsurprisingly, she particularly loved fantasies, particularly those featuring exotic creatures.

When Petunia Dursley came in, she was charmed at what she saw. Her son and nephew were sitting on the sofa watching the animated Hobbit, with Luna Lovegood comfortably ensconced between them and a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of them. All three also had opened bottles of Coke close by.

"That looks like a good idea. May I join you?" she asked. The children budged up willingly to make room; Luna had been happy to be able to spend time with an older woman, and Petunia had fallen in love with "the poor motherless waif" the second she saw Luna. Harry privately thought that his aunt rather regretted that she'd never had a daughter of her own.

After the movie ended, they discussed what to do next. Dinner soon commanded a unanimous "aye" vote, and Petunia had all three younger people working to put together a meal. Luna had been a little lost in a Muggle-style kitchen at first, but she was a quick learner, and knew a good deal about cooking. "I do most of the cooking at our home," she explained. "Daddy's a dear, but he does tend to produce some spectacular disasters if turned loose in a kitchen!"

"I've been making sure that both my boys can shift for themselves if they need to. I may not always be available, and I don't like the thought of them living in squalor because they've not been taught basic household skills," Petunia said, pausing in her tasks to give Luna a quick one-armed hug. "But you're such a little love, taking care of your Daddy the way you seem to."

Over dinner, the subject of the murders came up, and Petunia proved to be very informative. "Balalaika warned us to all be on the lookout for two children, a boy and a girl with nearly-white hair and grey eyes." She looked at Dudley and Luna. "It might be a good idea for you two to dye your hair, at least until this is over. You don't look much like the descriptions we were given, but there are enough trigger-happy people in this town to make it dangerous for you."

"Will do, Mum," Dudley said. When she used that tone, he and Harry both knew it was serious. Luna didn't say anything, but nodded, her wide eyes fixed on Petunia.

Petunia was willing to tell them about where the attacks had taken place, and they were soon marking them on the map. "This is a good idea, boys. Systematic analysis of where these people have struck can possibly help us figure out any patterns, and predict where they may strike at next."

"What is known about them?"

"They are described as a boy and a girl, about your age, dressed in black clothes, sort of like old-fashioned mourning. The girl's carrying a long cloth-wrapped package. Inside that package is a machine-gun of some sort; the police say that the cartridge cases they found at the Caribbean Bar look like they were fired by a Browning Automatic Rifle." Petunia shook her head, hardly able to believe what she was about to say. "The Browning Automatic Rifle is a load for a grown man, but apparently the girl can fire it on full automatic from a standing position. The boy carries an axe." Harry and Dudley exchanged glances. They knew how difficult it would be to fire a Browning Automatic Rifle that way.

"At least they'll have a hard time hiding. This town is not that big, and Westerners do stand out," Harry mused. "Unless someone is hiding them."

"All of the main syndicates report losing people," Petunia answered. "If someone's hiding them, it's someone not on the radar screen."

"Or one of the syndicates is lying," Dudley said quietly.

END