Harry and the Pirates
Chapter 50
The Pause that Refreshes
by Technomad
When Harry and Dudley offered around small glasses of Coke, the reaction among their House mates was all they could have wanted. Pureblood scion after pureblood scion tasted, and their expressions told the two that they had a hit on their hands.
"How long has this stuff been around?" asked Pansy Parkinson.
"And why didn't anybody tell us?" grunted Vincent Crabbe.
When the glasses were emptied, there was a clamor for more. "Steady on, everybody," Harry said. "We can get you more. But it won't be free."
"How much do you want? We'll pay! I have plenty of pocket money!" That was Millicent Bulstrode. A chorus of agreement backed her up, and Harry and Dudley both smiled.
"We'll sell it to you. At two litres for a Galleon." This produced a flurry of reaction, as people dove for their money pouches, or pulled out Gringott's cheque books. "Easy, now! We can only get so much in at a time! After our first Hogsmeade trip, we'll be able to set up something more regular. But that's not for a few weeks." The groans of disappointment were music to the boys' ears.
Over the next few days, they introduced their other pureblood friends to the Pause that Refreshes. All of them loved it, clamoring for more. The Muggle-raised were also eager to buy; for them it was a taste of home, something familiar in their strange environment. Harry and Dudley ended up setting up a system where they wrote down orders, with payment to occur when they made delivery. When they began totting up the orders, they could hardly believe their eyes.
"So easy…" Dudley breathed, his eyes alight with greed. "So easy to make lots of money!"
"As long as we're the only conduit for this stuff, that is," Harry reminded his cousin. "Keep in mind, the Muggle-raised are familiar with the outside world, and could compete to undersell us."
"True, that," Dudley nodded. "However, if we're the only authorized purveyors, that should keep competition at bay. At least here in the castle. Don't know about Hogsmeade, yet."
"We need to nail that down, pronto," Harry said. "Let's go talk to Snape. He should know about this sort of thing."
Professor Snape was not entirely surprised when Harry and Dudley asked for some of his time. "Come in, gentlemen. I take it this is about your new enterprise?" Snape had sources all through the castle, and was seldom caught entirely off-guard.
"Yes, sir. Please, sir, how would we go about being the only people permitted to sell Coca-Cola here?" Snape's eyes went wide. This was rather unexpected.
"To be honest, gentlemen, I am not quite sure about how one would do that, myself. I imagine that Professor Dumbledore would know. Would you like me to set up an appointment for you with him?"
"Yes, sir. That would be most kind. Would the school governors also be involved?"
"Unlikely at best. Their main function is to approve or disapprove additions to the faculty or the curriculum. They tend to consider day-to-day operation of the school as beneath their notice, leaving much to the Headmaster's or Headmistress' discretion."
"Very well, sir. When we get an audience with the Headmaster, we'll put the question to him."
"I shall see when Professor Dumbledore can see you, young gentlemen." Snape paused for a moment. "You know, ever since your age cohort Sorted into Slytherin, he has mellowed toward this House. Previously, although his behavior was always correct, it was always…cold."
"Is that because a lot of Death Eaters were Slytherins, sir?" asked Dudley. Snape nodded sadly.
"To our eternal shame, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named recruited heavily from his old House, although all four houses contributed to his ranks. This has not been forgotten, nor forgiven, in many quarters. You both saw how the Gryffindors reacted to those who Sorted Slytherin at the Sorting."
"Yes, we did, sir!" Harry noticed that Dudley looked very grim, and he noted a gleam in Snape's black eyes. He figured that if they kept their retaliations against Gryffindor within reason, Snape wouldn't mind them at all. He had an idea that Snape had some old, personal grudges against the House of the Lion.
"You may leave, gentlemen. I shall inform you when Professor Dumbledore is able to see you." With that, the boys knew they were dismissed, and headed for the office door.
Before they left, Harry turned and asked: "Sir…you said you knew my mother, and Aunt Petunia. Shall I write and tell Aunt Petunia that you're our House Head?"
Snape's eyes went very wide, but Harry did not think he was displeased. "I am surprised you have not done so already, Mr. Potter."
"It's just never come up. Maybe, someday, you could tell me about my parents, sir? I have no memory of them."
Their House Head seemed, for a second, to be staring through them, into a past neither boy could see. "I would be willing to do so, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Dursley. I knew Mrs. Dursley back when she was plain 'Petunia Evans,' although we were never close." Then the moment was gone. "Now, run along. I believe you both have your first Defence class scheduled." They both obeyed.
When they got to their Defence classroom, they were almost the last ones in. Shortly after they'd found seats, Professor Lupin appeared. He was still wearing his rather worn-looking robes, and Harry noticed Draco snickering about it. He made a mental note that Draco was getting more than slightly above himself again, and might need another reminder of his relatively humble station in life.
Once they had taken roll, and Professor Lupin had had the customary moment of startlement to hear Harry's name, he announced: "Put your books away, ladies and gentlemen. This is to be a practical lesson, today." He led the curious Slytherins down the corridor, and into a room where the main article of furniture was a cabinet.
"In this cabinet," said Professor Lupin, "is a boggart."
That news did not please most of Harry's classmates. One and all, they shivered and turned pale. Harry was worried, himself. He had read some things about them, and didn't like what he had read one bit. Lupin went on, explaining how boggarts turned into a representation of whatever the person facing them most feared, and how they could be badly confused when facing groups.
When Lupin had finished his explanation of how to deal with a Boggart, he had the Slytherins go out of the room and come back in, one at a time, to practice under his eye. Harry wondered what his friends' Boggarts would be. Hermione, he rather thought, would see Dumbledore telling her that she was the stupidest witch in creation and that she would be expelled. But what would Malfoy see? Or Crabbe and Goyle? Or Dudley?
They went in in alphabetical order, according to their last names. When Dudley came out, he was white and shaking. "What did you see?" whispered Harry. "Was it Revy Two-Hands with a mad-on?"
"No," Dudley whispered back. "It was Balalaika, telling me that I had failed her and I was fired forever from Hotel Moscow!"
"How did you deal with that?"
"I imagined her wearing Sister Yolanda's nun's habit, with a big Russian beard. It was so funny!" Dudley snickered to himself for a second, then got serious. "I wonder how she'd react to being told that being thrown out by her was my greatest fear?"
"We'd best keep this to ourselves, cousin. Just don't mention it back home. Balalaika might be flattered, but I doubt she'd be flattered by what you did to 'her.'" Dudley nodded, solemnly. Just then, Hermione came out, obviously badly rattled by what she'd seen.
As she went by, she said, in a low voice, "It was Professor McGonagall telling me I'd failed every single course!" Dudley and Harry both nodded. They had thought that was likely to be what would scare Hermione.
Malfoy came by, white-faced. Feeling a rare spasm of charity toward his usual rival, Harry did not ask him what he had seen, or whether he had managed to counter it.
Finally, it was Harry's turn. Professor Lupin looked at him doubtfully. "You know, Mr. Potter, I had thought to excuse you from this exercise."
"Why is that, sir?"
"Because I'm very much afraid that the boggart will turn into He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or at least a good facsimile. And having Him loose in the school might really frighten a lot of your schoolmates. Many of them also lost relatives or friends under His reign of terror."
"You mean Lord Thingamebob? I don't remember him at all. And I'm used to scary things. Didn't you hear about where I grew up?" Harry smiled grimly. "Believe me, anybody who survives Roanapur is used to scary things and people."
"Yes. Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore were most informative, and I have also taken the liberty of reading up a little on your background. This 'Balalaika' person, in particular, sounds very interesting. Perhaps, one day, we can meet?"
"Perhaps, sir. But let loose your Boggart, and let's see what it does!" Harry took a firm grip on his wand, remembering the incantation, Riddikulus, and to turn whatever came out into something laughable. Lupin opened the cabinet, and the Boggart came out, assuming the form of a Dementor.
Harry stared, feeling the terrible chill coming over him. Voices echoed in his head:
"Not Harry, no, please, not Harry! Take me…kill me instead!"
"Stand aside, you silly girl…"
When consciousness returned, Harry was lying on the floor, with Professor Lupin holding him up like a father holding his sick son. "Here, Mr. Potter, eat this," he said, holding out a chunk of Honeydukes' chocolate. "At least, it wasn't He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. However, your reaction to Dementors is rather extreme."
"Sir…" Harry took a deep breath, and went on, "I think what I heard was just before You-Know-Who tried to kill me! I've never been able to remember that before! I think I heard my Mum's voice." For a second, he looked down. "I don't remember her at all…"
Professor Lupin looked away, and wiped at his face. "I shall have to tell you about her. However, I believe that you'll need to learn about a way to fight off Dementors, if this is what they do to you. As long as Sirius Black is loose, the Dementors will be around the school, and they are not known for their restraint."
"There's a spell to keep them off?"
"It's called the Patronus Charm. It's quite advanced magic, but from what I read in your records, you may be able to master it. We shall have to set up a time for private lessons."
Harry nodded. "I'll figure something out, sir. May I be excused?" At Lupin's nod, he exited the room. He needed to talk to Dudley.
When he found Dudley, he drew his cousin aside and explained what had happened. Dudley's blue eyes went wide with fear for Harry. "Will you teach me that spell, if you can learn it yourself?" He looked fierce. "If you go down, I want to be able to defend you!"
"I'll do better than that, Dudley. I'll teach all our friends. These Dementors are dangerous, and I don't want any of our group to fall victim to them! Not even Draco Malfoy or Pansy Parkinson!" Harry meant every word he said. He thought that Draco was a twit and Pansy was a moron, but he didn't want to see either of them dead. For all his twittishness and his pureblood superiority complex, Draco had come through in the Chamber of Secrets. For better or worse, they were brothers-in-arms. Balalaika's training had bit deep; deeper than he realized.
"In any case, cousin, I had an idea," Dudley said. He pulled out some papers. "I was thinking about how we can make sure nobody undercuts our prices for Coke, and it occurred to me that the goblins handle most transactions between the wizard and Muggle worlds." His smile was evil. "If we cut the goblins in for a share of the profits, we can get them to make sure that we're the only ones who can cut a deal with the Coca-Cola company! Of course, we might have to up our prices a bit to still make a comfortably hefty profit, but why do people like Draco Malfoy have money, anyway, but for us to figure out ways to take it from them?"
"Good question. A fool and his money are soon parted." Growing up among a bunch of Social Darwinists had not made either boy exactly compassionate. They began working out the details of the deal they would offer the goblins. They knew that goblins could always be tempted by money, and that they stayed bought.
END Chapter 50
