Harry and the Pirates
Chapter 54
And The Money Came Rolling In
by Technomad
A couple of weeks later, the first of PD Enterprises' ventures, the Coca-Cola distributorship, began to bear fruit. Coke still wasn't served with meals at Hogwarts, but was available for sale in the castle and at Hogsmeade. And it was a hit.
Harry looked over their first report, hardly daring to believe his eyes. Even with the goblins cutting themselves in for a share, the profits were nearly unbelievable. "We're going to have to hire help, I think," Harry muttered. "This is a gold mine!"
Dudley was also looking at the reports. "I wonder if other soft drinks would sell as well?"
"Don't know, offhand, but can't hurt to offer them. Ron's been a big help, along with Hermione and Ginny. They deserve every Knut we're going to pay them."
"I'm glad we agreed on a percentage of sales. That way, they've a motive for working hard. Over the hols, they can canvass the Alleys and see who'd be interested in buying from us." Dudley looked rather smug. "Of course, anybody on the Alleys who tries to bypass us will find that the goblins have taken an unfriendly interest in him."
"Nothing like a monopoly, Dudley," Harry smiled. He pulled out an abacus (both boys had learned to use one in their schooling in Roanapur, and found it preferable in some ways to mechanical adding machines, not to mention electronic calculators which would be useless at Hogwarts) and began projecting their future profits, based on what they had already made. When he saw his results, he whistled softly and re-ran his figures, not quite believing them.
"With what we should be able to pay them, Ron and Ginny won't need to depend on their mother any more. They can visit us in Roanapur next summer, if they've a mind to!" Harry and Dudley exchanged smiles. They had enjoyed Luna's and Hermione's visits, and looked forward to introducing their redheaded friends to their hometown and home life.
"I wonder if their mum will insist that Percy, or another of their older brothers, accompany them?" Harry snickered. "Once Sister Eda sees Percy or Bill, that'll be them taken care of for the duration of the visit! She'll drag them off to her lair and introduce them to a fair few things they don't teach here at Hogwarts!" Harry used his hands to outline a woman's shape in the air, and both boys laughed.
"I wonder if Percy'd know what she was after?" mused Dudley.
Just then, the bell rang to signal the beginning of another day of classes.
That evening, Professor Lupin sent word that he'd figured out how to train those who were interested in producing the Patronus Charm. Along with Hermione, Ron, Draco, Luna and Ginny, Harry and Dudley reported to the Defence classroom, to be met by an assortment of their schoolmates from other Houses. Harry nodded to Justin Finch-Fletchley, who apparently led their year's contigent of Hufflepuffs.
"Good evening, students, and welcome to our extra-curricular Defence Against Dementors class. By special permission, I have obtained several immature Dementors, against whom we shall practice the Patronus Charm. Anybody know what a Patronus Charm is?" Professor Lupin looked expectantly around the room, smiling to see that there were hands in the air. "Miss Chang?"
"A Patronus Charm takes the form of a protective silver being, usually of a form significant to the caster, and can repel Dementors."
"Correct. Five points to Ravenclaw." Professor Lupin pointed to a box. "At the moment, the Dementors are confined inside that spell-reinforced box. Before we release them, we will learn the basics of casting the Patronus, and then attempt to cast it without their presence. The presence of Dementors, as you know, can throw people off their best form."
Harry shuddered. He remembered, all too well, how horrible the Dementors had been. This was one bit of studying he wasn't going to give anything less than his best to!
Lupin went on, explaining how to cast the Patronus. Harry went through his thoughts, wondering what memories he had that were happy enough to produce a Patronus. Finally, he thought of the first time that he had successfully completed an assignment for Balalaika, and she had patted his head and called him a good soldier. He had glowed with happiness at her praise.
He glanced at his cousin. Dudley had a small, secretive smile on his face, and exchanged significant looks with Luna, who gave him a big bright smile. Harry smiled to himself; he had a pretty good idea of what sort of happy memories Dudley was calling on. Not to mention Luna.
After a few minutes, everybody nodded when Lupin asked if they were ready to try. "Very well, let us begin. The wand movement is thus…" and he demonstrated a quick flicking with the wand, very like what they did in Charms class… "and the incantation is Expecto Patronum. Go on, try it!"
Harry concentrated on a happy memory. The day that Balalaika had first trusted him with a simple errand, and had smiled and praised him as "a good, intelligent boy" swam into his memory, and he smiled. Waving his wand in the prescribed manner, he intoned "Expecto Patronum!" To his delight, he produced a misty silvery glob that danced in the air before him for a second before dissipating.
He wasn't the only one. More than half of the students present had had some sort of result, and Professor Lupin was delighted. "Wonderful! You've all done very well! It's unusual to find students your age who can do even this much!" Then he leaned back on his desk. "And now we'll try it again!"
After about five repetitions, Professor Lupin said: "Okay, now we'll try against an immature Dementor. Who wants to go first?" Everybody wanted to have a go, and Lupin said: "Very well, we'll do this alphabetically. You leave the room, and I'll call you back in, one at a time."
One by one, the students were called, filing into the classroom, and coming out again as Professor Lupin called the next name on the list. Harry noticed that while many went in looking very confident, none of them came out looking nearly so cocky.
Dudley was called, and he squared his shoulders, reminding Harry of one of Balalaika's men about to go into battle. "Wish me luck, cousin," he whispered, as Harry slapped him on the shoulder.
Harry was on pins-and-needles all the time Dudley was gone, and he noticed that Luna was looking at the closed door with big eyes. Ginny came over and patted Luna on the back, and Luna put her arm around Ginny's waist. Ginny gave Harry a wink, and Harry winked back.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was only a few minutes, the door opened, and Dudley came back through. He was shaking a little, and white as a sheet; his face was covered with cold sweat. He leaned over to Harry, whispering: "I really, really want to get this spell down! I do not want to ever have to face one of those things unprepared!" Meanwhile, Justin went in, coming out visibly shaken, his usual upper-class British sang-froid forgotten for once.
Hermione was called, marching on into the room with her head up and her chin out, as though she were about to face a firing squad. Harry noticed how pale she was, and saw that Ron was staring after her, biting his lower lip. After a few minutes, she came back out, her hands trembling, and Ron came over, holding her close as she buried her face in his shoulder. Harry was beginning to get a bit of stage-fright. He knew Hermione, and knew that she was no coward. Neither was Dudley, for that matter. These Dementors had to be very bad news if they could scare his cousin and his female friend so badly.
When Luna was called, she walked up as calmly as though she were merely about to go to lunch, giving Dudley a wink as she passed him. Dudley was literally biting his fingernails, and Harry could tell that he was terrified for their little friend.
"Dudley," Harry whispered in Russian, low enough so that only they could hear, "don't worry! She handled Roanapur with no problem!" Dudley visibly considered that for a second, and calmed down. "She faced down Balalaika," Harry said, still in Russian. "She can handle some damned phantom!" Reminded of that, Dudley brightened, forcing a smile. Harry clapped him on the shoulder, hoping that it would comfort him. Dudley feared nothing on earth for himself, but Harry knew that he was fiercely protective of Luna. When she'd gone missing in Roanapur, they'd all been worried, but poor Dudley had nearly gone spare.
When Luna came out, Dudley hurried over to see if she was all right. She was looking a little shaken, but she'd looked worse after her encounter with the dreadful killer twins in Roanapur. "I'm all right, Dudley. It was very unpleasant, but I've learned how to deal with unpleasant things. And I wanted to make you proud of me. When we're alone, I'll tell you what my happy memory was." Dudley hugged her, and she hugged him back. Their friends all smiled; everybody in their little circle loved Luna. She was an "honorary little sister" to all the older Slytherin boys.
When Harry's name was called, he sighed, checked his wand to make sure it was ready in its holster, and walked on in, feeling Dudley give him a pat on the back for luck. When he entered the classroom, Professor Lupin was waiting, looking uncommonly grim.
"Mr. Potter…if you don't want to do this at this time, you may leave and no blame will attach to you." Harry shook his head. He wanted to do it. He did not want to back down. He wanted to be worthy of Balalaika's trust, and of Hotel Moscow…and Slytherin House.
"No, sir," Harry answered, proud that his voice didn't shake. "I've seen scary things before. I don't know what you've heard about my hometown, but quite a few people and things there are as scary as anything I've seen in Britain. My cousin Dudley and I faced Knockturn Alley before our second year here, and came out unharmed."
"Knockturn Alley?" This clearly surprised the Defence professor. "May I ask why you went in there? That's hardly the sort of place one would think boys your age would want to go!"
"Luna, or should I say, Miss Lovegood, had wandered in and we went in to get her back so her father wouldn't worry. It was really a doddle, sir. There are places in Roanapur…that's our hometown…that are far scarier."
"And here you are, in Slytherin," murmured Professor Lupin. "What a Gryffindor was lost in you! But, I digress. Since you say you're not afraid, let me introduce you to a Dementor!" He waved his wand, and the box opened, releasing a tall, robed figure that swept toward Harry, chilling the air around it.
Harry waved his wand in the prescribed motion, shouting "Expecto Patronum!" But happy thoughts wouldn't come. In his ears, he heard a woman's voice, screaming:
"Not my son…not Harry! Take me! Kill me instead!"
And then, a familiar, high-pitched voice, dripping malice, hatred and contempt:
"Stand aside, you silly girl!"
Then the world went black. When Harry came to, he found Professor Lupin over him. "Here, Mr. Potter." He handed Harry a thick chocolate bar. "I'm sorry. I should have thought that you might be more severely affected than your friends." He shook his head. "You have much worse memories in your past than they do, I think. Mr. Dursley was also badly affected, but did manage to stay conscious."
Harry took off his glasses, rubbing them with a handkerchief. "Sir…I think I might have heard my mum, and Lord V…, er, I mean, the person who killed her. They say I was present at the time. I was too young to remember."
Professor Lupin's eyes went very wide. "You may just have, Mr. Potter. Dementors summon up a person's worst memories, and that would be your worst memory, most likely, even though you don't remember it consciously." He looked away, blinking rapidly, then turned back to Harry. "If you want to continue with these lessons, that would be wonderful, but if you don't, I'll understand completely. Nothing will be said."
Harry sat up, squaring his shoulders. "I want to keep it up. Balalaika…she's the woman Dudley and I, and Dudley's mum, my Aunt Petunia, all work for back home…says that the greater the effort, the more worthwhile the gain. I don't want to disappoint her, sir. She has very high standards."
"This 'Balalaika' sounds like a very interesting person. Professor Snape has mentioned her in passing in the Staff Common Room, wishing that more of his Slytherins could have benefited from her acquaintance." As Harry stood, Professor Lupin offered him a hand to assist him, since he was still shaky. "And I should mention that I knew your parents. Perhaps we can get together and I can tell you about them sometime."
"I'd be pleased to do that, sir. I know little about them. This is the first time I remember hearing my mum's voice, sir." With that, Harry left. Ginny Weasley came in, and gave him a wink as they passed each other.
When everybody had had a go, Professor Lupin addressed the group. "I'm pleased at how advanced you are, but you all have a way to go yet before being able to produce a corporeal Patronus. Before we go through this exercise again, I expect each of you to practice every day."
With that, the group broke up, heading toward their respective dormitories. Harry and Dudley were joined by Hermione, Luna, Ron and Ginny.
"This may come in useful for the next Duelling Association tournament," Luna commented, after a few minutes of silence. "If I can cast a corporeal Patronus, I should be able to handle anything the opposition can throw at me."
"And the principles behind it will be useful, too," said Hermione. Her eyes glowed for a second. "Not to mention, the surprise I'll hand the examiners when I go to take my Charms OWL!"
Everybody else groaned. "Hermione…that's two years in the future! We know you're ambitious! Have a little mercy on those of us who aren't geniuses!" groaned Ron.
Hermione looked carefully at Ron. "You…you really think I'm a genius?"
"Yes! You're scary, brilliant and good-looking, too! One of these days you'll probably be Minister of Magic, and you'll have forgotten I even exist!" Ron's voice filled with pain at the last words, and Hermione's eyes went wide for a few seconds, before she grabbed Ron and hugged him. Only when they reached the door to the Slytherin common-room did she let him loose.
