Harry and the Pirates, Chapter 68

Leavings and Takings

by Technomad

At last, it was time for the annual spring exams. As always, Harry and his associates sailed right through, with marks in all subjects that brought smiles to their teachers' faces. Between the systematic Slytherin approach to study, with underclassmen being mentored and helped on subjects where they were struggling, and their lifelong habit of working very hard at whatever task they were set, Harry and Dudley had no trouble. Hermione, of course, aced everything easily, while Ron, Ginny and Luna passed with comfortable margins.

After their last exams, while waiting to leave for the summer, Harry and Dudley went over the books for PD Enterprises' Coca-Cola sales. Their eyes widened at the sight of the bottom line.

"We have got to show this to Mum! And Balalaika!" breathed Dudley.

"They will be so proud of us!" agreed Harry. "And it looks like we owe Hermione, Ron and Ginny some money."

"We'd best pay them, soonest." Dudley said solemnly. Both boys nodded. They knew full well that cheating or short-changing the people who worked for them was not a good idea. While they could do a lot for themselves, it was often good to have help. And knowing that the help in question had good reasons to stay loyal was very reassuring, particularly if the situation had become sticky.

Ron and Ginny were sitting around the Slytherin common room, admiring their test results. Harry was glad to see that nobody else was around. While he was not averse to people knowing that he had money, he did not wish to broadcast all the details of his financial life to everybody in earshot.

"There you are," said Dudley. "We have something for you."

"Hope you like it," added Harry, as he handed Ginny and Ron each a draft on the PD Enterprises' Gringott's account. "I'd deposit it in your accounts, as soon as may be, if I were you."

Ginny and Ron looked at the drafts, and their eyes went very wide. "We really did well, didn't we?" Ginny finally said, in a faint voice.

"Yes," Harry answered. "If this goes on, you'll be able to finance the rest of your educations yourselves, without asking your parents for help."

"And swing a trip to Roanapur, if you wish," Dudley pointed out. "We were looking into prices. If you don't feel comfortable traveling the Muggle way, there are international Apparation services that'll take you there. You'd wind up in the Bangkok magical neighbourhood, but we could arrange easily to have you met and taken to Roanapur if we knew ahead of time that you were coming."

"Yes…yes…we'll have to think about this a little." Ron was clearly still wrapping his mind around the idea of "having money." He shook his head, as though to assure himself that this was not a dream. "Good job we opened accounts of our own at Gringott's, like you told us to."

"Mum will insist that we bring one of our older brothers along to take care of us," Ginny said. "Personally, I'd say Percy is about the only logical choice. Bill and Charlie have jobs and can't go galavanting off to Romania to mind their little siblings, and as for the twins…" She shook her head decidedly. "They'd last a day, at most, if what you've said about Roanapur is true!"

"Excellent choice," Harry said, nodding. "Percy's a pretty level-headed guy. And we owe him for helping us out our first year. I don't think the twins' sense of humour would go over at all well. You've heard our stories about Revy Two-Hands. Hermione's probably also told you about her. She's by no means the most dangerous person you'll end up meeting."

"So if you come," Dudley said, "for Merlin's sake stay with us and let us do the talking, at least at first! Don't go wandering off on your own! You'll have your wands, and Thailand doesn't have our Statute of Secrecy…not that law means much in Roanapur anyway…but even so, that doesn't mean that you're invulnerable or invincible!"

"We'll talk to Mum. And maybe we should go find Percy," Ron said, getting up. "If we're going to be dragging him halfway around the world, we should at least see how he feels about it."

The foursome went looking, and found Percy down in the Great Hall, sitting with Penny Clearwater and staring into her eyes. After a minute, Harry cleared his throat, and Percy jumped, looking startled.

"Terribly sorry to disturb you, Percy," Harry apologized, "but we need to talk. Privately."

"Of course. Penny, could you give us a little space?" With a curious look, Penny moved off, and the four Slytherins moved in around Percy.

"Percy, we were wondering…do you have plans for the summer?" Ron asked.

Percy looked confused. "Why, no, not in particular. Why do you ask?"

"Ron and I were wondering if you would like a trip to Thailand." Ginny took her brother's hand. "We want to go, but we know that Mum will insist on us having you or another of our brothers along. Charlie and Bill are both tied up with their jobs, and we don't think taking the twins, or even just one of them, along would be a good idea."

"Hang on…you're talking about going to Roanapur?" Percy's eyes went wide. "Bloody well right that taking those two idiots there would not end well!" While Percy, as a Gryffindor and their elder, was not someone in whom the boys from Roanapur often confided, he had clearly heard enough about the pirate port to know just how dangerous it could be, and how badly the local people might react to badly-thought-out pranking. Then Percy started looking very suspicious. "And how do you plan to pay for this trip? Our folks don't have any such amount as would be needed, and they'd insist on coming along if they did!"

"Too right they don't," Ron said, looking very triumphant. "We earned the money ourselves, helping Harry and Dudley with their Coca-Cola distributorship. Want to see what we made?"

"Let me see." Percy looked at the drafts on the PD Enterprises Gringott's account, and turned pale, then red. "You two are richer than the rest of the family put together!"

"That's how we can afford to go, Perce," Ginny said, reclaiming her draft and tucking it into her pocket with a rather smug smile. "Unless something goes badly wrong with the distributorship, which it shouldn't, we'll be able to pay for the rest of our schooling ourselves, along with our robes, books and what-not."

"And support ourselves once we leave school," Ron chimed in. "So…do you want to go?"

Percy was looking distinctly gobsmacked, as his mind tried to absorb the fact that at least some of his relatives weren't poor any more. Then he smiled, the big warm smile that Harry privately thought he used too seldom. "Of course I'll go! And I want to thank Harry and Dudley for taking you on in their firm!" He shook Harry's hand, and then Dudley's.

"Oh, they're more than worth what they got," Harry assured Percy. "Matter of fact, once you're out of school, look us up. We could probably find a place for you."

The next day, Harry got an unexpected letter. "Oh! It's from Sirius Black!" Eagerly, he opened it.

Dear Harry, it began. I arrived in Roanapur a few days ago, and have already settled in to what will be my new home town. I have to say, after so long on Azkaban, the warm sunshine and tropic air is good for my aged self. Even the stink of exhaust in the air is good.

I was assisted in settling in by your employer, Miss Balalaika, and by the Triads' boss, Mr. Chang. They were both very hospitable to me, and each offered me an exclusive deal to work for his or her organisation only. I thanked them but told them that I preferred to freelance, although I did promise them very good rates for my services. Since neither of them wanted to see the other having exclusive use of my powers, that satisfied them. I have also spoken with the leaders of the Italian, Colombian and native Thai gangs. Already I have work coming in, and your offer of a loan to keep myself afloat, although I appreciate it, won't be necessary.

I'm busy working, but I look forward to seeing you on your return.

Your loving godfather

Sirius (Padfoot/Baskerville) Black.

Harry smiled when he finished reading the letter. While many people would have called him insane for feeling as he did, he loved Roanapur and considered it his true home. He hoped Ginny and Ron would like it as much as he did. Although he was still young, he was beginning to have vague plans for a future beyond Hogwarts, and that future would include a wife, or at least a live-in girlfriend.

Any witch he took up with, he had vowed, would have to accept Roanapur, and his employment with Bougainvillea Trading and Hotel Moscow, as part of the package. If she could also get to the point where she was willing to work for Harry's employer, that would be even better!

In some ways, Harry envied Dudley. Dudley had clearly been claimed by Luna, and Luna had proven that she could handle the worst Roanapur was likely to be able to throw at her, with panache, aplomb and sang-froid. Balalaika had been very pleased with how calmly Luna had taken being captured by the terrible twin assassins, and how easily she had turned the tables on them once she saw that help was in sight. "If all my men in Afghanistan had had her self-possession and courage…but there is no need to dwell on the past," she had said.

Harry smiled to himself at the thought of Dudley, older and married to or just living with Luna, in Roanapur with a few tow-headed children running around. If nothing else, Luna would make Roanapur life more interesting, although not in the sense of the Chinese curse.

Putting thoughts of the future out of his head, Harry went to find Dudley and show him the letter. He knew that Dudley also thought well of his godfather, and would want to know that the man had landed on his feet.

He found Dudley absorbed in the latest copy of the Daily Prophet. "Hi, Harry. What news?"

"Got a letter from Sirius. He's in Roanapur, and apparently doing just fine. Want to read it?"

"Sure. Here, take a look at the Prophet. Some interesting things in there." Harry handed Dudley his letter, and took the newspaper in exchange. Flopping down in a nearby easy chair with a nice sunbeam just where it would shine on the paper, he opened it. When he saw what the main story was, he whistled softly.

Malfoy Loses Lawsuit

The wealthy patriarch of the Malfoy family, Abraxas Asmodeus Malfoy, today walked from Courtroom no. 5 in the Ministry of Magic with a stunned expression on his face. His suit against the Quibbler, and against various individuals, for naming him as an unrepentant Death Eater, had failed.

Mr. Malfoy had sought damages of several million Galleons from the Quibbler after it published a series of articles in which he was named as a Death Eater, articles which alleged that he was exonerated as a victim of the Imperius Curse after paying large bribes to the then Minister of Magic, as well as funding improvements to St. Mungo's Hospital.

Our reporter caught up with Mr. Malfoy as he exited the courtroom. Mr. Malfoy declined to comment, but our reporter caught a remark about how "they haven't heard the last from me!"

In other related news, several people who have been named as former Death Eaters have been involved in public altercations, ranging from verbal attacks all the way up to impromptu duels, with people claiming that they were never under the Imperius, but served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named of their own free will. Among those involved in these confrontations was the well-known pureblood matron, Augusta Longbottom, whose son and daughter-in-law were permanently incapacitated by a group of former Death Eaters over a decade ago, some little while after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's defeat.

Madame Longbottom has made statements to the effect that she believes that many, if not all, of the supposed "victims of Imperius" were nothing of the sort. "They served You-Know-Who of their own free will, and only claimed Imperius to avoid the Dementors' Kisses they had earned!"

We at the Prophet plead with all sides for calm, and call upon the duly constituted authorities to investigate these charges. Vigilante actions and private vengeance are to be deplored.

When Harry finished reading, he shook his head. The idea of private vengeance being a bad thing in and of itself was foreign to his mind. In Roanapur, all too often justice was what you could make for yourself. Many people affiliated with Hotel Moscow, the Triads or the other gangs in town largely for the protection such affiliation offered. If an affiliate of theirs was harmed, the gang could be counted on to wreak vengeance.

He looked up to see Dudley looking at him. "We've been more successful than we thought we would be," Dudley remarked. "And we'd better hope that Mr. Malfoy, the eldest, doesn't get wind of where all this trouble came from!"

"Too true," Harry agreed. In Roanapur, they'd be safe enough, but as long as they were in Britain, or, Harry supposed, in Europe, they'd be at least somewhat vulnerable to Malfoy's vengeance. With his wealth and connections, Abraxas Malfoy could make life very difficult for them, especially when they were out of Hogwarts and away from the Headmaster's protection. Harry had heard that Albus Dumbledore was the one wizard that Voldemort feared, and if their leader feared Dumbledore, it followed that his followers should fear him more.

After the annual ride south on the Hogwarts Express, Harry and Dudley made a trip into Diagon Alley, with Luna along. Luna had heard about a new wizard bakery, opened by some Italian wizards, and wanted to buy some pastries for herself and her Daddy. "Daddy's a dear," Luna had said, "but he isn't much use in a kitchen, I'm afraid. When I'm home, I take charge of the cooking. And the cleaning. And the laundry."

"Isn't that a lot of work, poppet?" asked Dudley. "Don't you have a house-elf?"

"We never got around to buying one," Luna explained. "Ideally, you get one when he or she is small, so that the elf bonds with the new family flawlessly. And every time there were elves available, we were a bit short on funds."

"Money's not a problem for us, sweetie," Dudley said. "Would you like us to look into getting you an elf, at least so that you know that your Daddy is being taken care of properly when you're off at school?"

Luna gave them both a beaming smile, and swept Dudley into a hard hug. "Oh, that would be wonderful! I always dread coming home and finding out what sort of new mare's nest my Daddy has made! It's not that he's stupid…he's just useless at anything useful, if you know what I mean."

"Not all men are like that, poppet," Dudley assured her. "Mum made sure that Harry and I both know how to cook, clean, do laundry and shift for ourselves. She said she didn't fancy us having to get married right out of school, just so we wouldn't live in squalor."

"You mean she doesn't want you to get married?" Luna asked. Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked so woebegone that Dudley hugged her as hard as he could.

"No, no, sweetie, you got it wrong! She's perfectly willing that we get married when we're of age to do so. She just doesn't want us to have to do so to have someone to take care of us. She also says that even if our wives are willing to do these things, there are times when they might get sick, and we'd have to take care of them instead."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Luna's grief-stricken expression changed to a huge smile. "I'm so happy to hear that! And, speaking of sweets, here we are!" Sure enough, they were outside a little shop emitting the most heavenly odors. "Good thing that we witches use so much magic, otherwise, with my sweet tooth, I'd weigh twenty stone!" All three of them went on in, to choose goodies.

When they came out, each of them had some packages. Luna had a sack of cannoli, and was visibly restraining herself from diving into it, preferring to keep it to share with her Daddy. Harry and Dudley shared smiles behind her back. Neither boy was particularly prone to envy, but they both felt the lack of fathers in their lives. Of course, Luna lacked a mother, but Dudley had one that he happily shared with Harry.

Just then, they were confronted. They'd wandered into a fairly lonely part of the Alley, and few people were about. The man in front of them was wearing nondescript robes, and none of them recognized him. He pulled out a wand, pointing it at Luna.

"You! Your father's damn magazine ruined my life! I was under the Imperius, and now everybody thinks I was a Death Eater! You'll pay for this!" He screamed "Avada…"

With DA- and Roanapur-honed reflexes, Harry and Dudley shoved Luna behind them, whipping out their own wands and yelling "Reducto!" The strange wizard was blown backwards, his wand flying out of his hand as he slammed against the building behind him very hard.

"Cover me, Dudley," Harry ordered, as he went forward to see what the situation was. The strange wizard was alive, but well and truly out of the fight. He seemed to be concussed, and he was bleeding from his ears and nose. They could hear people running and yelling, calling for the Aurors. Harry cast a quick Incarcerus, then turned to the other two.

Luna was unharmed, but she had lost her bag of pastries. It lay on the street, right beside the stranger's wand. As she reached for it, Harry cautioned her: "Leave the wand. Take the cannoli." Luna obeyed, as the first Aurors reached the scene and they braced themselves for questioning.

After being questioned, the three were let go their way. From what Harry could gather, their attacker was a known bad egg, a person willing to hire himself out for any dubious purpose. He had, indeed, been one of those accused of being a Death Eater, but had been exonerated for reasons that remained murky at best.

Harry and Dudley exchanged glances. "I'm going to be very glad to be back home, Dudley," Harry finally said.

"Me too, Harry," Dudley answered. Then they gave Luna a serious look, as Dudley warned her: "Be careful where you go this summer, poppet. If I were you, I'd want my Daddy, or someone like one of the older Weasleys, along if you leave home. And be careful whom you open the door to. Do you understand?"

Luna nodded, and Harry decided that was as much as they could do for the moment. However, he also decided that warning the Weasleys and having them keep an eye on the Lovegood home would be a very good idea.