Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket.

A twist at the end of Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid.

Chapter 5: Spinner's End. A fresh start. Week 1.

I don't own the Harry Potter verse. Just playing.

Summary: A twist at the end of Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. As they approach the Leaky Cauldron to leave Diagon Alley, Hagrid decides to present Harry with his gold ticket to the Hogwarts Express, while Harry was really expecting to go directly to Hogwarts with Hagrid now. Harry asks a different question.

And that changes everything. HHr NLLL T for Characters deaths.

10/01/22 Beta by alix33. Thank you.

AN: The You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen was a brown paper package tied up with string. It must have been one of JKR's favourite things.

That could mean that Dumbledore had seen the movie and was a fan.

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

Hedwig and Louis returned to Harry and told him of their adventure and how Aunt Petunia enjoyed a magical flight and was delivered safe and sound to her car. She was tickled pink to be mistaken for Mary Poppins. He translated for Severus and they shared a good laugh.

Magic can be fun.

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

Severus turned to Harry. "Harry, I need to scan you for any of the headmasters's tracking, monitoring or listening charms."

Harry nodded okay, and Sev raised his arm and his wand shot into hand from a hidden holster. Harry thought that was cool. Sev waved it over Harry, Hedwig and Louis. He smiled as Harry must have already destroyed all of the headmaster's charms on himself, and Hedwig was clean, but Louis had a tracking charm on him that glowed red before it popped and disappeared.

Sev then waved his wand over Harry's trunk and it was clean. While there was a barking conversation between mother and son before Hedwig turned to Harry and barked.

Harry nodded and translated. "Hedwig said that Louis was in the pocket of Hagrid's greatcoat when whitebeard gave Hagrid his instructions to find me at the Hut in the Sea, give me my Acceptance Letter and deal with the Dursleys if they cause a fuss. Then take me to Diagon Alley, and not to let me out of his sight in case of Death Eaters, nor purchase anything not on the approved list, and keep the Gringotts key. Then give me my Gold Hogwarts Express Ticket without explanation and then to absolutely, most definitely and without exception, return me to Durzkaban forthwith. As it is the safest place for me. Whitebeard must have cast the tracking charm on Hagrid and everything he had with him at that time."

"So it was collateral damage overflow." Sev smiled. "And unlikely lead the headmaster here. However!"

Sev pointed his wand at a crest over the mantle and it glowed red for a moment. "Just upgraded the wards to remove the headmaster from the nice list and add him to the naughty list. That should give us an early warning. Don't want any nasty little surprises!"

Harry watched in wonder.

Sev continued. "Did Hagrid tell you how to enter Platform nine and three-quarters?"

"No. After what happened with the Acceptance Letters and the Dursleys, I was expecting to go directly to Hogwarts with Hagrid. But then Hagrid gave me that Gold Ticket. I asked why and he said I was to stay with the Dursleys and it was the direct order of the great Albus Dumbledore." Harry explained. "I said that this Dumbledore should stay at Durzkaban, and that didn't go down well with Hagrid."

"I can imagine."

"I turned to find a hiding place in Diagon Alley and it went black and squishy, and I found myself in my cupboard under the stairs."

"You apparated from Diagon Ally?"

"What is apparated?" Harry asked back and Hedwig barked. "Oh? A painful form of magical travel? Why would wizards travel by a painful form?"

Hedwig pointed her wingtip feathers at her head and twirled them around. Sev chuckled, even he understood that.

Hedwig barked again.

Harry translated. "You knocked out Hagrid with my school trunk?"

Louis barked.

"And you escaped from Hagrid's greatcoat and saved the brown paper package tied up with string?"

Sev followed the exchange and was happy and a little proud that Harry thought for himself and his familiars weren't afraid to take action to protect him.

"Well it seemed that the headmaster wanted Hagrid to keep you isolated in Diagon Alley for the brief time you were there, and trapped back at Durzkaban. Did you see the Potter Account Manager in Gringotts?" Sev asked.

"There is a Potter Account Manager in Gringotts?"

"I'll take that as a no." Sev wondered. "Madam Longbottom will take you to see him and sort out your Gringotts key. That is important! He, who has your Gringotts key, controls your Gringotts vaults and all of your gold!"

Harry nodded.

Sev continued. "It is impossible to find Platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross station, unless you have been told. It has been magically hidden from Muggles. I assume the headmaster had asked one of his groupies to find you at King's Cross and guide you to his light side faction. The Weasleys have a boy your age and they are deep in debt to the headmaster."

"So the headmaster will continue to set me up? And will control who I am friends with?"

"Only to keep you safe, of course." Sev said sarcastically. "You must take care if someone really wants you to be their friend, Harry, as both the dark and the light want you for themselves."

Harry nodded and Hedwig agreed.

Sev continued. "Now, it would be better to hide you here for a week or two to give your aunt a better chance to escape the country before the headmaster goes looking for her. Do you know where she is going?"

"No."

"Good."

Harry turned to Severus Snape. "How do you wish me to address you?"

Severus smiled. "Your mother called me, Sev, which would be okay when we are alone or away from the castle. But in the castle you must address me as Professor Snape. The headmaster can be rather obtuse about that."

"Okay, Sev."

Sev turned and opened a cupboard full of glass bottles of various potions. He found the one he was looking for and the label read, Magical Heritage, L. E. & S. S. He took out a piece of thick paper and placed five drops of the potion on it. The five drops spread over and were soaked into the thick paper. He held it up to dry.

Sev turned to Harry. "This is a Magical Heritage potion that your mother and I created. It is similar to the Heritage Potion that Gringotts uses to discover a wizard's true identity and heritage. Lily wanted to prove that Muggle-borns didn't steal their Magic but descended from Magical families through discarded squibbed children or worse. It uses your Magic to detect Magical strength, Magical Abilities, your Magical Ancestors and in particular your health. We place five drops on a piece of parchment and wait a minute for it to soak in and dry."

"Oh?" Harry said interested at something his mother had done.

Sev placed the dried piece of parchment on the table and took out a wickedly sharp knife and sterilized it over a flame coming from his wand.

"We just need five drops of your blood and we can use it as a diagnostic test to see what the headmaster has magically done to you, and your magical gifts and abilities." Sev smiled and handed Harry the wickedly sharp knife.

Harry looked at Sev, then the wickedly sharp knife and then Hedwig.

Hedwig nodded and barked.

"Okay, I will be careful." Harry said to Hedwig as he held a finger over the parchment and carefully poked it with the wickedly sharp knife. He counted five drops of blood and let them fall on the parchment. Then sealed the wound with his thumb.

Sev, Harry, Hedwig, Louis and the large smiling eyes from the kitchen, watched the piece of parchment as the blood red ink started to write.

Name: Harry James Potter.

Mother: Lily Potter nee Evans ….. Felix Gaunt…Salazar Slytherin….Cadmus Peverell

"Oh! It's working. That was the same result Lily got. Felix Gaunt was a squib that escaped from the Pure-blood Gaunt Family. But that family wasn't very nice and fortunately went extinct in the seventies." Sev explained.

Father: James Potter.…Godric Gryffindor…. Ignotus Peverell

Sev had a thoughtful look.

Magical Power Potential:

Double Arch-Mage Triple Bound 90% A.P.W.B.D. Two bindings destroyed. 31/07/91

Magical Abilities:

Natural Occlumency. Bound A.P.W.B.D – Binding destroyed. 31/07/91

Natural Multi-Animagus. Bound A.P.W.B.D – Binding destroyed. 31/07/91

Natural Parseltongue

Natural Healing. Double Bound 90% A.P.W.B.D – One Binding destroyed. 31/07/91

Health Issues:

Malnutrition.

Broken bones.

Mind Magic – Healed 31/07/91

Eyesight – Healed 31/07/91

Magical Bonds:

Hedwig

Harry turned to Hedwig. "Hey, we have a magical bond."

Hedwig nodded and barked. "Yes, it is our familiar bond."

While Sev studied the parchment. "Magical Potential. Double Arch-Mage." He turned to Harry. "No wonder the Dark Lord targeted you."

"Double Arch-Mage? Is that good?" Harry asked.

"I'll say. Better than the Dark Lord and headmaster combined. But you must keep that a secret or every Dark Lord Wannabe will come after you." Sev warned and then had a thought. "What were you feeling when you jumped on the wraith of the Dark Lord?"

Harry thought for a moment. "It attacked my aunt. I wanted to destroy it with every fibre of my being. It was kind of intense. It screamed as my hands touched it and exploded into a shower of sparks."

Sev looked at Harry and made a mental note to never upset him. Then he continued.

"Okay. It might be a good idea not to touch anyone when you are angry, unless they are a Dark Lord. Magic is powered exponentially by emotions." Harry nodded. "Now, I am worried about the Malnutrition, broken bones and these remaining bindings. I can give you with some nutrition potions now to start the healing, but you will need to see someone from St Mungo's for the rest. Best leave that to Madam Longbottom to deal with." Sev explained.

Harry nodded and Hedwig concurred. While Sev thought to himself that binding Harry's natural healing was a very negative thing to do in an abusive environment.

"What is Parseltongue?" Harry asked.

"Oh, that is the ability to speak snake language, Parseltongue. You can talk to snakes." Sev explained.

"Oh, I knew that." Harry replied. "I talked to a boa constrictor at the London Zoo. Dudley pushed me out of the way and I accidentally vanished the display glass and Dudley fell in while the boa constrictor escaped. Got a week locked up in the cupboard for that."

"And you still forgave them?" Sev asked.

Harry nodded. "It was so funny. The glass came back and trapped Dudley inside the display. He absolutely freaked out even though the big snake was on the outside."

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

Sev went quiet as he thought about the elephant in the room. He needed to do this so the headmaster couldn't use his past to manipulate him again. And, if Petunia had the courage to forgive him and ask for forgiveness. So could he.

Sev took a deep breath and looked Harry in the eye. "And now I must ask for your forgiveness."

Harry looked and waited for Sev to continue.

"For I was on the wrong side of that war and may have unwittingly given the dark lord information of a prophecy that led to your family being targeted."

"Did you betray them that night?"

"No, that rat, Pettigrew, did that."

"The rat again."

"When I discovered that your mother was marked for death, I begged the dark lord for her life, I tried to warn her but couldn't explain why she had been marked for death. I even begged Dumbledore to protect your parents." Sev said sadly.

"But the headmaster failed. Again? Didn't he?"

"Yes. Him and the Dark Lord both failed. A word to the wise, Harry. Dark Lords and master manipulators like the headmaster will never deliver on their promised rewards because that will cost them the power and riches to control others." Sev said sagely. Then continued. "I confronted the headmaster afterwards and he avoided the question and denied all responsibility, and instead blamed your parents for putting their faith in the wrong person."

Sev remembered the clandestine meetings with Dumbledore. Then it hit him. The headmaster used the word 'faith' rather than 'trust', and who was the wrong person? For he knew James Potter had put his faith in Dumbledore, for no one really trusted a rat like Pettigrew.

Harry saw Sev was thinking and waited a moment before he asked.

"What did you do in the war?"

"Oh? What? Well, I didn't kill anyone in the war. My skills in brewing potions and the ability to keep my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open were too valuable for the Dark Lord and he kept me close."

"You were a spy?" Harry asked.

Sev nodded. "Sort of. It's complicated. The Pure-bloods didn't take much notice of a half-blood like me and the Death Eaters hated each other. The Dark Lord wanted to know who was going to kill who."

"Like the secret police?"

"Sort of, it's very complicated."

"The headmaster?"

"Everything around the headmaster is very complicated. Wheels within wheels."

Harry thought about how difficult this Dumbledore will be, but he saw Sev was being honest with him and there was a lot he needed to understand about the political situation of the Magical World.

"Anyway I could also brew potions to help heal the minds of those fools who crossed your mother's path. She would turn them into yellow rubber ducks and other Muggle pet chew toys and gave them to stray dogs to chew. Really messed up their self-esteem. They were never the same after that." Sev remembered as he gathered his thoughts.

"In the late seventies, there was a severe outbreak of Dragon Pox that took the elderly and infirm, including your grandparents, Charlus and Dorea Potter. In the middle of that, the Dark Lord made his move. The war started with random attacks on Muggle-born children to ramp up the fear factor. But gradually the Dark Lord changed and became more obsessed with power and the attacks increased to include half-bloods. After I told him the bit of prophecy he went off the deep end and attacked Pure-bloods as well, on both sides. Your parents were in the headmaster's Order of the Phoenix, a band of misfit do-gooders who tried to make a difference. But for some reason they were always too late to any of the attacks and only got the idiots who didn't leave fast enough. Then there was a spy in the Order and the members and their families were being targeted."

"The rat?" Harry asked and Sev confirmed with a nod. "Did the headmaster know?"

"More than likely. He loved to give second chances to those who don't deserve them."

Harry took note as his understanding grew of what the headmaster was.

Then Sev hesitated to continue. "I had the misfortune to overhear the first part of the prophecy about one who could vanquish the dark lord." Sev said as Harry tilted his head for him to explain. He pointed to the parchment. "The Double Arch-Mage magical potential you were born with."

Harry nodded as Sev continued.

"The Hogwarts Potions Professor Slughorn went into hiding as the Dark Lord had marked him for death. Not sure why. I was sent to be interviewed for the position of Potions Professor at Hogwarts with the secondary task to keep an eye on the headmaster, and for some reason, Dumbledore held the interviews at his brother's Hog's Head Inn. That is the disreputable inn and pub in the all-wizarding village of Hogsmeade. The witch before me was a seer and I overheard her give the prophecy to Dumbledore."

"A prophecy about me?" Harry asked.

"As it turns out, but it could have applied to you or Neville Longbottom. He is Augusta's grandson who was born the day before you and he as good as lost his parents in an attack." Sev explained and then it hit him. At that clandestine meeting, the headmaster wanted to know what he had told the Dark Lord. So he knew the prophecy targeted Harry. Why did the headmaster allow him leave that fateful interview with the knowledge of the prophecy?

"Oh, poor Neville." Harry felt for him.

"They are not dead but spell damaged which is in some ways worse. The Death Eaters who did it were caught and rot in Azkaban." Sev explained.

Harry nodded and hesitated before he continued. "So my parents heard of this prophecy from Dumbledore?"

"Oh, I doubt very much if the headmaster would have told them the whole prophecy, he likes to keep his secrets and that is key to his power and control. So they would be only told enough to get them to do what he wanted. But a week after they were hidden by Dumbledore, it happened." Sev explained.

"Dumbledore again. He seems to be at the center of all of my pain and suffering. With him involved, everyone else loses." Harry thought for a moment. "Would my mother forgive you?"

"Um. She would after she punished me." Sev hoped from previous experience.

"Did my mother forgive you?"

"Your mother hadn't finished punishing me."

"Oh?" Harry remembered something. "Did you come that night?"

"I didn't know the date or time for the attack and it took me years to piece it all together. The headmaster had used a powerful memory charm called the Fidelius Charm which can hide memories in others so they can't remember them. In this case the charm hid the memory of where your parents were hidden. The Secret-Keeper was the only one who could share the secret memory of where they were hidden. That was the rat. He told us how much the dark lord would reward him for becoming their Secret-Keeper. The Dark Lord had gone alone with the rat. I didn't know it happened until the Fidelius Charm failed when the Dark Lord and part of the building was blown up. I remembered Lily telling me that Dumbledore wanted to hide them in his old Family Home but she didn't want to leave Potter Manor. By the time I got there your mother was already…. I held her in my arms." Sev said sadly.

"So it was you who tried to wake my mother."

Sev looked at Harry in shock. "You remember that night?"

"Vaguely, I remember a tall thin ugly dude in a black robe with evil red eyes and an evil high-pitched voice, my mother pleading for me, a big green flash, someone crying as they held my mother, and a giant on a flying motorbike." Harry replied. "You were the one crying?"

Sev nodded.

"Okay then, I will forgive you and decide your punishments later." Harry said as he held out his hand to shake Sev's.

"Why?"

"I can't change the past, and I don't want to be a victim. That would mentally trap me in Durzkaban and playing the victim for the rest of my life. So I forgave Aunt Petunia and now I don't have to hate her anymore, and I don't have to live in a cupboard under stairs or the smallest bedroom either. I think I even made Uncle Vernon cry. He couldn't look me in the eye. Fear is a bully's primary weapon, but when you are away from the bullies, you can find peace and calm, and discover a world that is connected by love. That gives of itself for the benefit of others. I love gardening and how all the plants connected together to share the sunshine and water to benefit each other. Bullies are just a vexation of spirit and demand that you must do what they want, and even if you do, they are never happy as there always is the next thing they demand you do."

Sev was moved, he didn't just understand that, he felt what Harry had said after his own experience with the brutal man that was his father. That was why he spent so much time with Lily. Sadly he still carried that anger with him even though that man has been dead for more than fifteen years.

He asked. "How bad was it in Durzkaban?"

Harry pointed to the parchment. "Malnutrition and broken bones. You soon learnt how to avoid the worst of it. Bullies are Box-Tickers; you just help them tick their box your way before they can get angry. Fortunately, I loved cooking and gardening and the library and parks, and all the time I spent away from Durzkaban. Uncle Vernon and Dudley never understood that."

Sev nodded. Harry had outsmarted his bullies, while he had fought against his father's abuse, and it had got worse for both him and his mother. Then the realization hit him. If the headmaster's manipulations had succeeded, he would have abused Harry for looking like Potter. And then Severus would have become his brutal father's son!

Harry could see Sev was thinking and paused while he gave Hedwig and Louis some attention. When Sev was ready he continued.

"So, I am free and in a new Magical World. I have the opportunity to discover my mother, my magical heritage and who I am." Harry explained.

Sev wanted this freedom and there was much to learn from Harry. He slowly shook Harry's hand and said. "Thank you, Harry. You really are your mother's son, and I imagine that your punishments will be as creative as she was."

Harry nodded. "This magical world is all new to me and I need to think very carefully to work out a suitable punishment for you."

Sev nodded. "Your mother was always very careful and thoughtful of the needs of others."

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

"Now I had better find you somewhere to sleep, Princess." Sev called out.

A small green elf dressed in a clean white smock popped in front of Sev with a curtsy. "Master calls for Princess. How can Princess be of service?"

"Princess, this is Lily's son, Harry. He will be staying with us. Could you please make up the guest bedroom?"

Princess the elf, nodded and turned to Harry.

"Princess welcomes the son of brave beautiful friend Lily, and Princess is sorry for your lost." The old elf said with a curtsy and popped away.

"Good, now that is done. How about you cook up some more Eggs Benedict and show me how you do it."

"Okay, but what or who is Princess?"

"Oh, Princess is a house-elf, a magical creature that lives with wizards. It was her that made the magic happen in Her Kitchen, Harry."

Harry smiled as he had unknowingly thanked Princess while he was making the Eggs Benedict and he loved the assistance. It was like cooking with a friend.

Sev continued. "She used to belong to my mother and her maiden name was Prince. So she called her elf, Princess."

"Oh?"

"Your father had house-elves but I don't know what happened to them all." Sev pointed out. "Anyway, the kitchen is that way."

And thus started the best two weeks of Harry's life so far as he proved to Sev, that he was every bit as brilliant and intuitive as his mother, Lily, with a lot of her characteristics and mannerisms. Except for Lily's fiery temper. He had learnt to control that in Durzkaban.

And Harry did all the cooking with the magical assistance of Princess. Even showed Her how to cook Lily's Eggs Benedict.

In return, Princess repaired and resized all of Harry's hand-me-down clothes and shoes to fit Harry perfectly.

With Harry cooking the meals, it made a big change to dinner. As before Princess would prepare Sev's meals and her own but eat separately, and Sev would dine all alone. While when Harry cooked, he cooked enough for Sev, himself, Princess, Hedwig and Louis, and they would all dine together in the dining room. It was a happy affair as Sev and Princess would share tales of Lily and Hogwarts and happier times, while Hedwig would discuss potions and ingredients as Harry translated.

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

Sev gave Harry and Hedwig a thorough introduction to potions with extra beginner textbooks. Showing them in great detail how to use and clean all of his equipment, how to select and prepare his ingredients and how to mix, stir and process his potions. They would take breaks at different times where Sev would take Harry to gather and collect ingredients which need to be harvested at their most potent moment. While Hedwig would read the potions books, ensure Harry followed the instructions, check ingredients for freshness and even collect ingredients with Louis. Harry's cooking skills served him well and Sev was so happy that Harry wasn't a dunderhead and he marvelled at the relationship Harry and Hedwig shared as it reminded him of Lily and Horatio.

Harry showed Sev his mother's jewelry box and he recognised it.

"That is your mother's school trunk!" Sev said cheerfully. "She could shrink it down to the size of a matchbox and put it in her pocket. Does it still have all her school things in it?"

Harry nodded as Sev touched the ancient runes near the handle with his wand and the trunk enlarged to full size.

"Wow!"

"May I?" With a nod of permission from Harry, Sev chuckled as he rummaged through the trunk until he found what he was looking for.

"Bazinga!" Sev said as he took out Lily's copies of Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger and opened it. Harry could see the Potions textbook was full of handwritten notes in the margins. "Lily and I added our own notes to improve and make it easier and safer to brew these first year potions."

"Oh?" Harry said, proud of his mother's skills and brilliance.

"We made notes and improvements to all the Potions textbooks for each year with the intention of printing a new Potions textbook but the headmaster categorically refused to hear of it. He said that Arsenius Jigger was good enough for him to use a century ago and was still good enough for us. It didn't need updating as it taught the proper traditional method that everyone accepted." Sev said frustrated.

"I gather that didn't go down well with my mother."

"No it didn't and it opened her eyes to the manipulations of the headmaster as we discovered who Arsenius Jigger really was."

"Er, the headmaster?"

"You catch on quick, Harry." Sev chuckled. "The headmaster has his fingers in so many pies and gets a royalty for every textbook sold."

"That's counterproductive."

"That's the Greater Good of Albus Dumbledore." Sev replied. "Anyway keep your mother's textbooks with you and we can use it in class. I will give my copy to my godson. He needs a lot of help."

"Will do." Harry replied as he wondered who Sev's godson was. But had to ask. "Bazinga?"

"Oh? That was the name of the company Lily and I were going to create after we left Hogwarts, Bazinga! Magical Novelty Company. We were planning to make and sell magical practical joke paraphernalia for the discerning witch and wizard. But that never happened. The war and your father got in the way." Sev sadly said.

Harry tried to cheer Sev up by showing him his two wands. "This is my Ollivander wand. He said that it was an unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." He didn't mention the link to the Yew and phoenix feather wand, thirteen-and-a-half inches. That was a little creepy. He held up the other wand. "This ancient wand appeared in my trunk next to the other and is extremely powerful. I used it to practice the counterspell and accidentally removed the headmaster's charms on me."

Sev took note and was surprised to discover that Harry had two wands and one looked incredibly similar to the headmaster's wand but the headmaster would never let anyone touch his wand nor let it out of his sight.

Sev called for Princess and she popped to him.

"Princess, could you bring the two wand holsters I had made for Lily?"

Princess popped away and returned with two beautifully made leather wand holsters.

"Wow!" Harry and Hedwig agreed.

Sev presented them to Harry. "I made these leather wand holsters for your mother, but your father beat me to it, and gave her his wand holster."

Harry nodded as he felt the sadness, and accepted the holsters.

Sev continued. "There is one for your Ollivander wand and a spare wand. They have ancient runes to charm them to be unbreakable, waterproof, unnoticeable, bigger on the inside, and prevent someone disarming you. You wear them on your arm and there is a finger trigger to release the wand and place it in your hand."

Sev pulled back his sleeve and showed the leather holster on his arm and demonstrated the finger trigger. His wand was launched into his hand. He dropped the wand and it automatically returned to the holster.

"Wow! That's so cool. Thank you Sev."

Sev helped fit one holster to Harry's right arm for his Ollivander wand while Princess helped fit the other to his left arm for the ancient wand. He practiced the finger trigger and soon mastered that. Sev was surprised how quick Harry was on the draw. He taught him the Lumos charm for light, and the Incendio flame charm for sterilizing equipment. Plus the Aguamenti Water-Making Charm in case of fire. It conjured a jet of clean, drinkable water from the tip of the caster's wand.

They discover that it was not a good idea to use the ancient wand for any of those three charms, unless you wanted to really blind someone or burn the house down along with the rest of the neighbourhood, or wash it all away. But, Sev was pleased with the new open space around his home.

Sev also found the small brown paper package tied up with string. Harry told him where it came from and he thought it could be the Philosopher's Stone that the headmaster had asked him to help guard this year. But he examined it and found that it was just a piece of coloured glass with some sparkly charms added. It was so typical of the headmaster. All smoke and mirrors. But the more he thought about it he realised that Dumbledore's friend, the alchemists Nicolas Flamel, didn't trust the headmaster with a stone that could be used to create the Elixir of Life, which made the drinker immortal, as well as transform any metal into pure gold. Nor would Gringotts for that matter. What if the Dark Lord got it or one of his branded slaves? What was the headmaster thinking? That was like placing a big sign on the castle saying.

'Here's Harry! Voldemort! Come and get him!'

Sev wondered how insane the headmaster had become.

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

One day an owl arrived from Madam Pomfrey urgently requesting a large order of Skele-Gro potion. Sev looked at the order and said. "I wonder what has happened at the castle. This order of Skele-Gro is enough to regrow all the bones in Hagrid's body." Sev smirked. "Madam Pomfrey is probably stocking on the potion in case your fan witches faint, fall over and break their bones, Harry."

"Very funny, Sev."

"Well, we will have to harvest the ingredients tonight, Harry."

"Oh, what does the Skele-Gro potion do?"

"If someone breaks a bone and shatters it too much for magical repair, or bits of it are missing, the healer will vanish the damaged bone and use the Skele-Gro potion to regrow the entire bone over night. But it is a very painful experience and only used as a last resort."

"Oh? I hope Hagrid is okay. So where do we harvest the ingredients?" Harry asked thinking the potion was for the half-giant. (It wasn't. Someone else had just had a cataclysmic accident and broken every bone in their miserable body.)

"In a cemetery during the witching hour. I hope you are not afraid of ghosts" Sev chuckled. "The potion's main ingredient is powdered fresh human bones."

Harry hoped Sev was joking.

But he wasn't.

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

Thank you for reading.

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -