Harry potter and the Time of Retirement
Everything related to Harry Potter belongs to JKR
Chapter 58 – Year 3
Weeks first, then a month passed. Harry kept receiving owls from his former classmates, and from both Sirius and Lupin. The latter, he had not meet again yet: even though the professor semi-regularly visited Grimmauld's Place, for some reason they couldn't find a good moment to meet again all three. From some words that Sirius let slip out Harry guessed that Lupin felt a little awkward in his presence and considered him the son of his beloved friend but still a kid, and on top of that a troubling one. Something that suited Harry very much. 'Beside, no doubt I will meet him again eventually' he thought with some indifference.
"I haven't told him of you snooping on his past, yet" said Sirius once, during one of his visits in Godric's Hollow. "I'll do that only if he will ever need our help. And if your potions doesn't poison him".
Harry had shrugged and moved on with their respective gossip. Black had finally joined again the aurors, on a sort of probation basis. Which meant he was attached to a "veteran" of roughly his same age and spent most of his days reviewing the team procedures, the most common spells and charms, and overall being tested for his patience and sanity. He wasn't enjoying his time there, but was also taking it in stride – for now.
Meanwhile Harry had created, in one corner of his yard, an enchanted and large greenhouse. More plants, more ingredients after all. Unfortunately the money he could get out of basic stuff like Pepperup potions or healing brews was even lower than what he got out of Wolfsbanes, as the apotechary had pointed out with some weird satisfaction. Still, since it was little more than a side hobby, Harry kept at it for the time being. Any galleon saved was going towards his "house elf" fund, and he still had a long, looong way to go.
As for Dumbledore, the only update he got was from a hint in Lupin's last letter. "Also, Harry, I have been told by the headmaster to pass down this message: two down. Nothing more. Not to snoop into your business, but what does that even mean?" Harry, while reading, thought that at this pace it would take several more months before Dumbledore was done, especially if number one of the two Horcruxes destroyed was the diadem inside the room of requirements. Or, maybe, the old man accepted some of his advices and was both careful in destroying the cursed items, and trying his best to save the priceless relics that got infected with pieces of Riddle's souls.
'I wouldn't mind trying to wear Ravenclaw's diadem' considered Harry, in an impulse of greed. Some things just couldn't be bought with gold… well, not with the amount of gold he was willing to spend.
So, time passed. Near the end of January he went and visited Hogsmeade during a weekend, meeting once again all of his classmates. Nothing much had changed since before Christmas: classes were going on quietly, nothing special was happening at Hogwarts. Harry noted that with some bitter satisfaction. 'I really was the trouble magnet, back then' he thought.
At the end of the outing his former classmates invited him to come back for a very specific day, St. Valentine's weekend. With some amusement and several jokes, they eventually promised to meet all together once again at the Three Broomsticks.
And so it was that Harry, clad in his best robes, walked into Hogsmeade on the morning of February 13. Technically, St. Valentine hadn't started yet but no one was willing to wait almost a full week to celebrate and so they were.
All the shops had some kind of garish, red hearted decoration and the less was said about Madam Puddifoot the better, or so Harry thought with a smile. Still, it did cheer him up to see so many happy couples of young wizards and witches walking around the village, even if mixed with his usual sense of envy and nostalgia for his own past.
Inside the pub there was already a huge crowd, though the number of couples was next to zero; 'probably somewhere with more silence and privacy', he considered. Luckily, in one corner, he could see how his 3rd year Hufflepuffs had already claimed a table all for themselves. Approaching them he was welcomed with several happy greetings, smiles and the rumble of chairs being moved as to leave him some space to seat.
"Here we are, then" said finally Harry, smiling widely, after things had calmed down a little. "If no one is missing, I guess no one is on a date, eh?"
"Same goes for you, Potter" commented Wayne, amused.
"There is a serious lack of romanticism in our house" added Megan, sighing dramatically, only to break her resolve and end up giggling.
Immediately, the group started devolving into small chat and gossips. The big news for the day was that one fifth year was sort of staring at Susan lately, and some of the boys insisted he was bound to gift her something the next day. Susan, while blushing a little, still smiled and acted like her potential suitor was unavoidably drawn in by her charms, and not of the magical kind.
The boys got their share of teasing, as once again none of them was planning any gift to any girl, or so they claimed. Only Ernie got teased for being very friendly with Morag from Ravenclaw, but he insisted it was because their respective parents were friends and so he knew her from back then. Pointedly, no one made any joke about Harry or Sally though Harry noticed how she seemed serene and happy, with no shyness on display.
Hoping it meant that matter was settled he too just enjoyed the time with his former classmates, merely suggesting with a teasing tone that they better step their game up or all their female year mates would be pouched by older boys. A comment that got an amused, but still indignant, reaction from said female classmates whom insisted they were not some prize to be claimed or anything vaguely similar.
"But if a really, really handsome older year insisted…" started Hannah, only to be shouted down by several fake comment of disgust. Overall, everyone had a great time.
A couple hours later, their group abandoned the pub and split. Some of them went back to Hogwarts already – among them Sally and Megan, with the former giving a sad smile to Harry but otherwise not commenting in any way – while others claimed they wanted to visit some shops. Harry ended up with Justin and Wayne, as they walked out of Hogsmeade towards the lake.
Their walk didn't take long, and they soon were on the shore. The castle was visible in the distance, as were some students flying on brooms. Lazily, Justin picked up some stones and threw them, trying to have them skip on the water's surface. Without much effort, Harry and Wayne copied him.
"So, no news?" asked Wayne after a while. Harry just shrugged. "Nothing special, not really. The same goes for you, right?"
"Right" he confirmed. "Mind you, I am having fun lately. Nothing is wrong. It's good you can say the same" he concluded, giving a sideway glance to Harry. As he got no reaction, he went back to stone throwing.
"That is how it should be" said Harry, eventually. "Mind you, I hope to get more gossips next time we meet. Start a new club, invite some girls out. Live a little."
"A bit weird coming from you" said Justin, evenly. "You spend your days doing nothing at home."
"Well, he has that crazy godfathers of his" said Wayne.
"Among other people" said Harry. Silence followed. "This was nice but it's getting late. I'll be going back home. What about you guys?"
"I guess the same" said Justin, shrugging. "I do have some homework to complete."
"Lazy ass" added Wayne, smirking. "Come back any Sunday you want, Harry. We are all still Hufflepuffs."
"I'll remember that" said Harry. With a nod and a wave, instantly reciprocated, he walked back towards Hogsmeade. Once he was distant enough, though, he picked up his wand and apparated back in his living room.
Giving a side glance to the photo of his classmates, he walked into the kitchen and started wondering about his dinner. 'What a mundane day' he thought.
And just like that, one more month passed again. 'Three down' reported Lupin's last letter, and that was more than a week before. In late march, Godric's Hollow had moved beyond winter and the countryside was in full bloom. Harry had stepped up his dealings with the muggles lately, trading large amounts of materials for elaborate dishes, booze, and more importantly materials for his greenhouse.
He had been offered several electrical devices for it but he sadly couldn't accept any. What he did accept, remaining amazed later at how well they worked, were stocks of fertilizer, new panels of specialized glass for his greenhouse, and various other knickknacks to help with his gardening side job.
Several plants that he couldn't manage to grow or grow well before were now blossoming inside his greenhouse, lowering his costs. For the first time in who knows how long the amount of galleons in the Potter's vault was growing, even if only marginally. Sure, he probably made in one month what any Malfoy spent in one day of shopping, but he still got some satisfaction in gaining some galleons with the few daily hours he was dedicating to plants and brewing.
Of course money was meant to be spent, and that was why he was in Diagon Alley that morning. Black, the last time he visited Harry, had been particularly obnoxious and kept showing off a brand new Firebolt, claiming that between his new ride and his uniform he already got several stares from witches all around Hogsmeade. "You would get plenty of stares too with your muggle trash, Harry. Want to join?" he asked, with an irritating grin.
Not even Harry's answer that he would do better not to upset his still-not-dumped girlfriend, with whom Black was now on a first name basis, could stop him. That was why, even if with some regret, Harry had trashed his unsalvageable muggle broom and decided to buy a professionally made one.
'I doubt anyone is selling a Firebolt already' he thought. 'But I could find some good second hand Nimbus, maybe even a 2000.' As he walked inside Quidditch's Quality Supplies he received a couple of surprised stares, that Harry tried to shrug off. Quite literally every wizard or witch of his age was in Hogwarts at that moment so his presence everywhere else was an anomaly. Counting on the fact that nothing would still stop the owner of the place from accepting his money, Harry went straight to the used brooms corner.
"Oh, this is nice" he murmured, while caressing a Comet 260. He never got to ride one, as the brooms offered by Hogwarts were vastly older than that, but he got to play against some players riding it during his school days and they were pretty good, for all he could remember. A bit flashy, but good. Beside, most of the rest were old Cleansweep Twos or Threes, or some oddities like the Flyte-Barker Twigger.
He frowned a little at the price, but it was in good condition. Dragging it all the way to the counter, he chatted up the owner over brooms and brands. Eventually, he got to ask about the Comet itself.
"So, a rich kid you say?" asked Harry.
"Yep. This is why it looks almost new. He sold it not long after they bought it, and later I heard his dad bought a lot of other brooms. Directly from the manufacturer, damn it. I would have made quite a fat commission out of it" he answered.
This made Harry grimace: such stories didn't happen every day, and he had quite a good idea of who could have been the last owner of the broom. 'No way in hell I am taking Malfoy's sloppy seconds' he thought with disdain. Shaking his head, he asked the owner what else was available in the shop. That was at least halfway good, of course.
"The Twigger is nice, if you can swallow its peculiarities. Just make sure not to go up to top speed, or it might warp. It's a good price, too."
"I don't want to be stuck checking my speed at all times" countered Harry. "I imagine whoever sold it got rid of it for this reasons."
"Maybe" admitted grumpily the merchant. "Well, you must have seen the Cleansweeps. Old but reliable, and they sell for a pittance."
"I can do a little better than those, though. Nothing else?" asked Harry.
"You saw what we have, kid" answered the man with a shrug. "Not many people even sell their brooms in the first place, most keep them until they break. If money is not that much of a problem, buy something new. I have good deals on older Nimbus."
Unsure, Harry followed the guy to the shelves dedicated to the new brooms. Indeed, the prices on Nimbus 1500 and 1700 were fair enough. The 2000 was still quite expensive, and the 2001 was even worse. A bit jealous, Harry didn't even glance at the Firebolt on display.
"If you can slash something off the 1700, we can talk about it" said finally Harry with a small grimace. The owner smiled, though his face became instantly quite predatory, and they started haggling. In the end, after a long and amusing half hour, Harry walked out of the shop with his new broom. No 1700: the owner wouldn't lower its price enough, but to get rid of the last surviving 1500 he offered Harry a price that was half of the original, and one third of a new Firebolt.
"It's a great broom, kid. It built over the one thousand series, so it has no real flaw. The new Nimbus are better, sure, but not that much better" had said the merchant, and Harry mostly agreed with his sales pitch. The new models were that much better in his opinion, but nothing truly noticeable outside of a serious Quidditch match.
Paying for the broom and a maintenance kit, Harry went out of the shop in quite a good mood.
'Walking is so outdated' he thought with a smirk. 'Time for me to fly.'
And time passed again, as the weather got warmer and sunnier and the calendar moved on from the late march to the end of April. Harry's life went on exactly as he hoped for, and feared for. He sold potions, he flied on his own or rarely with Sirius, he visited his former classmates and enjoyed their share of petty school gossip. In the end Susan got asked out by the older boy, but a mere two weeks after their first date they fought already. Apparently, the boy had long hands.
"What kind of girl did he even think I am?" she schreeched when she retold the story for Harry's benefit, one weekend at Hogsmeade, crossing one arm protectively over her chest. Zack, with an amused smirk, added a whisper loud enough for everyone to hear that it was "Look but don't touch", which drew a furious glare from Susan and indignant frowns from all of the girls.
"Sometimes it goes bad" commented Harry with a shrug. "Better luck next time?"
The clear consensus around the table, at least from the girl corner, was that there would never be a next time for any of them. Ever, with any boy. Harry smiled condescendingly and let the conversation move on.
He met once again with Lupin too, one night at Grimmauld's place. Classes were proceeding well, apparently, and the trio of them spent a fun dinner together. Eating first and playing cards lately.
Beside a couple of pointed jokes here and there, neither Harry nor Lupin commented any more on Sirius's new girlfriend, exactly because by that point it was clearly a girlfriend. Sirius seemed almost desperate whenever he talked of her – he wanted to remain unattached, but the lady clearly knew her game well as she was behaving borderline perfectly, even when Sirius himself was grumpy. Slowly, she was taking more and more space in his life and he had mixed feelings on this.
"Once you'll introduce her to us, we'll know you have completely gave up" said lightly Lupin, as Sirius dramatically sighed and shook his head. Harry smirked, and tried to change the topic.
Sirius's job as an auror was progressing, mostly. He had to take care of a drunkard in Diagon Alley, and a fistfight in Knockturn Alley. The most exciting case he participated into was searching for a potential werewolf, a search that ended in nothing.
"Now, I am not saying I want to face a dark wizard in a duel to the death, but there must be something better than this" complained Sirius, while sipping his booze. "I can't imagine spending the rest of my life playing babysitter for other people."
"Better get used to it, pal" said Harry, a bitter smirk on his face. "It's not like there are murders or robberies every day. Or even every year."
With a sigh, Harry continued. "Without crazy dark lords around, things stay quiet. Just a couple of petty thieves and the usual good for nothing, even for crime."
"Like that Fletcher guy" admitted Sirius, nodding with sadness. "He is pretty famous among the other members of the team, and it's not even a real thief. Mostly a smuggler."
They continued eating and gossiping and long after the end of the meal, after Sirius had managed to become the winner of their card tournament for the night, they started saying their goodbyes – only for Lupin to corner Harry while Sirius was busy scolding Kreacher.
"Harry, one thing" said Lupin, a bit more serious than usual. "The headmaster sends his regards. Five are down, whatever those five are, and he asked me to warn you he will come to visit soon. Next Sunday morning, if you are free."
"I see" said Harry. "Well, sure. Tell him I will be waiting."
Lupin nodded silently, and once Sirius catched up with them they all went towards the main door.
Later that night, Harry thought it over while inside his bed. 'Five are down… and he wants to meet me. What is the last one? The Cup? The ring?'
No matter his… disputes with the headmaster, his continued presence was still essential. So long as Dumbledore lived, Riddle would focus on him and not Harry. Hopefully.
Shaking his head, and reminding himself how mulling over it wouldn't help in any way, Harry tried to clear his mind and fall asleep. Uselessly.
A/N: the broom sale paragraph was heavily influenced by Potterpedia. Yes, Draco had a Comet 260 as a kid – though I am not sure he sold it, or if it still was his broom right before the Nimbus. Yes, the Twigger 90 was a broom for sale in those years and it had a warping problem at top speed.