Aaaaand Perseus is baaack!

I finally got the time to write.

I had an exam, so I had to grind the chapters

OFC, I f%ked it up

Duh

And the next one is barely a month away

And this time the syllabus is 4 times the syllabus of the exam I just gave

WAHOOOO! (insert severe sarcasm)

I mean, I grinded this waaay too hard. I barely slept. In 34 hours, I had only 4 hours of sleep.

And somehow, it still ain't enough for my parents

Am I pissed off?

You could say so

Anyway, review time

alix33 – Heh, sorry. I get you, bro. I'm sorry about the Hoffstedts too

Hands Off MY Wolfie – The goblins took advantage of a youngster. OFC, they are businessmen. Like, it's literally their job to take advantage of idiots.

jeremyathomas44 – HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY! It was my birthday too, 10 days before yours.

And thanks to all those who reviewed!

And to those who fear that I will stop writing this story, I'll say what Anthony McAuliffe said to the Germans – NUTS!

There's no way in hell that I'll abandon this story. Hell, it's the only thing keeping me sane RN.

Since I'm done ranting and responding, let's continue with the story!

THE NAME'S POTTER… HARRY POTTER

CHAPTER 9

Look At The Galleons Galloping Away

James exited the building with a trunk full of items he had to give to Harry.

But Harry was still nowhere to be seen.

All of a sudden, he remembered something he forgot to tell Harry.

Never. NEVER ask Dave to choose for you.

"Shit." He swore, and ran to the store he'd shown Harry earlier in the night. He slammed the door open and calmly sidestepped Dave's 'non-lethal' traps.

"DAVE DAVIESON! YOU WILL LEAVE HARRY ALONE NOW!" he shouted, standing dramatically on the porch.

Dave rushed into view, holding two jackets, one gaudily coloured, and the other a rather stylish piece. James shook his head in resignation and set the trunk down.

"Dave, seriously?" James said, exasperatedly swinging his arms.

"You tell me, James, getting a kid into MI6. Anyway, you tell me, which will fit Harry better?" he asked, before abruptly leaving him and running somewhere. James ran after him, praying that he was going towards Harry, wherever he was trapped.

Dave finally stopped at a door and knocked. When he received a positive response, he walked in. James followed him in too.

It was a mess. Clothes strewn all over the floor, a piece of underwear hanging on a rack, and a really, really pissed off Harry in the centre, clad in a set of dragonhide armour.

"Yes… that looks absolutely perfect! You're buying this too!" Dave said. When Harry spotted James, he fixed him with a pleading look. James just shrugged.

"Get me out of here James, please!"

"Oh hell no James, just this last jacket!"

"You've been saying that for the last fifteen minutes!" Harry shouted, but Dave carried on, unperturbed. He enthusiastically threw clothes into a bag with one hand, and with the other, he tossed Harry one of the jackets he chose. James looked at Harry and gestured him to put it on. He glared back, but he threw on the jacket.

"That does look nice on you…" James said when he donned the second jacket.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! THEY ALL LOOK GOOD! The problem is, he is OBSESSIVE! And it's utterly boring!"

Dave looked up. "You're buying this jacket. Take it off and give it to me. Then wear your earlier rags."

"Motherf ." Harry swore, glaring at him.

"And proud about it!" he retorted, grinning unabashedly.

Harry sighed in defeat and tossed him the jacket. He caught it and packed it in the bag. Within moments, while James and Dave both looked away, Harry was dressed and ready. Dave then went to the register and began calculating the price.

"I think the wand should be done by now." Harry remarked.

"It should be. I need to show you some things, so grab the bags and come to the wand store." James said.

"Aaand done! That'll be 1771 galleons and 29 knuts! Would you like to donate a sickle for the orphanage?" Dave said.

Harry sighed. "Sure, make it a 100-galleon donation. James? Does the money go to an orphanage?"

"It does. We made sure that Mr Davison here wasn't a thief. A lot of the profits go to a magical orphanage in Suffolk."

Harry smiled at that. He opened his wallet and was surprised to see a chequebook in it. He pulled it out of its magically enlarged pocket.

"Hmmm. I can write cheques?" he said.

"Yeah, I think so. Go on, I'll guide you through it."

James guided him through the process, and Harry tore off the cheque and handed it to Dave, who stuck it in the register.

"Stupid wizards. Never realise that cash is the way forward." Dave grumbled, handing over the bags to Harry. He smirked and grabbed the bags.

"Oh, hey… these bags are conjurations, so it'll probably last another hour or so. Please be careful."

"Sure, no problem." Harry said as he was leaving the shop.

"COME BACK SOON!"

"NEVER!" Harry shouted back, and he could hear Dave laughing as the door closed.

"He's a real madman."

"Our Ex-Auror employees call him the "Moody Wearing Gucci". I don't get them at all."

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's a perfect nickname for him." Harry laughed.

"Let's go back for the wand."

"Yep"

James and Harry returned to the Hoffstedt shop and rang the bell. Henry opened the door and grinned when he saw them.

"Come on in, it's nearly done! Kinzie's just applying the polish."

"Sure. Hey Henry?" Henry turned to look at James, "We'll need a few minutes of privacy later on. Could you lend us a room for some time?"

"Oh, sure!" he answered before jogging downstairs. Harry and James set down the bags and the trunk on the porch and followed him.

"KINZIE! They're here!"

"Yeah, yeah, nearly done… aaand that does it!" Kinzie said, lightly touching the wand with a paintbrush. She then dunked the brush into a tin of polish, and turned towards the trio, leaning on the table.

"So, Jack!" James snickered at that, "This here is your wand. Eleven and a half inches, semi-flexible, smooth and with an enclosed core. Baobab wood and thestral feather core, surrounded with a tungsten focus! Try out now!" she said grandly, taking the wand out of its holder with a twirl and pointing it handle-first at Harry. He reached out and…

BANG!

A really bright flash of light blinded everyone in the room. Harry used his hand to rub his eyes and opened them to see the others blinking and rubbing their eyes too. He then looked at his wand.

"Woah." He marvelled at the craftsmanship. Even though it was mostly by machine, Kinzie did do a lot to finish up the wand.

Kinzie smiled excitedly and said, "Cast something with it, Harry. Here, levitate this paintbrush."

Harry nodded, and focusing all his power on the wand, he calmly incanted, "Wingardium Leviosa."

Suddenly, the paintbrush shot upwards and impaled itself into the ceiling. Debris fell down around them.

"OH MY GOD!" Harry shouted, as he ducked to avoid the bits of plaster and brick. Kinzie leapt back soundlessly, amazed, and Henry emitted the shrillest scream of fear possible and curled up on the floor. James, as usual, impassively stepped to the side.

"That was… uhh… that was quite powerful." Harry gulped, looking at the stuck paintbrush.

"It was… OOOOOH! This wand was sooo much better than my last one!" Kinzie exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement and clapping her hands wildly.

"I apologise for my sister. She's still a bit… immature." Henry said, acting solemn. He dodged Kinzie's slap with a laugh and tripped on a piece of debris. Kinzie then doubled over laughing and then looked at Harry.

"You'll still need to practice control with that guy. Luckily for you, it has no trace, so you can use it anywhere, as long as you keep it out of muggle view." She said.

"Sooo, can I cast Avada Ke…"

"NO NO NO NO! STOP!" Kinzie shouted, and Harry fell onto his knees laughing. Kinzie sniffed in offence, and Harry laughed even harder.

From his location on the floor, Henry asked, "I guess you'll need a holster for that?"

"Yeah!"

"Come along then!" Henry got up, stretched his back, and walked to a small work table with drawers on the sides. When he opened the first drawer, Harry was surprised to see several holsters.

"Latest styles, if you want the holster to be seen. If not, invisible holsters! Guaranteed invisibility for 2 years! Then you have the MI6 standard holsters. And for our rare rich patron, who's also, most of the time, illegally escaping the Aurors, EXTRA SPECIAL HOLSTERS!" he said with a flourish at the end.

"Do those have any extra features?"

"You can release your wand with a flick of your wrist. Also, if you're disarmed, you can summon it back wandlessly with the holster. As I said, it is also invisible. Moreover, you can pay an extra ten galleons for a free wand maintenance kit! It generally costs 20 galleons y'know?"

"I mean, why not?" Harry shrugged.

"If I remember correctly, it will add up to 40 galleons. So, pay up kiddo!"

Harry blinked at him for a moment, then sighed and pulled out his wallet. "Do you accept cheques?"

"Will do."

Harry summoned the chequebook and said, "Seventy plus forty galleons. A hundred and ten galleons." He then ripped out the cheque and handed it to Henry.

Henry shook his head and gestured upstairs. "Hand it to Kinzie. It was her turn at the register today." He said, before walking up.

"Henry, the holster?" James cut in.

"Oh, yeah, shit… come on, choose your favourite!" he said, jogging back down the stairs and reopening the drawer.

Harry looked at them. Most of them were scaly, made of different skins, of various colours.

"What are these made of?"

"Dragonhide! See, this one here was made out of the belly hide of a Ukrainian Ironbelly. This one here is an Indian Aakashnaag, literally 'air snake', an Australian Bacharg, a Peruvian Awxygin. This one's truly a beauty, an Alaskan Metekelvscond, an Iri…"

"What's that green one?"

"That one? Good choice. It's a Finnish Octrimus. One of the largest, if the dragon handlers were correct."

"Was it killed?"

"Oh hell no! Our products are sustainably acquired, with a keen regard for the safety of the environment. Timothy just died of old age."

"They named a dragon… Timothy."

"Tim for short. It was actually me who named him that. Initially, they named him Tiffany. Turns out, he was actually a boy! I was there to collect some other skin, and I chanced upon a few handlers thinking about what to name him. I decided to butt in. They liked my suggestion."

Harry slapped his hand onto his face. "Oh my god."

"Well, the locals called him some Finnish variation of "very large scary dragon", but Tim sounded better."

"Honestly, it does sound nice." James remarked. Harry looked at him with a betrayed expression.

"See? He gets me!" Henry exclaimed, pointing at James. Harry sighed and walked up the stairs. James and Henry laughed and followed him.

Upstairs, Kinzie sat on the couch, reading a book. She was so engrossed that she didn't notice the trio return behind her. Henry grabbed a cushion silently, and whispered to the others, "Don't make any noise."

He crept up behind his sister and swung the cushion.

"HEY!" she shouted when he hit her head. She squinted her eyes in rage, and threw a cushion at Henry.

"Whoops! Missed me!" he said, laughing, but not for long, since a few seconds later, Kinzie lobbed her book at him. It hit him on his head, and he fell back with a dramatic groan.

"James, Jack, you can go up and then left. The room there is free. Pay me when you're leaving. You'll have full privacy upstairs. In the meantime, I need to take care of my brat of a brother. Go on now!" Kinzie said, holding another book in her hands. James and Harry fearfully ascended the stairs, and pain-filled yells accompanied the journey. They found the room, and James closed the door after them and sighed.

"They may quarrel quite a bit, but they're closer than anyone can ever be." He smiled.

Harry nodded and said, "What do you want to show me?"

"MI6 has decided to requisition some supplies for you. This trunk contains a few items—gadgets is a more apt term—and all your clothes will obviously fit in it, too. I'll pack them in later."

Harry nodded and took the trunk. It was a nice solid leather case with a combination lock and a magical lock beside the handle.

"Its current code is 2311. Open it." Harry opened it to reveal a huge cavity inside, with a pocket on the other side filled with unknown things. He realised he could fit all his clothes inside, with space left.

"You'll get some other things after you get some more training. For now, all you'll have is whatever's inside that pocket. Open it, take out the things."

Harry complied and took out a pair of small rectangular mirrors.

"These are paired mirrors. Say your name into one of them, and give me the other."

He took one and said 'James' into it. Harry followed suit, and both their mirrors glowed for a second.

"Now say my name onto yours."

"James." The mirror flickered, and simultaneously, so did James'.

"Pick up." He said. Both mirrors stopped flickering and displayed the other's face. Harry gaped at them.

"These are like a telephone. But with video communication. You can now communicate with me from anywhere."

"Woah."

"Yep, take out the next." Harry pulled out a small box containing an earplug-shaped and several small coin-shaped objects.

"Those are bugs. No, not actual bugs. These can stick to any surface, and they can record and send all the sounds in the area within 15 metres. The other object is meant to be stuck in your ear like an earplug. It will send you live sound from any of the bugs. You just need to pair it with any one particular bug by tapping both simultaneously."

Harry then took out a booklet.

"It's a journal. That's it. Except, it isn't it. If you can't call me, just write what you have to inside this. Give me the other booklet. It's inside the trunk. Good."

"The next box contains a few trackers. Attach one to someone, and until he or she takes off his or her clothes, it will constantly track them. It feeds directly into our systems."

"Hmmm… I have something similar that can track anyone in Hogwarts."

"Really? Get it the next time. Take out the next items." Harry took the last items out of the trunk. A pouch, a small stick, and an armband with a few buttons on it.

"That pouch is an emergency ration pack. It contains medical supplies and food. Hopefully, you won't need it. That armband is an excellent device. The largest is a portkey. It will send you to our nearest safehouse if you press it. It can bust right through most wards. The next one is a tracker. If you enable it, we'll know where you are constantly. The last one will just turn it invisible. The stick you pulled out contains special runic combinations that will make anyone forget the last ten minutes. It's just in case you slip up. Now pack up everything. We need to leave soon." Harry packed it all up and followed James out the door. They descended the stairs to see Kinzie calmly reading her book, while Henry held an ice pack to his shoulder, which was bruising quite badly.

Harry smirked and passed on the cheque to Kinzie, who put it into her register. James packed up the clothes, making small talk with Henry. Harry then took his holster and strapped it onto his wrist. Placing his wand in it, he tried it out.

He flicked his wrist, and the wand came flying out. Harry missed it, and it fell a bit away. Willing his holster to summon it back, he tried again and again, until he finally got it right.

"HURRAH!"

"Come on Harry, we need to go now."

The duo bade the Hoffstedts goodbye and walked out into Diagon Alley, which still had a few shoppers milling around. They exited the Alley through the Leaky Cauldron, and James hailed a taxi on the street.

The rest of the trip back to Surrey passed in relative silence.

Then James spoke. "Harry, do you know how to cast an obliviate? Or modify someone's memories?"

When Harry shook his head, James continued, "I'll call for another wizard to modify the Dursley's memories. We can't have anyone but MI6 know about anything."

Harry nodded.

"Speak to me every night at 11:00 on the mirrors. Practice with your wand, and maybe read your grimoire in your free time. You'll get enough time to finish your homework, trust me."

When they reached, James paid the taxi driver, and turned to meet a new wizard standing beside a tree.

"Hello there. I was told I had to change someone's memories?"

"Yes. The Dursleys. Our new recruit will get them out. Harry? Just petrify them and get them out."

Harry did so, and after a scream, which stopped in a few seconds, three bodies floated out of the door.

"Memoria Baudelan" the wizard incanted. One by one, he modified all of their memories and left them floating. He bid the duo goodbye and apparated away.

James shook Harry's hand and slapped his shoulder.

"Goodbye, kiddo. We'll meet again, soon."

"Bye James."

James walked away into the night, while Harry levitated the trio back to their beds, making sure to remove their memories of the last ten minutes.

Harry finally fell onto his bed in exhaustion and contemplated the day. He smiled to himself that finally, finally, things were looking up for him.

A/N

Aaaand done!

Like, finally.

I was absolutely exhausted today.

I mean, I didn't do much, but life in general is tiring and trying.

And so are exams

Like the next one I have tomorrow.

I'm sorely tempted to try out gravitational equations for myself. Practically.

YEEEEEEEEEEEET!

Yeah, JK.

I haven't yet crossed the brink.

Wahoo! (not sarcasm)

Anyway, goodbye guys!

Perseus, over and out!

PS – I use random shit around me to name some things here. For example, Fronksh is a car. The Maruti Suzuki Fronx. So is Wertiga – the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. Then they Peruvian Awxygin is… you can guess it easily (hint – an element). I'm quite happy about the Alaskan Metekelvscond.

Why? Cuz our teacher was talking abt MKS units – Meter, Kelvin and Second when I wrote it. The Octrimus is just the name of a pen, joined with the name of my school.