Payback Time

The writing bug got me, so you get two in one day.  A short one, but there it is.

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Harry walked down the street and passed Mrs. Figg’s house. When he did, he made himself invisible to those looking for him. He shrunk his suitcase and put it in his pocket. That way he didn’t have to lug it around. He was wondering how to get to Diagon Alley when he spotted a large black dog following him.

“Here, boy,” he said, hoping the dog was friendly. It looked like it had seen some hard times, and Harry knew how that felt. He wished he had some food on him to give to the dog. It was black and skinny, like it had not eaten in days, if not weeks. Harry felt really bad for it. He also knew that might make the dog aggressive, so he put his hand out cautiously.

The dog slowly came up to him, his tail wagging. He sniffed Harry’s held out hand and wagged his tail even harder. He woofed and put his head in Harry’s hand like he wanted to be petted. Harry laughed and complied.

“You feel like a magical dog,” Harry said, feeling the magic coming off the dog. He put his hand on the dog’s head and push his magic through it. The dog was cleaner in an instant.

It sneezed as the magic washed over its body. The fleas that had been hopping on it were gone, so was the smell that had been wafting off it. Its fur was now shiny, though that didn’t distract from the fact that it was skinny as anything.

“Woof,” the dog barked, thumping its tail on the ground. It nodded its head, telling Harry that it understood and that it was magical.

“Do you want to come with me? I’m not sure how I’m going to get there yet, but I’m going to the magic world,” Harry said, looking around like the solution would show up any moment. He was sure there were magical ways to travel. Unfortunately, he had yet to learn them. He was going on his third year at a magical school and those weren’t taught until the sixth year.

“Woof,” the dog said again, nodding his head like he understood.

“Good, I could use the company. It’s been a long day,” Harry said as he watched the cop car go by with Dudley in the back. ‘They must be driving him to Pier’s house,’ he thought as he invisibly waved to them, glad that they couldn’t see him.

He then got an idea from the cartoon he had watched just this morning. He put his hand on the dog’s head and blinked. He found himself in front of the Leaky Cauldron. He pulled the dog into the alley next to the pub. The dog looked at him with confusion.

“I don’t want to go in there yet,” he explained, going to the end of the alley, and pulling his suitcase from his pocket. He enlarged it and took out the teacups. He took some trash and made a small China cabinet with a wave of his hands. It was a corner cabinet, that had glass doors. It wasn’t all that pretty, but it would do for what he had in mind. He put the cups in the cabinet and put them in the corner of the alley. He then waved his hands and made them disappear.

“Shh,” he said to the dog, like he expected the animal to keep the secret. He then took his suitcase and shrunk it again and put it in his pocket.

“Woof?” was the questioning bark, the dog still looked confused. It was tilting its head and had its tongue hanging out.

“I just don’t want anyone to find them,” Harry said, not explaining any further. He then stood and waved a hand up and down his body turning himself into a girl. “Now no one will recognize me,” he told the dog. “I get mobbed every time I go in there,” he said, jerking his head to the Leaky Cauldron’s door. “I just want to go to the bank, not get greeted by every Tom, Dick and Harry,” he said, laughing at his own joke. He then threw a notice-me-not charm on them. Not that he knew it was called that, but that’s what it was.

The dog cuffed and followed the disguised Harry through the pub. They made it through without incident. They proceeded through the Alley and made it to Gringotts. Harry changed back into his boy form after he got in line, and he moved to a teller.

“I need to get into my vault,” he said, holding out his key. He was glad that he hadn’t given it to anyone. Mrs. Weasley had asked for it, but something told him to not give up his only key to his money.

“Name?” the goblin said, looking at the key carefully. “This seems to be in order.”

“Harry Potter,” the teen said, holding out his hand for the key. The goblin just looked at the hand and dismissed it.

“Dogs are not allowed in the bank,” the goblin said, nodding to the dog and wondering why the door guards didn’t keep it out of the building.

“Oh, they didn’t say anything when we came in. I promise he won’t do anything wrong,” Harry said, waving his hand to get the goblin to comply.

“I’ll let it pass this once,” the grumpy goblin stated, glaring at the boy, not sure what the kid had just done, but deciding to let it go as harmless.

“Thanks, I’ll keep him on a tight leash,” Harry said, putting words to action and conjuring a leash to put on the dog. The dog woofed in disagreement but didn’t protest otherwise. Harry just glared at it, and it gave him some puppy-dog eyes, which made Harry roll his eyes.

“Griphook,” the goblin yelled, making one of the cart-runners appear.  

“Yes,” Griphook said, giving Harry and the dog a funny look.

“Take Mr. Potter to his vault,” he said, handing the key to the other goblin.

“Follow me,” Griphook said, going to the carts and not checking to see if they did indeed follow.

Harry and the still unnamed dog followed. They made the exciting trip to the vault. “I remember you,” Harry said to the goblin.

“Yes, bravo, you remember someone from two years ago,” was the sarcastic reply.

“I was just making a comment,” the sullen boy said, folding his arms in a pout.

“It’s not a big deal that you remember me. There aren’t many cart-runners around,” Griphook stated, pulling the cart to a stop.

“Sorry for bringing it up,” Harry snarked, getting out of the cart. The dog stayed put, panting from exhilaration. Griphook did his goblin magic and opened the large door.

Harry went in and grabbed handfuls of gold, then he realized he had nowhere to put it. He then thought of something else he had read once a long time ago. He made a pocketspace at his wrist and jammed all the gold in there. It looked like it just disappeared into nothingness.

He smiled as he called some of it to his hands. They came to his call, and he put them back. This was wicked. He had his own secret space that no one would ever find. It was its own special dimension and only he could use it.

Griphook didn’t see any of this, but he was getting impatient that the boy was taking so long. “Can we please hurry this along?” he politely demanded. After all, it wouldn’t do to upset the client. Well, more than he already had. But really, who cared that the boy remembered him. Did the kid want a metal?

“Just a second,” Harry said, shoving more gold into his pocketspace. He’d have to change some of it to muggle money. He wasn’t going to stay here all the time. He wanted to shop in the real world too. That and he didn’t want to stay a girl all the time.

“About time,” Griphook mumbled under his breath.

“I went as fast as I could,” Harry said smartly. He waved his hand and put a time-delayed spell on the goblin to have all his customers be slow for the rest of the day. Then he’d have something to complain about.

“Just be more mindful in the future,” the goblin grumbled, putting the cart into motion, and going back up the top of the tracks.

“Sure, whatever,” Harry said, getting out of the cart when it stopped.

He went to the tellers and exchanged some money for pounds sterling. Then he went to the doors, stopped after the first set, reapplied his glamors and charms and moved out of the second set.

He went back to the Leaky Cauldron and asked Tom, “Can I get the special for dinner and any scraps you have for my dog?” as he sat at the bar. The dog sitting at his feet.

“Sure thing, sweetheart,” the old man said, winking at what he thought was a cute teenage girl.

Harry looked a bit different as a girl. He still had dark hair, only longer. He still had emerald-green eyes, only without glasses. And his scar was hidden with bangs. He was still skinny, but in his female form it look waif like, not scrawny.

That is to say, as a girl he looked like a pixie, whereas like a boy he looked like an urchin. His clothes were still the same, only with a more feminine cut, and they fit. He was having so much fun being able to do what he wanted with his magic.

Tom brought the meals for the two and they fell to eating. The dog was starved and probably ate faster than was good for it. Harry put his hand on the dog’s head and pushed some magic into it, hoping to help the digestion. He knew what it was like to eat too fast after being starved.

“Slow down, Snuffles,” he said, patting the dog’s head. “You’ll get sick,” he added, seeing the dog was listening.

The now named Snuffles did slow down and soon stopped eating. The plate was still half-full of scraps. He curled up at Harry’s feet and slept.

Harry took his time with his fish and chips, and butterbeer. He was having a good time people watching. There were many colorful characters here in the Cauldron. There were a couple of hags that were cackling over a large dusty book, and a man that was reading what looked like a muggle geometry book stirring his tea with his wand. The rest of the patrons were simply finishing their meals. Harry was glad none of them recognized him.

“My parents are out of the country for a few weeks, they wanted me to stay with friends, but we had a fight. Can I get a room for a few days?” Harry asked Tom when the man came to get his empty plate. “Just until my friend isn’t mad at me anymore,” he added quickly.

“Aren’t you afraid to stay here by yourself?” the old man asked, genuinely concerned.

“I have Snuffles, and I know a bit of protective magic. Besides, I’m sure you won’t let anything happen to me,” Harry said, doing everything short of batting his eyelashes.

“Of course,” Tom said, getting his ledger out and seeing what rooms he had available. “You can have room C, on the second floor. It’s ten sickles a night, a galleon if you want meals.”

“I’ll take the galleon a night,” he said, pulling out five galleons. “Will this do for now?” he asked, placing them on the bar.

“That it will,” the bartender said, taking them and putting them in the till. “I need your name for the books,” he added, poising his quill to write.

“It’s Harriet… Anderson,” Harry said, thinking of the first last name that was unassociated with Potter in the magical world. It was his muggle first-year teacher’s name.

“Thanks. Breakfast is from 7am to 9am, lunch is noon to 1pm, tea is at 4pm, and dinner is 7pm to 9pm. If you come outside those times, it’ll cost you extra,” Tom said, jotting down the name and giving him a winning smile.

“I’ll remember,” he said, getting up from the bar and holding out his hand for the key.

“Straight up the stairs and last door on the right,” Tom said, handing an old-fashioned key to who he thought was a girl. He pointed the way to the stairs.

“Thanks, Mr. Tom,” Harry said, then whistled for the dog to come. “Come on, Snuffles, you can rest in the room,” he said, running up the stairs, and finding the correct door. The dog got up and followed with a protesting bark.

“Well, Snuffles, this looks like it will be home for a little while,” Harry said as he fell on the bed. He looked around at the room, which wasn’t much. It had a bed, a chair, a desk with a chair, and a loo. The curtains and wallpaper were faded, but clean. The rug was in the same condition. The sheets were clean and new though. Everything was done in greens and browns.

Snuffles just sniffed around the room and found a place to lay down. He found one in the far corner where the sun was shining. He laid there and basked in the sun. His belly was full for the first time in days, and he was safe, he was going to sleep.

“I’m glad you like it,” Harry said, turning back into his boy form. He was relieved that they didn’t catch on to him being glamored. He wondered if his glamor was the same as a regular glamor. After all, he didn’t know the spell and was just making it up as he went along. He really felt like a girl when he had his glamor on. Not in the mental way, but in his body. He didn’t like that sensation. He’d have to work on that.

Right now, he was going to sleep. It had been a long day, and he wanted to do more tomorrow. So, he waved his hand at the door, locking it with magic, and changed his clothes with a thought and fell into slumber.