Runaway.html

Runaway Wizard 6

The next two weeks were spent in working out at Liu-sefu’s dojo, working the door at The Silken Cage and trying to keep up homework he wasn’t sure he was ever going to use. Harry didn’t like it. He liked learning martial arts at the dojo and cleaning it. He liked working the door at the club. But he was tired of hiding his magic and Dobby wasn’t helping any.

Harry was sure he was doing something. His time at the dojo seemed ‘odd’ somehow. His workouts lasted forever, but when they looked at the clock, no time at all seemed to have passed. Harry was sure that Dobby was doing something but he couldn’t feel any magic in the air, so to speak. It worried him some. He was still very afraid that either Dumbledore or the Ministry would track him somehow. He decided to carry through with his request that Dobby teach him house-elf magic. If he could even learn it.

Dobby came that evening, Harry had learned that, if he called, Dobby would hear him. So he called Dobby to come visit and Dobby apparated into the alley across from the apartment. He’d come to the front door and knock, either Frankie or Johnny would let him in without comment and they’d visit. Dobby brought him books from somewhere or other and encouraged him to study.

"Dobby, I want to start learning house-elf magic. Show me something?"

Dobby nodded, ears flapping comically. "Dobby will show. First, very good cleaning charm. Harry Potter Sir needs to learn it anyway."

Harry grimaced, one of Dobby’s constant complaints was that Harry took too long to get his chores at the dojo done. And he left dust in the corners. So Harry reached for his wand, Dobby just sighed.

"Harry Potter Sir, you cannot do elf magic with a wand. Cleaning is so ..." He twirled a finger near his ear while bending and straightening it oddly. A small breeze told Harry that the charm had worked.

He tried several times before he got it right only the breeze was nearly a hurricane. Dobby waved a hand to cancel the spell. "Good, good. Many young elfses take a long time to get that powerful. Now Harry Potter Sir must learn control. Only use half that power."

"You sure? More like a quarter, I should think." Harry rubbed his eyes. His contacts were a week old and this was the last day, they were making his eyes burn.

"If Harry Potter Sir can only use a quarter of his power, show Dobby."

Harry tried the spell again and succeeded in getting the spell right the first time.

Dobby nodded, announcing that Harry was very smart, for a wizard. He spent the rest of the evening teaching Harry spells. Harry went to bed early, exhausted.

O

"Harry, we better get going. You slept in this morning and took more time than usual with the chores. We’ll be late which doesn’t look good for a boss. Come on."

Harry gulped down the last of his tea and put the cup in the sink without rinsing it. "Sorry. Dobby and I stayed up a little later than I expected to. Glad I wasn’t scheduled at the dojo today or I’d never have made it. Grab my jacket, will you?"

Frankie brought Harry’s jacket to him. Harry studied the man, trying to see the warrior inside him. Frankie blinked back, head cocked to one side.

"What is it?"

Harry ducked his head. "Nothing. I was just looking."

"Oh, as long as I don’t have a smut on my cheek or something. Hurry, now."

They laughingly jammed shoulders in the door then scurried down the walk to the club, laughing at themselves companionably.

At the door, Harry went his way and Frankie went into the back.

Harry got into his uniform and set up his things in the coat room. They’d permanently moved the banding station there. It made it easy to write the claim check number for coats right on the band. Harry’s idea.

Harry settled on the tall stool in the corner and waited. The doors wouldn’t open for another half hour so there was plenty of time. He wondered where Arthur was, the man who was supposed to work coat check tonight. After waiting for ten minutes he decided to do the setup himself, that way it would be ready when they opened and Arthur wouldn’t get in trouble.

Frankie stuck his head in the door just as Harry was finished. "Arthur not here yet? I’ll have to call him. I’ve got three inexperienced boys on the floor and one of the handlers called in sick. Flu is killing me, I swear."

Harry started to say something, changed his mind and laughed. Frankie gave him a startled look then, realizing what he’d said, laughed too. Johnny eased up behind Frankie and asked him what was so funny. Frankie told him and he snickered before saying, "Well, the flu is sure killing business. We’ll have to pull one man off the bar to the floor and one of the floor boys will have to check coats."

Harry thought quickly. "I think I can do both. I’ll try, ok? If I can’t handle it, I’ll push the panic button and let you know. How’s that?"

Johnny move to cup Harry’s chin in his hand, gazing into his green eyes Johnny thought for a second. "Ok. But only if you promise to buzz if you have trouble."

Harry nodded. "I promise. Now. You’d better get inside and sort out that mess."

Frankie nodded and followed an already retreating Johnny back into the club proper. Harry braced himself for a busy night and thanked his lucky stars that it was a week night.

O

Things started out slow with a few singles and two couples drifting in. Harry handled them easily, calmly explaining the situation and thanking them for their patience. He even got a tip.

Things went well until about 10:30pm when the drunks started trying to get in. Harry’s usual bouncer partner was in the club tending bar due to the short handedness in the club. Harry told the man that he wasn’t allowed to play as he’d been drinking. Of course the man got rowdy about it.

Harry opened the narrow gate in the counter and stepped into the main room. "Sir, I’ll have to ask you to leave. You’re causing a disturbance."

"‘M not leavin’. Wanna play, gonna play. You can’t stop me." The man was drunkenly loud so heads turned all over the room.

Harry thought he was going to have to call for help, then decided that Liu-sefu had taught him several moves that would work. The idiot helped him out by grabbing at him.

It was all Harry could do not to reach for his wand, which was in his bedroom anyway. He grabbed the hand nearest to him and pulled, jerking the man off balance. Then Harry managed to turn the man around with his arm cranked up between his shoulder blades. He frog marched him to the door which a customer kindly held open. Harry thrust the man out into the cold with a sharp, "and don’t come back!"

There was a patter of applause from the bystanders, which embarrassed Harry no end. He ducked his head as he made his way back to his station. He didn’t see Frankie smiling happily or Johnny’s appraising stare.

Harry checked the clock, noted that it was time to lock the door, he left the coat room and flicked the lock on the door. As he turned, he ran in to a customer.

"Oh! Excuse me, sir. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you." Harry tried to cut around the man who moved to block him. Harry moved the other way only to be cut off again. "Sir, please let me pass."

"Pay the toll and I’ll let you by."

Harry had no intention of kissing the man. "I don’t pay for something that’s already mine. I don’t play. I’m a lock boy. Let me by."

The man tried once again to get Harry to kiss him but Johnny showed up at his back and announced, "you don’t harass the boys. If you want a kiss I’ll find you someone who wants to kiss you ... for a price. Come on." he turned to Harry, "Excuse us. You’re off shift, go to the back." his voice was stern but his wink was not.

Harry headed straight for the back, anxious to be out of his harness. It was comfortable physically, but it left Harry feeling ... odd. Like he was a parcel of something for sale. Then he realized that that was exactly what he was, for sale. Sooner or later he’d have to decided if he wanted to work ‘the back rooms’ or not. He wasn’t sure what to do. If he worked, everyone would be pleased with him. If he didn’t, would they make him leave? He had to decide what he was going to do sometime.

Harry decided to forget about it for now, maybe he wouldn’t be good enough to work the back rooms. He’d worry about it when the time came, right now all he wanted was to get out of his harness.

He was greeted at the door of the lounge by a handler who just pealed him out of the harness and walked off with it. Another boy handed him a robe and some slippers, Harry had finally gotten over being embarrassed by his body. No one else paid any attention to it, why should he?

Harry settled on one of the comfortable couches and took a cup of tea from a handler. He smiled his thanks and sipped. He had to admit that he was chilly even though he’d been in the club proper instead of in the vestibule. He was nearly finished when his buddy came in.

"Hey, I heard you had trouble. And that you handled it by yourself. I’d love to have seen that. Liu-sefu is a great teacher."

Harry flushed and mumbled into his tea, "It wasn’t anything much. He was drunk and I’m doing really well in my training. You’d have handled it a lot better I’m sure."

This was greeted with a snort. "Don’t run yourself down. I don’t know any kid your age who would be this calm after something like that. You’re a real cool customer. Finish your tea and get dressed, Frankie says they’re going to make an early evening of it. And stay warm, that flu is really making the rounds."

Harry nodded, finished his tea and reached for his clothing. He just tossed it on any old way and hurried out to the back end of the club. Frankie was waiting for him at the back door and pulled him into a quick hug.

"You did good. I’m very proud of you. Come on, let’s go home."

Harry was quiet all the way home. He’d done a good job he knew that but it was the first time he’d ever been told so. It felt very good.

He slept very well that night.

O

The flu epidemic continued to take a toll on the world in general and The Silken Cage in particular. Harry minded the door by himself for the rest of the weekdays, not that he had any trouble, word got around.

Friday night they scurried to the club in a flurry of snow flakes and frozen wind. Harry was just finished with his arrangements when a man he’d only seen a few times slipped into the coat room.

"Johnny wants you in the club. He said to tell me what to do."

Harry didn’t ask any questions he just explained the procedure quickly and hurried off. He was glad he wasn’t going to be on the door during the weekend. It was much rowdier then.

"Johnny, you wanted me?"

"Yeah, I did. You know how to mix a drink?"

Harry shook his head, "No. I’m afraid my skills are limited to whiskey-soda and a screwdriver. But, if you can get the formula, I can probably fake it well enough."

Johnny gave Harry a look then said, "Formula? Whatever. I’ll see if I can’t find a copy of The Bartenders Friend."

Harry blinked, "The what?"

"It’s a book with recipes for drinks all arranged alphabetically by name and by liquor. And ... stupid as it sounds, no tasting. You’re too young and I don’t want you drunk."

Harry just shrugged. He was used to cooking without tasting, he wasn’t allowed at the Dursleys.

"Ok, no tasting. And I don’t want to be drunk, it makes people stupid. Do I get a different uniform?"

Johnny grinned. "Yeah, but you keep the collar. Now scoot. You have to change."

Harry grinned and scooted.

It didn’t take him long to be outfitted with a different harness and a new collar. The harness crossed his chest from shoulders to the center of his breast bone and around his waist. It was just a standard harness. His shorts were tighter and had longer legs. The locks were the same. Harry felt more comfortable as he was more covered.

The senior bar man grinned at him and handed him a paring knife. "I hope you know how to cut garbage."

Harry blinked for a second. "Um ... garbage? No, I don’t think so."

"Oh, man a real newbie. Well, my name’s Waldo, and no jokes please." Harry handed him his best ‘Who me?’ look and waited for more information. "So, garbage is the not so nice term for all that crap people like on their drinks. Orange peels and lemon wedges and cherries on sticks and what not all. It all winds up in the garbage sooner or later so that’s what we call it. I’ll show you what to do. Just cut it nice so I don’t have to fool with getting it to do its thing. Ok?"

Harry nodded, cutting things just right he could do. Between Petunia and Professor Snape he knew that much. He stood and watched as Waldo cut oranges, pineapple, lemons, limes, and of all things cucumbers and celery.

"There. Think you can do that?"

Harry just took the knife and started in cutting. It didn’t take him long to cut up enough to fill all the steel containers with different arrangements of stuff on tiny plastic swords and umbrellas.

"I’m done. Now what?"

"I’ll show you how to draw beer. And don’t mess with the Guinness you’ll never learn to do it right in one night. I’ll handle all of it. Now, here’s what to do."

Harry found that drawing beer wasn’t as easy as it looked. It had to come up to a specific mark on the glass and couldn’t overflow by more than this much, and it had to have a specific amount of head on it. Harry tried several times before he got it right and worried about the waste. Waldo came back to look at what he’d done and patted him on the shoulder.

"Well, don’t that ... I’ve never seen anyone learn that fast before. Now. Here’s a Bartender’s Friend. Look it over a bit. I’ve marked the most popular drinks. Learn them, if someone wants something really out there tell the waiter to come to me."

Harry nodded and wedged himself into a corner at the back of the bar to stay out of Waldo’s way while he read. Most of the drinks Waldo had marked only had two or three ingredients and the amounts were easy. One part this to one part that to a part and a half of something else, or even easier, a jigger of something to several ounces of one kind of mixer or other. He relaxed a bit, this wasn’t going to be so hard.

Waldo wandered by with his hands full of glasses. "You ready?"

"As I’ll ever be. What if I take the back corner of the bar and just mix stuff and draw beers?"

"Won’t work. Everything made to order, that’s the rule. Good idea but it won’t float here."

"Ok. Sorry." Harry ducked his head.

"Don’t worry. I like to see a little initiative in a guy. I’ll keep you to washing glasses and doing prep as much as I can. But you’ll have to jump in if I get swamped."

"Ok. Well, brace yourself. Here they come."

The doors had been unlocked while they were talking and customers were headed in the door in a small flood. Harry was swept up in a rush of easy drinks and laughter. He coped fine mostly, when he couldn’t Waldo was right there to help him out. He didn’t have to tell the wait staff to take the complicated things to Waldo, they did it on their own.

The night went well and Harry actually enjoyed himself. All the rushing around and mixing drinks kept him distracted enough that he didn’t mind when someone flirted with him, in fact he didn’t notice it much at all.

.

"Harry, wash the last of those glasses and I’ll dry. Then we can get out of this kit and into something more comfortable." Waldo laughed at what Harry had learned was a joke, he just didn’t get the point of it.

"I’m almost done. I’d really like to go watch the dancers. I’ve never seen. Please?"

Waldo snorted. "Don’t see the sense of it myself. Why watch what you can’t touch? But go ahead."

Harry thought about that while he finished the last glass. "Maybe the safety of knowing you can’t touch?"

Waldo eyed Harry for a second. "You may be right. I never thought of that." He dried the last glass. "Ok, done, scoot." Harry hurried off so that he’d be in time to see the last set.

He was just in time so he eased into the back of the room. One of the bouncers started to come over to ask for the door charge, noticed that Harry worked in the club and eased back into his place. Harry nodded to him in a companionable way and leaned against the wall behind him.

The announcer came out with his microphone in hand and tapped it several times in a parody of applause. "Well, that was a good one. Next we have the owners of this fine establishment. Due to the flu epidemic, they’ve agreed to dance for us tonight. So put your hands together for Smooth and Silky."

Harry snickered to himself then gasped. Frankie and Johnny eased out from behind the curtains. Frankie was undressed in an arrangement of straps that covered everything that should be, but left not that much to the imagination. Johnny was dressed in a pair of leather shorts, very tight shorts. Johnny strode to the front of the stage, stared into the audience and nodded. The music startled Harry. It was nothing but drums and throbbed through the club like a heart beat.

After the dance was over, Harry couldn’t have told exactly what he’d seen, but he wanted very much to do something like it.

Johnny moved around the stage like a big cat, all muscle and sleek silky skin. Frankie seemed to mirror him, moving on the opposite side of the stage from him. They passed each other touching, joining and breaking apart. Like lovers not quite able to make the commitment. Harry held his breath, it was beautiful. The music reached a crescendo and Frankie fell into Johnny’s arms. The curtain closed on their passionate kiss. The applause was deafening.

The announcer came out to announce the next dancer and Harry grinned. He liked this guy, he was always very nice to him. Harry’s eyes popped as he lead a small ‘boy’ out on a leash. The boy was actually around 20 years old. The dance was startling to Harry. Andrew carried a whip and snapped it at Carl, Carl cringed and crawled on his hands and knees. How they managed to make that look sexy Harry couldn’t imagine but they did.

Harry watched all that set, from the kinky to the mundane pole dance of one of the older men. He was fascinated by it all. He could actually imagine himself dancing. Maybe Frankie and Johnny would let him some day.

He hurried to the back to see if Frankie or Johnny was around. He wanted to change into his street clothing and go home. He was exhausted by the evenings new activities. But he thought tending bar was fun, it was a lot better than standing in the coat room arguing with drunks and taking bullshit from idiots. He sighed, he was getting cranky.

The walk home was fun as Harry kept teasing Frankie and Johnny about being Smooth and Silky. He snickered most of the way home and was told to go to bed the second they got in the door. He went, still laughing.

O

The next week went quickly.

Harry tended bar each evening, gaining more confidence with each hour. Dobby dropped by twice and each time taught Harry more wandless spells, and cautioning him not to let any wizard know that he could work them. He promised as Dobby seemed to get upset if he wouldn’t.

Harry also worked on his school work, finishing the end of chapter quizzes in lieu of midterms.

His mornings at the dojo were fruitful too. He learned every kata that he was assigned quickly, the morning hours stretching seemingly double the time. He used house-elf cleaning spells to get his chores done more quickly so that he could practice more. He liked the tai-chi he was taught, as well as the more aggressive hapkido, and aikido. He was also learning to meditate.

Liu-sefu noticed his tendency to lose his temper, although he tried hard not to. He’d sat Harry down on a zafu and talked with him for a while, Harry explaining as best he could what made him ‘flip’ and Liu-sefu trying to help him get a handle on it. Liu-sefu had suggested meditation as a way to control his tendency to explode.

So now Harry spent half an hour in meditation before his workout. He found that it really helped. Then he had tai-chi, after that he worked on a kata. He felt better than he’d ever felt before in his life.

This morning he was trying to decide what to meditate on but not having much luck. As he considered his options he realized that sometimes meditation should just flow from need. Liu-sefu had assigned him something to meditate on at first but he’d more and more been leaving him to his own devices. Harry decided to just let his mind wander and see where it led.

"Harry?" Harry lifted his head, realizing that he was supposed to be ready for class. "I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that you were still meditating. I hope I didn’t startle you too much." Liu-sefu bowed slightly to Harry.

Harry stood up carefully, bowed and replied, "That’s ok. I should have ... well, I’m not sure how to keep track of time while meditating. Never mind. I’m ready."

Liu-sefu smiled at Harry. "I’m pleased to see that you did lose track of time. It’s a good sign. What did you meditate on, if you don’t mind my asking."

"I was meditating on how to clear my mind and think of nothing. It’s really hard."

Liu-sefu shook his head. "You can’t just think of nothing. It’s too hard. Clearing your mind is one thing, thinking of nothing is another entirely."

Harry’s thoughtful look made Liu-sefu change the day’s lessons without a seconds thought.

"Go over to the alter and bring back a candle, doesn’t make any difference which one."

Harry went to get the candle, bringing back a fairly large pillar type on a wooden base. He set it on the floor and helped Liu-sefu put down a zafu and zabuton, one for each of them, on either side of it. He sat when Liu-sefu motioned to him.

"Now. Clearing your mind is not exactly what it seems to be. I’ve always given you something to meditate on, either a mantra or a song or some poetry. Now I’m going to take it one step farther and teach you about clearing your mind. I didn’t think you’d be ready for this just yet but you seem to learn with amazing speed. So ... look at the candle flame. Think only of it. If your mind wanders, just return to the flame. Keep doing that. Sooner or later you’ll find that you can concentrate on the flame until you decide to stop. That is clearing your mind. Thinking of nothing doesn’t work. Your mind abhors a vacuum just as all nature does. Relax, be comfortable in your own skin and watch the flame. I’ll just sit here and remind you from time to time of what you’re supposed to be doing."

Harry focused on the flame and tried to think of nothing but the flickering bit of fire. He managed a whole thirty seconds the first time. He pulled his mind back again, and again. He thought he was never going to manage more than two or three minutes but he kept trying.

It took him more than an hour to manage ten minutes of concentration, after that he managed twenty minutes. Liu-sefu called a halt when the clock said their time was up.

"Well, Harry, I’m very impressed. You’ve managed more in one session that some people manage in a lifetime. I’d like you to clean my office today. I’ll be in the main dojo if you have any questions." he gave Harry a sharp look. "Have you been having any trouble with the other students?"

Harry shook his head. "I had a bit of trouble but it handled it like you said. I told them that they were supposed to clean up after themselves, it taught them discipline. Then I just walked off and left their mess for them to deal with. I came back later and did my chores. No trouble sense then. I’ll go now, shall I?"

Liu-sefu nodded and watched Harry stride away. His gi was too short.

.

Harry went straight to the office and started to clean. Dobby popped in and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Is good Harry Potter Sir uses spells to clean. Is not house-elf or slave to clean. Why does Harry Potter Sir do this?"

Harry sighed, they went through this nearly every day. "To earn my lessons. I can’t pay for them and Frankie and Johnny don’t need to be paying for my keeping. Ok?"

Dobby nodded, he got the same explanation every time he asked, he just didn’t understand how no one would care for the Savior of the Wizarding World. It didn’t make sense to him.

"No, it is not ok. But Dobby is only house-elf. Dobby must be accepting this explanation." He made a few grumbling noises and pulled a book shelf away from the wall for Harry to clean behind.

"Dobby? Have you been doing something to ... or ... about. Have you been messing about with time?"

Dobby just shrugged. "Harry Potter Sir needs more time for his lessons. Dobby just made sure that he had it. Is this wrong?"

Harry considered this for a moment. "I don’t know. It doesn’t bother me. And Liu-sefu doesn’t seem to be suffering any harm. I just wanted to know. Um ... thanks."

"Welcome." Dobby pushed the case back in place. "Dobby will bring more books tomorrow. Dobby must go now. Dumbledore is not liking that Dobby is gone so much."

Harry wondered why Dumbledore would care one way or the other but kept his mouth shut. It really wasn’t his business. Dobby popped out and Harry finished his cleaning by himself.

O

Harry finished his work, changed into street clothing and stuck his head into the dojo proper to tell Liu-sefu that he was done. The sefu just nodded and went back to watching his class. Harry knew that he was dismissed, but the sharp glance of Liu-sefu, checking to see that he was dressed properly, made him feel warm.

He sauntered down the street still wrapped in a warm feeling and amused himself with window shopping. His favorite activity, after working with Frankie and Johnny and eating. He ate like two horses, as Johnny said, and was putting on some good weight finally. He felt better than he ever had in his life.

He wandered down the street, wondering if he could stop in the coffee shop for a latte. He put his hands over his ears to warm them as he looked in a window. The art store had so many nice things. He loved to look at them. Someday he’d have enough money to get something for himself.

"Harry, what are you looking at?"

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. Johnny had come up behind him as he was engrossed in the contents of the window.

"Blast! Johnny, give me a heart attack, why don’t you?" Harry pressed a hand against his chest to still his pounding heart. What if it had been someone other than Johnny?

"Sorry. So, now that you’ve swallowed your heart again, what are you looking at?"

"Art supplies. I did art in school when I was little, but my uncle made me quit. Said it was a waste of my time. My teacher got in some sort of trouble too. But, I think I could be good, if I had ... time and ... you know."

"Supplies. I see." Johnny nodded his head. "You know, you get paid tomorrow. Your first check at the club. I know we should have paid you sooner. But the first few days, you really didn’t work that long. Frankie and I, well, we wanted your first check to be decent. I’m sorry, we should have paid you right along."

Harry blinked, he got paid? That was new. "Um ... I never thought you’d really pay me anything more than room and board. You mean I get real money? Wow."

Johnny nodded. "Yes, you get real money. And you have to put some of it toward household expenses. We’ll talk about that later. Right now, I’m going to give you an advance. Let’s go in."

The door opened with a merry jingle from the bell over it. Harry grinned happily, maybe Johnny would advance him enough money to buy more than just a box of water colors.

Johnny told Harry that he knew the owner and was going to go talk to him. He told Harry to look around, pick what he wanted and bring it to the register. Harry didn’t hear him tell the owner, "Mark, just tell him it’s twenty-five pounds, I’ll pay the rest later. Ok?" Mark just nodded and went back to gossiping.

Harry wandered all over the store and settled on a water color box, some water color pencils and an oil paint set with everything he’d need to finish several works, as long as he didn’t want odd colors. He also picked up a color wheel and a mechanical pencil. He lingered over the canvases and pads of paper until he was sure Johnny must be ready to drag him out the door by one ear.

"Ok. I’m done. I hope I have enough money for all this."

Mark just piled the things up and started ringing him up. "Well, you’re in luck, there’s a half price sale on the pencils and the papers. Sorry to say the canvases are full price, but you’ve got just enough. Barely." He put things in bags and smiled at Harry. "Thank you for your business. Come back and show me some of your work."

Harry ducked his head. "Oh, I couldn’t. It’ll all be a mess, but I love trying."

"Please come in and show me your work. I can help you get better, maybe. I took several years of art classes, wanted to be a teacher. My dad got sick and I had to come take over the shop instead. So, I give workshops and classes here instead. A young fella like you, you’ll pick it up in no time. Just come in any time. Promise?"

Harry clutched his bags and nodded. "Ok. Thanks. I’ll have to save up for a class. How much are they?"

"I put a flyer of classes and prices in your bag. Just call to make a reservation. There’s some open workshops too. Now you better get going or you’ll be late to lunch and I know how a young guy like you needs his food."

Harry grinned at the man and followed Johnny to the door.

Johnny let Harry catch up to him then said, "I’m tired of casseroles and chops. Not that you’re not a good cook, it’s your turn for lunch. But I’m really up for some take away fish and chips. How about you?"

Harry grinned. "I don’t mind cooking but that sounds brilliant. I’m really hungry too. Can I have a double order?"

Johnny grinned. "Sure. Vinegar?"

"Yeah, but no ketchup. Don’t understand how you can ruin good chips with it."

Johnny laughed at that, Harry and Frankie had a running argument about the merits of malt vinegar versus ketchup on chips. He thought that Harry had one or two points on Frankie.

Johnny put in their order in the nearby shop and while they waited for it, he told Harry that he was free to draw or paint anytime he wanted, as long as his chores and homework were done.

"That’s the thing. I’m supposed to do a note book for ... um ... botany. I thought I’d try to paint my own pictures of medicinal plants. Along with nice hand written notes, I think it’d get me a good grade. What do you think?"

Johnny thought that he’d never seen a sixteen year old that would have even thought of something like that, but he kept that to himself. He just told Harry that he thought it was a very good idea.

They carried the take away home under their coats to keep it warm. Frankie met them at the door, grabbing the bags to take into the kitchen.

He put all the fish and all the chips on two big platters, put condiments on the table and poured beer for all three of them.

Harry just dropped his purchases on the bed and hurried to the kitchen before, he claimed, Frankie ruined all the chips by soaking them in ketchup. They had a genial squabble about which was better, ketchup or vinegar. Johnny just shook his head and stuffed his mouth with fish.

O

Harry tended bar that night too and for a week after. He spent his mornings between working out, cleaning and meditation. He’d found the fire trick to work like a charm. He could now meditate for nearly an hour. He found that it really helped a lot. He wasn’t always on the edge of panic, or losing his temper.

His bar tending had gotten a lot better too. He’d learned how to mix most of the more popular drinks the first night and had spent a couple of hours the next day learning every drink he’d heard ordered that night. Now he could mix them all.

He still cut the garbage for the whole evening. Waldo had told him that he was the only one who’d ever done it right on the first try and hadn’t cut himself to ribbons doing it. Harry didn’t mind, it was a real help to Waldo and potions had taught Harry to make quick work of the job, as well as teaching him how to make the cuts neat.

Fortunately for everyone, Frankie had had the urge to watch movies, and they’d watched Cocktail. The show some of the characters had put on by juggling the bottles had given Harry an idea. He’d practiced with wine bottles filled with water until he’d managed to get it right. He never dropped a bottle either. A little magic went a long way.

So now he was in the front part of the bar, juggling bottles, mixing drinks and chatting up the clientele. The attention made him self-conscious at first, but when he realized that no one was going to make fun of him, he relaxed and started to enjoy it.

He’d never enjoyed much in his life, Quidditch, hanging around with Ron and that was about it. Oh, he liked doing magic but often times this was sort of ruined by the painful results of doing it wrong. And learning blocks hadn’t been much fun at all. But mostly it was good, especially now that Dobby was teaching him elf magic, that was really interesting.

So he juggled his bottles, smiled at the customers and collected his tips in a small jar behind the bar, right next to Waldo’s. He wondered if he’d get to keep them or if he had to give them to someone else.

"Hey, Waldo, what do we do about the tips? I noticed that you don’t count them at the end of the evening."

"No, we have to account for them. Taxes, you know. We’ll count them on Monday and Johnny will put them down in his book. And don’t try to sneak any. They’ll both have fits. And we don’t need the trouble."

Harry gave Waldo an indignant glare. "I’d never. That’s dishonest and it’d get the club in trouble. I’d never do that."

Waldo held up a hand. "Sorry, kid, don’t bust a gut. Didn’t mean anything by it. Just ... you needed to be told. No insult intended."

Harry blushed hot red. "I’m sorry. I guess I’m a bit touchy about certain things. I shouldn’t have jumped all over you."

"Never mind. A simple misunderstanding can be fixed. I’m sorry. You’re sorry. It’s done. Forget about it."

Harry blessed Waldo with one of his sweet smiles and returned to his setups. "I’m about out of gin. Do you need anything? I’ll just have time to get stock before the next rush."

Waldo nodded and asked Harry for several things. Harry made it to the back and pulled the bottles from the shelves. He headed for the front again, arms full of bottles. The man that stepped in his way nearly made him drop them.

"Excuse me. I almost dropped these bottles. Watch it."

"Don’t give me that. You’re just like all the others. You’ll give me what I want for money."

Harry gave the man a once over. He was drunk, wearing a drinking band and he’d been in the back rooms. Harry wondered how he’d gotten away with that one.

"No, I won’t and if you make me drop all these bottles, you’ll be sorry. Now get out of my way."

Harry started to push by the drunk but was grabbed by the shoulder. He eeled out of the man’s hands and, seeing one of the other men, shoved the bottles into his hands, saying, "Take these to the bar. Go!"

The boy scurried off, to dump the bottles and tell a bouncer what was going on. The bouncer arrived just in time to see the man make a grab for Harry. Harry just moved out of his way and let him run right into the bouncer who led him away with a smirk at Harry.

Harry took the time to knock on the door of the office, stick his head in and tell Johnny that someone was letting people with drinking bands into the back rooms. Johnny got up and announced that he was going to be busy tonight. Harry just nodded and went back to the bar.

He was more and more afraid that he wasn’t going to work out well in the back side if the club.

O

The very next weekend Harry found out that Frankie and Johnny wanted him to become one of the higher paid back room ‘boys’. They wanted him to be part of the living furniture. He had thought carefully about all this and decided that he’d try, both Frankie and Johnny had assured him that, if he didn’t like it, he could quit at any time.

So Harry reported to the club early on Saturday morning to learn how to be a table. He had to snicker a bit, he’d learned a lot at Hogwarts, but never how to be furniture. He wondered what his friends would think about this. He wondered what Dumbledore would think. He was pretty sure he knew what Snape and the Malfoys would think.

"Ok, what do I do? I don’t think I can hold that tray for very long without dropping it. My arms will get tired."

Rudolph, the trainer at the club, just smiled at Harry and showed him a strange harness made of chains and cuffs. There were way too many cuffs and some of them looked way too big for his wrists. "It’s not that hard. The harness actually does all the work. All you have to do is kneel in one place and look pretty. With those eyes, you’ll get plenty of tips. And, remember, you’ll be changed out every two hours, so it’s not really that hard. So ... into the harness with you."

Rudolph helped Harry get into the harness, kneel on the floor and get comfortable. Or as comfortable as he could be trussed up with leather and chains. He put the tray on Harry’s hands and walked off. Harry struggled to keep from squirming and finally realized that, if he let himself settle into a meditative trance, he would be able to kneel as long as he needed to. He’d been very successful in his meditations lately.

So Harry meditated on Occlumency as the most boring thing he could think of. It would keep him occupied, trying not to fall asleep, which would keep him meditating longer. He hoped to be able to complete a shift without embarrassing himself. He was a bit startled when Rudolph came to help him up.

"Great, that went well. Are you stiff? I need to know so that we can switch you out quickly."

Harry moved his arms and legs. "No, not stiff, just ... I’ve got a bit of pins and needles in my feet. I can walk ok, though."

Rudolph examined Harry quickly and watched him walk. "I think you’ll do fine. You held position, let the harness take all your weight. And you’re so beautiful that you’ll get lots of tips. Come on. Let’s get you a couch so you can rest until show time."

Harry just put on the robe Rudolph handed him and followed the man into the back of the club to the lounge full of couches and easy chairs. He wasn’t looking forward to this but it would please Frankie and Johnny that he was judged good enough.

O

Draco glared at Pansy and wondered what he’d ever seen in the silly sow. She’d been gloating about Potter being missing again. She thought he’d been eaten by trolls, a thing he wished on her with glum viciousness. Where the hell was that prat?

Draco had spent quite a bit of time thinking about Potter. And he didn’t like his musings much. Dumbledore seemed to allow him all sorts of privileges, but when he looked at them more closely, they were loaded with dangers. He wandered the halls at will and found everything from trolls to who knew what. He was allowed to sneak into the library and use Restricted books which put him in the way of all sorts of dangerous spells, spells that could backfire and kill him. Never mind the fact that Lucius had found him in the Department of Mysteries and had the devil of a time keeping Bella from hexing him into next year. All in all, Draco decided that he’d rather not have Potters privileges, they were way too deadly for him.

He also kept in mind that Snape had allowed him to sneak all sorts of things into Potters cauldrons, spoiling his brewing time after time. A thing he now regretted. When, not if, Potter found out about it, there was going to be hell to pay. And Snape was going to have fits too.

He shifted in his chair and returned to his revising.

O

Professor Snape grumbled and rubbed his feet, one at a time, with a warming cream. He was frozen again. Dumbledore was now past worried and into frantic. Potter was not hiding in any magical enclave that he had any contact with. Professor McGonagall was also frantic, despite her stern demeanor when she dealt with the boy, she loved him in her own way and worried about him constantly. Snape found himself forgetting the pathetic writing in the cupboard in his irritation at having to spend his time tramping London looking for a needle in a haystack. The boy was in for it when Snape found him. If he ever did.

Snape stood up, gathered his cloak in one hand and his cane in the other. He still resented bitterly the need for it. But, when he was tired, he needed it. And he still had a palsy in his left hand as well. He snarled to himself. Voldemort and Potter deserved each other.

O

Lucius Malfoy put his ear, figuratively speaking, to the ground and listened for any hint of a green eyed boy in the rather seedy parts of Muggle London he had contact with. He was sure that Harry was hiding in what someone had termed ‘the great unwashed’.

He’d hired Muggle detectives and put out discrete wanted notices. He’d had a few bites but no luck so far. The few boys that had green eyes were not Potter. His ward. Lucius shook his head in wonder. Dumbledore was going to have a fit. He smiled a bit that at thought, then frowned as he realized that he needed to stay on Dumbledore’s good side.

It was a great deal harder than he thought it would be, being good. But he was determined to succeed his family depended on his ability to play the chameleon, his and Draco’s. He decided to have another talk with Draco the next weekend he was home. He was glad he’d managed to push the return to the old rules through the board of governors, it gave Draco the chance to come home every third weekend.

O

Ron Weasley worried, it was all he could do. He hated the feeling of total helplessness that invaded his mind every time he thought of Harry. Where was he? Was he hurt? Was he hungry, cold? Ron slammed his book shut and went to find Hermione, maybe she’d thought of something.

He wanted to go to London to look for Harry. He was sure that he’d find him, somehow. Even though his common sense told him it was impossible. He wanted to try. They’d been through so much together that he couldn’t imagine not being there for Harry when he needed him. It made him crazy.

Hermione was in the library, researching Find-me spells. She was sure that, if she found the right spell, she’d be able to find Harry.

Ron wasn’t so sure. He thought that Harry would only be found when he was ready to return to Hogwarts, and he’d only be ready when he was sure that he’d never have to go back to the Dursleys.

O

Albus Dumbledore had never felt so helpless or annoyed. Harry James Potter had managed to fall off the face of the earth. As he didn’t have a spy in the ranks of the Death Eaters anymore he had no idea if they had him or not. He thought about trying to have Malfoy check around but he wasn’t quite sure he trusted him yet. He knew that Lucius put a great deal of pride in the fact that he’d never broken his word to someone unless they broke faith first, but still.

He decided to have him go to the Dursleys to see if he could find anything out. As he remembered, Petunia had been very impressed with Lucius the only time she’d met him. It would be a test for Lucius, one he hoped the elder Malfoy passed.

O

Lucius opened the window to Fawkes who perched on the back of a chair and bobbed his head for Lucius to take the envelope from his beak.

Lucius read the note with some irritation but decided that it was a good idea to see if Dudley knew anything. Not that Petunia would, the stupid woman had always envied Lily and made a nuisance of herself to most of the magical people she came upon. He wondered if that wasn’t one of the reasons she hated magic so.

He summoned his house-elf and told it to bring him a cloak and boots. It was still quiet cold out and he had no intention of freezing himself while he waited for Petunia to answer her door.

He apparated to the back of the Dursley house and walked around to the front.

The sight that greeted him was unexpected. Dudley was loading things into their car. Petunia was just coming out the door with an armful of clothing.

"Excuse me. My name is Lucius Malfoy. Could I speak to you for a moment? I realize that this is an extremely awkward moment."

Dudley eyed Lucius for a second. "You’re Draco’s dad?" Lucius suppressed his wince ruthlessly and nodded. "Well, you can tell him I don’t know where Harry is. Don’t want to either. He’s better off where ever he is than here. Pop’s gone completely spare. We’re leaving. Mom found a job and an apartment we can afford. Someplace he doesn’t know where we are." he turned to Petunia and took the clothing and stuffed it into the back seat. "That’s about all we can get in here. We’ve got all the dishes and kitchen stuff we’ll need. Arse can keep the rest. Bed linens and towels, I think we took most of both. And all our clothing. I think we better give the rest of the stuff a pass."

Petunia just shrugged. "I’ll get your Play Station and stereo. We should take the tv too."

Dudley looked doubtful for a second then just shrugged. "Ok. I’ll see if we can get it in the boot." he turned back to Lucius. "Look, I’m sorry to be rude but we have to get out of here before Pop gets back. We need the car to take our stuff, but Mom just found out that only his name is on the car. He went on some sort of field trip with a co-worker so he’s in that car today. Lucky for us. But I bet he tries to charge us with stealing this car. I don’t know what to do." he rubbed his face with one hand. "I’m sorry, I’m sure you’re not interested in our troubles. Just go away."

Lucius looked at Dudley for a moment, the slight green tint to one cheek and the dark circle under his left eye told their own tale. He thought for a bit then offered, "If you take my advice, you’ll unpack the automobile then take it to a police station in a different district from the one you live in. Explain the situation to the officers and hand them the keys, walk out and don’t look back. Do not get in touch with Vernon for any reason.

Dudley brightened visibly. "That’s a great idea. I was worried about that car. Thanks."

"You’re welcome. If you hear from Harry, please send a letter to this address. And, if you don’t mind, I’d like to look around in the house for a bit."

Dudley took the calling card, glanced at it then put it in his wallet. He shrugged carelessly. "If you want to look around, help yourself. I’ll send a letter if I hear from Harry. But ... why are you so interested in him?"

"Personal reasons. I don’t think you’d understand ... or care."

Dudley got a stubborn look on his face. "Look ... I wasn’t very good to Harry for a long time. So, I’m trying to make up for it a bit now. Now that Mum and Pop have split, he doesn’t have a place here anymore. You going to make more trouble for him? I hope not."

"No, no trouble. In fact, believe it or not, I want to help him."

"Good. He deserves it. Look, we gotta go, now. Bye."

Dudley climbed into the front seat and slammed the door. Petunia had stuffed the small tv into the boot while they were talking and gotten into the drivers seat. When the door shut, she started the car and immediately backed out leaving the front door hanging wide open.

Lucius helped himself to entry. In other words, he just pushed the door and walked in. His explorations led him to the kitchen, nothing exciting caught his eye there. He wandered a bit, noticing that there were no pictures of Potter anywhere.

He climbed the stairs and looked around. The smallest bedroom caught his eye and he started to open the door when he noticed the locks, four of them. He blinked and opened the door wider. The barred windows were the next thing he saw. He wondered what such heavy bars were meant to keep out then realized that they were meant to keep Harry in. He shook his head. Ridiculous.

As he started to leave, he noticed the cat flap and wondered why it was in an interior door. He stood in the hall and thought for a moment then went back down the stairs. Something Harry had said once was nagging at the back of his mind. He went directly to the cupboard under the stairs and gazed at the door for a moment, it had three locks on it. He shook his head again and knelt to open the door.

He was amazed to see how small it really was under there. The pallet on the floor, pushed back as far as it would go, was still there. And he shuddered. He realized that he’d tried to kill Harry, at Voldemort’s orders, but this was cruel beyond what even he could have thought up. He had never been into torture for torture’s sake, it had to have some point. And he really didn’t ‘do’ children. And the one time had been more than enough and one of the reasons he had finally seen Voldemort for what he really was. Lucius crawled further into the cupboard just to see if Harry had left anything useful. He hadn’t. But Lucius saw something written on the wall. He struggled close enough to read it.

"Damn them! They all need a good cursing." He got up and stalked to the door, apparated to Malfoy Manner and spent the rest of the day planning.

O

In case you’ve forgotten, here’s what Harry wrote in the cupboard.

"My name is Harry James Potter

I am eight years old

I won’t live to be Nine.

I’m so very hungry

but I’m too thirsty to eat

Someone please remember me.

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