The Last Kefsen by Jardyn39
Prologue
It is a less than a week since Harry returned to Privet Drive after finishing his Fifth Year at Hogwarts. He is resigned to staying with the Dursleys for the entire summer and is still grieving the loss of his godfather.
Chapter 1: Harold
It was about eight o'clock on a bright Tuesday morning in early July. Harry Potter had just left his Aunt and Uncle's house in Privet Drive. He strode quickly for a few yards down the road in his relief at getting away and then slowed immediately when he realised that he was in no hurry and had nowhere particular to go.
He shivered slightly in the cool morning breeze. Perhaps he should have put more than just his T-shirt on. He wouldn't go back to change though. It was bound to warm up later he thought to himself looking up into the clear blue sky.
Harry had gone about eight houses along the road when he realised he was approaching an elderly man struggling to get something large and heavy out of the open boot of his car. Harry recognised him as a neighbour that had lived in the street for as long as Harry could remember. They had never spoken and Harry had no idea what his name was.
Harry regretted not seeing him sooner as he would have crossed the road to avoid him. As he was so close now he decided to continue past on this pavement side. He decided to hurry past.
As he drew level he heard the man groan, drop the bag, and straighten up. He cursed under his breath and looking up at Harry said, "Morning." Harry thought he looked like he was in his mid-eighties. He was quite thin and stood with a slight stoop. His hair was white and neatly slicked back. He wore old dark coloured jeans, a collared shirt, a woollen jumper with several large holes and an old dark coloured jacket and one of the pockets was frayed slightly.
Harry gave a weak smile and mumbled "Morning." He had continued on for two steps and then stopped.
He couldn't just walk by.
"Excuse me, but can I, er, help at all?" asked Harry. The old man straightened up again and looked at Harry with mild surprise.
"I could use a hand, thanks," he croaked with a small smile. "These are a bit heavy. The DIY store loaded this into the car for me yesterday but I didn't really think about unloading!"
Harry smiled and stepped off the kerb and around to the back of the car. He saw that the boot contained a large polythene bag full of sand. It looked very heavy.
"Grab hold of one end and we'll lift together," said the old man.
Harry did as directed but knew immediately that it wouldn't work. It was very awkward leaning into the small boot opening and he could see that the old man struggled to keep hold of the wet plastic bag.
"Tell you what," said Harry after their first attempt, "let me see if I can get the bag out." Before the old man could protest, Harry leaned in and wrapped his arms around the bag. He managed to get a good purchase and heaved the bag half-way out of the boot leaving it balanced on the rim.
Harry shifted his arms slightly and then pulled the bag up into his forearms. As he did so he realised there were several more bags of sand and cement underneath.
"Hey, mind you don't hurt your back!"
"That's better," Harry said, trying not to sound like he was straining as much as he was. "Where do you want it?"
"In the back garden, at the bottom."
"Lead the way!" said Harry as he walked forward.
The old man hurried to the side gate and opened it. Harry followed and carried the bag into the garden. He would have liked to have dropped the bag immediately but decided he would rather not try and lift it again. Instead he proceeded down along the concrete path to the bottom of the garden to where a small patch of ground had been cleared.
"Drop it there."
Harry waddled over and finally dropped the bag. The bag had been getting lower and lower as his grip had begun to fail on the way. He straightened up rubbing his lower back. "That was heavier than it looked!" he said smiling.
"Thanks," the old man said, and Harry saw his eyes flicker up to the gate and he realised he was wondering about the other bags still in the car boot. Harry looked around and saw an old wheel-barrow.
"How about we use that barrow for the others?" he said smiling still trying to get his breath back.
"I didn't think of that! Thanks ever so much for helping. My name is Harold by the way," and he held a craggy hand out. Harry shook Harold's hand and realised they were both still shaking from the effort of lifting the bag.
"No problem. I'm Harry," he said and he went over and dragged the wheelbarrow out from the bushes. It was very old and rusty but it would do nicely. He reached in and lifted out the three old bricks that were inside and placed them on the ground before following Harold back up the path.
Half an hour later they had unloaded the car and Harry returned the wheelbarrow to its original position. As he walked back up the path he looked around the garden. It was kept very neatly. Harold obviously enjoyed gardening. About a third of the garden was given over to vegetables and the remainder was grass and planting beds.
As he got back to the patio at the back of the house Harold met him with two steaming mugs of tea.
"Thanks!" Harry said, taking the drink. He lifted the mug to his mouth and felt his arm muscles shake. Instinctively he brought up his other hand so as to hold the mug steady as he drank. "So what are you building, Harold? I can see you've cleared some space down there."
"Base for a greenhouse. It's coming next week so I thought I'd better get a move on."
At that moment Harry heard a rustling noise. Both he and Harold looked sideways to the neighbouring fence. It was an old timber close-boarded fence with several broken and missing boards. Behind the fence, on the other side, was a large privet hedge.
Harry thought he could see movement through the small openings in the fence but what gave the concealed neighbours away was the giggling and whispers.
"Alright 'Arold? Ready to learn some new moves?" asked a loud girl's voice which was immediately followed by louder giggling. Harry smiled and guessed there were three young girls in the bushes looking through the fence.
"I'm still working on the last ones!" said Harold laughing and as he gave a small wiggle of his hips the girls laughed loudly.
"Nat, what are you doing in there?" came a woman's voice. "Oh, hello Harold," she said warmly as she cleared the end of the hedge heading towards a washing line. She was a tall woman carrying a large basket of washing.
"Morning, Dear," said Harold, still laughing. Harry heard more rustling as the girls extricated themselves from the bushes followed by a click. Music blared out and Harry saw the woman pause from hanging the clothes and look back at the girls with a frown. The volume was immediately lowered.
"Er," began Harry, "So would you like a hand with the base?"
"I would," began Harold but his face dropped as he continued "but can't really afford …"
Harry smiled. "I haven't anything better to do. Pay me in teas!" and he drained his mug.
*
By then end of the day, Harry had cleared away the rest of undergrowth and dug down past the topsoil over the area that would be needed. They measured and pegged out the base and Harold explained that he needed a clear path around the greenhouse to the base had to be big enough for that too.
Harry, who admitted knowing nothing at all about building, was impressed at how knowledgeable Harold was. He clearly knew exactly how to build the base even if his physical strength was no longer there. Harry sensed Harold's frustration and several times had to stop him lifting and carrying.
Harry had begun dropping the broken brick and concrete rubble into the sunken marked out area when Harold suggested they call it a day. Harold, who had been collecting this rubble in small amounts over quite some time, advised Harry that this would form the sub-base and would need to be compacted to form a firm base.
It was only when Harry climbed the stairs up to his bedroom that he realised how exhausted he was. He dived into the shower and was in such a rush not to be late for dinner he didn't have time to get annoyed that Dudley had just used up the last of the hot water.
He dumped his sweaty clothes in the laundry hamper and went straight to the kitchen tap. He drank the first glass of water immediately before refilling his glass and taking it to the table.
Aunt Petunia eyed him suspiciously. "What have you been doing?"
"I've been helping Harold at No. 14. He's building a greenhouse base. I asked if I could help."
"Harold? Old Mr Smith you mean?"
"I suppose. He just said his name was Harold. Oh, and he gave me some seedlings he said were spare. He thought you might like to have them for the garden."
*
"Thanks, that was really nice," said Harry as he handed his empty plate to Aunt Petunia as she collected the dishes. She seemed to struggle to accept his compliment. It had been just the two of them for dinner and they had eaten in the kitchen. Uncle Vernon had been entertaining clients for lunch and was not expected back until later. Dudley had rushed out just before dinner and Harry was thankful since he got Dudley's meal.
"May I be excused?" asked Harry.
Aunt Petunia just nodded and Harry rose from the table. Without thinking he went over to the sink and turned on the hot water tap. Feeling the water temperature rise he placed the bowl under the tap and reached for the washing up liquid. As the bowl filled he went back over to the table and took the plates from Aunt Petunia who was watching him closely. She looked like she was about to say something when the doorbell rang. She got up and hurried to the front door.
Harry started to clean the dishes when he heard muffled voices and laughs. He heard Aunt Petunia's give a high false laugh before shutting the front door. Curious, he went into the living room only to find Uncle Vernon sitting in his favourite chair, smiling stupidly and with a rather glazed look. He was very drunk and quite oblivious to Aunt Petunia's livid stare.
Harry smiled at Aunt Petunia and glanced out of the window to see three suited gentlemen struggling to get back in their mini cab. They looked quite inebriated too.
*
The next day, Harry and Harold finished the sub-base and placed the side shuttering. They spend some time checking that everything was square and level but only after Harry had compacted the rubble. He had rather enjoyed that, whacking the brick and concrete into the ground with an assortment of heavy implements.
During the morning, Hedwig came over to inspect the works while Harold was making some tea.
"What do you think?" he asked her as she sat on the fence. She hooted approvingly before flying off. He presumed she was satisfied. Hedwig had a keen sense about how he was feeling. Yes, he thought, I am feeling better. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, pulled Harold's old leather gloves back on and carried on working.
They finished about mid afternoon as Harold said they would need a full day to mix and lay the concrete for the base.
They both sat drinking tea enjoying the garden and seeing the occasional sparkling batten spin high into the air from next door. The mysterious batten throwers were certainly getting better, Harry thought. He had retrieved and returned several errant battens so far. He would hold the batten over the fence waiting for it to be grabbed by a small hand. Sometimes he would receive a shy, "Ta," but usually it was just more giggles.
Harry found he enjoyed doing physical labour. He could switch off, stop himself from thinking about recent events. He had slept soundly last night too.
"You just finished your exams, Harry?"
"Yes. I start … Advanced levels in September if my marks are high enough," replied Harry, hoping he would not inquire too deeply.
"They take two years?" asked Harold. Harry nodded.
"I know a lot of young people can't wait to leave school. It'll be much better in the long run if you stick at it for as long as you can."
Harry looked over to him.
"I left school at fourteen and ended up taking evening classes so I could get the certificates I needed. It's called vocational training now, I believe. The courses weren't difficult but it took a lot of effort to give up so many evenings. Have you thought about what you want to do after school?"
Harry shrugged. "I have thought about it. There's only one thing I have seriously thought about but the entry requirements are a bit steep."
Harold raised is eyebrows enquiringly. "It's sort of to do with the law," said Harry, not wanting to explain too much.
"Oh great, another bloody lawyer!" Harold said grinning at him as another wayward batten landed on the grass just in front of them.