Ch 4: Initial Plans
Later that afternoon, Harry stood up and walked over to Hedwig's cage with a small scroll in his hand. Opening the door, he called softly, "Come here, Hedwig. I need you to take this letter to George or Fred Weasley. It doesn't matter which. But please do it quickly. Thanks." With an affectionate nibble on Harry's ear, Hedwig took off into the late afternoon sky. Before turning back to his bedroom, Harry thought he noticed an approaching speck in the sky. Coming closer, he noticed a rather dignified looking hawk descending to his window. In a rather formal manner, the bird raised its leg so that Harry could retrieve the message. With a stiff nod, the bird then leapt from the window and soared upward. The inscription on the scroll read "Mr. Harry Potter, heir of the late Sirius Black."
With a heavy heart, Harry broke the seal and unrolled the scroll. "Mr. Harry Potter, At the request of Sirius Black, we hereby inform you of the recent changes he made in his will. As the last remaining descendent of the Black family, Sirius Black has transferred all remaining estates, properties, accounts, investments, etc. to his godson, Harry Potter. Inasmuch as you, Harry Potter, remain a minor, the estate will be administered by Remus Lupin, who has been designated by Sirius Black as Harry Potter's guardian until Mr. Potter reaches the age of seventeen. In the meantime, Harry Potter will be given full ownership and control of Sirius Black's previous residence, including all of the items and servants within. Any questions may be addressed to Gertrius Mondoke at Gringotts, Diagon Alley. Sincerely, with respect, etc. etc."
Harry wasn't really surprised, but it did remind him of the finality of Sirius' death. With a crooked grin, Harry thought wryly, "I would give up both the Black and Potter fortunes just to have them all back. I doubt I'll ever be able to spend all of the money I've inherited." Tapping his favorite eagle feather quill against his cheek, he turned back to the small desk where his blank parchments lay and began to write again.
*-*-*
"A letter from Harry?"
"I wonder what this means?"
"He can still write?"
"Shut up you stupid git and unroll the letter." The two pairs of eyes read through the letter fairly quickly and at the end, George and Fred looked at each other with mischievous glints in their eyes.
"Wicked."
"Cool. I wonder what Harry needs all of this stuff for?"
"Isn't it obvious? He's planning one helluva surprise for somebody."
"Excellent. I hope it's for those awful relatives of his. Should we send him some extra surprises?"
"Of course. You can never have too many specialty items from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. I suggest we see how Harry makes use of his little care package, and if he's up to snuff, we'll promote him to full partnership status."
"My thoughts of course, dear brother. And as a full partner, obviously he would see the need to help us conduct experiments and test our products on the students…erm…excuse me…on behalf of the students at Hogwarts, right?"
"Yes, I was thinking the exact same thing. Now lets get his package together and off to him so that the fun can start."
*-*-*
Just after dusk, Harry, resting lightly on his bed, arose quickly to unlatch his window to let in two very tired looking owls. The package was larger than he had expected, which explained the grumpy looks he got from both birds. He gave them water and a double helping of snacks, which seemed to improve their mood immensely. After giving them a half hour to rest, Harry looked at the Weasley's owl sadly. "I'm sorry to have to ask you to fly again so soon, but I have an important errand I need for you to run." With that, he attached a small scroll to the owl from the Weasley twins and sent him off.
Checking through the box, Harry found everything that he had asked the twins for, plus a couple of extra bonuses. With a smile, he thought, "How considerate of those two. They even sent me some going away presents to give the Dursleys. A couple of Tongue Toffies, which Dudley probably remembers. Plus some Bubblehead Bubblegum. Hmmm. The description says that unlike the Bubblehead charm, this gum actually turns the chewer's head into a large bubble while retaining their facial characteristics. Wish I had time to see that one. And this must be for Uncle Vernon. Wrinkle Away Spray. The bottle says `Never worry about unpressed clothes again. Just spray on to erase the wrinkles-Caution, one hour after being worn, the clothes disappear as well for twelve hours. Do not use on underwear, or at least, not on your own underwear.' Excellent. Uncle Vernon does like to make an impression at work. Looks like they have some stuff for my aunt, too, but…No. She's my mother's sister and no matter how she's treated me, I won't do anything to her. But I think the Make-up Remaker should have a nice interaction with both Uncle Vernon's and Dudley's shaving cream. What does the can say…recolors the make-up every ten minutes for eight hours. Boy, tomorrow is going to be a long day for those two. Heh heh heh."
Harry moved around the room, collecting everything he owned and placing it all in his school trunk. He then gathered his `gifts' for his uncle and cousin and threw his Invisibility cloak over his head. Reaching for his pocketknife, he slid it through the doorjam and felt it unlock the various locks his uncle had installed. Pausing momentarily, he listened to the various snores that ensured everyone else in the house was asleep. Quietly, quickly, he deposited the candies in several of the hiding spots Dudley used to store the food that allowed him to survive his strict diet. He also sprayed several of his uncle's best slacks, and mixed the Make-up Remaker with their cologne, aftershave, and shaving cream. "Maybe they'll get lucky for a couple of days," Harry snickered to himself. Lastly, he found his aunt's broom and returned quietly to his room. He had barely closed the door and run the pocketknife's third blade along the doorjam to relock the locks when a sharp pop broke the silence of his room.
"Master called for Dobby?" croaked the house-elf, his bulbous eyes scanning the room quickly.
"I'm right here, Dobby," replied Harry, pulling off his Invisibility cloak. "And I'm not your master."
"Ahh, yes. Whatever Master Potter says. How can Dobby be of help?"
"Well, Dobby, I have a few questions about house-elves…" A half hour later, a satisfied Harry told Dobby thank you and good-bye. With that, Dobby disappeared again with a pop. Harry then turned to Hedwig, who looked much better rested now and promised, "This is the last flight tonight, Hedwig. Then you can have a nice long rest." Harry leaned over and whispered lightly in his ear and Hedwig leaped from the window into the sky and quickly disappeared into the dark night.
Harry gazed at his room once more to make sure nothing else remained to pack. Checking in the mirror, he made sure everything appeared as it should. Dark pants and a dark shirt were covered by one of his black robes from Hogwarts. He tucked his wand into his beltband, just in case. He hoped he wouldn't need it, since if he had to use wand magic he would probably draw the attention of half the Order of the Phoenix and probably some Death Eaters as well. With a loud sigh, Harry finished his preparations to leave the Dursley's house on Privet Drive, hopefully forever.
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