Just in case you're confused, let me clear up the matter. I am not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own Harry Potter, and am certainly not making any money off of this. I'm writing this purely because I enjoy it, and I hope you do too.
A Sirius Matter
Chapter 19 - Dreams and Plans
The next afternoon, Harry and Sirius went to see a wizard solicitor, Miranda Flemming. She was an attractive middle-aged African woman wearing gold-colored robes and a black pointed hat. She shook Sirius' hand and then Harry's (he wasn't in disguise except for the blank glasses he was wearing). "Hello Mr. Potter. It is an honor to meet you. You too, Mr. Black. What can I do for you? Mr. Black, were you dissatisfied with your compensation for unjust imprisonment?"
Sirius smiled and shook his head. "No, that's not it. Actually, it's Harry who wants your help."
She gave the raven-haired teenager a scrutinizing look. "What may I do for you, Mr. Potter?"
"Well," he said unsurely, "In the muggle world, if someone uses your likeness without your permission, you can sue them for the money they made doing it. I'm not sure of wizard laws, but I know that many businesses are using my image to make money. For example, a bakery down the street sells cakes with the image of me catching a Snitch and is making a lot of money because of it. I've also seen t-shirts with my face on them, and several other things like that. I'm getting sick of it. I don't care that much about the money, but I'm sick of seeing my picture everywhere I go while people use my fame to get rich."
Miranda sat back in her chair and started thinking. "Well, I know that there are no wizarding laws against that, but you are right that it's not fair." She scratched her chin as she thought. "Without any law to…"
Sirius cut in. "Don't we have the right to privacy?"
"Of course. But what…so you're saying that Harry's privacy is being violated by everybody using his image. Also, with your image on a product, it appears that you're endorsing it, so I suppose that's false advertising." She sighed. "I might be able to get a court to try the case, but without a solid law on the books we'd never win in court."
Harry looked down. "Well, thank you for your time."
"I'm not finished. We could send a very legal-looking letter to these companies requesting that they stop using your image or start sharing profits with you, threatening to publicly condemn their company if they don't. Harry Potter saying he doesn't like a particular bakery could have a serious affect on their business."
Both Harry and Sirius smiled at that idea. Harry said, "Alright. What I'd like to hire you to do is find any product with my image or name on it, and write those companies. I have never given my permission to anyone to use my image."
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After they negotiated a price for her services, Sirius apparated Harry back to Black Manor, where Sirius told Harry, "I guess now's as good a time as any to start your motorcycle lessons."
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Over the next few weeks, Harry spent a few hours learning how to drive the bike, while Hermione made sure he didn't stop studying ancient runes while Sirius worked out Defense class plans. They'd both completed the homework from their classes, so Harry could concentrate a lot more on it. When Ginny's birthday came around, they had a surprise party for her. Harry suspected Sirius didn't need much of an excuse to throw a party.
Four days after Ginny's birthday, Harry and Hermione earned their purple belts in karate. This meant that they didn't have to attend the last week of classes, but decided to anyway to help Neville practice, since, just as with the yellow belts, he hadn't quite been able to pass the test and had to retake it. During that week, Sirius and Harry were notified that Sirius' petition to become Harry's guardian had been approved, so they had another party. The next day, Harry got an owl from his solicitor saying that she'd sent an owl to fourteen different companies she'd found using his image.
That was the same day Neville was able to proudly put on his purple belt. After Harry and Hermione congratulated him, they invited him to continue practicing with them once school started, which he gladly accepted. There was one week left in the summer, but they didn't know if they would be able to practice or not. They were going to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys. Neville's Gran unfortunately wouldn't let him go, saying she'd let him do that muggle karate, and that should have made him happy enough. Sirius planned to take Harry and Hermione for a weekend at a beach house after the World Cup (provided the game didn't take all week) and bring them both to Kings' Cross Station on Monday, September 1st, to see them off to Hogwarts.
A few days before the cup, Harry was lying in bed, dreaming that Hermione was sitting at a table reading. He walked up to that table and sat down across from her. She marked her place and closed the book, looking into his eyes as she licked her lips. Harry was about to kiss her when suddenly she looked like…Wormtail. He looked around and he was no longer at the library. He asked Wormtail where Nagini was, and continued the conversation until finally Harry pointed his wand at an old muggle caretaker and said, "Avada Kadavra!"
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Harry's green eyes opened wide as he reached his hand to his scar. It was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had pressed a white-hot wire to his skin. He got up out of bed and started pacing around his room, breathing heavily. He realized he was drenched with sweat, so he opened the door and walked to the bathroom. When he got there, he started out splashing water on his face, but then decided to just take a shower.
When he'd finished, he was leaving the bathroom wearing a towel when he heard Sirius' voice say, "You're taking a shower pretty early, aren't you?"
"Oh, I, well," he said, feeling a bit embarrassed over waking up from a nightmare. "I had a dream about Voldemort and Wormtail, and, well, I woke up with my scar hurting. It's fine now though."
Sirius' eyes widened. "Your scar hurt? Has this ever happened before?"
Harry walked into his bedroom. "Yes, in my first year, when Voldemort was at Hogwarts. If you don't mind, I'd like to put on something besides a towel, and then I'll tell you all about it."
About an hour later, Harry had just finished telling Sirius about his first year, the dream he'd just had, and the prophecy Trelawney had made the day Wormtail escaped.
Sirius sighed. "Well, I guess we'll have to be careful. I think your scar is some sort of connection to Voldemort, so…"
"So you think that what I dreamed might have really happened?" asked Harry.
He nodded. "Yes. I also think we should tell Dumbledore about the dream." He took a deep breath. "If you have any more dreams like this, let me know."
"Ok. But why haven't I always had dreams like this?"
Sirius looked very old. "The only answer I can think of was inside the dream. If that rat is helping him, then he's…"
"Getting stronger," answered Harry, his face pale. "Since we're up, want to practice dueling?"
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Please review. Thanks to those who have. (For the contents of Harry's dream, see chapter one of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.)
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