Episode 3

Episode 3

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- I'm not going anywhere without Dudley!

- Harry's not going anywhere without me! - The two children's voices merged in unison. Albus once again tried to influence the boys with both magic and legiliments. But the trouble was, magic seemed to be bumping into something in the children, refusing to change their minds, their thoughts, their attitudes toward one another. Harold failed to brainwash them into trusting him, the headmaster, to whom they had to go at all costs. Nor did he succeed in instilling disgust for his cousin. Dudley, too, was out of reach for reasons unclear. It was a mystery.

However, apparently the brothers were interested in magic enough to convince them that magic was good at school. But here's the trouble: Harry did not want to go alone. Dumbledore could not get into the boys' minds, so he could not find out how they ended up in the musty room and who their guardian was, which - the headmaster had no doubt - he certainly was. And if there had been a chance to talk to an adult - he would have been able to separate the brothers. But the longer the conversation lasted, the more clearly he realized: there had been no adults in the children's lives for a long time. They were too sensible, too independent for their years, clarifying details about school that no child their age would be interested in. Well, who among the children would find out what the school feeds, where the students live and in what conditions, who does the laundry, washes the dishes, cleans the school building, but most importantly, who pays for it all? No one. And these boys managed to corner Albus Dumbledore himself, and he had to say who sponsors the school, and that education there is not so free. The key to Potter's student safe in the magical Gringotts bank Albus also had to lay out. And Albus wanted to give it to the Weasleys. Those were not living well at all, and Harry, he thought, would not notice that a couple of hundred galleons a year were disappearing from his account. It was nothing to Potter, and, according to Dumbledore's plans, he was not supposed to be interested in money. But, apparently, the boys had a hard time without adults, and they learned to appreciate every penny.

What did they do, I wonder? However, the Headmaster of Hogwarts was sure that someone had simply felt sorry for the brothers and took them on as a part-time job.

As a result of the conversation, Albus had to come to terms with the fact that the cousins would go to Hogwarts together. Especially since he suspected a magical fever in Dudley, which indicated the presence of a magical gift. And indeed, not an hour later, an owl flew in with a letter, too...

Why hadn't he noticed Dursle's name on the fall admission lists? That was a matter to be sorted out. Though it was unlikely that Dudley could have made more progress than Longbottom. But he could have thwarted plans for Harry...

The brothers also refused an escort to Beveled Alley, only to find out the address and how to get there. And no matter how much the Headmaster insisted... he never earned his trust. Dumbledore was upset because if Harry went unaccompanied, there would be no one to show him the special safe at Gringotts, from which an object would soon have to be stolen that would not be there. The object, therefore, will not be seen by Potter either. Plans will have to be adjusted.

Before he left the room, where he was not welcome, in order to clarify the answers to the questions that had arisen, and at the same time to slip a chaperone already in Slanted Alley, he non-verbally threw a tracer on the boys. But he never noticed that the spell had lingered on the boys for a while...

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- We're wizards, Harry, can you imagine? This is so great! - Dudley exclaimed rapturously, falling onto the squeezed couch.

Harold wasn't that happy:

- I didn't like that principal. I didn't like the way he looked at me evaluatively, as if I were a thing. I didn't trust him. And I certainly wouldn't relax in his presence," he shared his suspicions with his brother.

- Oh, come on. Relax once in a while. You don't expect anything good from anyone," Dursle brushed him off lightly. He looked at you like the bastards who used to ask us to work in a brothel and then try to kidnap you," he squeaked frightened: - You don't think this "director" wants to lure us somewhere and...

- No. He often turned the subject around, but he avoided lying. And he's demonstrated quite a bit of magic, too," Harry shook his head, hiding the inner shiver from his brother. Forgetting the day he'd been kidnapped, dragged into a brothel, and called a pretty bedfellow, pulling back his grown-out hair, he couldn't manage. He was not naive and understood what he had been kidnapped for and who he had been offered a job as. Perhaps he had been very afraid that day. If it hadn't been for Dudley.

The brothers were indeed very well built for their age. They had to "keep in shape," as Dudley called it. Their trade was not an easy one, and it was fraught with dangers. If they had been underfed, they would not have survived. So their sports training was excellent. And their long ponytails of uncut hair and angelic baby faces gave them a certain charm. So they were often offered a lot of money for a "night of love" in the underground, where they were already well known, because they had to sell stolen goods somewhere. But the boys knew how to stand up for themselves if something was going on. I had to learn.

- You know, brother, I think the question of magic might be cleared up with old Bill," Harold suggested thoughtfully. The old receiver of various precious metals had always struck him as a sorcerer from a fairy tale. Of course, it was just a decrepit old man, but suddenly... Grandfather treated them well, always honestly exchanging metals for money, not trying to cheat like others. And the tea was delicious. Harry could have sworn he saw him with a wand just like the Hogwarts headmaster's... - Good idea! - Dudley seconded the idea. - But that's for tomorrow. In the meantime... I think I understand why my parents disliked you so much...

***

- Oh, I see. So the old fart found you after all, Harry Potter," the old man grinned into his thick mustache as he smoked his pipe and watched his brothers drink their tea. Of course he was a wizard! Of course he recognized Harry Potter right away. Not by the scar. By his face, which was very similar to that of his father, who, in turn, was a copy of his father, with whom Bill had studied at Hogwarts. Was he interested in the fate of the Boy Who Survived? No. Was he interested in how he was left without guardians and ended up on the streets with his cousin? No. But the personalities were of interest to him. The boys differed from other thieves their age by being more fortunate and having a sensible approach to money, to business, to life. He knew that they never took more than they needed to live. And that alone was strange for pickpockets.

And yes, he pitied the boys. They reminded him of himself in his distant childhood. So he treated them a little... differently. And, of course, he told about the magic school, about the magic world and a little bit about magic itself. And gave him some books to read, one of which mentioned Harold as the victorious Dark Lord Voldemort. Well, so that the boy would be prepared to be expected to do something forever.The news of Harry's promoted fame, the brothers didn't like it...

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- Brooms as transportation, cauldrons as potions, frogs as ingredients, robes and pointy hats as clothing... I expected more," Dudley told his cousin frustratedly when they had already bought everything they needed for school except clothes and wands, and were sitting in the café eating ice cream. - Yeah, I didn't expect it to be so... corny, either," Harry sighed. They spent some of the money from their own savings, which old Bill had exchanged for magic galleons, shekels, and knats. But before they went to the goblins, they decided to get something to eat. Ice cream seemed like the right food for them. - Well, at least the magic fever potion Dumbledore recommended helped...

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- And what, all this gold was bequeathed to me by my parents?! - Shocked, Harry asked the goblin, who took them on a cool ride straight to the coveted safe.

- This is just your school bill," the goblin informed him coldly and dryly. - In addition, you will be charged annually for the rent of the safe..." The goblin prattled on and on, settling on his favorite horse and plunging deeper and deeper into the numbers. The brothers did not listen to him. Only took the amount they needed for their first-year shopping and tuition. Dudley took for himself without asking: he and his cousin had long shared everything... However, the main information for themselves from the goblin they had caught: Harry at the age of magical maturity was to get a few more safes and property bequeathed by parents, grandfather and grandmother, born Black, and therefore had their own, not related to the accounts of the spouse, safes. This pleased the boys: when they got an education they would try to set up their own business, they thought alike. In the meantime, they were unaccustomed to too much gold...

***

- Good afternoon, boys. First year at Hogwarts?

- Yes, ma'am," Dudley replied politely, fleeing from the centimeter tapes that tried to measure him in various places. He himself was looking at a platinum blond boy about their age who was squinting at them. He was dreaming about this boy, and so Dursle knew that he would make a bad impression on them that would either cause them to feud or... a warned Harold would change history. And indeed, as soon as the woman, the atelier mistress, stopped measuring and left, the boy spoke to them with a feigned but awkward superiority in his voice, clearly imitating one of the adults. But he fell silent thoughtfully after Harry's first answer to his question, "We don't know which department we'll get into and, if I'm not mistaken, no one does. And you... Don't you think you talk too much? And this is not the right place to have this kind of conversation. Also, I don't think that a truly cunning man would go after those who are branded as cunning. I think that such a person will hide in the crowd of those people from whom cunning will be the last to be expected. - The stranger looked at Harry in a new way, more assessing, while Dudley tried to discreetly tell his cousin that one more phrase and the feud would be eternal. But no, the boy returned his haughty face, "My name is Draco. Draco Malfoy," he held out his hand for a handshake.

- Harold James Potter," Harry answered easily, shaking his palm.

- This is my cousin, Dudley Dursle. - Dud shook hands with a stunned Draco as well. The brothers were already beginning to crinkle, imagining what might begin, as Harold's hand had already been crushed by everyone who only recognized him by the scar. But the atelier owner returned just in time, shoving Malfoy's purchases and escorting him outside to his waiting mother.

- Do you think we could be friends? - Harry asked Dudley thoughtfully.

- Anything's possible...

***

At Olivander Dudley's store, literally the first magic wand that the wizard offered - ash and mermaid scales - came up - at once depriving the child of all fears concerning his magic. The shopkeeper didn't seem to be expecting Survivor Boy to come to him not alone, but with a peer. And he was anxious to talk to him alone. But he couldn't, so he mumbled a sentence or two explaining that it was the wand that chose the wizard, not the other way around. But he was even more surprised when the wand with the phoenix feather, Voldemort's sister wand, contrary to Albus and Olivander's own plans and hopes, did not fit Harry Potter. On the other hand, a perfectly experimental wand made of a five-hundred-year-old owl, combining three rare and expensive fillings: phoenix ashes, ligatures from a sphinx's throat, and a dragon's heart vein, suited him perfectly. The wizard had to knock a few hundred galleons off the real cost so Potter could get his first wand, which were usually cheap.The boys didn't even suspect what they'd purchased. But while they were paying, they noticed, among the other things, a special sheath, from which, even with magic, they couldn't steal wands, much less lose them. The children seldom asked Ollivander anything but wands, and he was speechless when his cousins saw them happy with their purchases...

***

- Harry, here's what I think: if we want to show ourselves to be decent people, you and I should update our closet. A cloak is fine, of course. But it won't cover up your worn-out shoes," Dudley said thoughtfully, lying on the couch. - And eyesight. Yeah, I read the ad... I think you should have your eyesight fixed by surgery. I checked, it's not too expensive. We can do it. At least you won't get helpless if you lose your glasses. I'm not sure if they do surgery on kids, but... you can fool the doctors with magic.

- Are you sure you want to spend a pretty penny on me, Dud? - Harold raised his head with interest.

- Well, we make pretty good money. Plus, we're winning pretty good at the slot machines, thanks to my gift. And... I think your parents themselves would want your eyesight fixed and would give any money for it.

- I'm afraid of going completely blind," Harry admitted quietly. He'd thought about going to the clinic himself more than once. But he'd always stopped: he'd been afraid of the dark since he'd been a kid in the closet. It had been his friend, he knew the dark like no one else, and he was afraid anyway. So he was afraid of losing his eyesight, even if it was crappy... We want to be part of a magic world, don't we? I'm sure that there, if anything, magical medicine will fix what ours can't," said Dudley with determination. - Come on! Let's go right now! Hogwarts was a week away...

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