"It means we have more time to study now," Hermione had told him and Ron when they had complained. It was true, they did have more time to study, and Harry couldn't deny he was relieved that he wouldn't have to face dementors for the rest of the term, but he couldn't be passionate about studying like Hermione was. Hermione lived to learn new things. Harry only learned what he needed to to survive.

"At least you have extra defense lessons with Professor Lupin," Ron grouched.

"You could learn with Fred and George," Harry reminded him. The twins had still been unsuccessful in casting a patronus, but they were still working on it regularly.

"I guess," Ron said. "I think they were sort of waiting for you to get it down with Lupin first and come back and teach them."

Harry couldn't deny that Defense was one of the things he liked learning and studying. He had even sent away to Flourish and Blotts for several books, including one on dementors and several on advanced defensive spells. When the books had come back Hermione had taken them without even asking, and Harry had let her. She did ask for permission to mark in them, and as with the books he had once shared with Justin, he approved, knowing anything she highlighted would be something he would want to remember as well.

So when Professor Lupin had asked him to come to his office twice a week for extra defense lessons to learn to cast a Patronus, Harry had been pleased. This was information he needed to know to survive, and he threw himself into the lessons wholeheartedly. That didn't mean he was enjoying them though. In fact, it was far from it, and he was coming to dread each new lesson as they approached on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Harry was practicing on a Boggart, which was able to take the shape of a dementor and could even conjure some of the powers a dementor did. This meant that until Harry was able to fully cast a patronus, he ended up passed out on Lupin's floor several times during each lesson, once again having to relive his parent's deaths and Voldemort's chilling words. The only good thing about fighting a boggart in dementor form, was that his mind didn't feel very foggy afterwards, and his body wasn't left shaking and weak when he woke up. Lupin kept a plate of various chocolates for Harry to have during lessons, and they helped as well, but it wasn't something Harry was looking forward to to chase away the boredom.

Harry was provided with a brief distraction one rainy evening when a letter from Silver came to him in the tower. Harry sat at his desk in the dorm and read over it twice. The house had been purchased, and the wards cast. All he needed now was to make a trip with Silver to set the wards with a password. Harry would have liked to leave the castle very much, but wasn't sure if he would be allowed now with the Dementors. He debated asking Snape, who didn't seem to care as much about his well-being as Dumbledore, but decided in the end that he should ask Dumbledore, who was more likely to approve ‘frivolus' trips out of school during the term. Harry would have to figure out a way to make it sound like a serious business venture before he approached the Headmaster about it though, and that would take some thinking.

Another distraction came a few days into their newfound captivity within the castle, when a large box of Honeydukes solid chocolate bars appeared on Harry's nightstand.

"Wow, Honeydukes Harry," Ron said, spying the box when they went back up to the dorms one evening to retrieve a board game. "You send out for it?"

"No." He crossed to the nightstand and pulled a folded parchment away from where it was taped to the top of the box. Snape's spiky words on the parchment read, ‘Property of Harry Potter. You must still report encounters with Dementors to me or another Professor immediately.'

Harry just stared at it until Ron asked who had sent it.

"Snape," Harry said.

"Snape sent you chocolate?"

Harry handed him the note and then lifted the lid from the box of chocolates. Inside were 10 individually wrapped solid chocolate bars. They weren't the dark bitter kind that didn't taste good either, they were the kind every kid raced to Honeydukes for on Hogsmeade weekends. As with the other kids Harry had been disappointed that he wouldn't be able to go to Hogsmeade now to go to the candy store. But here was a box just for him. Property of Harry Potter. And as Ron had said, Snape had sent it to him. To him, not to Gryffindor in general.

"Can I have one?" Ron asked.

Without comment Harry lifted the first bar out of the box with reverence, as though it was the best thing he'd ever been given (in truth it was one of the few things he'd ever been given), and handed it to his friend, who had shared his own stash with Harry when he'd needed it.

"Thanks," Ron said. "I'll save it for when I need it, and at the end of the year if the Dementors don't get me before then, I'll eat it on the way home." He put it in the top drawer of his own night stand and Harry wondered if the chocolate would last that long.

"We should get some more," Harry said. "To eat."

"Just to snack on?" Ron asked.

"Why not? Can't go to Hogsmeade. We can owl out for it." Harry was glad owls didn't seem to be affected by Dementors or he would never send Hedwig out again.

"You mean it?" Ron was excited now, sitting forward. "I've got a few sickles dad gave me over the summer."

Harry waved him away. "Let's make a list of what we want. Go get Hermione and Ginny and the twins."

"Harry pulled out one of his dark green Muggle lined notebooks and a black pen from Magic Mart, and wrote at the top of one sheet, ‘Honeydukes Order'. On another sheet he wrote, ‘Tantalizing Sweets Order.'

The door opened a minute later and Fred and George came in, followed by Dean, Seamus and Neville. Ron still hadn't come back yet.

"Is it true Harry?" Dean asked. "You're making an order to Honeydukes since we can't go into Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Want anything?"

The other third year boys began digging around in their trunks for their money and came over to Harry and began listing things off, dropping the money on his desk. Harry wrote down, ‘Dean Thomas - 2 bars Honeydukes Fine Chocolate, 1 bag Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.' He wrote Seamus' name under that, and then Neville's name with Neville's order. The third year boys left, leaving Fred and George with Harry.

"We don't have any pocket money to order," Fred said. "Ron said to come up anyway."

"Tell me what you want," Harry said. "I've got it this time, so long as you don't plan on bankrupting me," he laughed.

George rubbed his hands together. "Can I get some chocolate frogs? Three? Is that too much?"

Harry wrote George's name down and wrote, ‘3 Chocolate Frogs.' "What else?"

"Firey black pepper imps," Fred said, tapping on the paper for Harry to write it down. "And a box of fizzing whizbees, and a bag of exploding Bon Bons."

"Sugar quills," George added, but Harry wrote that down under George's name on the page for Tantalizing Sweets.

"You're ordering from two shops?"

"Whatever Tilly sells on Knocturn I'm ordering from her. The things she doesn't sell we'll get from Honeydukes."

Fred and George thanked Harry and promised to pay him back somehow, and left, but as soon as they walked out Hermione and Ginny came in and left the door open. Voices drifted up the stairs and Harry asked, "What's going on out there?"

"The whole house is on the stairs waiting to order," Ginny said.

Harry leaned around the doorframe and his brows raised so high they disappeared into his bangs.

"Ron sort of shouted it to the whole house," she said, and she and Hermione giggled.

Harry took their orders and a few sickles Hermione had, and when they left a seventh year Prefect came in and slapped him on the back.

"Best idea you've had yet Harry," he said.

By the time Harry was done taking orders almost two hours had passed and he had ten pages filled up to order from Honeydukes and eleven pages for Tilly. Ron had found a box somewhere and had put it on Harry's desk for people to deposit money into.

Harry added a note to the bottom of both orders to take the money from his account, since there was no way now to separate out the money in the box between the two since they didn't know exact prices of each item.

When everyone had finally gone, Ron sat back on his bed grinning and said, "There, now I've earned some candy," and Harry laughed and nodded. Ron had given him the few Sickles he had and then ordered some more on top of it with Harry picking up the rest of the bill.

Harry counted the names on his list. There were 57. "Did we get everybody?" Harry asked. "57 kids, but aren't there 77 or something in Gryffindor?

"Some kids didn't have money."

Harry got up without a word and went down to the common room. It was almost eight in the evening.

"Who didn't order because they didn't have money?" he asked.

"What's it to you Potter?" a seventh year boy asked.

"If you didn't order because you don't have money, come up anyway. Everyone gets something from this order." He turned and went back up the stairs and several overexcited first years jumped to run after him, as well as a few older students.

"Pick two candies," Harry told the ten students who had come up.

"Any two?" a first year girl asked, eyes wide.

"Whatever you want."

"Can I have a licorice wand and a chocolate frog?"

"No," Harry said, and her face fell, but before she could start to pout he said, "we'd better make it two licorice wands and two chocolate frogs." She giggled and he wrote the order down. A few minutes later he was through the last of the students, though he noted several still had decided not to order. That was fine with him.

"Now where are you going?" Ron asked as Harry got up with the box of money and the notebook full of orders.

"I gotta send these off."

"The money too?"

Harry grinned. "I'm going to ask the Headmaster to take me out this week." Maybe there was a good reason to have a day every week with the Headmaster after all. This was also a chance to get to see Silver and set the wards if he could get away with it.

Curfew was at nine for third years and above, so Harry still had a few minutes to make it to the Headmaster's office.

When he got to the stone gargoyle he paused and looked at it. If what Snape said was true, he could give it any password and it would let him in. "Crystalized pineapple," he said, and the gargoyle sprang aside. He grinned and got onto the moving staircase.

The door opened of it's own accord for Harry when he got to the top, and he stepped into the empty office. The Headmaster wasn't there, but the door to his quarters off to the right was open and light was spilling out.

"Sir?" Harry called.

"Harry?" came the surprised reply, "come in!"

Harry went through the door and spotted the Headmaster up in the living room and climbed the few stairs to join him. It looked like he had just settled in for the evening with a book and a cup of tea on the couch in front of the fire.

"Good evening my boy," Dumbledore said with a smile. "What have you there?"

"Money sir, and orders for Honeydukes and Tantalizing Sweets from Gryffindor. I need to send the orders off and then take this money to my account to deposit it to cover people's orders. We figured if we couldn't go to Hogsmeade, at least the candy could come to us."

"Splendid," Dumbledore said, and patted the couch next to him to invite Harry to have a seat.

"I'm expecting Professor McGonagall in a few minutes, I hope you don't mind her joining us Harry. You are of course welcome to stay. If it's after curfew I'll write you a note."

"Thanks. I was wondering if we could spend a day together Sunday and go to the alleys. I need to deposit this money and I also need some time with Mr. Silver."

"Is this the urgent matter you spoke to me about before?"

"Yes sir."

"Will he be taking you for some amount of time?"

Harry paused. He guessed it wouldn't really be a day with the Headmaster if he was just going to go off with Silver.

"I do need to do something with him."

"May I inquire as to what?"

Harry bit his lip.

"Whatever it is dear boy, you will not be in trouble."

"I- bought a house." Harry said. "And had wards installed. I need to set up the password."

"A house?"

Harry began to fidgdet. He couldn't tell the Headmaster about his plans to tell Sirius he could use it to hide out. But could he tell him about the other reason he'd bought it?

"I just- never wanted to be without a place to go ever again. Like over the summer."

Dumbledore gave him an appraising look and then said, "I will never let that happen to you again. Neither will Professor Snape. If having a home of your own is what it takes for you to feel safe Harry, then I'm all for it. When you graduate or become ready to start a family when you're an adult, you will already be ahead of the rest with a place to call your own."

"You're not upset?"

"I'm not, I promise," he said.

"Then maybe you could take me," he said. "They put up anti-Muggle wards and made it unplottable. I just need to set a password."

"Then we shall go on Sunday. Thank you for trusting me with this Harry."

"I- thanks for taking me."

"Would you like some tea?" Harry nodded and the Headmaster poured him a cup of peppermint tea.

"Sir," Harry said, deep in thought. "We're stuck in the castle for now, and I'm making an order for Gryffindor. But instead of making the whole castle send orders by owl, what if we had some shops come to us one Saturday morning?"

Dumbledore seemed to consider it and looked like he was working details out in his mind. "We've never done anything like it before," he said, "but in these circumstances we must adjust. I don't see that it would hurt to send an invitation. Honeydukes?" he asked.

"And Tantalizing Sweets."

"Heaven forbid we forget Zonkos," said McGonagall as she came in through the open door to Dumbledore's office. The man smiled at her as she took a seat on the couch across the coffee table and poured herself a cup of tea.

"A bazaar weekend," the Headmaster suggested.

"They've only been shut in the castle two weeks Albus. Perhaps if we give the children a chance to write home to ask for some money first? Then we could invite the vendors not for this weekend but for next."

"Of course," Dumbledore said. "Having something to look forward to for all that time should cheer them up."

"There will have to be some rules," she said. "There's too many students to buy from three shops all at once."

"If we set up in the Entrance Hall," Harry said, "and put a bunch of board games and hot tea and hot chocolate in the Great Hall, that could help people spread out," Harry thought out loud.

"A chance for Filius to set up a choir performance?" Albus asked Minerva, and she nodded.

"He'll be thrilled, and the entertainment will help keep interest inside the Great Hall. We could send one year at a time to the Entrance hall to buy their things." She looked between the Headmaster and Harry and asked, "Which one of the two of you came up with this? I'm tempted to think it was you Albus, bringing two candy stores right into the castle."

He laughed and tilted his head sideways at Harry and Harry jingled his box of money. "Our young enterprising friend here has already collected thirty galleons worth of candy orders from your den of lions Minerva. He thought the rest of the school would like the chance to get sugared up and hyperactive as well."

"Severus would never allow it," Minerva said with a knowing smile at Harry. He'd chosen the right man to come see about his idea. "How very fortunate he's not here at the moment."

The three of them smiled and Harry sat back to finish his tea and listen to the Headmaster and his Head of house talk. Apparently it was a social call as nothing more of importance was discussed. Harry was happy he'd come though, and went back to the dorms at nine feeling satisfied. He wasn't bored at all when he was making plans and taking orders... maybe being a businessman was fun after all, and not something he had to do just because he'd inherited these many businesses.

* * *

Harry owled Mr. Silver to let him know he had made other arrangements to finish setting the wards and that he would be doing so over the weekend. On Sunday morning Dumbledore took Harry to Diagonalley and into Gringotts to deposit the money Harry had collected from the Gryffindors into his bank account, and then he personally delivered half of the Gryffindor order to Tilly's shop on Knockturn. He'd sent the other half of the order to Honeydukes the night before with Hedwig since it was such a short flight.

Tilly flipped through the five pages of the order and seemed joyous. The Headmaster was interested in all of the things Tilly had for sale that were different than from Honeydukes, and put in an order for himself as well.

"If you come back this afternoon I can have the order ready," she told Harry. "Otherwise I'll arrange to have it sent by floo. That will cost extra."

"We will return at four," Dumbledore told her. "Is that enough time?"

She nodded. "And I suppose you want the orders marked with the names of who they're for?"

"If you can, if not that's fine," Harry said.

"I can. I have more helpers now. Three ten year olds at Peverell's take turns coming over to help me make goodies. As soon as you leave I'm heading over there to collect them to get the order together."

"We would also like to invite you to sell your delightful sweets and goodies at the first ever Hogwarts weekend bazaar," Albus said. "On the morning of Saturday October the 7th. The bazaar will begin at 10 am in the Great Hall. You may arrange to floo or arrive by other means."

"How much is this going to cost me?" she asked.

"Nothing," Harry beamed. "Hogsmeade weekends are cancelled so we wanted to invite you, Honeydukes, and Zonkos to sell in the Great Hall for a few hours. We thought maybe we could do it again later in the year."

"Honeydukes sells some of the same items as I do," she said.

"If you can arrange it with him, you can each agree to bring items the other isn't bringing to sell. Then students will have to visit both of you to get what they want."

"That's not a bad idea," Tilly said. "I grew up with Gerrin Honeyduke and I should pay him a visit anyway. I haven't seen him in more than twenty years."

They told her they'd be back later and headed out. "Would you care for some tea before we take care of matters elsewhere?" Dumbledore asked, indicating the new tea shop, Exotic Teas. It was a little chilly to be sitting outside in the little plaza, but there was just enough room inside for three little tables and a booth. Harry nodded, thinking something hot to drink would be perfect.

The corner building Exotic Teas now occupied was as tall as Peverell's Orphanage which was next door, with the edge facing the plaza in the shape of a square with the corner cut off. The outside walls had antique looking paned glass windows going all the way up to the second floor.

A bell tinkled over their heads as they went inside and a woman about McGonagall's age smiled at them as they came in. There was a young couple, probably just a few years out of Hogwarts sitting at the booth in the back corner conversing in low tones and drinking their tea.

Harry thought the little shop smelled amazing. Dozens of spices blended together to make the shop smell like the coziest little place in London, and Harry thought he might not want to leave.

"What'll it be?" she asked as they approached the counter. There was a tall menu behind her and above her head. So tall in fact that Harry had to crane his neck back to look all the way up it.

"Tell me about your lemon teas," Dumbledore said, and she was off and running describing over a dozen types of tea. "Our lemon zest morning tea is perfect to pair with a poppy seed muffin," she suggested. "Or if you're feeling under the weather or would like something spicy, we have a lemon ginger tea to die for."

"A cup of your lemon zest morning sounds delightful," Dumbledore said.

"And for you?" she asked Harry.

"What's dirty chai?" he asked, staring up at the menu.

"Oh that's quite lovely," she said. "We have nineteen kinds of chai, but the dirty chai is a chai from across the pond mixed with a smooth french vanilla coffee and cream. It's creamy and warm, and will wake you up."

"I'll have that," Harry said.

"Excellent choice."

A minute later she brought over two tall cups of tea and asked if they would like muffins, cakes, or other baked goodies she had for sale. The Headmaster took a lemon bar dusted with sugar. He paid for the purchase and they moved to one of the little tables by the tall windows. As Harry sipped his drink he looked up to the two story tall windows and watched as rain started to fall outside and splash against them. It was warm inside, and as he looked around the warm wood tones of the old floor and highly polished counter they had ordered at, along with the strings of warm yellow lights hung here and there, he thought if he had to run a shop it would be just like this.

"Enjoying yourself?" Dumbledore asked, and Harry nodded.

"Yes sir, it's very cozy in here."

"How is your drink?"

"Could use this to warm up after the Dementors," Harry joked.

Dumbledore smiled but there was worry behind his eyes at the mention of the Dementors, so Harry determined himself not to mention them to him again on this trip.

"And your tea sir?" he asked.

"Delicious. Lemon is one of my favorites. It's quite hard to come by a good cup of lemon tea, though now that I've had this I wonder how their others are."

They ordered two more cups of tea, a different kind of lemon for the Headmaster, and a sharp black liccorice tea for Harry. He had been given licorice tea several times now while having meals with the Headmaster and was growing fond of it.

"I think Professor McGonagall should come here," Harry told him as they drank their second round of tea.

"She would enjoy it," the Headmaster agreed.

"She gets her tea from that shop in Croydon."

"Once Upon A Tea Time?" the shop owner asked. The shop was small and they weren't whispering so it was easy for her to listen to their conversation.

"That's it," Harry told her.

"They specialize in bulk teas from the far corners of the world," she said. "She's got some good things over there. They sell to Hogwarts don't they?" she asked the Headmaster, and he nodded.

"Yes, though I may have to begin ordering some of your wonderful blends as well. What do you have in chocolate?"

The Headmaster and shop owner talked for several minutes, and then Harry and Dumbledore put their traveling cloaks back on and headed out into the light sprinkle of rain.

He held out his arm for Harry to take, and when Harry had a firm hold, they apparated to Harry's new home in the woods near Perth on the River Almond.

"A lovely place for a home," Dumbledore told him. "Have flood wards been cast as well?"

"Yes sir, because it's close to the river."

"Fire wards?"

Harry nodded and said, "And some others. I think they wove magic into the wood to prevent rot and keep pests away, and they said something about warding the counters to resist caustic potions."

When they went to the door it was unlocked by Harry's touch, as Silver had written to him it would be. No one else could open the doors or windows unless he keyed them to the wards.

"How do I set a password?" Harry asked.

"Typicall password wards are woven into the mantle wood above the front door. You must touch the mantle wood with your wand and say a word or set of words. That will become the new password. Only you will be able to reset it as they are only keyed to your magical signature."

"And anyone with the password can get in?"

"Since an unplottable spell was cast, your home will be invisible to anyone who does not know it's exact location already as well as the password. Would you like some privacy to set the password?" he asked.

"I'm not even sure what the password will be yet," Harry said, sitting at the kitchen table to think. He'd also had Silver put an order in for some basic furniture. It was nothing fancy, just a basic wooden table with two wooden chairs and a couch big enough to sleep on. He noted Silver had also had blankets and a pillow delivered, as they were folded and set in a neat pile on the couch.

"You must only whisper the password," Dumbledore said. "Do you mind if I have a look through the house?"

"Sure," Harry said.

Dumbledore went down the short hall of the little cabin and opened the door to one of the bedrooms. Harry planned on having another look around as well before he left, but first, the password. What should it be? A few things came to mind, but he felt like they were all stupid things. They would have been fine if it was just him who would be using them, but he planned on sending the password and location to Sirius too.

Finally Harry settled on a phrase and stood on his toes to touch his wand to the mantle above the front door. The tea shop fresh on his mind, Harry said quietly, "Lemon tea," and felt a tingle run through his wand and down his arm. Wondering if it was done, he went down the short hall and found the Headmaster admiring the view of the woods out the window of the back bedroom.

"Is it set?" he asked.

"I'm not sure how to tell. I felt a tingle run down my arm."

"When we exit the home and leave the property, we will know," he said.

Harry wasn't sure how they would know, but trusted him as they turned and left. They walked to the property boundary, about a hundred feet upriver from the front porch, and when Harry turned back to see how far they were from the house, it had vanished.

"It's gone!" he said excitedly. "Does that mean it worked?"

"Yes. In your head, think the address and the password."

Harry did as he was told and the house reappeared. "Wicked," he said, delighted.

"Now," Dumbledore said, clapping his hands together, "what shall we do for lunch?"

* * *

The candy from Tilly's shop was packed in a huge wooden crate with the words, ‘Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts, Deliver To Harry Potter,' stamped on the side in red. Dumbledore had been able to apparate both Harry and the box back to the gate on the edge of school grounds. Harry knew they were back because the air was colder here, not from the weather, but from the Dementors. He'd felt so light and carefree on the alleys and at his new house, but here at the edge of the grounds he felt weighted down. He also felt safe though as he was with the Headmaster, and noted the Dementors were keeping well back, watching them from the darkness under their hoods.

Dumbledore unlocked the gate with a wave of his wand and then levitated the crate of candy up the drive, trying to engage Harry in conversation to keep his mind from the Dementors.

"Sir," Harry said when they were nearly back to the castle. "I really appreciate this. I mean what you've been doing for me. I know I'm a bother and you have other important things to do."

He looked at Harry as they walked, box still hovering in front of them. "But you are the most important of those things Harry," he said. "Don't forget that. I won't."

Harry looked away, cheeks turning red.

Thirty minutes later, Harry found that the large crate from Honeydukes was outside of Gryffindor tower with a similar stamp on the outside stating that it was for Harry. Dumbledore hovered both crates into the common room for Harry, to much applause from the group of students gathered inside, bade Harry a good evening, and left.

"Let's pry the lids off these things!" Ron said loudly to Harry, and some of the students cheered.

Because Tilly had labeled which candy went to which person on her half of the order, and Honeyduke's had done the same, Harry was able to reach into the crates, pull out a bundle of goodies tied together with twine, and call out a name. "Dean Thomas," he shouted, and Dean held up his hand by the fire. Harry tossed the bundle of candy to him and he caught it. "Oliver Wood!" Harry tossed another bundle of candy over the crowd to Oliver and then continued on until both crates were empty. At the bottom of the Honeydukes crate there was a note folded in half and taped to the crate announcing that Honeydukes would be attending the Hogwarts weekend bazaar next Saturday. There was also a stack of fliers announcing the date and time with the Honeydukes stamp on it and Harry assumed the man wanted them put around the castle. Ginny said she would do it and went off with some of her friends to hang them up.

That night before bed Harry sat alone at his desk and stroked Hedwig's feathers, parchment in front of him and waiting for the ink to dry. The letter said, ‘I live at 102 River Almond, Perth. I hope you prefer lemon tea. You can send a letter back with my owl if you want to.' He hoped Sirius would use it if he hadn't already found another safe place to live. If he had used it or if he hadn't, Harry wasn't certain he would ever know.

* * *

Two days later some fliers from Tilly came by owl and that same night fliers from Zonkos were handed to Harry after dinner by McGonagall. Students were buzzing as they went on about how fun it would be. For the rest of the week he heard students talking about how much money they had on them, things they were planning to buy, and how they had written home asking for advances in their allowance.

"It's gonna be great," Ron said Friday evening. "Is it true we're supposed to have a special meal tomorrow night as well?"

"I don't know," Harry said.

"You're on the inside," Ron reminded him. "You're practically the Headmaster's kid. You're supposed to know these things."

He was surprised Ron thought that. He didn't feel like the Headmaster's kid, though Harry supposed he didn't really know what it was like to be someone's child or to have a parent. He often watched how Ron's parents treated him, and took in the details, but he always felt like an outsider looking in because he'd never experienced it.

Before dinner was over, an owl swooped in and landed next to Harry's plate. He recognized it as one of the Flourish brother's delivery owls. It was large and black with big yellow eyes. They had fifteen of them that looked just like this one to deliver books to customers. There was a note tied to it's leg.

"What is it?" Hermione asked him, seeing the Flourish seal on the outside.

"It says there's a package waiting for me in the Entrance Hall."

Ron's brows rose. "That's strange isn't it? To send you a letter telling you there's a package somewhere else for you?"

Harry shrugged and got up with Hermione to go see what it was. Ron wasn't done with dinner yet so he didn't go with them. Harry didn't find a package in the Entrance Hall however, he found Basil sitting on a crate just inside the great Oak front doors.

"Harry!" he said when he saw him. "You didn't invite us to the bazaar?"

"I never even thought about it," Harry said.

"Lucky for us I heard about it through the grapevine and the Headmaster was happy to have another shop come in. I have a few crates of books students might find interesting. We had them in storage and around the shop. Bennet and I gathered them up and brought them over."

"What kinds of books?" Hermione asked hopefully.

He pried the lid off the crate he was sitting on and let her peer inside. "101 Fantastical Curses To Use On Bullies," she read. She looked like she was torn between wanting to find out all 101 curses and protesting the book altogether as it was promoting violence against those you didn't get along well with. Harry laughed at the look on her face.

"There's an entire crate with Quidditch magazines and books," Basil said. "And a crate with all kinds of interesting books on unicorns, magical pets, and other creatures kids your age like to read about. The third crate has books with fun and useful charms and potions and things like that. I brought a table and folding book racks too. I'll be back tomorrow to set up early, probably around six. Are you going to work the bazaar with me?"

"Definitley," Harry said.

"You're not going to play games with us?" Hermione asked. Rumors had been spreading all week that the Headmaster had purchased new board games for students to play and that there might be prizes.

"Well-" Harry said.

"The bazaar goes until three," Basil said. "Why don't you work until twelve with me, then come back at two?"

"Sounds good," Harry said.

Basil and Harry lifted the crates of books with magic to a corner of the Entrance hall between the stairs and the doors to the Great Hall, and then Basil put a spell up that only he and Harry could unlock. It cast an invisible dome over the crates so no one could get into them. Just as Basil was leaving and students began to come out of the Great Hall from dinner, the massive front doors opened again and Gerrin Honeyduke came in hauling several huge crates on a trolley. He had to have been using a spell to keep them from toppling over. He set the crates down in another corner between the hourglasses by the front door and the entrance to the dungeons, cast a spell similar to the one Basil had used and left without a word.

"Wonder if Tilly will show up tonight too," Harry wondered out loud, but soon professors were urging them to go back to their common rooms so Harry never found out if she did.

* * *

Harry found Hermione waiting for him in the common room at five the next morning. "What are you doing up?" Harry asked.

"I thought you could use some help setting up the Flourish And Blott's bookstand."

Harry grinned at her as they left the common room and said, "You thought you could browse all the books before everyone else and decide which ones you wanted to buy."

"I thought maybe I might get paid in books," she said, "and that I might look through them all first," she acknowledged with a smile.

They weren't usually supposed to be out this early, but before bed the night before McGonagall had given Harry permission to come early to help set up. Basil was there in the Entrance Hall pulling a table and book racks out of a crate, and so were Tilly and Justin.

"Hey Harry," Justin said when Harry and Hermione passed.

Harry waved and Justin said, "I was here half an hour ago helping her bring things up from the gates. Professor Sprout went with us to keep the Dementors away."

"Dreary business," Tilly said. "And on a day like this when it's pouring and dark out it was hard to see them and know where they were."

Harry set to work helping Basil set up the book stands and table and Hermione went into the Great Hall to see if there was at least some tea or something to help wake them up. She found tea service and pastries at the end of the staff table nearest the Entrance Hall but wasn't sure if they were allowed to have any or not as there was no staff around to ask.

At six Snape came out of the entrance to the dungegons to find some coffee and supervise the area since students would be coming down at seven. Harry didn't see him watching as he passed through the Entrance Hall though.

Severus served himself coffee from the staff table and moved back into the Entrance Hall with his mug. The Headmaster had assigned him the odious task of shooing errant children out of the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall until ten when the bazaar officially started.

"It could be worse dear boy," Albus had told him. "You could be assigned to setting up the board games and supervising them in the Great Hall all day."

Severus had silently agreed with him and agreed to stand around and sip his coffee until the little miscreants began to appear for breakfast.

The young Zonko's shopkeeper came in with a single crate of items and began to set up shop in the only empty corner left in the Entrance Hall, but Severus wasn't paying him much attention. His eyes were on Harry, who was happily carrying armfuls of heavy books to Granger, who was then placing them one by one on tall book racks. Basil Flourish was setting up a till and counting his starting coinage.

Harry almost jumped when Severus cleared his throat from behind him and said, "Potter, you would be well advised to eat breakfast before the rush of students comes at seven."

"I didn't think breakfast was being served yet sir?" he said with question in his voice.

"There is tea service for the shopkeeps at the Head Table."

Harry bit his lip and Severus sighed. "That means you and Miss Granger and Mr. Finchfletchy as well, as the three of you appear to be working today."

"Thank you sir," Harry said. Basil waved he and Hermione off and Harry ran and grabbed Justin's sleeve and led him into the Great Hall. They each got a cup of hot tea and a pastry and sat down at the end of Gryffindor table to eat. A few minutes later Gerrin Honeyduke came in to join them for a quick cup of coffee.

His eyes scanned the three third years and found Harry and his scar immediately. "That was some order you sent in last week Mr. Potter. Thank you for organizing it."

"Everyone was pretty down about being stuck inside," Harry said. "We thought if we couldn't go to Hogsmeade, it should come to us."

"Are you the one who organized the bazaar?"

"I thought of it," Harry said, "but the teachers organized it."

"I see. Well thank you for the invitation. I realize you could have only invited businesses you own interests in."

"Why would I do that?" Harry asked.

Gerrin gave Harry a funny look, like Harry was dumb, or perhaps that he had no idea what Harry was all about. Harry almost laughed.

"We rise together," Harry told him.

"Not many would think of it like that," Gerrin said. "For most it's all about profit... all about their own business interests."

"I don't see any point to living like that," Harry said. And really, he couldn't see how anyone could. If he had to step all over others to make a living, or to get to the top, then it wasn't something he was interested in doing at all.

At seven students began to filter down through the castle for breakfast, curious about the bazaar, but Snape ushered them into the Great Hall quicker than they could even glance at the shops still setting up their wares and displays on tables and shelves.

Harry laughed when Ron ran from Snape, holding his backside as if the man had threatened to swat him if he lingered any longer, and muttered under his breath, "Geez, I only wanted to talk to Harry."

They were all set up by the time the Great Hall was full of students, and Harry wandered in to see if he could snag some eggs or a muffin and a glass of pumpkin juice.

Students seemed to be taking their time eating since they weren't supposed to go out to the bazaar until ten. At nine thirty the Headmaster stood up and magnified his voice so they could all hear.

"As you know, the bazaar starts at ten. At that time staff will be dismissing students by year to go into the Entrance Hall to browse the goodies and books. When students are done in the Entrance Hall they may return to their common rooms or come back to the Great Hall for games and entertainment. We will have a chess tournament at Slytherin table, and a Gobstones tournament at Hufflepuff table. There will be prizes awarded for the top six players for both tournaments. At Gryffindor table will be an assortment of board games to play with your friends, and Ravenclaw table will be open with snacks, tea and hot cocoa to simply sit and enjoy good company. Around two Professor Flitwick and his choir will begin singing, though you may still continue to play games and talk quietly. The bazaar ends at three and after that time you may move freely in the Entrance Hall if you wish."

Students began to chatter excitedly and Harry and Justin rose to go back into the Entrance Hall, stomachs now full and ready to work.

"Hermione was hoping for a free book," Harry told Basil in the quiet Entrance Hall.

"I know she was," he laughed. "And she's earned it. I already set aside 200 Deadly Useful Charms For The Dedicated Young Witch Or Wizard."

"She'll be back to spend all her money later," Harry said, and Basil nodded.

At ten a group of overexcited first years came out of the Great Hall and went straight to the two candy shops, but once they'd spent some of their money there they spread out to Zonkos and Flourish And Blotts. Harry sold a few Quidditch magazines and several copies of a book with a translucent cover and silver glitter about unicorns, and then the first years emptied out back into the Great Hall. The whole thing had taken only twenty minutes. By the time the third years got to come out it was almost eleven thirty. Ron, who was fully stocked on candy, went to browse Zonkos, and then came to chat with Harry and look through Quidditch magazines.

"How's the chess tournament?" Harry asked.

"I'm already top ten," Ron said, as though he hadn't faced any real competition yet. "I had to beat a sixth year real quick so I could come out here for a few minutes."

By twelve they'd made it through fourth year and Harry went on his break and into the Great Hall with his friends. He loaded up a plate with a chocolate chip muffin, apple slices, and an orange and made his way to Gryffindor to play board games with Ginny and Neville.

"Get anything good at the bazaar?" Harry asked as they played checkers.

"Mum sent me a few sickles and I got a book about useful hexes," Ginny said.

"It's disgusting," Neville said. "There's one that casts bat bogeys in a wide net and wraps you up in them. She already learned it and sent one at Draco Malfoy."

Harry laughed so hard he almost spit pumpkin juice out his nose. "What?"

"I would have gotten in trouble for it too if Professor McGonagall hadn't just heard what he said to me. Instead she told him he deserved it and sent him to the dungeons to take a shower."

"What did he say?" Harry asked.

"It was bad," Neville said. "You don't wanna know."

Harry did want to know, but wasn't going to push them on the issue. If the hex was as gross as it sounded and McGonagall was satisfied it had been punishment enough, he would leave it at that.

At two Flitwick called twenty students up to the staff platform and they began to sing. The sound drifted out into the Entrance Hall where sixth and seventh years were taking their time browsing through books, and Harry stood ringing them up for his last hour of work.

Basil talked to several of the older students about other books he could order in for them, and took down several orders as Harry took coins and deposited them into the till. Hermione came back out, having gotten permission from McGonagall, and looked through books with the sixth and seventh years, eyes darting from side to side as she read quickly, perhaps hoping to learn as much as she could from each book before having to part with them.

Finally the bazaar was over at three, and Hermione helped Basil and Harry pack the remaining books back into their crates. Justin was doing the same with Tilly, though Tilly and Gerrin Honeyduke had both nearly sold out of what they had brought, since they'd each brought unique items. The Zonkos wares were also nearly gone, and there appeared to be just a few pouches of itching powder, some stink bombs and a fanged frisbee left.

"You already earned a book," Basil told Hermione, and Harry turned back to his friends.

"Yes, I know," Hermione said. "I didn't ask for anymore."

"No, but you came back and helped anyway, and I've been watching you eyeing, "Unicorns Through The Ages," all day. Why haven't you looked inside that one yet?"

"There were so many to look through," she said. "And I thought that one might be a little juvenile."

"Open it up before I put it away," Basil urged her, and she pulled one of the last remaining copies back out of the crate. She read the table of contents out loud for a moment, "Four uses of Unicorn blood and the consequences of doing so. Unicorn anatomy and how it aids in the powers a unicorn possesses. Unicorns and their cousins the pegasus, and how they differ and compare."

Harry could tell she no longer thought the book was juvenile.

"There are detailed drawings, photos, diagrams and charts," Basil said. "You sure you don't want it for helping pack up?"

"I didn't say that!" Hermione was quick to say, and Basil grinned. She clutched the glittery book with the transparent cover to her chest and said, "Thank you for letting me help and to earn two books. I miss book fairs."

"Book fairs?" Basil asked, and she and Harry explained it to him. "A few times a year right around when grades were posted to parents, a shop would come in and set up a book fair in an empty classroom and kids could come in and buy books. My parents bought me one book for every good grade I got."

"You too?" Basil asked Harry.

"Well-" he hedged. "I got to go to the book fairs, but my family never got me anything. My cousin hated books, but they bought him loads anyway in the hopes he'd read them one day and get smart."

"You earned a payment too," Basil reminded him. "Two books, same as your friend."

"I already have so many though," Harry said.

"You should at least take some Quidditch magazines," Basil encouraged him, pulling a stack out for Harry to look through. "This month's new editions."

Harry pulled out a magazine with the Falcon's Keeper on the cover and then another featuring the Chudley Cannon's and thanked Basil. Then he and Hermione went back into the Great Hall.

The chess tournament was just finishing up and Ron was playing a seventh year Ravenclaw, both with intense looks of concentration and moving the pieces with fervor across the board.

Harry watched for a few minutes until finally the seventh year put Ron's king in checkmate and then stood without a word to shake Ron's hand. Ron looked frustrated but shook the older boy's hand nonetheless.

"Good game," Ron told him, and went to see McGonagall for his prize. The winner of the tournament got a brand new chess set with marble pieces. Second place got a new chess set with transparent glass pieces that changed colors with a tap of the wand, and others in the top six got a Honeyduke's chocolate bar.

"Well," said Ron, deflated after his loss, "at least I got a new chess set."

"And first prize from a friend," Harry said, pulling the Chudley Cannon's magazine from behind his back and handing it to Ron.

"The new edition?" Ron asked, and he took it and sat at the nearest table to look through it. "Not such a bad day then," he said, "even if Snape did threaten me this morning, the git."

There wasn't a special dinner that night as the rumors had said, but every student was surprised to find their regular tea wasn't on the menu, and instead talked about the sweet lemon tea at every table.

"It tastes like pie," Ron said. "I've never had something like this before."

"I do kind of like it," Harry said. This must have been what the Headmaster had had when they'd gone to tea at Exotic Teas on Knockturn Alley. Harry's mind once again drifted to Sirius and he hoped he had used the password to gain access to safety and warmth in Harry's new safehouse.