Chapter 158: Harry's Worries, A Way To Win Respect
Harry lay on his bed, miserable.
He had barely got home before Uncle Vernon had locked away every magical thing he owned—books, wand, cauldron, broom—stuffed the lot into the cupboard under the stairs.
At least he had not been forced back into that narrow, dusty space himself.
Remembering the years he had spent there, with only dust and spiders for company, made him miss Hogwarts all the more.
He had only been back a day, and he could hardly stand it already.
The castle, the moving paintings, the ghosts, the fascinating lessons, his friends…
"Hoo."
He turned his head at the sound. Hedwig sat confined in her cage, hooting softly.
"Poor Hedwig," he muttered. "Uncle Vernon will not even let you leave the room…"
If she could not go out, how was he supposed to write to anyone?
Knock, knock.
A light tapping at the door cut through his thoughts. For a moment, he could not imagine who it might be.
Uncle Vernon pounded on his door and shouted. Dudley never bothered knocking at all. Aunt Petunia…
Knock, knock.
Not her either. She never knocked twice.
Harry rolled off the bed, shoved on his glasses, and opened the door.
A young woman stood there in black and white, pretty‑faced and neat.
Harry stared, stunned. People like this did not appear in Privet Drive.
"Mr Harry Potter?" she asked, voice soft.
He nodded automatically.
"Master Leonardo is downstairs," she said. "He asked me to fetch you. There is something he would like to discuss with you."
At Leonardo's name, Harry lit up. He did not even notice the word "Master". He bolted for the stairs.
"Thank you!" he called back over his shoulder.
He ran straight into the sitting room—and froze.
Leonardo sat alone in the middle of the main sofa, perfectly at ease, nodding now and then like a boss listening to a report.
Opposite him sat Uncle Vernon, smiling nervously and speaking in a careful tone. A handkerchief twisted in his fingers, which he kept using to mop the sweat on his brow and cheeks.
Aunt Petunia and Dudley were crammed together on the smallest sofa, stiff and silent, barely daring to breathe.
Harry had never seen anything like it.
Vernon Dursley was always the strutting master of the house. Petunia always backed him up and fawned on Dudley. Dudley mostly… ate.
Leonardo looked up and waved. "Good afternoon, Harry."
Harry sat beside him and listened, dazed, as the conversation unfolded.
Leonardo did most of the talking. Vernon nodded along to every sentence.
"Harry has only just begun his magical education," Leonardo said. "This is the most important time for building a solid foundation."
At the open mention of magic, Harry's heart lurched. He shot a quick look at Vernon, half expecting his uncle to explode and start shouting at Leonardo.
Vernon's fleshy face did twitch, the word clearly making his skin crawl.
But he only dabbed at his cheek with the handkerchief.
"Quite right, quite right," he said. "The boy really does need a basic education. Study. Hard work…"
He even used polite forms of address.
Harry stared. He had never seen Vernon make that face for anyone.
Sometimes Uncle Vernon invited business clients home, but not even then had he looked quite so… obsequious. Or so uneasy.
"Study comes first," Leonardo went on. "But proper meals and rest are just as important. Children need them to grow up healthy."
"Yes, well, Harry's diet…" Vernon began and faltered.
Leonardo glanced at Dudley, with his round, penguin‑like bulk pressed against parents built on the same lines.
Then, at Harry, who, after a year of good Hogwarts food, had only just stopped looking underfed.
Harry's life here had clearly been hard.
He had not eaten well. He had not slept well.
The Dursleys' feelings toward him were a mess. He had been an infant left on their doorstep. The son of Petunia's hated, freakish sister and her even more hated wizard husband. Then the strange child was revered by people they could not understand.
They had raised him for ten years. They had abused him for ten years.
The protection bound to Harry needed a home, needed blood family to anchor it.
So he had no choice but to live here.
Leonardo knew how tangled it was. Love and loathing knotted together.
"Let Harry have the same food as his cousin," he said. "No more, no less."
"After all, Mr Dursley's salary is more than enough, is it not?"
Vernon's forehead shone. He wiped it and nodded repeatedly.
Dudley tried to protest, but Petunia clapped a hand over his mouth and murmured into his ear.
"And Harry's room?" Leonardo asked mildly.
Both Dursleys let out a tiny sigh of relief. Thank heavens they had moved Harry out of the cupboard last year, after that terrifying giant had paid them a visit. He had the spare room now, the old toy room Dudley no longer used.
They went on to discuss Harry's schooling. Vernon swore blind he would give the boy time and space to study.
In the end, Leonardo declined a heartfelt invitation to stay for dinner and left Privet Drive with Loris at his side.
"W‑wait, Leonardo…"
Harry ran after him.
Leonardo stopped and turned.
"Leonardo, um…"
Harry shifted from foot to foot, visibly torn.
"Do you know anywhere I can exchange Galleons for Muggle money?" he blurted. "I would like to change some."
Leonardo did not understand why for a second. Then the pieces fell into place.
"If I can," Harry went on, "I… I want to give it to my aunt and uncle.
"I did not know my mum and dad had left me so much. I know it costs a lot to raise a child. Uncle Vernon has complained about it often enough, but…"
Leonardo could see it clearly now. Harry wanted to "pay them back", at least in money.
Ten years of being the unwanted extra mouth, with no support money ever arriving, and no way to leave. Ten years of glares and slurs.
This kind‑hearted child.
"That is easy enough to take care of," Leonardo said.
Relief washed over Harry. "Thank you. And, er, there is something else."
"Yes?" Leonardo prompted.
"How did you get Uncle Vernon to be so… respectful?" Harry asked, expression full of baffled admiration.
Leonardo kept his face perfectly straight.
"By becoming a shareholder in his company," he said.