a disgruntled hmph and heavy steps followed him “listen, boy i know you’ve been into my things! you better return them to me or by the pleiades you will feel my wrath!” last week it had been his ollen of goblin wedding hats that had diseared harry found them at the pawn shop aross the way, reently traded for a stak of alwyn and the briarluks reords, whih oially, he ter heard bsting from umphrey’s ft on his way home
harry turned around and gave the man a stern stare for a long moment and then broke out into song “hop on my broomstik, baby, don’t think twie, don’t just say maybe,” he sang, trying hard to mimi the rooning styles of alwyn bristleby he wiggled his eyebrows at umphrey and desended the stairs
he’d spent the first days establishing himself, or arhie eversworn, by renting a ft above the laughing fox the rauous pub sat two bloks down from the suspeted main base of operans of the pons ring he’d been tasked to infiltrate it took him three weeks to figure out the half a dozen or so grunts in the travertel quarter were just the tip of the operan harry saw rates of raw materials, but never witnessed brewing taking pe there he’d spent his nights losing at ards and drinking heavily, trying to gain redibility in the underworld ommunity no one seemed to pay him too muh attenn, and he found that he blended in without having to do too muh to prove himself
“i think it’s the fae,” ron had said “it’s just the fae of someone you’d rather fet” harry thanked him for his hoy “what mate? s’not like it’s your atual fae”
after another two weeks, he’d traed raw material deliveries to a more upsale neighborhood, cremfig heights, and the gmorous ashtyl hotel five days after that, he’d nded himself a job there
sadly, the hotel manager, valentine de russo, gave him little leeway, inhibiting the disovery of illegal ativities after months of b as a day shift porter, he’d been promoted to afternoons and nights harry ould hardly believe it when valentine spped his shoulder, handed him the master spell key, and told him he was irrepeable to the team with a bit more freedom and use of the master spell key, harry disovered the kithen shut down early on thursday evenings all he’d managed to find out was the hotel’s owner liked to have a ards night with his friends, at least a to some of the other porters
harry made his way out of travertel and to leaner streets he passed by a busy floo- afe, a few high end lothing shops, and higgins handles, the premier quiddith supply shop in the greater edinburgh area he averted his eyes from a new nimbus window dispy and foused on the brik wall aross the street it too had hanged sine he’d st passed
giant parhments pstered the brik, missiribsp;zivantus—please tabsp;the dmle 1000 galleon reward for any rman leading to her discovery harry paused to stare at the fae of a young girl smiling, no more than fourteen or fifteen, waving to the world zivantus? that was the name of a rih phinthropist who had a big disagreement with the ministry a while bak the girl had to be his daughter
he passed several familiar faes of pikpokets, hustlers, and otherwise low level soundrels harry missed being able to walk the streets arefree and unenumbered by thoughts of who might be wathing his every move
he’d expressed his prikling paranoia to ron during his st floo-hat every other sunday m, harry arated to a tiny magial shop just outside the ity the elderly owners let him use their floo in exhange for yard work the ministry had utilized them in the past, he was sure, but if they had any idea he was an underover auror, they never admitted it
“now you’re paranoid beause no one noties you” ron had shaken his head “isn’t that what you’ve always wanted, mate?”
the aress of a light downpour roused his thoughts, and harry ast an umbrel charm and broke into a jog while it was true that he found great relief in shedding his very publi persona, harry found that being underover for so long made him feel as if he’d lost piees of himself as he roahed the ashtyl, he headed towards the servie entrane but almost fell over when a red blur ran through his legs and threw him off bane
“what the—”
a kneazle, a at-like reature with deep red markings, blinked up at him and then darted away down the street harry thought it odd suh an animal would be around the servie entrane, let alone wandering the streets it must have been lost
harry meant to inquire at the main desk if any guests had menned having the pet, but valentine gave him a list of tasks as soon as he saw harry the normally hipper man was distrated “we’ve been shuffling guests around, hanging room assigs,” he expined “it’s been a heti m”
he dealt with the noise ompint on the tenth floor as best he ould, but there wasn’t muh to be done careful not to offend, he insisted that the vaaning ouple should tear eah other to shreds within the onfines of their sound-proof warded room on his rounds, he heked on a few house elves he’d taken a liking to, and one of them menned the penthouse had the do-not-disturb charm on for almost an entire day
“that’s odd,” harry said
grimbie nodded “yes, sirs, and we hasn’t been able to lean or deliver new items our routines is all messed up messed up, yes”
“i’ll look into it,” harry assured the elf he went to the lift and then realized he’d misped his master spell key valentine seemed preoupied when harry told him about the penthouse and barely registered harry’s onfesn that he lost the spell key
“here,” valentine strethed out his arm, his spell key in his grasp he hadn’t even looked up and was sifting through papers on his desk with his other han
