At dawn, Leonard dragged himself back into the Leaky Cauldron, yawning as he went. All he wanted was to crawl into bed and catch up on sleep.
He had thought that with Voldemort gone, nights out would be less dangerous, and he could finally return earlier to rest. Instead, things had gotten worse—he'd ended up spending the entire night in Knockturn Alley.
He hadn't had much of a choice. Midgard had set her people searching for Quirrell through the night, and at the same time they'd been hammering out the details of a Gringotts heist. As the one who had planted the idea, Leonard couldn't exactly excuse himself.
So he'd been stuck discussing plans until dawn broke, only slipping away once the first light touched the sky.
Luckily, the Ancient Sprout's symbiosis had strengthened his body. Without it, he probably wouldn't have held up.
After a quick breakfast, Leonard retreated to his room, hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, and collapsed onto his bed. He slept soundly until an urgent pounding rattled his door.
"Who the hell? No manners at all—disturbing my dreams." Leonard grumbled, lifting his head and glancing at the pocket watch on his nightstand.
"Ten forty…" He tilted his head, ran a hand through his messy hair, and dragged himself out of bed.
At this hour, there was only one person at the Leaky Cauldron who would come knocking…
Leonard opened the door to find Harry Potter standing there, his face alight with excitement.
Yes—that Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived.
"Leonard, I learned a spell!" Harry's green eyes sparkled with pride.
But then he noticed Leonard's drowsy, half-awake state and faltered.
"Ah—sorry, did I wake you? I thought you'd already be up by now." He scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Normally, I would be. But last night I practiced too long and lost track of time." Leonard yawned, brushing it off. "Oh? Your first spell? Which one?"
"Lumos! Not bad progress, right?" Harry beamed, clearly fishing for praise.
"I wouldn't know how your progress measures up. You know I'm from a Muggle family—I've got no idea what's considered average," Leonard said evenly. "But it only took me ten minutes to learn Lumos."
Harry froze. "T-ten minutes?"
Leonard nodded, satisfaction spreading across his face at the sight of the Chosen One questioning reality itself.
"Yep. Ten minutes. You'll need to work harder. The early bird catches the worm, after all."
He delivered the pressure with perfect seriousness. Until Harry met other young wizards, he'd have no way of knowing how long spells were supposed to take to master—especially without a teacher.
Harry's crushed expression didn't last long, though.
"Looks like my talent isn't much," Harry Potter said firmly. "But I'm not giving up. I can't risk being expelled from Hogwarts."
"Well said. That's the spirit." Leonard gave him a thumbs-up. "Keep it up."
"Thanks for the encouragement!" Harry said gratefully before turning and heading back to his room, determined to continue practicing.
Leonard watched him go with a satisfied smile.
That should keep the Chosen One from pestering him for a few days.
A flawless plan.
Sure, it might leave a small shadow on the boy's young heart, but it was for Harry Potter's own good. Better he develop solid habits now than turn into a slacker like Ron Weasley later.
It was practically a noble deed. If Dumbledore knew, he'd probably give Leonard a pat on the back.
After sending the savior off to question his life choices, Leonard fell back into bed and slept soundly until three in the afternoon. Then he dragged himself up, went downstairs, and ordered a hearty dinner.
With more than four hundred Galleons still in hand, he could afford to live comfortably without worrying about money.
Still, the upside-down sleep schedule was taking its toll.
"Ugh… school needs to start soon, or I'll drop dead at this rate." Leonard yawned as he stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley.
With term approaching, Ollivander's didn't need him showing up daily anymore. If anything came up, Mr. Ollivander would send for him.
Instead, Leonard made for Jigger's Apothecary to check on his progress. The full moon was coming, and securing the Wolfsbane Potion recipe as soon as possible was critical.
When he arrived, Jigger was, as always, tangled in his accounts. He looked up at Leonard with a sour expression.
"You two really pulled one over on me," Jigger muttered. "When Damocles came back, he demanded to know why the deal didn't match what we'd agreed. I was baffled—since when did the relatively reasonable Midgard start acting like Fenrir?"
"You said yourself Belby's a stubborn potion master. We just used a little trick," Leonard said matter-of-factly. Jigger knew Midgard well—no way such a small scheme would fool him.
"But now my reputation's taken a hit. I guarantee Damocles will start telling everyone I deal with dangerous Knockturn Alley types." Jigger sighed heavily.
"That's a good thing. Plenty of people would be happy to buy Knockturn Alley goods through you," Leonard said with feigned surprise. "Congratulations."
"Pfft, all it means is Aurors from the Ministry will start watching me," Jigger grumbled. "This time I've really lost out."
"How much to make up for your 'loss'?" Leonard asked with a sigh.
The indignation on Jigger's face melted into a smile.
"Ten bottles of Essence of Dittany. I'll supply the ingredients. Deal?" he said cheerfully.
"Ten's too many. Five."
"Eight."
"Six."
"Done!" Jigger happily pulled out a packet of ingredients from behind the counter and set it in front of Leonard.
Leonard took the bundle, rolled his eyes, and asked, "So how much did Midgard pay you for the introduction?"
"Five Galleons," Jigger admitted without hesitation. "That's the going rate. Referring someone to Knockturn Alley's werewolves, with my name as guarantee—that's not much."
"Then since you've been paid, do your part. The werewolf wizards need Wolfsbane Potion." Leonard tapped the counter. "Don't waste time."
"I'm reliable. Two days at most, and I'll get the formula and patent documents to Midgard," Jigger promised.
"Good." Leonard nodded, casting a glance toward Gringotts before turning back toward the Leaky Cauldron.