Shake it, Bake it, Brew it

Hidden in Front of You

Last Time:

The young wizard smiled as the kneazles purred ... it seems they liked the names ...

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"This isn't working." Harry sighed as he leaned back in his chair and put his pencil down. It has been five days since the Dursleys left and he hasn't found out a way to get to Gringotts without possibly getting caught. He has been writing down theories, but nothing added up right. "I need an extra ingredient." His musings were broken as the two Kneazles bolted down the stairs playing with a bucket. One of the buckets that the Dursleys so kindly left in his cell for him.

Unfortunately, it was the water filled one, which meant water went flying everywhere! Harry couldn't help but laugh though despite the mess. He was just happy that the kneazles were improving and playing. Libra's limp was almost gone so it must've been from being stuck in a tight space.

Hedwig flapped away in a huff as the playful balls of fur went skidding into her perch ... or Vernon's chair. Harry decided to clean up the water that was splattered around. He followed the trail up the steps drying everything with a simple spell he learned in another book as he went.

In order to keep himself from going crazy on the potion problem he has taken breaks to focus on charms. He has become quite good, but not good enough to fix his clothes to fit his new height so he was running around in a sweater and jeans from Dudley's closet. The extra slack made it fit better than expected on his tall frame, but he was dying to get clothes that fit him for once.

When he made it up to the cell he saw the attic panel on the floor, "Oh right ... I forgot that was left open." He remembered what happened when Vernon beat him before leaving. Hedwig clawed her way through the panel in an effort to help him. it didn't even occur to him until now that she must've been getting out to hunt through there since he shut all the other places after Lyra and Libra came to trust him.

But this did make him curious ... what did the attic look like?

Thank Merlin for his growth spurt! It was all too easy to climb up to the attic space with the cot under him.

"This is bigger than I thought." His jaw dropped as he looked around the cupboard sized room with only an owl cage on the ground. The floor was done, but there were no walls up except one, which meant he could tell there was no insulation except under the floor. The ceiling was slightly slanted towards the wall with the window. He only knew about the attic because of his various chores.

One year he had to put Christmas lights up all over the home and happened to notice the small circular window was broken in a way so that it couldn't lock, but he never saw in the dark room. It was also easy to figure out where the access panel could be considering there was only one room on that side of the house next to the bathroom ... the coat closet or his new cell as it would seem. He confirmed it by cleaning the closet a couple years ago and poking the ceiling there with a broom handle until something moved. It was something he kept in mind ever since in case it came in handy.

Clearly it did ...

"Not big enough to hide myself, but I can hide my potions, books and ingredients neatly with some adjustments. That way I can keep doing things when the Dursleys return without risking getting caught by leaving the-... except ..."

The idea was promising, but where will he keep his kneazles now? He needed a real home to run to. Either way this made Gringotts a big priority so he climbed down to the cot and went back to focusing on the potion for his disguise.

"I have a good idea with the ingredients I have, but it needs a binder." Harry blinked as he spotted the kneazles. "Hey, Lyra, Libra, I know this will sound odd, but could I have two of your whiskers for a potion?" The felines tilted their heads cutely, but started pawing their faces. Sure enough three loose whiskers popped off. "Thank you both." He said gratefully as he picked up the whiskers.