The box's trick construction—and the sly magic woven into it—had long since been unraveled by the twins.
Throughout the lottery, the box never left Fred's hands. That way, whenever Harry reached for a slip, Fred could quietly swap out the contents as needed.
Only now did Harry realize why they'd been so insistent about the colors of the fragments. So that's what it was all about.
Still, he did the math. Seven more fragments to go—even if his luck was dreadful and he only pulled one per draw, that'd be seven more Galleons, ten in total counting what he'd already spent. For the Marauder's Map, that was a bargain.
He handed over another Galleon and reached in.
"Fortune smiles, map in hand! Congratulations, you've gained 3 orange map fragments!"
"Just 4 orange fragments left!"
A grin crept across Harry's face—he'd just saved himself two more Galleons.
"Fortune smiles, map in hand! Congratulations, you've gained 3 orange map fragments!"
"Only 1 orange fragment left!"
Harry's smile grew even wider. He fished out another Galleon and passed it to George. Surely, he thought, there couldn't possibly be another color.
But just as he reached for the box, George stopped him.
"According to the rules, Harry, for every five Galleons you spend, you can use one Galleon to buy a dice roll. Whatever number you roll, that's how many consecutive draws you get."
Harry hesitated, eyeing them suspiciously. "There aren't… more colors of fragments, are there?"
George and Fred both shrugged, feigning innocence. "Couldn't say!"
He swallowed. "The die doesn't have blank sides, does it?"
The twins' eyes sparkled. Brilliant idea! Why hadn't they thought of that? Definitely something to try next time.
They shook their heads regretfully, but their faces were alight with barely-contained glee. "Harry, you really are a natural. Passing the map to you is looking like a better idea every minute."
Harry no longer trusted a word they said. After a moment's pause, he sighed, "Fine. I'll roll the dice."
George handed him the die. He could swear on his mother's grave—there wasn't a single spell on it.
Harry examined it thoroughly. Just a plain, six-sided die. So it really was all luck.
He tossed it onto the table. It tumbled, then landed with five pips facing up.
"Five draws!" Harry shouted, excitement bubbling up.
The twins clapped and cheered his luck.
Ten minutes later...
Harry was completely hooked. Between Galleons and dice rolls, he'd now reached purple map fragments.
George and Fred exchanged glances, both swallowing nervously. Was this what they'd looked like back then?
Harry was cursing the game's designer in his head, but after sinking so many Galleons, he couldn't bear to quit. Besides, he hadn't yet spent more than the map was worth—so the expense still felt justified.
Just as he was about to roll again, he realized—he was out of money!
The realization hit him like a Stunning Spell. His eyes reddened with frustration.
Only three purple fragments left. Just three! And now, of all times, he was broke.
Despite his wild appearance, Harry wasn't stupid. When yellow and green fragments started showing up, he'd guessed where this scam was going—rainbow order, seven colors in total.
Would there be even more colors? He doubted it. He remembered Hermione mentioning in Arithmancy that seven was a magical number in the wizarding world.
As he stood there, wracked with anxiety, George and Fred exchanged a look. The moment of truth—how delicious.
"Harry, you're so close. Not going to finish?"
"You could always borrow from Professor Holmes," Fred suggested, winking.
Harry eyed them both, uncertain. "Shouldn't professors not know about this sort of thing?"
The twins nodded solemnly. "Obviously. But you don't have to tell him what it's for."
"With Hogsmeade coming up, borrowing a bit from your uncle isn't unreasonable, is it?"
"But just three fragments to go!"
"You wouldn't want all that money to go to waste, would you?"
...
So, with a mix of embarrassment and determination, Harry found himself knocking on Douglas's office door. But Douglas was still in the headmaster's office.
Inside, Sirius and Dobby were reading. Through the enchanted mirror by the door, they spotted Harry approaching.
Sirius barked, "Dobby, open up!"
He shifted into his dog form, sprawling by the table leg.
Dobby flung open the door, eyes shining. "Harry Potter, what can Dobby do for you?"
He ushered Harry inside. Sirius bounded over, wagging his tail and nuzzling Harry's leg.
Harry patted Sirius's head, glanced around, and asked, "Dobby, is my uncle not here?"
Dobby shook his head, "Boss had to step out. If Harry Potter needs anything, Dobby can help!"
Sirius barked twice in agreement.
Harry hesitated, then blurted, "Dobby, do you have any money? Preferably Galleons? I…"
Before he could finish, Dobby whipped his pouch from his belt and pressed it into Harry's hands. "Dobby doesn't have many Galleons, but they're all here—twenty-three Galleons!"
The gesture touched Harry deeply. "This is plenty, Dobby. I'm only borrowing it. Later, I'll give you the key to the Potter family vault at Gringotts, and you can help me withdraw some Galleons..."
He trailed off as the pouch suddenly grew heavy. Instinctively, he tightened his grip.
The moment Harry mentioned Galleons, Wangcai—the little treasure-hoarding creature—popped out of its cornucopia. Seeing Dobby hand over his pouch, it gestured furiously from the desktop, but no one noticed.
So it decided to make its move. While everyone was distracted, it lunged for Dobby's pouch.
Sirius caught the movement. At first, he thought the creature just wanted to play, but then it went straight for the money.
As Harry clutched the pouch, Wangcai was suddenly suspended in mid-air.
Just as Dobby reached to catch it, Sirius lunged, grabbing Wangcai by the scruff and yanking it away from the pouch. He tossed it into the air, then gently caught its hind leg in his jaws.
With a vigorous shake, Wangcai's hidden treasures poured out in a clattering shower.
Dobby finally snapped to attention, rescuing Wangcai from Sirius's mouth.
Sirius pointed a paw at the pile of Galleons on the floor and barked at Harry.
Harry watched as Wangcai scrambled to scoop up its spilled loot, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Had he really sunk so low as to fight a pet for pocket money?
Dobby stepped in front of Sirius, scolding, "Sir, you can't do that!"
Harry wasn't sure why Dobby was calling Sirius 'sir', but he managed a sheepish smile. "Padfoot, thanks for the offer, but I really don't need it right now!"
At that, Wangcai froze, so stunned it didn't even notice a jewel slip from its paw and hit the floor.
If Douglas had been present, he would have understood exactly what was on the creature's mind:
"This is my treasure—why are you thanking that dog?!"
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