The first thing Harry saw when he got back to the Humble Abode was a goblin growing bigger and bigger in his eyes.
Luckily, he was quick on his feet, so the goblin flying toward him didn't smash him in the face.
Nimbly dodging aside, Harry looked towards the Weasley's vegetable garden.
The whole Weasley family was in the garden pulling out goblins for fun, and Ron was having the best time, swinging goblins around like windmills.
A chorus of "Let me go!" rang out in the garden, but it had absolutely no effect; the goblins were still being tossed out one after another.
"Yo, Harry."
Spotting Harry, Ron wiped sweat off his face and greeted him, "Back?"
"Yeah, I'm back." Harry laughed. "Need a hand? Want me to toss goblins with you?"
As he spoke, he stepped forward and bent over in the peony bushes next to Ron.
Being a Seeker had its perks; Harry's sharp eyes spotted a sneaky goblin almost instantly.
The goblin looked up and saw Harry staring, grinned sheepishly and bared its teeth.
Harry didn't hesitate—he grabbed the goblin, tossed it in the air, and then kicked it with a classic arc, sending it screaming far away.
Ron shaded his eyes and whistled at the perfect arc: "Nice one, Harry… but we're nearly done anyway. Mom's making potato stew for dinner, so you're in for a treat again."
"Really?" Harry perked up, since potato stew was his favorite.
"What about Pabi?" Ron asked again.
"She's not feeling too well. I left her with a friend to help get her back in shape," Harry told Ron. "Hope he's got something that works."
"Ah." Ron replied. Remembering Harry's story about You-Know-Who's attack in the Forbidden Forest, he added, "Hope she gets better soon. I remember the You-Know-Who took a bite out of her."
"Didn't bite her," Harry corrected. "Voldemort just hit her with a Magic Spell and chased us for ages. He was just about to hurt her, but I stopped him."
Hearing that name, Ron shivered.
"Still hurts, mate." Ron sighed. "She's a tough lady, isn't she?"
"She is." Harry nodded in agreement.
Far away in Paris, after treating Pabi with Alchemy Potion, Mr. Leme sat on the sofa in a long, thoughtful silence.
Pabi napped for a little while, and when she saw Mr. Leme still spaced out, she asked with concern, "What's wrong, Mr. Leme?"
Mr. Leme looked up, said "Oh," and replied, "Guess it comes with age—hardly sleep at all… Sometimes I just sit here until morning, and only then catch a little nap."
"Doesn't that hurt your health?" Pabi asked, puzzled.
Mr. Leme turned slowly and gave Pabi the look reserved for lovable idiots.
His eyes practically said—You're talking health with a six-hundred-year-old man?
Pabi chuckled awkwardly, then suddenly remembered the gift Harry brought and said, "Oh right, Mr. Leme, Harry gave you and Mrs. Leme some presents. He mentioned it's perfect for bored old folks like you to kill time—don't you want to try it out?"
When they arrived at Leme's Alchemy Room, Harry handed the present to the House-Elf Dico.
But Dico was busy introducing his wife and kids to Harry, so the thing completely slipped his mind.
Thanks to Pabi mentioning it, Dico finally remembered.
"Sorry, Mr. Leme, that's my fault," said Dico.
"No worries, so where's this gift?" Mr. Leme asked with interest. "Since Harry said it suits me, I really must try it."
Soon enough, Dico fetched the computer that Harry had gifted.
A classic 486 desktop PC—it set Harry back over two thousand British Pounds.
Harry had even gotten someone to install the newest Windows 3.1 system, released in April, plus a few small games.
The Alchemy Room had electricity and, guided by Pabi, the computer lit up in no time.
And to be fair, Mr. Leme was a legendary Alchemist—he picked up the manual and quickly figured out how the computer worked.
"Have to admit, Muggle technology is really something."
Mr. Leme moved the mouse, eyes glued to the monitor, the cursor zipping around the screen and clicking refresh randomly.
"But… how do you pass the time with this thing?"
While speaking, Mr. Leme suddenly noticed an icon on the desktop labeled "Sid Meier's Civilization I."
It was a hit game released last year.
"What's this?" he asked with interest, double-clicking it open.
Twenty hours later…
Mr. Leme yawned and looked out the window.
"Whoa, how'd it get dark?" he wondered.
"No, Mr. Leme." Pabi said, face dark as thunder, "It's the next day already."
Mr. Leme froze for a moment, glanced at the mouse in his hand, looked out the window, then back to the computer.
"I think I've found a new meaning in life, like… computers," he said breezily. "Although powering it like this isn't very wizard-friendly. Let me think…"
...
Harry had no idea his gifted computer had turned an old man into a gaming addict. With September 1st approaching, he was getting ready to head off to school.
Before leaving, he got a letter from Mr. Leme saying that Pabi needed a few more days to recuperate before heading back, so Harry shouldn't worry.