Harry Was in Trouble Again?

"Why are you all here?" So many people had come to Harry's birthday for the first time that he could hardly believe it. Draco stepped forward and pinched Harry's arm.

"Well, Potter? Does it hurt?"

"Ow~" Harry nodded.

"Then it's real! Come see the gift I got you." Draco's gift was long. When Harry opened it, he found a black hardwood cane. He picked it up curiously and looked it over. "Why did you get me this?"

Draco planted his hands on his hips. "It's one of the essential accessories for a gentleman. Once we graduate, you'll be attending social events too, so you can start practicing now. Right?"

Harry thought he might be better suited to becoming an Auror, where he could get straight to the action, but he still smiled at Draco and said, "Thanks."

Then everyone brought out their gifts. The Twins had all sorts of prank items, Hermione had bought broom-care tools, Ron had chosen a souvenir he'd picked up on his trip to Egypt, and Bing Huan pulled out a whole box of talismans.

Ever since he'd clashed with Fudge last time, the Ministry of Magic had hastily issued a law banning the widespread use of talismans. And look! They'd even figured out how to track traces of low-level talismans (since they couldn't do anything about the high-level ones).

"These are a new kind of talisman. I had my Martial Uncle modify them. The Ministry can't track them, and they're more powerful!"

"I really need these!"

It was absolutely the happiest birthday Harry had ever had. They feasted, smeared cream on one another's faces, and Ginny took advantage of the chaos to give Harry a little charm she'd made. She still couldn't help getting shy around him.

By the middle of the night, Harry still didn't want the party to end, but so the Dursleys wouldn't get suspicious, everyone insisted he go back to bed. Once they'd cleaned up and taken down the barriers around the house, they left Privet Drive as if nothing had happened.

Harry hummed a little tune as he stepped out of his room after a good night's sleep. He hoped last night's good mood would last until school started. As he headed downstairs, he saw Aunt Petunia, with her long horse-like face, hurriedly tying Uncle Vernon's tie.

Vernon pointed at Harry. "Listen, boy. Marge will be staying here for a week, so you'd better watch yourself."

"What?!" Watching the Dursleys leave, Harry's good mood vanished in an instant. To him, Marge was even more irritating than the Dursleys. She always treated Harry with the purest contempt, as if he were a person at all.

At dinner, everything went exactly as Harry had expected: he became the target of Marge's insults. He hadn't done a thing, but knowing that if he could just get through this, he'd get permission to visit Hogsmeade, he treated her words like barking. That only made Marge angrier, and her insults grew more vicious.

"If you ask me, Vernon, you mustn't blame yourself when a child turns out like this. Some people are just bad to the bone, and there's nothing anyone can do about it." She reached for her glass. "It's just like dogs. If the mother's no good, the puppies won't be any good either."

"Bang!"

The glass exploded. Petunia saw Harry's expression change and hurriedly changed the subject, but Marge seemed not to notice at all and carried on with her speech.

"But your sister really was a disgrace. You know, even respectable families can produce someone like that. Then she ran off with a scoundrel—a good-for-nothing, lazy, deceitful man who was no use at all."

"He wasn't!" Harry slammed his hand down hard on the table.

Marge was about to continue her tirade, but suddenly she found she couldn't speak. Her whole body began to swell. Her little eyes bulged, and her lips stretched out to either side.

The buttons on her clothes finally couldn't withstand the pressure and popped off. She floated up like a balloon, bounced against the ceiling, then drifted out into the garden.

Furious, Harry ignored the chaos around him. He went back to his room, grabbed his luggage, and walked out of the house.

After walking for a while, Harry stopped by the roadside, unsure what to do. The Ministry of Magic hadn't sent him a warning yet, but he knew that if he used magic again, there'd be no way to talk himself out of it. But how was he supposed to get to London? He only had wizarding money on him.

He had no choice but to call his friends. Harry took out his communicator and dialed Bing Huan's code name.

"Hello?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong? You just had your birthday, and now you're in a bad mood."

Harry told Bing Huan about Marge.

"...Birds of a feather, huh? Ah, but don't worry. The Ministry probably won't make an issue of it. If they were going to pursue the matter, they'd have sent you a warning letter straight away. Since they haven't, either someone's taken the blame for you, or they didn't detect it.

"Where are you now, roughly? I'll have someone from a nearby station come get you. Stay there for tonight, and we'll take you to London tomorrow morning."

"Uh, I was so angry that I just kept walking without paying attention to where I was going. I don't know where I am now, and there aren't any road signs."

"That's a problem. Tsk, we should've hit her harder last night. Oh! Why'd you hit me~"

"Don't listen to him," Hermione said. "Harry, hold your wand up high by the roadside, but don't use magic. That'll summon the Knight Bus. It's emergency transport for wizards in trouble. You can stay at the Leaky Cauldron for now, and we'll meet you there in a few days."

"Okay. See you then."

"See you then."

"Don't tug my ear!"

Harry did as Hermione said, and soon a purple, three-story bus pulled up in front of him. Before he got on, he caught sight of a huge black dog in the bushes. It was gone in a flash.

Riding the Knight Bus was a very strange experience—strange enough to be unpleasant. But on the bus, Harry finally learned what sort of person Black, whose name had been all over the news lately, was. As for whether the stories were true, that remained to be seen.

Harry had barely arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and had yet to ask the owner for a room when he spotted Fudge waiting for him.

Fudge led Harry into a private room. Unlike the furious man Harry remembered, he now looked like a kind uncle who'd just set eyes on his favorite nephew.

It was as if Harry being safe and sound was the greatest comfort Fudge could have hoped for. He forgave Harry for accidentally using magic and ruled it an accident. But he wanted Harry to stay inside the Leaky Cauldron for a while and not go wandering around.

Hedwig was clever enough to find her way to the Leaky Cauldron too. Over the next few days, Harry experienced a freedom he'd never known before. He could decide when to get up, eat whatever he wanted, and stroll through the streets of Diagon Alley whenever he liked.

He could even take out his homework in plain sight and think it through at a café or an ice cream shop. Friendly wizards would sometimes offer advice in subjects they knew well. Harry often went to the shop to look at the latest Firebolt, his eyes shining with restrained longing.