A Knock at Number 4 Privet Drive in the Dead of Night

Night had fallen.

This was the mysterious, elegant, classical United Kingdom. Tonight seemed especially quiet, particularly compared to the strange and lively events that had happened today.

On the quiet Privet Drive, something was happening.

A sycamore leaf fell, carried by the breeze as it drifted and fluttered, landing right in the trash can outside Number 6 Privet Drive.

Separated from Number 6 Privet Drive by one house was Number 4 Privet Drive, the most famous household on the street. Whether it was the extremely fat Dursley and the extremely thin Petunia, or Petunia's sister's family, who always dressed strangely, they were all rather peculiar.

A car drove into the driveway of Number 4 and stopped by the fence in front of the house. The door opened, and Dursley laboriously swung his feet out of the car before getting out, panting for breath.

Dursley was very fat, his face covered in flesh and thick with beard. He practically had no neck at all; seeing him made one think of his wife Petunia's neck, which was nearly twice as long as anyone else's.

Dursley had something on his mind, so much so that he could not even be bothered to drive the car into the garage. He thought about the cat he had seen crouching on a wall that morning as if reading a map, the large group of people in cloaks he had encountered on the road, happily celebrating, and the disrespectful old man in a blue cloak who had bumped into him on his way home and called him a "Muggle." All of it made him feel uneasy.

He suddenly spotted that same tabby cat from the morning still perched on the wall, and for some reason, it made him angry. He bent down, picked up a small stone, and hurled it at the cat with all his strength. It only struck the wall, though, and the tabby cat shot him a vicious glare. It must have been an illusion, he thought.

He calmed himself and entered the house.

Their child Dudley was already asleep, and his wife Petunia was waiting for him to return for dinner. They talked as they ate.

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"Do you know?" Petunia said excitedly. "Our child Dudley learned another word today."

"What was it? Daddy or Mommy?" Dursley asked eagerly.

"It was 'no,' 'no,' 'no'! Dear, our child is so outstanding! 555555······················" Petunia shed proud tears. Important things had to be said three times.

Dursley beamed, and they immediately decided to go see the cutest little angel in the world. In the end, Dudley gave Dursley a hard kick in the face, making him decide not to wash his face for three days!

As they lay in bed, Dursley saw a news report: "Today, owls across the country behaved unusually, flying around everywhere in broad daylight. Experts have been unable to explain the phenomenon. Shooting stars appeared over Kent, Yorkshire, and other places last night."

Dursley could not help connecting it to the things he had encountered today.

His throat felt a little uncomfortable, and he coughed twice. "Petunia, um... how has your sister's family been lately?"

Petunia's face instantly turned pale. "Why would you suddenly think to ask about them?"

Petunia's sister was a forbidden topic in their home. They never mentioned them. They believed her sister and her husband were monsters and wanted nothing to do with them.

"...I remember they seemed to have a child—what was his name again?"

"Harry. What an ordinary name," Petunia said through gritted teeth.

Dursley's heart sank, because today, he seemed to have heard that group of people who looked so much like the Potter couple talking about things like "the child" and "Harry"...

But it had nothing to do with them, right?

Naturally, Dursley did not know that this way of thinking was famous in China, where it was called the "Ah Q spirit."

They did not discuss that family any further. Lying in bed, Dursley had one final thought: this should have nothing to do with them. And if it did...

...then he figured he had better not think about it!

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At midnight, the doorbell suddenly rang with a piercing shriek!

Let us turn back the clock half an hour and see what happened.

The tabby cat at the entrance of Number 4 Privet Drive, which had looked like a statue, suddenly moved. Its tail flicked as it stared toward the street corner.

A figure appeared there, as if emerging from thin air.

The figure gradually approached. He was tall and thin, with silver hair and a silver beard long enough to tuck into his belt. That alone was enough to show that he was very old. He wore long robes, a purple cloak that brushed the ground, and high-heeled boots with buckles. Behind half-moon spectacles, two brilliant blue eyes sparkled brightly. His nose was very long. His name was Albus Dumbledore!

He walked to a streetlamp and looked at the few windows still lit along Privet Drive before stopping. He rummaged through his robe pocket and found something like a silver lighter. He flicked it open and held it high.

With a click, one streetlamp went out.

He clicked it twelve times, and the entire street was plunged into darkness.

Even if someone pressed their face to a window, they would not be able to see anything.

Dumbledore walked up to the tabby cat and suddenly said, "Professor McGonagall, why aren't you attending the celebration?"

The tabby cat leaped down from the wall. When it landed, it suddenly transformed into a stern-looking woman wearing square glasses, which looked exactly like the markings around the cat's eyes. She wore an emerald-green cloak, and her jet-black hair was pulled into a tight bun.

"How did you recognize me?"

"Um... because... your glasses. So... have you ever seen a cat with panda eyes?"

"..." Professor McGonagall's expression darkened.

Get lost. I don't want to talk to you.

"Just look at them, casting meteor-shower magic all over the world, wearing cloaks in the Muggle world..." Professor McGonagall angrily scolded the wizards.

Dumbledore could not help laughing. "You can't blame them either. It's been more than ten years. It's finally over."

"But on the day Voldemort disappeared, Muggles discovered the existence of the wizarding world. I don't think that will be wonderful news," Professor McGonagall said sarcastically.

"Must Harry really live here? I watched them for an entire day. I've never seen parents like that, or a child as awful as that," Professor McGonagall said, growing agitated again.

"They are Harry's only relatives. He can grow up safely here," Dumbledore said helplessly.

"But you should know that Harry defeated Voldemort. He will be famous. There will be many books written about Harry, and many children will worship him... He will become a legendary figure."

"You're right. He deserves all of that. But then what? He'll become arrogant and look down on everyone. Fame will destroy him!" Dumbledore said sternly.

Professor McGonagall fell silent.

"Then where is Harry?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I asked Hagrid to bring him."

"Oh, heavens, you actually entrusted Harry to that big oaf? Don't you know how careless he is? Merlin!"

"...Big oaf?" A subtle expression appeared on Dumbledore's face.

"I think Hagrid understands the importance of this. He'll be careful..."

"Boom, boom..." A tremendous roar suddenly erupted, shattering the silence around them.

A dark shape appeared in the night sky and slowly grew larger.

"Bang!" A gigantic motorcycle crashed onto the ground, bounced three times, and finally came to a stop.

"!@#￥%...&" Dumbledore looked at Professor McGonagall and said seriously, "Perhaps... you were right."

"-_----" Professor McGonagall.

If the motorcycle was gigantic, then its rider was even more so. The man was twice as tall as an ordinary person and at least five times as wide, making him extraordinarily huge. His wild, tangled mass of long black hair and beard covered most of his face. His hands were as large as trash can lids, and his booted feet resembled two little dolphins. In his muscular, thick arms, he held a bundle of blankets.

Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore looked at the blanket. Wrapped inside was a baby boy, with a lightning-shaped scar beneath a lock of black hair on his forehead.

Professor McGonagall looked at the baby with pity. "He has no idea what a miserable childhood awaits him."

Are you expressing your dissatisfaction with me? Dumbledore's expression darkened slightly.

Dumbledore picked up Harry and walked toward Number 4.

"555555············· My poor Harry, his parents are dead... and he still has to... live with a Muggle family..." Hagrid suddenly burst into tears, looking utterly grief-stricken.

Professor McGonagall glared at him. "Shh! Do you want to wake all the Muggles?" Hagrid immediately stifled his sobs, like a bullied little wife.

Dumbledore crossed the garden and gently placed Harry on the front steps. Then he took a letter from his pocket and laid it on Harry. His bright eyes watched Harry for a while. He raised his hand and pressed the doorbell three times in quick succession. A moment later, faint curses could be heard from inside the house, and only then did he return to the other two.

"All right, we should leave now. Let us wait for... Harry to grow up," Dumbledore said calmly.

Hagrid looked back as he cried and started the motorcycle. With a roaring boom, the motorcycle shot into the sky and vanished into the night; a tabby cat swiftly slipped around the street corner and disappeared in an instant.

Dumbledore walked to the end of the street and took out the Deluminator. With a click, all twelve streetlamps lit up again. Dumbledore turned his head, and through several gardens, he could just make out the blanket on the steps.

"Good luck, Harry."

Dumbledore drew a wand from his sleeve.

"Apparition!"

"Crack!" It sounded like a whip striking the air. Dumbledore vanished without a trace, as if he had never appeared at all.

The baby in the blanket slowly opened his eyes. They possessed an infant's brightness, but none of an infant's confusion—only a waterlike calm. The stars in the sky reflected in his eyes, making them appear even clearer.

"Do good people get good rewards?" The baby's lips moved, as though murmuring.

The door opened. The baby closed his eyes, as though unwilling to see what would happen next. He even wanted to cover his ears, but could only give up helplessly. The woman who opened the door searched around before finally noticing what was at her feet. A moment later, once she understood, she opened her mouth, and a scream finally rang out across all of Privet Drive!