Rescuing Harry Potter

Allen and Flag arranged to meet at the school gate, then go find Harry together.

"Allen, I'm over here!" In front of a fried chicken shop by the school gate, Flag waved cheerfully at Allen with a sandwich in one hand.

After graduating with outstanding grades, Flag received a large sum of spending money from his parents as a reward. When they heard he was going out with Allen, the little teacher who had volunteered to tutor him—the best student in the entire grade and both a fine teacher and a good friend—Mr. and Mrs. Flag happily gave their permission.

"Allen, have you had breakfast? Want some fried chicken cutlet?"

"Sure. I've already eaten breakfast, but another piece of chicken cutlet would be nice. I'll buy a few cups of milk tea and pack one for Harry too." As Allen spoke, he took out two pounds.

The two first went to the "Baccarat" boutique toy shop to buy Harry a birthday present, then took a bus to the neighborhood where Harry Potter lived.

"4 Privet Drive, this is it!" Flag checked the street sign and turned to Allen.

Allen was looking at a cat perched on the wall. There are no glasses-shaped markings around its eyes. It should just be an ordinary cat. Professor McGonagall, the dignified deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, wouldn't stand guard outside a Muggle home for no reason, even if it was Harry Potter's foster home. Allen silently laughed at his own wild thoughts.

Flag had already rung the doorbell. A gruff male voice came from inside. "Dudley, go open the door!"

"Make Harry do it! I'm watching cartoons!" Dudley's voice was full of impatience.

Then came a series of heavy footsteps. A fat, blond middle-aged man with a double chin opened the door. He looked greasy and asked in a rough voice, "Boy, who are you looking for?"

"Hello, we're Harry Potter's classmates. May I ask if Harry is here?" Flag asked politely.

"Harry? There's no Harry Potter here." Vernon Dursley looked impatient and moved to slam the door shut.

Allen stepped forward and blocked the door. "Sir, is Dudley here? I'm Allen Harris, Dudley's classmate."

"You're Allen Harris? The top student in the whole grade?... Duddy, your classmate Allen Harris is here to see you!" Mr. Dursley gave Allen several suspicious looks, then shouted into the room.

"Come in." Vernon Dursley stepped aside. It seemed that the saying, "Learn math and science well, and you'll fear nothing anywhere," ought to be changed here to, "Work hard to become a top student, and you'll make friends everywhere." Vernon was willing to let his son spend more time with the best student in the grade.

"Allen, Flag, you—"

"Yes, Dudley, we came to exchange some boxing tips with you." Before Dudley, who looked as though he had seen a ghost, could finish speaking, Allen stepped up, hooked an arm around Dudley's shoulders, and marched him toward the living room without allowing him to break free.

The living room was clean and tidy. The boy in the photos on the fireplace mantel was sturdy and strong, either riding a bicycle, standing beside a flower bed at an exhibition, playing computer games with dad, or kissing and hugging his mother. There was not the slightest sign in those photos that another boy lived in the same house. Yet Harry truly did live here. Allen casually glanced toward the cupboard; he knew Harry was in there at that moment.

Bang! Bang! Bang... Harry hammered desperately from inside the cupboard. "Allen, Flag, I'm in here." Harry wanted to get his friends' attention.

"That's Harry's voice, Mr. Dursley. Don't tell me you've been illegally imprisoning Harry?" Allen gave Mr. Dursley a sidelong look and said deliberately.

"Yeah, we haven't seen Harry in a long time. He even missed the final exams!" Flag had heard the voice as well and was deeply worried about Harry.

"Of course not. How could we? We worked so hard to raise him... Oh, damn it!" Mr. Dursley was extremely awkward. After all, he had just tried to hide Harry's existence.

Allen had no interest in listening to Dursley's explanation. He quietly tugged off a cufflink, flicked his wrist with a deft motion, and lightly snapped his fingertip. The cufflink struck the cupboard latch, and the door—opened.

Before Dursley could lock the door again, Harry had already crawled out of the cupboard. Behind Harry, the cupboard door hung limply open, and the pitch-black cupboard resembled a huge gaping mouth, devouring the childhood that should have been bright and happy.

Allen had originally only followed his father's wishes and deliberately befriended Harry Potter, but he had never expected the reality of Harry's abuse to be far more severe than what had been described in the novel from his memories.

No wonder Harry was so small and always wore oversized old clothes. This was blatant abuse! Children with parents were treasures in their palms, while children without parents were grass by the roadside, trampled by anyone at will. That Harry had not grown into another Dark Lord, but had remained so upright, brave, and kind, was thanks to Mrs. Kelly's patient guidance and the justice and kindness in his nature. It had to be said that not developing a personality as selfish and lazy as Dudley's was another immense stroke of luck.

When reading the book, Allen could remain a detached observer, but now Harry was his friend. Seeing Harry abused like this filled Allen with righteous indignation and towering fury.

"Mr. Dursley, I suspect that you have kept Harry in a dark cupboard for a long time. I have reason to believe that you illegally imprisoned and abused Harry some time ago. Flag and I saw it with our own eyes, so we are witnesses. If you cannot improve Harry's situation, I will have to seek legal assistance for him." Suppressing his anger, Allen warned Mr. Dursley in an attempt to improve Harry's circumstances.

"That's right. My sister is a lawyer. If Harry needs help, my whole family will do everything in our power to help him!" Flag did not back down either.

Harry looked gratefully at his friends. In his dark and helpless time, Allen and Flag had brought him light, allowing him to still feel love and hope.

"Fine, fine. Harry, I was going to take you to the amusement park, but now you can take your friends and get the hell out of my house." It was clear that Mr. Dursley had become angry out of embarrassment.

Allen, Harry, and Flag looked at one another. They did not say anything more to provoke Mr. Dursley, since Harry still had to remain with the Dursleys until he came of age.

"You're both so great! Last time, on Dudley's birthday, I actually let a boa constrictor out at the zoo... The Dursleys had never been that angry before, so they locked me up." Like a bird released from its cage, Harry told his two friends about his previous strange adventure.

"Harry, don't leave just yet. That postman seems to be heading to your house. I sent you a birthday card." Seeing the postman riding over on a motorcycle in the distance, Allen remembered the plot and called out to Harry, who was sharing fried chicken with Flag.