4 Privet Drive

Today was Harry's birthday.

Su Yu had to get up early because he needed to leave ahead of time to pick up Hermione. Fa-jie and Ka-jie would not be going; they were planning to go shopping together later, since neither of them knew Harry well.

When Su Yu crawled out of bed, Kurama was still curled into a ball beneath the covers, with only the tip of her nose exposed. He fished her out, and she muttered, "So early again," before burrowing back into his body.

According to the letter Ginny had sent, her brothers had already set off, but they had secretly taken their father's car. Ginny had described it in great detail—George and Fred had slipped out at four in the morning, while Percy only discovered it afterward. By the time he chased after them, the car was already gone. Ginny said she had no idea how furious their mother would be when they returned, but she would be more than happy to watch her troublesome brothers get scolded. She had drawn a smiley face at the end of the letter.

Today, Butler Carson had brought out an extended Rolls-Royce. Dressed in a brand-new tailcoat, his silver-gray hair combed flawlessly into place, Carson stood beside the car and waited for Su Yu to come downstairs.

Su Yu climbed into the car with Kurama in his arms. Carson shut the door and started the engine.

The car passed through central London and headed north.

Hampstead Garden Suburb, Number Eight.

Hermione's home was a small red-brick house with a neatly trimmed lawn out front. When the car stopped at the door, Hermione heard it and rushed outside. She wore a light blue dress, her hair tied into a ponytail, and Su Yu could see the smile on her face from far away inside the car.

Seeing her like that, Su Yu hurriedly opened the door and got out as well. Since it was his first time meeting her parents, he ought to remain presentable. He set Kurama on his shoulder, adjusted the collar of his robes, and was about to walk forward—

Hermione ran over.

She slammed into Su Yu's arms like a cannonball.

Su Yu staggered back a step, only stopping when his heel struck the car door. He felt that if he had been an ordinary person, that alone would have left him seriously injured. Didn't this girl know how strong she was? Hermione's arms were locked around his waist, her face buried against his chest, her hair brushing his chin. She clung to him like an octopus.

"You finally came!" Her voice was muffled against his chest. "I've been waiting forever!"

Su Yu patted her back. "All right, all right. Your parents are watching."

Hermione lifted her head from his arms and glanced back—Mr. and Mrs. Granger stood at the door. Her mother was smiling, while her father wore an expression somewhere between "Why is my daughter acting like this?" and "Who the hell is this brat?" Hermione blushed and let go of Su Yu, though she still held onto his sleeve.

Su Yu walked to the Grangers' front door and politely greeted them. Mr. Granger was a dentist, not very tall, with thinning hair, but he was looking at Su Yu with a distinctly dangerous gaze.

"So you're Su Yu?" Mr. Granger extended a hand. "Hermione talks about you all the time. You seem pretty capable, kid."

Su Yu shook his hand. "Hello, Mr. Granger. Hello, Mrs. Granger. I'm sorry for disturbing you so early."

Mrs. Granger smiled. "You're not disturbing us. She got up at five."

Hermione stomped her foot beside them. "Mum—"

Only after Su Yu promised to return Hermione exactly as he had taken her the next day did the two of them let him leave. Mrs. Granger stood at the door, watching them get into the car and waving goodbye. Mr. Granger stood beside her with his hands in his pockets, his face full of the complicated emotion of "My daughter has grown up."

Hermione sat in the car, and her mouth never stopped moving.

"Su Yu, you went out and had fun without taking me!" Her tone was both aggrieved and angry as she poked Su Yu's arm. "You went to Disneyland! Paris! Italy! When you sent me those photos, I was sitting at home reading. Do you know how miserable that was?"

Su Yu leaned back in his seat and listened.

"Was it fun there? Was Pirates of the Caribbean fun? Were the roller coasters scary? Did Sleeping Beauty Castle look just like it did in the books? Did you take photos? You have to take me next time too! And the Eiffel Tower—the angle in your pictures was awful. Fa-jie's were decent, but not good enough. Next time, we have to take them like that too. I'll teach you—"

Su Yu cut in, "Kurama's mouth got blown crooked by the wind on the roller coaster."

Hermione froze for a moment, then burst out laughing so hard she doubled over, tears coming to her eyes. "Really? Did you take pictures?"

"No. I was busy holding onto her."

"You have to take pictures next time!"

Hermione kept talking, from Disneyland to Paris, from Paris to Rome, from Rome to Venice. Every place got the same questions: "Was it fun?", "What sights were there?", and "Let's go together next time."

Kurama's air-raid siren went off.

She covered her head and rolled around on Su Yu's lap, her ears drooping and her tail curled into a ball. Kurama rolled three times, then finally had no choice but to squeeze through the gap between the front seats, jump into the passenger seat, and crouch beside Carson.

Carson looked down at her but said nothing. Kurama stretched out a paw and shut the soundproof partition between the front and rear seats. The noise immediately became much quieter. Satisfied, she sighed, lay down on the passenger seat with her chin on the armrest, and began to doze off. Carson reached over and lowered the air conditioning so it would not blow on her.

Su Yu saw the scene in the rearview mirror, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Hermione did not notice and kept talking.

When Su Yu and the others arrived, Ron and his two brothers had not yet shown up. Something might have happened on the way.

They had secretly arranged to surprise Harry because none of the letters they had sent him since the holiday began had received replies, and Harry had not written to them either.

Ron wrote that he had sent at least six letters without receiving a single reply. Fred said he had sent eight, George said he had sent five, and Hermione said she had sent more than ten, yet every one of them had vanished without a trace. They were deeply worried, so they had taken this opportunity to come and check on him together.

When the car stopped outside 4 Privet Drive, Su Yu spotted Harry through the window at once.

Harry was crossing the lawn, then suddenly sat down on a garden bench and softly hummed, "Happy birthday to me... happy birthday to me..."

There were no cards and no presents. By evening, Harry would have to pretend he did not exist—hiding from the Dursleys, making no noise, and letting no one know he was there.

Hermione was the first to lose control. She rushed over and hugged Harry, crouching beside the bench with an arm around his shoulders. She could not bear to see Harry like this—sitting alone in the garden, singing himself a birthday song.

Harry stared at Su Yu and Hermione in surprise. He had never imagined that someone would come to see him on his birthday. He looked dazed and at a loss, not knowing where to put his hands. He even forgot to greet them and simply stood there blankly.

Su Yu greeted him too. "Aren't you going to invite us inside, Harry?"

Only then did Harry come to his senses. He stood from the bench and led the two of them into the house. In the photos on the walls, Dudley grinned like a swollen steamed bun, Aunt Petunia's lips were pressed into a thin line, and Uncle Vernon's face was red-purple—but Harry was nowhere to be seen.

Harry poured them tea.

"There's just not much food in the house," Harry said quietly. "I only get one bowl of canned soup a day, and it's cold. But I can drink half of it in one go!" He even smiled a little when he said that.

"Every time, I pour some of the soaked vegetable leaves from the bottom of the bowl into her empty food dish." Harry pointed at the owl cage in the corner. Hedwig sat inside, her white feathers a little dirty, neck tucked in and eyes shut. "But Hedwig won't eat it. I really don't have anything else to serve you."

Hermione was nearly crying. If she had known Harry lived like this, she would never have let him return to this place where he did not belong.

Su Yu did not ask pointless questions. Things like, "Couldn't you just leave?", "Why didn't you call the police?", or "What are you doing with all that money in your pocket?" Harry was only twelve. He did not have a driver's license, and legitimate hotels would not let a child under sixteen stay alone. As for illegitimate places, young wizards could not use spells outside school or they would be expelled. Without magic, what was Harry different from any other Muggle? Where could he go?

Just then, Ron and his two brothers arrived as well.

They climbed in through the window. Fred came first, George second, Ron last. When Ron landed, he knocked over an umbrella stand by the door with a loud clatter. All three had hair even redder than usual, and excited smiles on their faces. Fred was even carrying a bag of crisps he had swiped from the car.

After hearing about Harry's situation, the three Weasley brothers exchanged glances. Fred spoke first. "You can't stay here." George added, "Absolutely not." Ron said, "There's room at our place."

"You're coming with us," Fred said in a tone that allowed no argument. "Mum and Dad won't mind."

"Mum already said you should come stay with us," George said. "She said you definitely wouldn't be eating properly by yourself."

"Yeah," Ron said. "Though my mum's cooking isn't exactly that great either—"

Fred smacked the back of his head.

Then, suddenly, a sound came from Harry's room.

Everyone turned to look.

A house-elf emerged through the crack in the door. It was very small, with a bald head, ears as large as bat wings, and round eyes like two tennis balls. It wore a filthy pillowcase with several holes cut around the collar and sleeves, its hands and feet sticking out through them.

When it saw Harry, it bowed deeply to him, its long, flat nose nearly touching the carpet.

"Er... hello," Harry said nervously.

"Harry Potter!" the elf cried, its voice shooting up an octave, sharp enough to cut glass.

"Sir, Dobby has heard so much about you... it is such an honor..."

"Th-thanks," Harry said, looking at him in confusion. He wanted to ask, "What are you?" but reconsidered, thinking that would be rude, so he asked instead, "Who are you?"

"Dobby, sir, just Dobby. Dobby, the house-elf," the elf said.

"Oh—is that right?" Harry said. "Er—I don't mean to be rude or anything, but... why are you in my room?"

"It's not that I don't want to see you," Harry hurriedly said. "But, er, is there some special reason you came here?"

"Oh yes, sir." Dobby spoke anxiously. "Dobby came to tell you, sir... it is difficult, sir... Dobby does not know where to begin..."

To his alarm, the house-elf suddenly began to cry—and it was painfully shrill.

"Don't... don't do that..." Harry said helplessly. "Why don't you come sit down?"

"Sorry," Harry said quietly. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Offend Dobby!" the elf sobbed. "Dobby has never been invited to sit by a wizard—like an equal—"

"You must not have met many good wizards," Harry said, trying to encourage him.

Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leaped up and violently smashed his head against the wall. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!" His forehead struck the wall with dull thuds, one after another, until even the plaster cracked.

"Don't do that—what are you doing?" Harry said urgently. He rushed over to stop Dobby, but Dobby moved too quickly, and Harry grabbed only air.

"Sir, Dobby must punish himself," the elf said. His eyes had gone slightly crossed, his pupils unfocused, as if he were about to faint. "Dobby serves a wizarding family. Dobby is a house-elf—his duty is to serve one house and one family forever..."

"Do they know you're here?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh no, sir, no... sir, Dobby will punish himself severely for coming to see you. Dobby will shut his ears in the oven door for it. If they find out, sir—"

"But won't they know if you shut your ears in the oven door?"

"Sir, Dobby supposes they do know. Dobby always has to punish himself for something, sir. They do not stop Dobby from continuing. Sometimes, they even remind Dobby to add more punishment..."

"But why don't you leave? Run away?"

"A house-elf must be freed, sir. This family will never free Dobby... Dobby must serve this family until he dies, sir..."

Harry and Hermione's eyes widened.

"I thought suffering here for a few weeks was bad enough," Harry said. "But compared to that, the Dursleys sound almost humane. Can't anyone help you? Can't we?"

Almost instantly, Dobby burst into grateful tears. His tears fell like beads from a snapped string, his whole body shaking like a sieve as whimpering sounds escaped his mouth.

"Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby... Dobby has long heard how great you are, sir, but never knew how kind you were..."

Harry's face grew hot. "Whatever you heard about how great I am, it's all rubbish. I'm not the best at Hogwarts. Su Yu is. He—"

Su Yu cut in at that moment. "What exactly did you come here for? You've been babbling forever without getting to the point."

Dobby trembled all over, lowering his voice even further. "A plot, Harry Potter. This year, there is a plot at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to cause the most terrible event. Dobby cannot say! Dobby has known for months, sir. Harry Potter cannot go and risk himself. He is far too important, sir!"

"Enough!" Harry shouted, grabbing the elf's arm to stop him. "You can't say it, I get it. But why warn me?"

Dobby went on for a long time before everyone finally understood—Dobby did not want Harry to leave this house, much less go to school.

Harry had been unable to receive or send letters all holiday because of him too. Dobby had intercepted every letter along the way. As he said this, he did not dare look Harry in the eye. He only stared at the floor, as if counting the threads in the carpet.

And when Harry and Ron protested, Dobby actually tried to attack! He raised a finger toward Harry and began muttering something. An unnatural ripple appeared in the air.

Su Yu remained seated, but a bottomless dark purple suddenly churned in his eyes. His pupils fractured layer by layer, transforming into cold concentric rings of Rinnegan patterns.

With one glance alone, a tremor rose from the depths of everyone's souls, as if they were being watched by heaven itself, locked onto by reincarnation, until even breathing became difficult.

He wanted to test the new ability he had gained a few days ago, the one he could use only once a year.

Banshō Ten'in.

Dobby's body was seized by an invisible hand and violently dragged toward Su Yu. Su Yu reached out and grabbed Dobby by the throat.

The Weasley twins were still excitedly talking. "Isn't that more useful than the Summoning Charm?" Both their eyes shone. Fred leaned close to George's ear and whispered, "Can we learn that?" George replied, "Go ask him."

Ron and Harry were stunned too—wasn't using magic outside school against the rules? But wasn't grabbing someone by the throat like that a bit... Ron glanced at Su Yu's expression and swallowed the rest of the thought.

Hermione only watched Su Yu. She trusted him completely. Whatever Su Yu did, he had his reasons.

Still gripping Dobby, Su Yu spoke one word at a time, each one seeming to have been pulled from an ice cellar. "Who sent you?"

"Dobby came by himself," Dobby said in broken gasps. With his throat clenched, his voice sounded like a frog being stepped on. "Dobby... wants to save Harry!"

Su Yu stared at Dobby for several seconds. It was not that he disliked Dobby; he simply had no patience for stupidity. The elf had babbled for so long without explaining anything clearly. What did this have to do with Harry? Lucius wanted to frame the Weasleys, finding a chance to slip Voldemort's diary to them, since it was a Dark magic item.

No matter who ultimately got hurt, Arthur Weasley, as one of the key figures in confiscating contraband, would definitely suffer for it. The new Muggle Protection Act he was leading might also be shelved. A grand plot? What grand plot could Lucius possibly come up with using that brain of his? He did not even know it was a Horcrux. And knowing it had belonged to Voldemort, would he dare write in it? Join forces with the Tom inside, open the Chamber of Secrets, and plot against Hogwarts? Same answer as before—Lucius did not have the brains for that. He had even believed Voldemort was dead. What could anyone expect from him?

As for Dobby, he was even more foolish. He had not understood anything, merely decided that Lucius was targeting Harry, and then came here to make a complete mess of things. He kept hurting himself at every turn, making Harry's situation even worse. Without Dobby, Harry might have had it better.

Su Yu released Dobby.

Dobby fell to the ground, clutching his throat and coughing twice. The tears in his eyes had not yet dried, but his expression had already shifted from fear to confusion.

Su Yu looked into his eyes and said, "Harry has Dumbledore and me protecting him. He'll be fine. Go back."

Dobby opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Su Yu's gaze made him swallow the words. He bowed deeply to Harry, then vanished with a crack.

The room fell silent for a while. Fred broke the silence. "That just now was—"

"A house-elf," Su Yu said.

"No, I mean that move you used—"

"You want to learn it? You can't."

Fred closed his mouth in disappointment.

Soon, the Dursleys returned. Uncle Vernon's car stopped in the driveway, and the car door slammed loudly. His footsteps sounded from the entrance. Aunt Petunia followed behind him, her high heels clicking rapidly against the floor. Dudley came last, still chewing something with loud smacking noises.

But by then, Harry had already packed his things. He did not have much—a battered trunk, Hedwig's cage, and the photo album Hagrid had given him. He held the trunk in his arms and slipped out through the back door with the three Weasley brothers.

The car belonging to Ron and his brothers was parked at the street corner. It was a sky-blue Ford Anglia. Fred pulled open the door, George climbed into the driver's seat, and Ron and Harry sat in the back.

When Uncle Vernon opened the front door, he saw the car rise from the corner of the street.

Its wheels left the ground, and the car swayed as it rose into the air. Then it suddenly accelerated and shot into the clouds.

Uncle Vernon's face went from red to white, then from white to purple. Aunt Petunia screamed, and whatever Dudley had been chewing fell from his mouth.

"See you next summer!" Harry shouted, his voice drifting down from the sky and growing more distant. The Weasley brothers cheered loudly, their laughter spilling from the car windows and echoing down the whole street. Harry settled back into his seat and smiled knowingly.

Su Yu stood outside the Dursleys' house. Only after the car disappeared into the clouds did he slowly turn around. He looked at Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley.

Su Yu spoke slowly. "You will receive a court summons. It concerns your abuse of a child. I hope you can survive this, because only then can I take my time playing with you."

He did not wait for the Dursleys to react. After saying that, he turned around, took Hermione's hand, and left.

Kurama poked her head out of the car window, glanced at the Dursleys, then pulled back inside. Hermione sat beside Su Yu, still holding onto his sleeve.

The car started, and Carson turned it around toward Foley Manor.

They were going to use Floo Powder to visit the Weasleys and celebrate Harry's birthday. They were not using Apparition because Su Yu had never been to the Weasleys' home, so he could not Apparate there.