4 Privet Drive

Today was Harry's birthday.

Su Yu had to get up early too, because he needed to leave ahead of time to pick up Hermione. Sister Fa and Sister Ka would not be going; they were going shopping together later, after all, they were not familiar with Harry.

When Su Yu climbed out of bed, Nine-Tailed Fox was still curled into a ball beneath the blankets, with only the tip of her nose showing. He fished her out, and she muttered, "So early again," before slipping 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 written in great detail—George and Fred had sneaked out at four in the morning, while Percy discovered it later. By the time he ran after them, the car was already gone. Ginny said she had no idea how furious their mother would be once they came back, but she would be delighted to see 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 impeccably neat, Carson stood beside the car and waited for Su Yu to come downstairs.

Su Yu got into the car with Nine-Tailed Fox 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 House.

Hermione's home was a small red-brick building with a neatly trimmed patch of lawn in front. When the car stopped outside, Hermione heard it and rushed out the door. 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 this was his first time meeting her parents, he had better remain presentable. He placed Nine-Tailed Fox on his shoulder, adjusted the collar of his robe, and was about to walk over—

Hermione ran toward him.

She slammed into his arms like a cannonball.

Su Yu staggered back a step, stopping only when his heel struck the car door. He felt that if he had been an ordinary person, he would at least have been seriously injured from that impact. Did this girl not know how strong she was? Hermione's arms were wrapped 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 chest and looked back—Mr. and Mrs. Granger stood at the door. Her mother was smiling, while her father's expression fell somewhere between "Why is my daughter like this?" and "Who the hell is this brat?" Hermione blushed a little and released Su Yu, though she still held onto his sleeve.

Su Yu walked up to Hermione's front door and politely greeted the Grangers. Mr. Granger was a dentist, short and slightly balding, but he looked at Su Yu with a distinctly dangerous gaze.

"You're Su Yu?" Mr. Granger held out his hand. "Hermione talks about you all the time. You seem pretty capable, kid."

Su Yu shook his hand. "Hello, Mr. Granger. Hello, Mrs. Granger. Sorry to disturb you so early."

Mrs. Granger smiled. "You're not disturbing us. She's been up since five."

Hermione stomped her foot beside them. "Mum—"

Only after Su Yu promised that he would bring Hermione back exactly as she was the next day did the two of them let him leave. Mrs. Granger stood in the doorway, watching them get into the car and waving goodbye. Mr. Granger stood beside her with his hands in his pockets, his expression complicated in that way of someone thinking, "My daughter has grown up."

Once Hermione was in the car, she did not stop talking.

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

Su Yu leaned back in his seat and listened.

"Was it fun? Was Pirates of the Caribbean fun? Were the roller coasters scary? Was Sleeping Beauty Castle really like it was described in the books? Did you take pictures? You have to take me next time too! And the Eiffel Tower—the angle in your photos was terrible. The ones Sister Fa took were all right, but still not good enough. Next time we have to take pictures like that too. I'll teach you—"

Su Yu cut in, "Nine-Tailed Fox's mouth got blown crooked by the wind on the roller coaster."

Hermione froze for a moment, then burst into laughter so hard that she rocked back and forth, tears coming to her eyes. "Really? Did you take a picture?"

"No. I was busy holding onto her."

"You have to take one next time!"

Hermione kept talking, from Disneyland to Paris, Paris to Rome, Rome to Venice. At every place, she asked, "Was it fun?" "What sights were there?" and "Can we go together next time?"

Nine-Tailed Fox's air-raid alarm went off.

She covered her head and rolled around on Su Yu's lap, her ears drooping and her tail curled into a ball. After rolling three times, she finally could not take it anymore. She squeezed through the gap between the front seats, jumped into the passenger seat, and crouched beside Carson.

Carson lowered his head and glanced at her without saying anything. Nine-Tailed Fox stretched out a paw and shut the soundproof partition separating the back seats. The noise immediately became much quieter. She sighed in satisfaction, sprawled across the passenger seat with her chin on the armrest, and began dozing off. Carson reached over and turned down the air conditioning so it would not blow on her.

Su Yu saw that through 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 arrived yet. Who knew whether something had happened on the way.

They had secretly arranged to give Harry a surprise, because he had not replied to any of the letters they had sent since the holidays began, nor had he written to them at all.

Ron had written that he had sent at least six letters and received no reply. Fred said he had sent eight, George said he had sent five, and Hermione said she had sent more than ten, but every single one had vanished without a trace. They were all extremely worried, so they had decided to take this chance to come see him together.

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

Harry was crossing the lawn just then. He dropped heavily onto 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 her composure. 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 and singing himself a birthday song.

Harry stared at Su Yu and Hermione in surprise. He had never imagined that anyone would come visit him on his birthday. He looked lost and helpless, not knowing where to put his hands. He even forgot to greet them, just standing there in a daze.

Su Yu greeted him too. "Won't you invite us in for a sit, Harry?"

Only then did Harry react. He stood up from the bench and led them into the house. In the photographs on the walls, Dudley smiled like a puffed-up steamed bun, Aunt Petunia's lips were pressed into a thin line, and Uncle Vernon's face was flushed purple-red, yet Harry was nowhere to be seen.

Harry poured them tea.

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

"Every time, I poured some of the soaked vegetables from the bottom of my bowl into her empty food dish." Harry pointed toward the owl cage in the corner. Hedwig was perched inside, her white feathers a little dirty as she tucked in her neck and closed her eyes. "But Hedwig won't eat it. I really don't have anything else to serve you."

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

Su Yu did not ask any pointless questions. Things like, "Why don't you just leave?" "Why don'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 license, and legitimate hotels would never let a child under sixteen stay alone. As for illegitimate places, young wizards were forbidden from using spells outside and could be expelled for it. Without magic, what was Harry different from any Muggle? Where could he even go?

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

They climbed in through the window. Fred came first, George second, and Ron last. When Ron landed, he knocked over an umbrella stand by the door with a loud clatter. Their hair was even redder than usual, and all three wore excited grins. Fred even held a bag of crisps that he had swiped from the car.

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

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

"Mum said you should come stay with us anyway," George said. "She said you definitely weren't 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, there was movement in Harry's room.

Everyone turned to look.

A house-elf emerged through the crack in the door. It was tiny, with a bald head, ears as large as bat wings, and round eyes like tennis balls. It wore a filthy pillowcase with several holes 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 an octave too high and sharp enough to shatter glass.

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

"Th-thank you," Harry said, looking at him in confusion. He wanted to ask, "What are you?" but thought that seemed a little rude, so he changed the question. "Who are you?"

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

"Oh—really?" 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 added. "But, er, did you come here for some particular reason?"

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

To Harry's alarm, the elf suddenly began to cry—and the noise was piercing.

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

"Sorry," Harry said in a low voice. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Offend Dobby!" the elf choked out. "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 began violently smashing 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 grab Dobby, but Dobby moved too quickly, and he caught nothing.

"Sir, Dobby must punish himself," the elf said. His eyes had started to cross slightly, his pupils unfocused, as though 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's ears will be shut in the oven door for this. If they find out, sir—"

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

"Sir, Dobby thinks they know. Dobby always has to punish himself for something, sir. They do not mind Dobby carrying on. Sometimes they even remind Dobby to give himself extra punishments..."

"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 at once, Dobby burst into grateful tears. The tears fell like broken beads, his whole body shaking like a leaf as whimpering sounds escaped his mouth.

"Harry Potter asks whether he can help Dobby... Dobby has long heard of your greatness, sir, but Dobby never knew of your kindness..."

Harry felt waves of heat rising to his face. "Whatever you heard about my greatness, 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 babbled on for ages without getting to the point."

Dobby trembled all over, lowering his voice even further. "A plot, Harry Potter. There is a plot to create the most terrible event at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year. Dobby cannot say! Dobby knew months ago, sir. Harry Potter must not go into danger. He is far too important, sir!"

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

After Dobby rambled on for quite a while, they finally understood—Dobby did not want Harry to leave this house, much less return to school.

Harry had not received or been able to send letters throughout the holidays 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 simply stared at the floor, as though 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 chanting something. An unnatural ripple appeared in the air.

Su Yu remained seated, while an unfathomably dark purple surged into his eyes. His pupils shattered layer by layer, becoming cold concentric patterns of reincarnation.

Just one glance made a tremor rise from the depths of one's soul, as though watched by the heavens and locked onto by reincarnation itself, making even breathing difficult.

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

"Universal Pull."

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

The Weasley twins were still saying excitedly, "Isn't this more useful than Accio?" Their eyes were both shining. Fred leaned close to George's ear and whispered, "Can we learn that?" George said, "Go ask him."

Ron and Harry were shocked as well—wasn't using magic outside school against the rules? But wasn't choking someone like that a little... Ron took one look at Su Yu's expression and swallowed the rest of that thought.

Hermione only watched Su Yu. She trusted him completely. Everything Su Yu did had a reason.

Su Yu held Dobby by the throat, every word sounding as though it had been pulled from an ice cellar. "Who sent you here?"

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

Su Yu stared at Dobby for a few seconds. It was not that he disliked Dobby. He was simply suffering from an intolerance for stupidity. The elf had babbled for ages without making a single thing clear. What did this have to do with Harry? Lucius wanted to frame the Weasleys by finding a chance to slip Voldemort's diary to them, since that diary was a Dark artifact.

No matter who was harmed in the end, Arthur Weasley, as the leading force behind raiding prohibited items, would definitely suffer for it. The revised Muggle Protection Act he was promoting might also be shelved. A massive conspiracy? What massive conspiracy could Lucius possibly devise with that brain of his? He did not even know it was a Horcrux. And knowing it belonged to Voldemort, would he write in it? Would he team up with Tom inside it, release the Chamber of Secrets, and plot against Hogwarts? Same answer—Lucius did not have the brains for that. He had thought Voldemort was dead. What could anyone expect from him?

As for Dobby, he was even stupider. He had not understood anything, merely assumed Lucius was targeting Harry and came over to make a complete mess of things. He hurt himself at every turn, made Harry's situation even worse, and if Dobby had not existed, Harry would have had a better life.

Su Yu released Dobby.

Dobby fell to the floor, clutching his throat and coughing twice. The tears in his eyes had not dried, but his expression had already changed 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 sharp 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 of yours—"

"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, its door slamming loudly, and his footsteps came from the entrance. Aunt Petunia followed behind him, her heels clicking rapidly across the floor. Dudley trailed at the very back, still chewing something with loud smacking noises.

By then, however, Harry had already packed his things. He did not have much—a battered trunk, Hedwig's cage, and the album Hagrid had given him. He hugged the trunk to his chest and slipped out through the back door with the three Weasley brothers.

Ron and his brothers' car was parked at the 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 happened to see the car rise into the air from the street corner.

The wheels lifted from the ground, and the car swayed as it rose into the sky. Then it suddenly accelerated and shot into the clouds.

Uncle Vernon's face turned 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 drifted down from the sky, growing farther and farther away. The Weasley brothers cheered loudly, their laughter ringing from the car windows and echoing through the entire street. Harry sat back in his seat and smiled knowingly.

Su Yu stood at the Dursleys' front door, waiting until the car vanished into the clouds before slowly turning around. He looked at Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley.

Su Yu slowly said, "You'll be receiving a court summons. Regarding your abuse of a child, I hope you can survive this. Because after that, I'll have time to play with you properly."

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

Nine-Tailed Fox poked her head out through the car window, glanced at the Dursleys, then withdrew back inside. Hermione sat beside Su Yu, still holding onto his sleeve.

The car started. Carson turned it around and headed for 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.