Rescuing Harry

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"Of course. They won't know."

"Have you driven it before?"

"Uh... you have to trust our driving skills! Oh... Merlin..."

A car barely cleared the top of a tree, nearly ending in a fatal crash.

That was right—it flew over it.

The twins were driving Arthur Weasley's Flying Ford Anglia, taking Ron Weasley and Eli to rescue Harry.

The twins' suicidal driving made Eli wipe away a cold sweat. To be safe, he pulled out his wand and cast several Shield Charms on himself.

The Weasleys truly were all Gryffindors. The twins and Ron Weasley were thrilled, and Ron Weasley wanted nothing more than to charge into Number Four, Privet Drive with his wand and rescue Harry.

Eli could only tell him that Azkaban welcomed him.

With Eli guiding them, the car finally reached Privet Drive. By then, it was already night.

Just a few days earlier, the Dursley family had been busy decorating the living room.

Mrs. Dursley carefully iced the cake she had just made.

An owl hooted upstairs. As Mr. Dursley tied Dudley's bow tie, he furiously shouted upstairs for Harry.

Upstairs, Harry had just managed to soothe the somewhat restless Hedwig. Hearing Dursley call for him, he pursed his lips and went downstairs.

"Did you want me, Uncle?"

Without even turning around, Dursley said, "If you can't keep your owl under control, I'll throw her out!"

Helplessly, Harry said, "But Hedwig has been locked in her cage all the time. If she could go out for two hours a day..."

Before Harry could finish, Dursley rudely cut him off. "So she can deliver letters to your friends? Dream on."

At that, Harry's eyes dimmed. "But no one has written to me this holiday. Not one letter."

Dursley said nothing more. Perhaps Harry's misery gave him a secret thrill.

Dudley, his bow tie fastened, passed by Harry. He had intended to shove Harry aside hard, but seemed to remember something and merely walked around him.

A smug smile curled at Dursley's lips. "I think you ought to be more grateful. We raised you, and we even gave you Dudley's old room. That's because we're kind-hearted! Don't think that just because you've attached yourself to the Hall family, you can repay kindness with ingratitude."

"This is for the Masons. You can't eat it."

Mrs. Dursley moved Dudley's hand away as he reached for a cherry on the cake. Dudley looked displeased.

"They should be here soon!" Mr. Dursley motioned for them to come over.

"Come on, let's rehearse it once more. When the Masons arrive, Petunia, what should you do?"

Like an actress performing in a musical, Mrs. Dursley took several proper steps through the living room. "I should wait in the living room and warmly welcome them."

Dursley was very satisfied with Petunia's answer. "Very good! What about you, Dudley?"

Dudley tugged at his little suit jacket and puffed out his fat-filled chest. "I'll open the door for them!"

"That's right, exactly!"

Dursley slowly turned to Harry. Petunia and Dudley stood beside him as well.

The family of three glared at Harry maliciously, looking exactly like Hagrid's three-headed dog.

"And what about you?"

Harry pressed his lips together. "Stay upstairs and keep quiet. Pretend I don't exist at all."

He had long grown used to this, and his answer made Dursley nod in satisfaction.

Harry returned to his room. Although it was much better than the cramped cupboard beneath the stairs he had lived in before, it was all the same to him.

He felt that he did not belong here.

When he opened the door, a short, loose-skinned strange creature was bouncing up and down on his bed.

He jumped back out of the room in fright.

After some explanation, he finally figured out what the thing was.

It was a house-elf named Dobby. Harry did not know where he had come from, as Dobby seemed to find it difficult to speak of his own master.

From Dobby's words, Harry learned that this fellow was the reason he had received no letters.

But he could hardly blame him, because the creature claimed he was doing it for Harry's own good. Someone wanted to harm him.

Besides, the little thing would bang his head against the cupboard at the slightest disagreement.

The noise could be heard throughout the entire house. Harry was terrified—this would definitely provoke Dursley!

Downstairs, the Dursley family followed their rehearsal perfectly and welcomed the Masons into the living room. They seemed to be having a pleasant conversation.

"...it was nearly the ninth hole, and I was about to putt..."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sudden commotion upstairs made the Masons frown and glance over. The Dursley family's expressions instantly froze.

"Oh, it's the cat. You know how cats are, always making such a fuss. I'll go deal with it."

Hearing Dursley's footsteps, Dobby hurriedly hid in the cupboard.

Dursley roughly threw open the door. "I warned you! You interrupted my golf joke!"

Dursley struggled desperately to keep himself from shouting.

After Dursley left, Dobby emerged from the wardrobe, and a bundle of letters fell from his clothes.

"What are those?"

Dobby looked somewhat embarrassed. "Dobby hopes Harry Potter will not be angry. These are all letters your friends sent you..."

You still had the nerve to tell me not to be angry? How dare you!

Harry had never been so furious. "Give them to me!"

"No."

Harry tried to snatch them, but Dobby actually ran out of the room. Harry's heart sank.

Dobby ran downstairs and stopped at the entrance to the living room. With a snap of his fingers, the pudding cake floated into the air.

Harry immediately broke out in a cold sweat. "Dobby, no!"

"Unless Harry Potter promises never to return to school!"

How could Harry possibly agree to that? Hogwarts was his home!

"No, I can't not go back!"

Dobby gave a gentle push with his hand, and the cake gradually drifted above the Masons' heads.

The Dursley family's expressions froze again.

Mrs. Dursley's face went white.

Harry carefully tried to carry the cake away himself, but Dobby snapped his fingers again, and the cake crashed straight down onto the Masons' heads.

The scene instantly became unbearably awkward.

Naturally, the conversation ended on a sour note. Dursley's face turned liver-colored, then purple.

The next day, he sealed Harry's window shut.

Until Eli and the others arrived.

The car wobbled to a stop outside the window. Harry, who had been sound asleep, was scared half to death when the car nearly crashed inside.

"Why are you here?!"

Seeing the people in the car, Harry was so happy he nearly jumped up!

Eli signaled for Harry to pack quickly, then used magic to forcibly tear off the security bars.

Eli was not worried at all that casting magic in the Muggle world would draw a warning from the Ministry of Magic, because Nicolas Flamel's item could block the Trace.

The tremendous noise woke Dursley. Realizing it came from Harry's room, he dragged his fat body toward Harry's door in a panic.

Hearing the commotion inside, he frantically began unlocking the nine locks on the outside of Harry's door.

Anyone who did not know better would think a magical beast had been sealed inside!

If there had not been so many locks, he might have rushed in and grabbed Harry long ago.

By the time he unlocked them all and entered the room, Harry was already ready to get into the car.

Dursley apparently had some talent for sprinting. With that sudden burst, he actually lunged forward and grabbed Harry.

Fred Weasley had no interest in worrying about that awful man's safety. He started the car at once, while Ron Weasley and Eli hauled Harry inside.

Dursley fell in full view of Petunia and Dudley's horrified eyes.

Fortunately, the landscaping below caught him, though those plants were probably not going to survive.