A Flying Car Adventure

Harry had spent the happiest day of his life at the Weasley Family's home. If he could, he never wanted to return to Number Four, Privet Drive.

Everyone went to bed early today because tomorrow they still had to go to Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies and catch the train back to school.

Eli and Harry were both squeezed into Ron Weasley's room. Luckily, this was a magical world, and Molly Weasley had enlarged Ron Weasley's bed several times over. Still, limited by the already tiny room, the three of them were rather cramped.

Perhaps only Ron Weasley, that carefree fool, could fall asleep so quickly. Eli wanted to strangle him alive, because from the moment he fell asleep, his snoring had never stopped!

"Eli, are you asleep?"

Harry's voice came from beside him. Eli turned his head. This guy wasn't asleep either. He didn't know whether Harry was excited or equally unable to sleep because of the noise.

"What is it?"

Harry was silent for a while, as if organizing his thoughts. "When you told me to hit Voldemort with my hand, did you already know he couldn't touch me?"

Eli froze. Had this kid finally caught on? How had he suddenly noticed this blind spot?

To be honest, Eli hadn't really thought things through either. Besides, given the circumstances at the time, they had no other choice.

"Actually, I had no other choice either. I never expected Voldemort to be unable to touch you. I guess it was just a lucky accident!"

"Really?"

Harry sounded somewhat doubtful, or perhaps that wasn't really the answer he wanted to hear.

"Really."

Harry fell silent again. For a while, Ron Weasley's snores were the only sound echoing through the room.

Just when Eli thought Harry had fallen asleep, Harry spoke again. "Actually, I have a younger brother."

Eli's heart skipped a beat. Did Harry know something?

"Then he..."

"He died. Or rather, he went missing."

Eli relaxed slightly, but he didn't know how to answer him.

"Do you think I got them killed? They're all dead, and I'm the only one left."

Harry's voice was lonely in the night. "No, Harry. They only wanted to protect you. It has nothing to do with you. Besides, you still have..."

He had just wanted to say that Harry at least still had his aunt and uncle, but when he thought of everything Harry had suffered at the Dursleys', the words caught in his throat. That would never be any comfort to Harry.

Harry suddenly turned toward him. "Do you think Billy might still be alive?"

His emerald-green eyes, identical to Eli's, were still bright in the darkness.

Eli didn't dare look into his eyes. "I hope so." He stared at the ceiling.

Harry suddenly said, "I never said who Billy was."

Eli was startled. Damn it, had this kid tricked him?

Harry had never told anyone about his younger brother before. Just as Dumbledore had said, very few people knew Harry had a brother.

Eli hadn't thought much of it just now and had actually fallen straight into the trap.

He froze without saying anything, not knowing what to say. Was he going to be exposed now? Was the grand scene of brothers recognizing each other about to unfold while they shared a bed?

Eli's thoughts were in complete turmoil. One moment he was thinking about how to explain himself, the next he was thinking about what he should say to Harry if they recognized each other.

"I feel like you're all hiding a lot of things from me."

Harry sounded as if he were talking to himself, as though what he had just said had only been a joke.

That little move from Harry had made Eli too wary to say anything else.

"Professor Dumbledore too. And you."

Harry looked at Eli, who was still playing dumb, then seemed to resign himself to it.

"I just hope you won't leave me behind alone again."

Eli suddenly turned to look at Harry. Harry was staring at the ceiling now, just as Eli had been moments ago.

"Don't worry. We won't. We'll always be here."

Harry turned his head and smiled at Eli, then burrowed into the blankets. "Good night."

Eli was left wide awake, while Ron Weasley's snores continued tirelessly.

"Silencio!"

With one spell, the world finally became quiet!

The next day, everyone got up early, mainly because Molly Weasley had dragged them out of bed.

According to her, if they got up too late, they would miss Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing.

He was their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. To emphasize once again, he was a fraud.

However, most people didn't know his true nature, and Molly Weasley was still his fan.

They traveled through the fireplace to Diagon Alley, but Harry seemed to have ended up somewhere else because of a slip of the tongue.

By a strange twist of fate, he had wound up at Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley, where he even ran into Draco Malfoy.

Draco Malfoy was a friend, but his father might not be, so Harry hid.

After avoiding the Malfoy father and son, he had nearly been surrounded in Knockturn Alley. Thank goodness he ran into Hagrid.

Hagrid said the school's cabbages had been eaten by flesh-eating slugs and that he had come to buy pesticide. Anyone who believed that was an idiot.

Flesh-eating slugs eating cabbages? They could only have changed their diet!

"Oh my, we were just about to look for you. Are you all right, child?"

Molly Weasley patted the dust off Harry, and Hermione Granger had arrived too.

The friends chatted for a while before an extremely flashy, handsome man appeared.

Molly Weasley was incredibly excited, while Ron Weasley looked helpless.

"Mom's completely obsessed with him."

After getting slapped by his mother, Ron Weasley began telling Eli how popular Lockhart was, though he thought Lockhart was a fraud.

Eli shrugged. "He's all right, I guess. I don't pay attention to him, so it doesn't matter."

Hermione Granger, standing nearby, was also gazing at Lockhart with a lovestruck expression. "You have no idea how brave he is!"

Why did Eli suddenly feel a little enraged? He looked at Lockhart and immediately found that smile utterly repulsive!

"Ron, you were right!"

Harry was dragged in for a forced photo opportunity, then given a complete set of Lockhart's books.

Draco Malfoy came over to mock them a little, but his rotten father suddenly appeared and ruined the mood.

After another round of arguing, Lucius Malfoy picked up Ginny Weasley's book and mocked it before putting it back. Eli, who had been watching closely, clearly saw that there was now a black notebook inside!

While no one was paying attention, he flicked his wand, and the diary turned into a small stone and flew into his Undetectable Extension Bag.

Eli's eyes gleamed. Old Voldemort, now you won't be able to make trouble anymore!

In high spirits, Eli lagged behind with Harry and the others, chatting away.

But then trouble struck: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters had been sealed off!

Harry and Ron Weasley fell flat on their faces.

With the train about to leave without them, Eli suggested driving there. That's right, in the flying car.

"Ron, can you really do this?"

"Probably... maybe?"

To be safe, Eli cast the Shield Charm on them again and sent an owl to Professor McGonagall explaining the situation.

"First, I have to remind you that Muggles have never seen a flying car."

Ron Weasley hurriedly pressed the invisibility booster. Luckily, Eli had previously cast the Muggle-Repelling Charm, or this would definitely have made the headlines!

The car quickly took off. "Hey, hey, hey, we're going to crash!"

The moment it took off, the car flew straight toward the clock tower. If they hit it head-on, tomorrow's headlines would be about a bizarre accident: car crashes into clock tower.

After another round of frantic scrambling, the car narrowly brushed past the clock tower.

The three of them broke out in a cold sweat. Eli's pet snake, Dogdan, was so frightened that it burrowed into Eli's arms, poking its head out to curse nonstop.