Chapter 383: Good Evening, Harry
Chapter 383: Good Evening, Harry
At a quarter to nine in the evening, Liam and Hermione's taxi arrived in Little Whinging. They were supposed to have arrived half an hour earlier, but they encountered the usual traffic jam in the big city.
"We just need to be back by half past ten. It's a good thing you told Mrs. Weasley about the small night market. That got her to let us stay out a bit longer", Hermione said to Liam as they walked down the sidewalk.
"Actually, the market is real, but I've already bought everything I need. The only difference is that buying during the day would cost two to three Galleons more than at night. But a few Galleons is worth it for the chance to visit a friend", Liam said with a relaxed smile.
Since their wands had the Trace on them, Liam and Hermione had put them away. However, the rings on their fingers allowed them to cast spells with minimal impact. Liam also brought an extra wand he had confiscated from Knockturn Alley.
"Let me see where Harry is." Liam reached the corner of Privet Drive and scattered a handful of golden powder. He then explained to Hermione, "This is a tracking charm I found in the Library. It works pretty well." The trail indicated that Harry wasn't at home, so they followed the magical guidance.
"Why would Harry be here?" About seven or eight minutes later, they found themselves outside a locked playground. The street signs showed they were on Magnolia Crescent, Magnolia Road. The magic indicated that Harry was inside the playground. Seeing the locked gate, Hermione said curiously.
"Maybe he just needs some time alone, like when you hid in the girls' bathroom in first year, um—" Before Liam could finish, Hermione pinched his arm, cutting him off. They then nimbly climbed over the fence and landed in the playground. It wasn't large, and they quickly found their target.
"There he is." Liam had only taken a few steps when he spotted Harry. The playground was closed, so there were few people around. Despite the dim light, they could see the boy with messy hair and round glasses sitting on a swing, his arm wrapped around the chain, looking down with a melancholy expression, swaying slowly.
"Just as I thought, this awful life seems to be making his scar hurt more often", Hermione said, noticing how Harry occasionally reached up to rub his forehead.
"Let's go over", Liam said, pulling Hermione toward the swing. He deliberately made a crunching sound on the gravel path. Hearing the noise, Harry looked up, his face lighting up with surprise.
"Liam, Hermione, how did you get here?" Harry felt a warm, joyful glow. He hadn't expected to have friends come to see him after a month of isolation. Now, he felt a bit guilty about losing the Honeydukes Chocolate that his friends had sent him as a birthday gift.
"Good evening, Harry. We've been wanting to come over, but we only managed to find an opportunity these past two days. Liam, as an Alchemist, proved his worth, so the Order of the Phoenix members lifted the restriction on him regarding the underage ban. We used the excuse of buying Alchemy materials to sneak out and see you. Ron and Ginny wanted to come too, but they didn't have a good enough reason and can't leave the house."
"What do you mean by the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry looked puzzled. "It's a secret club", Hermione quickly explained, "run by Dumbledore. He founded it. It's made up of people who fought against the Dark Lord last time. Right now, we're living at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, but because of the secrecy charm, we can't tell you the exact location."
"It sounds like you’ve been pretty busy." Perhaps realizing that his friends hadn't forgotten about him and had gone to great lengths to see him, Harry felt the anger he had been holding for over a month dissipate. His tone became more relaxed, but he still wanted to ask about something that had been on his mind. "Then why was I stuck at the Dursleys for a whole month without any news? I was a firsthand witness to those events, yet it was like I was isolated. You know, I spent four whole weeks picking up newspapers from the trash just to figure out what was going on—"
Harry’s voice grew more agitated as he spoke, and Hermione tried to say something to calm him down, but she seemed at a loss. Liam, noticing the situation, stepped in to interrupt Harry’s rant. "I think Dumbledore isolated you because of you yourself."
"What?" Harry froze, staring at Liam with an incredulous look. "Because of me? What’s wrong with me?"
"Your biggest issue is the soul connection you have with the Dark Lord. Last semester, you even said you could see what the Dark Lord was doing", Liam said seriously.
"What’s wrong with that?" Harry looked puzzled. "At a time like this, Headmaster Dumbledore should need me even more. Maybe I could help expose the Dark Lord’s plans."
"Harry, you need to understand", Hermione interjected. "In the Wizarding World, a soul connection between two people is very mysterious. The stronger party usually has control over it, and to be honest, I don’t think your power matches the Dark Lord’s."
"I’m not that arrogant", Harry muttered. "So, you mean to say that Headmaster Dumbledore cut off my sources of information because he was afraid Voldemort could see what the Order of the Phoenix was doing through my eyes?"
Liam and Hermione nodded simultaneously, and Harry looked dejected. "Alright, I can understand that." Then he looked up at Liam and Hermione, a bit angry. "If I had known, I would have demanded self-isolation. But why wouldn’t Dumbledore tell me all of this?"
"We’re not entirely sure", Liam shrugged. "I guess Dumbledore wanted to carry the burden alone, so he didn’t want you to know too much about these terrible things. Adults often do this when dealing with their juniors, trying to arrange everything for them without considering their choices. We don’t think this is the right approach, which is why we came to see you."
"Alright, that sounds like something Dumbledore would do", Harry acknowledged, feeling a weight lifted from his chest. For the next few minutes, he chatted with Liam and Hermione, asking about what they had been up to recently and expressing some envy at their lives.
Their conversation was interrupted by voices from outside. By the light of the streetlamp, Harry could see a group of people crossing the playground. One of them was loudly humming a crude song, and the others were laughing. There was also a faint clinking sound, which came from the expensive racing bikes they were pushing.
Harry knew who those people were. The one leading the group was undoubtedly his cousin, Dudley Dursley, accompanied by his cronies, heading home. This meant it was almost nine o'clock.
"Alright, I think you should go", Harry said to Liam and Hermione. "It’s a long way back to London, and it won’t be easy for you to get back if it gets any later. I should head back too."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
