20demayo Chapter 73 The Boy Without Companions
Chapter 73 The Boy Without Companions
Surrey is located in southeast England, southwest of London.
The Thames River passes through here and flows northeast into Greater London.
At number 4 Privet Road in Little Huigkin, Surrey, there is a detached house that looks quite ordinary.
The Dursleys lived in this house.
Many people assumed that there were only three members in their family—Mr. Dursley, Mrs. Dursley, and their son, Dudley Dursley.
However, those who truly know their family will know that there is a fourth person in their family, an eleven-year-old boy who wears glasses.
And this little boy who doesn't seem to have much presence is actually the son of Mrs. Dursley's younger sister, Lily, who is also her nephew—Harry Potter!
It's obvious that Harry Potter's life at his aunt's house wasn't pleasant.
Not only is he virtually invisible to outsiders, but he doesn't even have a proper bedroom at home and has to live in a storage room under the stairs.
Not only that, but every aspect of his life was completely different from that of his cousin Dudley.
Because he was a child whose parents died in a car accident, while his cousin Dudley was the best child in the world in the eyes of his aunt and uncle.
Harry always wanted to laugh whenever he thought of his aunt's description of Dudley, because only he knew how wicked Dudley really was!
His cousin Dali not only bullied him himself, but also ganged up with a group of his friends to bully him together.
How can someone like this deserve the title of "the best child in the world"?
Harry felt that he was probably the most unfortunate person in the world. He wanted to grow up as soon as possible, become independent, and leave this home that was not friendly to him.
Or perhaps, this doesn't count as his home.
……
"Who is that boy?" Harry murmured as he lay on his narrow little bed.
He often thought back to that trip to the zoo, when, while visiting the reptile house, he somehow made the glass of the python enclosure disappear, and then the python escaped.
At that time, many people were so frightened that they ran around in all directions, but only one boy who looked a little older than himself dared to approach.
Furthermore, Harry could clearly see and hear the boy communicating with the python, and he could understand the meaning behind the boy's words.
That day, Harry really wanted to talk to the boy because he felt that he and the boy had a lot in common, and he desperately wanted to find someone with whom he could share his secrets.
Unfortunately, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were furious and forcibly dragged him away because they believed that Harry had released the boa constrictor and thrown their precious son into the boa constrictor.
Actually, after that day, Harry secretly bought tickets to take the bus and subway to the London Zoo, but he waited a long time and didn't see the little boy—he knew it was stupid, but he had no other choice.
His sneaking off to the zoo was quickly discovered by his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Penny, which enraged them. Unsurprisingly, he was locked in the stairwell storage room for the entire day.
He was very sad at the time—not because he was locked in the dark and cramped room again, but because he felt that he might never find that boy again in his life, never find someone to listen to his secrets again.
The hardest thing for a person is not hunger, cold, or darkness, but the absence of companions.
As Harry thought about this, tears silently streamed down his cheeks.
……
"Haha, Harry, you're going to Stonewall High School after summer vacation. I heard they'll shove freshmen's heads into the toilet," Dudley said loudly.
After saying that, seeing that Harry didn't react, Dudley added with a mischievous grin, "Want to go to the bathroom now and try it out? I'll help you get used to it beforehand?"
Harry took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and said slowly, "No need. Of course, if you'd like to experience it firsthand and describe it to me, I'd be happy to hear your feelings."
Before Dudley's dimwitted brain could understand what he meant, Harry ran off to the nearby park.
Sitting on a swing in the park, Harry Potter was lost in thought.
He has finished primary school and will be going to middle school after the summer vacation. His aunt and uncle have arranged for him to attend a comprehensive middle school, which is the Stonewall Middle School that Dali mentioned.
The high school had a bad reputation, and Harry felt that if he went there, he would only continue to be bullied.
No, they might be bullied even more.
This made him increasingly pessimistic about the future.
He was somewhat unwilling to accept this, because Dali was going to a well-known local high school—Smetine High School.
But what could he do?
He had no parents, no money, and no capacity for his own thoughts.
Thinking about these things, he didn't go home until very late.
When he returned home, Dudley and Aunt Penny had also returned from London.
"Look, Harry, how's my uniform?" Dudley said, showing off his black tailcoat and multi-sectioned cane.
This is the dress code required by Smetine High School, which Dudley is going to attend.
After saying this, he paced back and forth in the room.
His chubby body looked even more comical in that uniform.
Uncle Vernon Dursley and Aunt Penny Dursley were overjoyed and proud of their beloved son; Aunt Penny was even on the verge of tears.
Harry, who was in a bad mood, suddenly felt like laughing because he thought Dudley looked exactly like a circus gorilla.
He suddenly stopped envying Dudley, who could go to Smetine High School, because he was actually happier to be far away from this gorilla.
……
That night, Harry had a dream in which the boy he had met at the zoo came to find him in a helicopter.
After jumping out of the helicopter, he shouted to him, "Harry Potter, your country needs you!"
At that moment, he saw the surprised expressions on Uncle Vernon's and Aunt Petunia's faces. Dudley was so surprised that his eyes almost popped out of his head, his chubby face filled with jealousy and envy.
Then... he woke up happy.
After waking up, Harry was still unable to calm down.
—The helicopter was the most amazing thing he could think of; he had seen it in one of Dudley's comic books.
He felt there couldn't be a cooler way to make an entrance.
However, this was ultimately just his imagination in his dream.
How could it possibly be true?
Such a thing could only happen in dreams!
Thinking of this, Harry quickly closed his eyes, wanting to continue the dream and find out where the boy would take him.
However, he couldn't have that dream again until dawn, when Aunt Penny's sharp voice rang out.
……
That morning, Harry ate breakfast with some disappointment.
And shortly afterward, she helped her uncle retrieve the mail.
However, he unexpectedly discovered that one of the envelopes had the following written on it:
Mr. Harry Potter received
Moreover, the address on the letter was: No. 4 Privet Road, Little Huigkin, Surrey, the storage room under the stairs.
Who would specifically add "storage room under the stairs" to an address?
So, this letter was indeed for him?!
Harry thought of that dream again, and his heart inexplicably started beating faster.