Harry's vacation was much more miserable than Tom's. The Dursleys' attitude towards magic remained medieval, and in their house, magic was an absolute no-no. To cover it up, Harry became, in his uncle Vernon's words, an incorrigible troublemaker at the St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys, with a terrible reputation in the neighborhood.
Vernon even locked up Harry's spellbook, wand, cauldron, and broomstick at the start of the summer holidays, and Harry was severely reprimanded for even uttering a word to the neighbors. No more summer homework because his guardians forbid it? Not a chance, Snape would love an excuse to punish Harry for a month. However, Harry took the opportunity at the beginning of the summer to sneak out the books while Vernon was showing off his new car to the neighbors, courtesy of the company.
But getting the textbooks is only the beginning.
Over the following days, Harry and Vernon started a prolonged guerrilla war.
He doesn't have a chance to do homework during the day, so he has to study by flashlight under the blankets in the middle of the night and watch out for the Dursley family, who listen even when they go to the bathroom at night. The tension is as intense as a student playing on their phone at night.
To make matters worse, Harry needs his Uncle Vernon's signature if he wants to go to Hogsmeade. It's impossible to think about it. Even Harry thought his Uncle Vernon would only sign the permission if he was under a Confundus Charm.
But there was always a chance. He reached an agreement with Uncle Vernon: he pretended to attend the St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys in front of his visiting Aunt Marge, who is also the source of one of Harry's painful memories... although she's called "aunt," she is actually Aunt Vernon's sister and has no relation to Harry.
This "heavyweight" guest must stay at the Dursleys' house for an entire week.
For Harry, the process was too painful. The Dursleys treated Harry as if he were invisible, unlike Aunt Marge, who had to be right in front of his nose to pick on him.
For the sake of the signature, Harry endured it.
Today was Aunt Marge's last day at the Dursleys' house. Aunt Petunia had prepared a lavish meal, and Uncle Vernon had opened his own wine collection, which caused trouble as Aunt Marge got drunk, and the conversation took a dangerous turn.
"Some dogs, are born small and skinny! It's all because of bad bloodlines, and bad bloodlines will show. I'm not speaking ill of your family, Petunia-."
Harry took a deep breath and began to recall the rules of broomstick preservation.
Aunt Marge grabbed Petunia's hand and started frantically insulting Harry's father, James Potter.
Uncle Vernon's face had turned white. Now he was too aware of how delicate the subject was, and it was as if they were dancing in a minefield. He sent Harry to bed, but Aunt Marge stopped him.
She tried to say something else, but her whole body started swelling and ended up taking the form of a floating screaming ball.
Harry rushed out of the room, grabbing everything he cherished as quickly as possible: books, brooms, birthday gifts from his friends, and ran out the door without looking back.
...
Night fell. Hermione took off her crown and stretched a little tiredly, and Tom put down his quill and sank into his chair.
After a day of studying, they were making excellent progress on their assignments, and they could write their conclusions and answers tomorrow or the day after.
"Take a bath, get some sleep," Hermione said, looking at the stack of papers, in a good mood, and even better after Tom had prepared a cup of hot chocolate for her.
"We'll try to finish the first draft tomorrow, and then we'll go..." she was interrupted by a silver-blue creature floating in through the window. She recognized it as a phoenix-shaped Patronus.
In the current magical world, phoenixes and Dumbledore were synonymous.
"Professor Dumbledore?" she said in surprise.
"Pack your bags and head to Diagon Alley." The phoenix spoke, with Dumbledore's voice, only less kind and reliable, and more determined than usual.
Tom jumped out of his chair and rushed upstairs.
"Leave a message for Mr. Granger, I'll pack."
Ten minutes later, Tom and Hermione stood in front of the Granger's garden. They had packed quickly, thanks to the Undetectable Extension Charm on the suitcase. All Tom had to do was throw everything he wanted to take into the suitcase, and they could wait until they had time to pack.
The Undetectable Extension Charm was a great invention, and Hermione's wardrobe and dresser had been emptied before they could fill the suitcase.
"Am I going to make a call? Should I call a taxi?" It was still summer, but the average temperature in London after sunset was around twenty degrees, and with the nighttime breeze, Hermione felt a bit cold. She was wearing only a pleated blouse and a short skirt, with a pair of ultra-thin stockings stretched over her legs. Of course, with the white rose patterns on her legs, it wasn't so much her legs that were cold, but the upper part of her body.
Standing outside the house, she realized it would be difficult for both of them to reach Diagon Alley in the middle of the night. Their house was on the outskirts of London, in an affluent area that couldn't be reached by the subway or bus. It was physically isolated from the homeless and unsociable people. Tom had sneaked onto the "11" bus as a child, so no one worried about him.
Generally, people in the neighborhood traveled by car, and taxis didn't reach the area. Hermione knew that the fastest way to get to Diagon Alley was to call a taxi company to take her there.
"No," said Tom as he took two steps against the wind to protect Hermione from the night breeze. "Just watch."
Tom raised his wand above his head and whispered, "Lumos!"
Before the words left his mouth, two bright lights appeared in the distance, and in the next moment, with a loud crash, a massive object appeared in front of Tom, and the place where they stood was engulfed in a sudden flash of light.
The source of the light and noise was a pair of headlights and a pair of tires the height of a man. But while the sound was as loud as a cannon to Tom and Hermione's ears, the houses surrounding them were silent, and no Muggle seemed to have heard the noise.
Hermione squinted her eyes and, leaning her hand against a pergola, tilted her head and saw the true appearance of the giant before them: a triple-decker bus. It emerged from emptiness like a ghost and approached them with the words "Knight Bus" in golden letters on the windshield.
With a screech, the bus door opened, and a small stamped ramp extended toward Tom.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus: emergency transport for wizards in need. All you have to do is hold onto your wand, get on board, and we'll take you wherever you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I'll be your conductor tonight."
A young man of less than twenty, with a pair of ears and a few pimples, stuck his head out of the bus.
"Step right in, sir and lovely lady!" He offered his hand, as if to carry Tom's luggage, but his eyes wandered to Hermione.
[Mission: Travel the World]
[Objective: Explore the Magical World]
[Stage 5]
[Progress: (8/16)]
[Knight Bus Unlocked]
The first time Tom boarded the Knight Bus, this message appeared.
Once the two were on the bus, Stan asked, "Where do you want to go?"
Hermione stood behind Tom and asked, "Can you go to Diagon Alley?"
"Sure, you can go wherever you want... as long as it's on land," Stan said smugly, winking at Hermione. "Of course, it won't drive underwater or into anyone's heart..."
As long as it was on land, could it go? Tom pursed his lips, slightly annoyed. "If it can go anywhere, can it drive to Nurmengard?"
Stan was stunned for a moment. The name Nurmengard was new to him, but he had heard it somewhere.
"Yes." A deep voice came from the driver's seat, Ernie Prang, an elderly male wizard with thick glasses. "It's an expensive fare. It'll be cheaper next year when the Muggles build the Anglo-French tunnel, only..."
He looked up and gazed at Tom with cloudy eyes. "You can't afford the high price."
Stan listened in confusion and snorted, "Damn, it's somewhere on the continent. No wonder I've never heard of it, but it rings a bell. You're going to Diagon Alley, right? Well, there's a boy right now who wants to go to Diagon Alley, so you're on your way."
At that moment, a boy emerged from the shadows behind him, Tom's mission target: Harry Potter.
"Harry! I didn't expect to see you here." Hermione was a bit surprised. What a coincidence!
Harry opened his mouth when Hermione spoke, but he couldn't stop her, and when the word "Harry" came out, he could only smile bitterly.
"Harry?!" Stan was dumbfounded by the surprise. "You just said your name was Neville Longbottom! Wait!"
He saw the scar on Harry's forehead and shouted, loud enough for the entire bus to hear, and Tom could feel several heads rising from the bunks on the bus.
Harry flashed an embarrassed smile.
"All right, how much does it cost to go to Diagon Alley?" Tom didn't want to dwell on it anymore. He instinctively felt that something was wrong. They needed to get to Diagon Alley urgently, not cause more trouble here.
"Three sickles each." It was clear that Stan was in a bad mood after this interruption, but as a ticket seller, he still had a basic sense of professionalism.
"Three extra sickles for a free chocolate, four for a hot water bottle and a toothbrush of your choice." He added.
Tom didn't bother with it. He didn't have much money to spare, and he didn't need to spend it, and the sight of Stan made him angry. He went straight to the back of the bus.
Behind the driver, next to the bunk, Tom saw a birdcage and a suitcase that looked familiar.
"I'll sleep here." Harry patted the bunk Tom was looking at, so Tom chose the bunk opposite, and Hermione sat down beside him.
The bus started. With a deafening thud, the bus almost took off, speeding through the sidewalk, road, and cars, but all the obstacles actively avoided the speeding bus.
But instead of heading straight to Diagon Alley, the bus continued to speed through the wilderness, occasionally dropping off a few passengers. Finally, it stopped in front of a ruined landfill.
Five hooded and cloaked men boarded the bus.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus..." Stan said enthusiastically, as the hooded figure at the front muttered some words and handed a bag of money to Stan as they walked to the back of the bus.
Tom felt a chill, which reached its peak as the hooded men passed by him. Tom realized that the men's hands were covered by their cloaks, and it was impossible to tell what they were doing with them from the outside.
"A bad feeling..." Tom's instincts told him that something was wrong with these men, but he had no evidence. Finally, at the last moment, Tom remembered the famous saying of the American police that it's better to face a court than lie in a hospital.
So he attacked. While drawing his wand, he punched the hooded figure who crossed paths with him in the ribs. The proximity and suddenness of Tom's outburst caught the hooded figure off guard, and he received such a powerful blow that he fell to the ground while clutching his ribs. The Stunning Spell Tom cast was dodged by the man behind him, hitting one of the hooded figures at the back of the group.
Tom's instincts were correct, and at the same moment Tom attacked, one of the hooded figures drew his wand and cast an Avada Kedavra curse at Harry, which would have hit him if he hadn't started evading from the moment the Stunning Spell was cast.
One of the hooded figures steadied himself and was about to counterattack when he saw a snake-like pupil, he stopped, and the next moment a splash of blood burst from his chest: Tom had attacked him with a cutting spell (Diffindo), while using the spell he obtained in the Chamber of Secrets.
Three out of the five hooded figures fell with a single blow, while the remaining two shook their cloaks and extended two scaly arms from beneath them. Instead of using their wands, they lunged and tried to fight.
In the face of the two men's actions, Tom was not surprised. He had a translucent shield in front of him and raised his wand.
"Stupefy!"
Two red lights shot out from Tom and Hermione's wands, hitting one of them in the chest and sending him flying, while the other was no match for them—he crashed into Hermione's Protego Charm bracelet and, before he could recover, became stiff.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Ernie Prang, the driver, raised his wand. "We've arrived at Diagon Alley."
Thud!
Stan threw a hot teapot, rendering one of the struggling hooded figures unconscious.