Harry had never had such a terrible birthday.
His birthday had been ruined by Dobby, the house-elf, and now he was locked up.
He even felt that he would never be able to return to Hogwarts in his lifetime.
Feeling desperate, Harry looked out through the small gaps in the boarded-up window.
Hedwig, due to several days of poor food, had lost some weight and looked sickly. She turned her head away in frustration.
At that moment, the door, which only opened twice a day, creaked open.
Harry looked up and saw John walking in.
"John!" Harry exclaimed in delight.
John frowned as he stepped inside. The room was indeed too cramped.
The boarded-up window let in very little sunlight. John greeted Harry with a wave.
"Harry, Hermione, and the others said you weren't replying to their letters, so I came to check on you," John said, walking over to Harry's bed and sitting down. He added with a strange expression, "Why are you locked up?"
Talking about this made Harry angry. He said with a lot of resentment, "A house-elf broke in. He told me not to go to Hogwarts and then caused trouble. Uncle Vernon found out that I can't use magic outside of school."
"Oh, you have no idea what I've been through during this time," Harry vented to John, finally finding someone to talk to.
John listened and immediately found it strange.
"A house-elf came to bother you?" he asked, puzzled. House elves generally don't attack wizards, let alone cause trouble in someone else's home.
"Could someone have ordered it?" John wondered if someone was deliberately trying to frame Harry.
"Could it be Malfoy?" Harry immediately suspected Malfoy.
John was speechless. The two really did have a love-hate relationship. But it was unlikely to be Malfoy. If it were Malfoy, he would probably be writing to John to brag by now.
He dismissed that possibility.
If it wasn't under someone's orders, then the house-elf must have acted on its own. John didn't understand how a house-elf could be connected to Harry. Only ancient, wealthy wizarding families had house-elves.
If it were the Potter family's house-elf, it would make sense given the Potter family's wealth, which is beyond question.
John had read about the Potters while researching, discovering that the family had developed potions, one of which—a shampoo—was extremely popular and often sold out.
The problem was, Dobby didn't listen to Harry. House-elves can't disobey their master's orders. If Dobby were the Potters' house-elf, he would have to follow Harry's commands.
Both found this situation puzzling and frowned.
"Let's not talk about this for now," Harry said, eyes filled with hope. "John, did you come to rescue me?"
Harry had heard Uncle Vernon scream like a pig being slaughtered, which he suspected was related to John. Thinking about John's strength in beheading the troll, he felt a surge of hope.
John glanced at him and recalled Ron's letter. Shaking his head, he said, "Unfortunately, I'm here to help you, but not alone."
"Who else?" Harry asked, confused.
John gave a mysterious smile.
He had received Ron's letter. Ron's father had informed Ron about the Ministry's warning letter to Harry, and combined with Harry's lack of response to their letters, they were worried.
So Ron was planning a rescue mission for Harry, likely to take place at night, which was why John said it wasn't him doing the rescuing.
After all, John couldn't actually call in gang members to kidnap the Dursleys... well, he can but then he'll have to include his father in his plan and if his father is included then his angry mother will surely know all of it. 'Too much trouble'
Although John couldn't rescue Harry himself, just chatting with him lifted Harry's spirits.
They talked about their summer vacations. John mentioned traveling abroad, making Harry envious.
"Harry, you need to be careful. I feel like Voldemort might return soon," John said, mentioning the name that made Harry's face tense.
"I encountered a Death Eater in France. Although it was just one, it means his forces aren't completely destroyed. Be careful; maybe that house-elf had a point."
John wasn't entirely clear on the second-year storyline, only recalling that a significant clue was in a girl's bathroom. He warned Harry, hoping he would remain vigilant.
"I understand, John. I'm glad you came to see me. If only I had my things, I could study a bit," Harry lamented, regretting that his belongings were downstairs.
John reassured him not to worry. As he bid Harry farewell and descended the stairs, he saw a nervous Vernon. "Even if you want to ground Harry, you should at least give him time to sort out his things," John said calmly.
Vernon quickly nodded upon hearing John's words. "I'll move his things up right away."
He was genuinely terrified of this young wizard, even though John couldn't use magic outside school. The threat of calling in gang members was enough to make Vernon uneasy.
He just wanted to get rid of John as soon as possible, agreeing to anything.
Harry's belongings were moved upstairs, and Harry couldn't understand how John had made Uncle Vernon so compliant.
If John could make Uncle Vernon obedient, why didn't he just have him release Harry? These questions puzzled Harry as John left the Dursley house.
John looked back at the Dursleys as they watched him leave and nodded slightly. Honestly, he didn't find the Dursleys as terrible as he once thought. Considering they were a Muggle family, raising Harry, a wizard, was already quite commendable.
That night, John heard the roar of a car engine.
Living in the attic, he opened the window and saw a turquoise car flying through the air. It hovered next to the Dursleys' window, and John spotted three red-haired heads inside.
It was obvious that the Weasleys had arrived.
John rubbed his chin and said, "This car has been modified with both Muggle technology and magic. A fantastic piece of alchemy."
The flying car was probably not the work of the Weasley twins; they didn't yet have the level of alchemy required for such a feat.
John remembered Ron mentioning that his dad worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, and it seemed likely that he was the one who created this car.
"Interesting. Ron had invited me to his house before. Maybe I should visit sometime; we could discuss alchemy."
John watched as the Weasleys pulled Harry into the car. Thanks to John, Harry's belongings were already packed in his room, and they all drove off into the night.
The next morning, when Vernon Dursley woke up and saw the open window, he roared in anger.
He even suspected that John had called in gang members to dismantle his window overnight.
This suspicion kept him up for days, and Dudley was grounded, as Petunia feared her precious son might become a bargaining chip.
Dudley suffered a lot, losing his chance to bully other kids, but none of this affected John.
At that moment, John was writing a letter to a man named Ben Abbott. Since realizing that creating a magical sword akin to Gryffindor's sword was beyond his reach for now, he had shifted his focus to enchanting. Ben Abbott was a bladesmith, and John was commissioning him to make a greatsword.
A few days later, Ben's reply arrived, agreeing to forge the sword for John. John would pay for the work and had already sent the required mithril and some special wood to him.
He only needed to wait two weeks to receive a brand-new sword.
The book list for his second year at school had arrived, and John was stunned as he glanced at it. The Defense Against the Dark Arts book list, aside from the required "Standard Book of Spells," included several titles that looked more like novels than textbooks.
Books like "Travels with Trolls," "Voyages with Vampires," "Holidays with Hags," and "Wanderings with Werewolves" all seemed more suited to a library's fiction section.
John recalled that Hermione had mentioned these titles in her letter, noting their exciting content and recommending them to him.
"Could Hermione have predicted this?" he wondered briefly before deciding to set the thought aside.
He had set up another alchemy room in the basement, where he had been busy crafting various items.
Perhaps it was time to sell some of them.
While his family was comfortably upper-class, the significant expenses of alchemy were still a constant burden.
John decided he needed to be self-sufficient, ideally finding a business partner who could handle the sales while he focused on production.
This person needed to be a professional, as John's creations were not mere prank items like those of the Weasley twins but genuine magical artifacts with real power.
He thought for a moment, realizing that there were no such professionals in his immediate vicinity.
Perhaps a trip to Diagon Alley would be fruitful in finding the right person.
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