Early in the morning, Harry woke up very early.
The rough sheets and the smell of laundry detergent made him uncomfortable, but more than this cramped room, Harry didn't want to go out and face the Dursleys.
To maintain the Protective Magic left by his mother, Harry had to return to the Dursleys' and stay for a month every summer vacation.
Even though Sirius's house was nearby, even though after paying the living expenses, Uncle Vernon's fists no longer landed on him, this month was still particularly long and torturous for Harry.
He lay on the bed, eyes closed, savoring the memory of the Little People's Adventure with his friends a few days ago... As if at this moment, he wasn't at number four, Privet Drive, but traveling under a gigantic, jade-like grassland.
The slender blades of grass formed a green dome over his head, the sunlight filtered into patches of swaying golden spots, they "climbed" over a giant stone mountain and barely avoided an attack from a rhinoceros beetle.
Everyone rode on the back of a large snail, crawling leisurely along the vines; they also struggled to move a branch to bridge a small ditch, the pride of completing it still reverberated in Harry's chest.
It was then that he excitedly bounced on the gigantic leaves and accidentally knocked over a resilient branch, dumping a night's accumulation of dew straight over his head.
"Harry——!"
Padma yelled angrily, while Hermione laughed loudly: "Oh my gosh, this is so funny!"
"Hey, try this!"
Ron shouted, charging out like a bull, crashing heavily into a cluster of hostas that resembled a dense forest.
"Woosh——"
Cold dew poured down, as if someone dumped a bathtub of water over their heads, everyone screamed and scattered, clutching their heads!
"Thud thud thud..."
A series of heavy footsteps echoed, and Harry instinctively thought of the majestic horned rhinoceros beetle, he held his breath, opened his eyes, and found himself not in Little People's Adventure but at the Dursleys'.
The heavy footsteps came from Dudley.
He was like a truck rolling down the stairs, his voice echoing throughout the house:
"Mom, I'm hungry! Is breakfast ready?"
Harry sighed with regret, extracting himself from the illusion, reluctantly got up, pulled on a T-shirt and jeans, and quietly went downstairs.
The aroma of frying bacon wafted from the kitchen to the living room, Aunt Petunia turned the eggs in the pan, saying tenderly:
"Just a moment, Duddy, breakfast is almost ready."
Uncle Vernon squeezed his massive body into a chair by the dining table, turned a page of the newspaper, and grunted: "That boy isn't up yet?"
"Who knows!" Aunt Petunia snorted: "He's always running off, must be hanging out with... with those kinds of people. Duddy, remember to keep your distance from him, lest you catch all sorts of peculiar illnesses!"
The way she said it, it was as if Harry was some sort of pathogen.
Dudley sat at the table, chuckling mindlessly.
"Speaking of which," Vernon lowered his voice: "Petunia, did you notice? That... there hasn't been any noise from that shabby motorcycle for days."
Petunia was spreading butter on Dudley's toast, her hand froze slightly at the words, she hurriedly said: "Shush—don't mention that person!"
"Oh... sorry, dear."
Vernon immediately apologized, quickly glancing toward the windows and door, as if worried that the wanted criminal rumored to have "killed dozens of people" would show up at their doorstep.
He muttered to himself—why haven't the police locked Sirius Black up in prison yet, instead letting him swagger around the streets? Just the thought of such a monster living near Privet Drive was enough to send chills down one's spine...
But if anyone suggested Vernon report to the police that there was a wanted criminal near their home... well, there was no way he would risk stepping forward with such a dangerous move.
The atmosphere in the dining room turned gloomy; only Dudley focused intently, eating breakfast in large bites, completely oblivious to what his parents were saying.
It was at this moment that Harry came down the stairs, sat on a chair at the end of the table, with nothing but a lonely piece of toast and a small piece of carrot on the plate in front of him, probably enough to fill a three-year-old.
But Harry didn't mind, the snacks he had at Sirius's were several times more than Dudley's.
On the television nearby, after a detergent commercial ended, a lively tune played.
"Good morning everyone! Welcome to 'Magic-like Tricks'!" A man said with an elastic tone: "I'm your host, Magical Mike!"
"'Magic-like Tricks'?" Vernon said with disgust: "What kind of weird name is that?"
Harry kept his head low, chewing the dry bread, having little interest in the Muggle's so-called magic tricks.
——What magic trick could possibly shrink people?
He thought with pride.
"Today, we have two special guests—twin wizards from Devon, Webb and Willy! Let's welcome them!"
The host Mike's pitch was like a roller coaster, the dramatic ups and downs instantly grabbed Dudley's attention, his cheeks puffed with food as he stared intently at the screen.
After a smattering of applause, Harry heard an extremely familiar, cheerful voice ring out:
"Good morning, England! I'm Webb who looks like Willy!"
"And I'm Willy who looks like Webb!"
"Cough—cough cough!"
Harry nearly spat out the bread in his mouth, covering his mouth as he coughed loudly, turning his head to look at the TV.
Vernon looked at him with disgust, while Petunia reached out her slender arms, swiftly moving the serving dishes as far away from Harry as she could.
But Harry paid no attention to their expressions; he was shocked as he stared at the screen, seeing two young men in brightly colored checkered shirts and exaggerated wigs, grinning at the camera with familiar smiles.
"Ladies and gentlemen, and those who sway between—"
"It's breakfast time, hope there's something fragrant brewing in your teapots—"
"And hope when you see our magic show later, you'll laugh like boiling kettles—"
During a previous summer vacation, Vernon and Petunia had also seen the Weasley family's kids, but clearly, they hadn't recognized the people on TV at this moment.
"What twin wizards? I've never heard of them before." Vernon mumbled, small eyes fixed on the screen, obviously interested.
Harry's heart pounded, wanting to jump up and block the screen, but his body was too rigid to react.
On the screen, the twins seriously took out a deck of cards, showing it from side to side before Fred drew an Ace of Hearts, playing the mysterious card trick like a regular magician:
"Now, I'll randomly insert this card into the middle, and with a snap of fingers, it will miraculously move to the bottom of the deck!"