July 31, 1991, Harry Potter's birthday.
To avoid the owls delivering Hogwarts letters, Harry's Uncle Vernon took the whole family to a hut on a rock in the sea.
But Hagrid, Hogwarts' Keeper of Keys and Grounds, still found them there.
When Hagrid said Harry would attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry instead of Stonewall High, which they had prepared for him, Vernon insulted Dumbledore during their conversation.
This made Hagrid furious, and he directly grew a pig's tail on Dudley's bottom.
Imagine a person suddenly growing a pig's tail—Dudley was in such pain that he jumped around, wailing loudly.
Just regarding this incident, Uncle Vernon was indeed at fault first.
But thinking back now, Harry felt that Hagrid's revenge of giving Dudley a pig's tail was somewhat excessive.
Especially after learning from Dudley about his various experiences after growing this tail.
Since that day, afraid of being laughed at, Dudley with his pig's tail didn't leave the house for a whole month, and even his pants had to be specially tailored.
For a 12-year-old boy, this was perhaps too cruel.
It wasn't until September 1st, after dropping Harry off at King's Cross Station, that the Dursleys took Dudley to a private hospital to have the pig's tail removed.
This made Harry quite relieved.
After all, Hagrid had once told him, "I was going to turn him into a pig, but maybe he's already too much like a pig, so there was no need to change anything."
Although Hagrid was kind and amiable to him, he was actually quite a terrifying fellow!
The past need not be mentioned again.
Now, thanks to Sherlock, Harry and Dudley had repaired their relationship and finally acted like normal cousins.
However, for Harry, Dudley's rate of food consumption was truly quite fast.
Even his good friend Ron was slightly inferior in comparison.
So, when he saw Dudley looking at him expectantly, Harry couldn't help but feel a headache.
By now, he had no more stock left.
Sherlock couldn't help with this either.
During his year at Hogwarts, he had already experienced various foods from the magical world. Except when needed, he generally wouldn't carry these snacks with him.
Seeing Dudley's somewhat dejected appearance, Harry felt a bit embarrassed and blurted out.
"Well... next time for sure!"
"I have some here," Hermione suddenly spoke up just as Harry finished speaking, reaching out a handful of candies to Harry.
Harry took them and looked, immediately surprised and delighted.
"Drooble's Best Blowing Gum?!"
This was a bubble gum brand that could make people blow bluebell-colored bubbles that would float in the room for days without popping.
It could be said to be delicious, novel, and fun.
Since it was sold on the food trolley of the Hogwarts Express, Harry recognized it at a glance.
For Dudley, although he didn't yet know what difference there was between magical world snacks and ordinary world snacks, from the moment he saw it, he couldn't take his eyes off it.
When Harry extended his hand toward him, he eagerly grabbed it.
"This 'next time' came really fast, Harry!"
Before leaving, he didn't forget to thank Hermione. "Thank you, beautiful lady!"
After Dudley left cheerfully, Harry also thanked Hermione.
"Thank you, Hermione. I'll pay you back when school starts."
"Harry, we're friends!" Hermione smiled and shook her head. "Just consider it a gift to your family."
Harry nodded upon hearing this and said nothing more.
That's how good friends should be.
What he'd said earlier was indeed a bit too formal.
After leaving Privet Drive, Mr. Granger took over the driver's seat.
Compared to Mr. Holmes, he drove slightly slower but more steadily.
Shortly after the car started, Mr. Holmes in the passenger seat tilted his head and soon fell into a deep sleep, breathing evenly.
In the back seat, the three young people—Sherlock, Harry, and Hermione—were wide awake with no drowsiness.
After all, they were only twelve or thirteen years old, and their bodies hadn't fully grown yet.
With the three sitting in the back row, Harry and Hermione flanking Sherlock in the middle, it didn't seem cramped.
Harry was excited, his cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling with bright light.
As soon as the car started, he eagerly began sharing various events from his recent life with his two good friends.
Due to last year's Christmas gifts, the Dursleys' attitude toward him had already changed.
This time, after Uncle Vernon secured that large drilling equipment production order, even his usual shouting at Harry had decreased.
Although Aunt Petunia complained constantly, she also carefully took care of Hedwig.
Hedwig's taste had been thoroughly spoiled—not only did she disdain dry cat food, but even the game she caught herself was no longer appealing.
Then there was his cousin Dudley, who now had the best relationship with Harry among the Dursley family members.
Although they hadn't reached the level of brotherly affection, he no longer bullied Harry as before.
He even changed his way of addressing from 'Freak' to "Harry."
However, Harry always felt that Dudley's main purpose was still the special diet pills and magical world snacks.
Only during this period did Privet Drive truly give him a sense of "home."
Although that feeling was somewhat indescribable, indefinable—like a friendship as light as water.
"Strange to say, Uncle Vernon had sworn that once he got the order, he'd buy a villa in Majorca. But after you left last time, he stopped mentioning it..."
Harry muttered, his brow slightly furrowed, his face full of confusion.
He had already secured the order, so why did he suddenly change his mind?
Speaking of this, he unconsciously turned his head to look at Sherlock beside him.
Harry had originally been eagerly expecting to hear Sherlock's deduction.
Even though every time Sherlock clearly explained his reasoning process, he would slap his forehead and feel that things were actually quite simple and he could have figured it out himself.
Even so, he still enjoyed it and loved hearing Sherlock's analysis.
However, this time Harry hit a soft nail.
He saw Sherlock's head turned to the other side, not even glancing at him.
Harry. (눈_눈)
'Fine, fine, Hermione is prettier than me, is that it?'
But he soon discovered that Sherlock wasn't looking at Hermione either, but staring straight out the window at the constantly retreating scenery.
His gaze was empty, and no one knew what he was thinking about.
Instead, it was Hermione who was looking at him, listening very attentively.
This was somewhat awkward.
"Little ones, if you're tired, get some sleep. The journey is still long!"
At this moment, Mr. Granger's gentle voice came from the front, breaking the brief silence in the car.
"I'm not tired!"
Upon hearing this, Harry shook his head like a rattle drum.
In his short twelve years of life, except for the year he went to Hogwarts, he had never traveled far from memory.
Of course, being brought to Privet Drive by Hagrid as a baby naturally didn't count.
Now with such an opportunity for long-distance travel, he felt full of energy—how could he bear to close his eyes and rest?
To put it dramatically, even the air seemed filled with the scent of freedom!
Initially, Hermione could still chat with Harry, exchanging words.
But gradually, Harry noticed there was no movement beside him.
Turning his head, he saw that Hermione had fallen asleep at some point.
Harry looked at the sleeping Hermione and couldn't help but smile.
He then looked at Sherlock and found he was still maintaining his earlier posture, immersed in his own thoughts.
Harry sighed helplessly. This situation wasn't uncommon during their year at Hogwarts.
Whether encountering novel things from the magical world or facing tricky puzzles, Sherlock would always fall into such deep contemplation.
If no one woke him up, he could really maintain this state for an entire day.
Harry naturally didn't intend to disturb Sherlock and focused on enjoying the scenery along the way.
Outside the car window, rolling hills, golden wheat fields, and scattered villages unfolded like flowing paintings.
It must be said that Mr. Granger drove extremely steadily, with almost no bumps felt.
After an unknown amount of time, Harry casually withdrew his gaze.
Turning his head, he saw that Hermione's head had somehow come to rest on Sherlock's shoulder.
Her head tilted slightly toward Sherlock, breathing softly and steadily.
Her face bore a sweet smile, perhaps dreaming some beautiful dream.
Sherlock remained completely oblivious.
His eyes looked out the window, focused, completely unaware of the situation beside him.
Harry found this scene extremely interesting and almost laughed out loud.
Mr. Granger, who was driving, also caught a glimpse of this scene through the rearview mirror.
He opened his mouth slightly, as if wanting to say something, but after hesitating several times, he finally just sighed softly without making a sound.
The car continued traveling steadily until it passed through a mountain valley and suddenly jolted, waking Hermione from her dream.
She drowsily opened her eyes, first blinking, then belatedly realizing she was actually leaning on Sherlock's shoulder.
In an instant, two red clouds quickly rose to her cheeks, from her ears all the way to the base of her neck.
Just then the car jolted again, and Hermione quickly took this opportunity to sit up straight.
Her heart was racing, and she wanted to find something to say to cover this embarrassment.
But when she secretly glanced at Sherlock—good heavens—she saw he was still lost in thought, with no reaction to what had just happened.
Seeing Sherlock in this state, Hermione immediately understood.
After all, when she and Sherlock spent time together in the library last year, he often acted like this.
If she didn't wake him up each time she left, he would probably be kicked out by Madam Pince.
Now, he had obviously fallen into that state again.
Thinking of this, the embarrassment in Hermione's heart lessened considerably.
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