It was the end of June, 1991. In London, sunlight was a rarity, even in the summer.
The ceaseless rain had persisted for half a month. It wasn't until late June that the dark, heavy clouds overhead showed signs of dissipating. Compared to other parts of the world, the temperature—hovering around twenty degrees Celsius—felt quite pleasant.
In a small park on Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, a scrawny boy dressed in ill-fitting old clothes sat with his head drooping listlessly. His name was Harry Potter, a child boarding at the home of his aunt and uncle at Number 4, Privet Drive. His parents had died when he was one year old, and he had been fostered by the Dursley couple.
But looking at his attire, it was obvious that Harry was not particularly welcome in the Dursley household.
This wasn't entirely surprising. After all, he wasn't their biological child, and the costs associated with schooling and upbringing were not insignificant. Before Vernon Dursley became a director at Grunnings, a drill manufacturer, his annual income had been just over ten thousand pounds. It was difficult for him to afford the tuition fees for two boys of the same age after paying the mortgage, car loans, and living expenses.
Even though the Education Reform Act of 1988 had abolished tuition fees for public primary schools, the mandatory miscellaneous fees meant they were paying no less than they had before the act was passed.
However, the reason Harry was currently swinging idly in the park wasn't that he had run away due to excessive abuse at home. Although he had indeed just finished a confinement in the cupboard under the stairs, he understood that he had made a mistake.
He shouldn't have made the glass of the reptile house vanish when they went to the zoo for Dudley's birthday, allowing that boa constrictor—native to Brazil, though it had never actually been there—to slither out from behind the glass. Although he had laughed out loud at the time because Dudley fell into the snake's pool and ended up soaked like a drowned rat, he realized afterward that it had been a bit excessive.
But Harry could swear he hadn't done it on purpose.
There were some things Harry simply couldn't control. Just like when he was being chased by the school bullies; he didn't know how he had scrambled onto the school roof. If he could control it, Harry would have much preferred to let those bad apples experience what it was like to be a trapeze artist.
Hanging his head, Harry looked at the stones beneath his feet. As he swung back and forth, he kicked at them intermittently. The hair on his head was always a mess; there was one tuft that, no matter how much he pressed it down, stubbornly stuck up as if trying to erect an antenna on top of his head.
A stone, struck repeatedly, was suddenly sent flying by Harry. His gaze subconsciously followed it, but as soon as he looked up, his vision blurred, and a figure abruptly appeared in front of him.
"Am I seeing things?" Harry rubbed his eyes. He swore that this figure had appeared out of nowhere, just like teleportation—popping into existence right before him.
But maybe he had just seen it wrong? After all, he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings, and the newcomer's footsteps were very light.
"Sorry, that stone didn't hit you just now, did it?"
Harry spoke with slight unease, his gaze slowly moving upward. He saw a clean, delicate face. It was a boy, with somewhat long black hair tied back casually with a strip of cloth. His eyes were dark, unlike Harry's own emerald green ones. The boy was also thin, but perhaps because his clothes fit him better, he looked much cleaner and sharper than Harry.
"No." The boy shook his head, then pointed to the other swing beside him. "Can I sit here? I've been walking for a while and I'm a bit tired."
"Of course, of course, no problem!"
Harry suddenly felt a bit happy. He had very few friends; practically no one at school was willing to play with a "freak" like him.
"Thanks." The boy nodded, then smiled slightly as he spoke. "My name is Lynn."
"Hello, hello!" Harry chuckled, then turned to look at Lynn, who was now sitting on the adjacent swing. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
"Did you just move to this neighborhood?" Harry looked at the strange boy with curiosity, certain that this was the first time he had seen this face.
"No, I'm just passing through." Lynn shook his head. "I don't have a home. Or rather, wherever I go, that is my home."
He reached out and patted the bag on his back. "Wait, this contains all my worldly possessions."
"That's..." Harry was momentarily unsure. "Did you run away from home... or..."
"Literal meaning. The orphanage closed down, and then I ran. The new orphanage treated people like livestock, and some people looked at me the way a priest looks at a little boy. For the sake of my backside, it was better to part ways with them."
Harry was stunned for a moment, listening as Lynn told him the hellish story of the priest and the little boy.
"That's just terrible."
The expression on Harry's face turned grim. He suddenly felt a bit lucky. At least he hadn't been sent to an orphanage. Although the Dursleys didn't treat him well, they at least guaranteed his personal safety and let him go to school—the same school as Dudley, even.
It just meant no birthday presents, wearing old clothes, and sleeping in a small cupboard, but he could still eat his fill, and the cupboard still offered shelter from the wind and rain, sparing him from sleeping on the streets.
"So, do you plan to spend the night here?"
Harry pointed to the park, where only two or three trees offered meager shade. "Actually, some houses on Privet Drive are empty. I can tell you which ones. You can climb over the fence and sneak in. Even if you don't go inside, you won't get wet under the eaves."
"If you don't have food, I can sneak into the kitchen later and get you some. Aunt Petunia will definitely think Dudley stole it from the fridge; she won't guess it was me."
"Thanks, but no need. I have food."
Lynn smiled and waved his hand. Although he was thin, his clothes were clean and tidy. Compared to him, Harry looked more like the one sleeping on the streets. Dudley's old clothes were too baggy and large; even though they were from a few years ago, they draped over Harry in a terribly ill-fitting manner.
"By the way, Harry, why are you here alone? Is there something making you unhappy?"
"Well..." Harry scratched his messy hair, kicking at the stones by his feet again in frustration.
"You probably won't believe me if I tell you. About a week ago, it was my cousin Dudley's birthday. But Mrs. Figg accidentally broke her leg, so my uncle and aunt couldn't leave me at her place. They took me with them to the zoo, but I caused trouble. I accidentally made the glass holding the python disappear. I swear I didn't do it on purpose, I don't even know what happened..."
Harry lifted his head with a frown. "You probably think I'm talking nonsense, right? But I'm not lying to you. Although I don't know how I did it, it just happened."
"What if I said I believe you?"
Lynn's words made Harry snap his head up. There was a shining light in his eyes; this was the first time Harry had ever been believed like this.
"I... You... You don't think I'm talking nonsense?"
"Mm-hmm."
Lynn nodded, then opened his palm. "I actually know a little bit of something different too."
As he spoke, a stone flew up from the ground and landed steadily in Lynn's palm.
"How did you do that?!"
Harry cried out, a trace of wonder and longing flashing in his eyes. If he could master this power, if he could make his own "ability" controllable...
"Three years, at least three hours every day."
Lynn held up three fingers. "I've been practicing ever since I left the orphanage, right up until today."
"Actually, it's not just that. I can also..."
As he spoke, Lynn's figure vanished from in front of Harry. Just as Harry was looking around, a hand gently patted his shoulder, startling him.
"Teleportation? Whoa! That's cool!" Harry twisted his head around, letting out a shout of amazement.
"Yeah, something like that."
"Is it magic?"
"I don't know, but I prefer to call it superpowers."
Lynn sat back on the swing and rocked gently a few times.
"I had something happen once too. When I was being chased by some guys at school, I suddenly ended up on the school roof. It scared the teachers bad. Aunt Petunia was called in and scolded, and for the next week, my dinner was halved."
"Maybe I could learn this too?" Harry's expression right now could be described as glowing. He had always been distressed by his strange abilities that only worked when they shouldn't, causing him plenty of suffering whenever they took effect.
"I'm not sure about that. Maybe you can."
"Then what should I do? Lynn, can you teach me?"
Harry looked at Lynn with expectation, nervously swallowing his saliva.
"My method..." Lynn frowned slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly shook his head. "I don't think you can use it."
"Why... is that?" The light on Harry's face dimmed. This was absolutely a massive blow to him.
"Probably because..." Lynn's voice lowered slightly, "You haven't almost been stabbed to death with a dagger."
Looking at Lynn's calm expression, Harry trembled. He suddenly realized that for someone wandering alone, Lynn must have experienced many hardships he couldn't imagine.
Harry fell silent. In his understanding, Lynn must have truly awakened his power only when experiencing a life-or-death crisis, crawling back from the edge of death.
"Hahaha, just kidding."
Lynn suddenly laughed out loud and patted Harry's shoulder. He then pulled his backpack around to his front and reached inside to rummage around.
[Da-da-da-da, da~ da-da~]
Accompanied by the sound of background music that might have existed but definitely couldn't be heard, a box the size of a triple-decker burger was pulled out by Lynn. The box had red and blue stripes, with a yellow polka-dot circle on the middle red stripe. The material looked like plastic, but it felt cold like metal to the touch.
"Superpower Training Box. Practice for 3 hours every day for 3 consecutive years, and you can master superpowers. However, since this prop is second-hand, it can only be used once."
"Huh?"
Harry looked at Lynn blankly, his expression pitiable.
"I'm not lying to you, Harry. Although it's our first time meeting, I don't like to tell lies to deceive people."
"Alright..." Although Harry felt this thing was a bit ridiculous, wasn't his own life ridiculous too? His impression of Lynn was still very good.
"However, although this box can't be used, maybe I can help you with a small favor. Though my ability is limited, I will do my best to help you."
"What is your trouble?"
Faced with the question Lynn threw at him, Harry pondered with some conflict.
"Although learning superpowers is something I really want to do, I feel..." Harry spoke slowly. He actually had a problem he needed to face right now, a problem that had persisted for a very, very long time.
"I want to make my uncle and aunt not so... um... how to say it... They seem very afraid of my... those weird abilities that work sometimes and sometimes don't."
"I actually want to get along with them better, even though I do cause them a lot of trouble sometimes."
Harry, unable to explain it clearly for a moment, looked at Lynn, hoping he would understand his meaning.
"Will this make you happy?" Lynn looked at Harry earnestly and asked.
"I think it would. If I can get along with them properly... I think I would be happy."
"This matter isn't easy to handle..." Lynn frowned in thought. Just as Harry was about to say "Forget it," Lynn looked at Harry again, a look of certainty appearing on his face. "I've thought of a way, but this way might not be that perfect."
"Hmm? Do you really have a way, Lynn?"
Harry asked in surprise, "You can really make Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia..."
"Yes, but this matter will require you to sacrifice something. After all, what you want is their tolerance towards you, is that right?"
"Pretty much." Harry mulled it over and nodded. "But what do I have to sacrifice? Do we have to sign a contract or..."
"No, no, no, I'm not some demon, and I don't want your soul. You can understand it as... my goal in helping others is to make people feel happy. This world is nine parts bitter and one part sweet; adding a few more smiles is a good thing."
Lynn spoke with great seriousness. He had a sincere face that made people willing to grant him their trust.
"Then what is the price?" Although Harry believed him a little, he was still a bit uneasy.
"I can only say that with my current ability, I can only provide one chance. As for the price, I cannot reveal it for the time being. I can only tell you that this price will not make you sick or die, it won't make you sacrifice your health or life, and it won't turn you into a monster."
As he spoke, Lynn rummaged in his backpack.
[Da-da-da-da, da~ da-da~]
Again, that BGM sound that might have existed but no one could hear rang out.
A square, thin, crisp biscuit was taken out of the backpack by Lynn.
"Eat it, and it will give you a brand new life. This change can be reversed, but not right now, because I only have one biscuit at the moment."
"If you make up your mind, eat it. If you can't make up your mind, then come back here tomorrow and return it to me. I'll be staying here for a few days."
When this thin biscuit was placed in his palm, Harry felt it weigh a thousand pounds. Although what Lynn said sounded a bit nonsensical, his expression was serious and his voice was sincere. Despite still harboring many doubts in his heart, Harry ultimately gave a slight nod.
"I will consider it seriously, Lynn."
"By the way, Harry, if you choose to eat it, remember to go to the bathroom and take a shower immediately after finishing it."
"Why?" Harry was still a bit baffled.
"This is to allow its ability to take effect immediately, and then change your current life."
Lynn gently patted Harry's shoulder, then picked up his backpack and leisurely walked away.