Chapter 486: Sirius Black

"Happy birthday, Harry."

Xiang Xiang Xien placed his wand inside the Book of Wizards.

The Dursleys swore they had never seen such a magical book—it had actually extended a slender hand.

That slender hand snapped its fingers, and a beautifully wrapped colorful gift box appeared out of thin air.

Harry held the box, biting his lip without speaking.

But the Potters were nearly driven mad with panic.

"You have to turn her back, make her well!"

Vernon dared not speak to Xiang Xiang Xien, so he roared at Harry instead.

"You promised me she’d be polite!"

Harry shot back without backing down.

Vernon trembled with rage, yet he offered no rebuttal.

"It’s your birthday today, is it, boy? You won’t be having any birthday at all!"

"And you’re not going to Hogsmeade either!"

"None of us will sign that damned note!"

Vernon stamped his feet.

Harry stared at his plate, his ears ringing.

But what could he do? He couldn’t remember. Uncle Vernon’s voice drilled into his skull like a power drill.

At that moment, a figure stepped in front of Harry.

"Harry, are you leaving this place?"

The young wizard said.

"I…"

Harry didn’t know.

"It doesn’t matter. You have plenty of time to decide."

Xiang Xiang Xien was not in a hurry; his voice seemed to drift over like a breeze.

"Among all human languages, beyond crying and asking for help, there should also be a word for 'I don’t know.'"

"If you feel overwhelmed, come with me."

At that moment, Uncle Vernon grabbed Marge’s foot, trying to pull her down—only to nearly be lifted off his own feet. Then the large dog, Ripley, lunged forward and bit Uncle Vernon’s leg.

"I… I’ll follow you."

Harry finally made up his mind.

He didn’t care how much Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon had changed, nor whether he had done the right thing.

He didn’t want to recall another word from Aunt Marge.

He was leaving this place.

With Xiang Xiang Xien.

Before anyone could stop him, Harry swiftly left the dining room and ran toward the storage closet under the stairs.

The moment he arrived, the closet door opened magically on its own.

He turned back—Xiang Xiang Xien was smiling at him.

So, within seconds, he carried the trunk to the front door, then dashed upstairs, dove under his bed, pried up the loose floorboard, and yanked out the pillowcase filled with textbooks and birthday gifts.

He crawled out from under the bed, grabbed Hedwig’s empty cage, clattered down the stairs, and sprinted toward the trunk.

At that moment, Uncle Vernon burst out of the dining room, one pant leg torn to shreds, stained with blood.

"Come back! Make her well!"

He roared.

But Harry, furious, ignored everything else—he kicked open the trunk lid.

"She deserves it,"

Harry gasped out breathlessly,

"She brought this on herself. Get out of my way."

Now he had to take the books he’d stored in the cupboard.

The television in the living room was still on; the anchor was speaking:

"…reminding the public that Black is armed and extremely dangerous."

"A dedicated hotline has been opened—anyone who sees Black must report it immediately."

Upon hearing this, Vernon glared fiercely at the TV and roared,

"When will they ever learn? The only way to deal with people like this is to hang them!"

He finished speaking and dared not even look toward the door.

Even though the door had already been shut by the wind.

Night fell as if it had suddenly descended.

Xiang Xiang Xien felt an odd prickling on his neck—as if someone were watching him, though the street was empty and not a single light glowed from the square houses around.

He didn’t so much hear as sense that something—or someone—was in the narrow alley between his garage and the fence behind him.

Xiang Xiang Xien stared naturally at the dark alley.

He didn’t need it to move to know what it was.

He raised his finger, and a glowing orb floated at its tip.

This was the Lumos charm, cast without incantation or wand.

Instantly, the cobblestone wall of Number Four, Privet Drive’s garage door flashed with light.

Between the wall and the garage, Xiang Xiang Xien clearly saw a massive dark shape, its eyes gleaming like twin lanterns.

He walked toward it—the large creature seemed ready to flee, yet somehow did not.

Xiang Xiang Xien saw clearly: before him stood a gaunt, enormous black dog, its fur matted and filthy, its eyes blazing with sharp intelligence.

As Xiang Xiang Xien approached, the black dog growled.

"I don’t speak dog. This is a problem."

Xiang Xiang Xien muttered to himself.

"Could you please, Mr. Sirius Black, transform into a wizard and speak with me?"

The black dog, as if enraged, lunged toward Xiang Xiang Xien.

But its action was halted by a goblin dressed as a butler.

"Stay away from my master! Rude creature!"

Puckqi the butler pinned the dog against the wall, his bowstring taut and ready.

The black dog stared fixedly at the young wizard, at his green eyes.

"Do as my master says. Don’t make me use the Revealing Spell."

The goblin-like creature said.

Sirius finally transformed.

He didn’t know how he’d been discovered, nor what this impossibly young wizard intended.

But he knew Harry was following this wizard—and for Harry’s sake, he had to understand the wizard’s purpose.

Soon, a gaunt, haggard man appeared before Xiang Xiang Xien.

Tattered clothes clung to his body, his waxen skin stretched tight over his cheekbones like a skull. Filthy, matted hair hung down to his elbows.

If not for the piercing light in his sunken eyes, he might have passed for a corpse.

Now he stared at Xiang Xiang Xien with a fierce, hostile expression.

"Who are you? Whom do you serve?"

He said.

"I am Xiang Xiang Xien. I serve myself."

Xiang Xiang Xien said.

"Don’t play games! What’s your goal? Where are you taking Harry?!"

Sirius growled hoarsely, scanning for any chance to break free.

"The Leaky Cauldron."

Xiang Xiang Xien said.

Sirius was utterly confused—was this wizard truly ignorant, or pretending to be?

He was a fugitive! A murderous criminal!

This wizard showed him not the slightest respect.

And if he wasn’t a servant of the Dark Lord, nor a wizard from the Ministry come to capture him…

Then what possible motive could he have?

"Hahaha…"

The gaunt man before him laughed—a chilling, hollow sound.

But instantly, an arrow pressed against his face.

"Show respect to my master, fugitive!"

The goblin-like creature snarled.

Its fury was rising.