Episode 2

- Harry! Harry, wait... - Two boys about ten years old, laughing merrily, were hurtling through the streets of London, looking neither at their feet nor to the sides. One of them tripped over a curb and crashed into a stately man in a cashmere coat. The man was barely on his feet! And the boys quickly apologized and raced on... He only had to smile after them...

***

- How much is it?

- Be happy, Dud, there's enough for us to live on for six months! Just the credit cards need to go," Harry carefully, with the help of a plastic bag, took the cards and the girl's picture out of the wallet. And then deftly twisted the bag so that what they removed would stay inside and not get wet in the London dampness when they dropped the bag in the street somewhere. They were careful to keep their fingerprint-stained wallets, though neither of them understood why they had to take such precautions.

Luck smiled on them today, and they collected a considerable amount of money. They hugged each other and decided to buy themselves an ice cream. Of course, they were a little ashamed of the people they had stolen from, but there was no other way for them to survive.

They had run away from the orphanage almost two years ago, and by now they had long since gotten used to living on their own. They learned to find edible scraps in garbage cans and not to wrinkle their nose while eating. They learned how to steal and run fast, for fortune was a capricious lady. They learned to cover for each other and work as a team. They even learned to smile.

Of course, it was bad at first. Especially Dudley. But in time, he got used to it.

They lived in a rented room in a shithole on the edge of life. It wasn't too expensive, and the owners were more or less normal, they hardly drank, but, most importantly, they didn't ask questions. Over time, Harold - he had come to call himself by that name exclusively - had learned to make use of his "abnormality. Thought his power was something like Ouija powers. Dudley was not so sure, but he watched with delight as his brother changed reality at will. True, the desire had to be very strong.

And Harry was afraid to experiment, because he knew that if he called on fire again to help himself, a wiser Dudley would realize who was to blame for his parents' death. And then the closest person would leave him. So for now he only changed people's minds as he saw fit. For example, the clerk at the grocery store closest to the rented room was sure that she had seen Harry and Dudley with their parents many times, so she didn't ask questions when one of the boys came to buy groceries. And the landlords were sure that the brothers lived with their aunt and always paid their bills. Sometimes, though, they didn't have enough money to pay the rent...

And sometimes their conscience woke up and, if they managed to steal a lot of money, they shared it with a girl, about fourteen years old, who rented two rooms in the building with her parents. But... her parents drank, and she was in high school. Her part-time jobs after school were not always enough to cover all her needs, and her father often took the money away. The rooms were unpaid, and there was no food. On days like that, when her parents went on a binge, Rita came to live with the boys and cried for a long time. The boys felt sorry for her.

And all three of them saw no prospects for their own future...

***

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was worrying, not finding his place. Harry Potter, the hope of the world, had disappeared from the orphanage after all. And no matter how the great wizard tried to find him, he was unsuccessful. Not only did Muggles not look for Potter, but they had forgotten that he was missing, as if someone had erased his memory. Potions, search amulets, spells, and other magical ways of searching did not work. And other wizards the great wizard was afraid to attract. How about that! The hope of the magical world disappeared without a trace, right out of the custody of the great victor of Grindel-Wald, head of the Wizengamot, and so on and so forth. This is a disaster!

But no, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had found out after all that the boy was alive, more or less healthy, and also that he was not in any danger. Of course, Albus was afraid that he might have been found and "saved" by some wizard, and then it would not be easy to re-educate him into a hero. Still, Potter was alive. And that meant that the school owl with the envelope-invitation-notification of enrollment at Hogwarts would find him after all. All Albus had to do was attach a simple beacon to the envelope, and then the boy wouldn't go anywhere...

***

- Harry, I have a bad feeling about this. Like when the cop caught us. Remember? - Dudley sat on the sagging couch, head wrapped up in a thin blanket, shivering as he watched his cousin carefully preparing his chicken broth.

- Did you see anything? Or anyone? - Harold was wary. They were both used to trusting their senses, for it had saved them more than once. But Dudley shook his head:

- No. Unless... a castle, ancient and large. - For some time now, Dudley, either under the pressure of a difficult life or at the request of his "abnormal" cousin, had also awakened to superhuman abilities. Dursle could... foresee the future. It happened in different ways. Sometimes in his dreams, sometimes in reality, he saw individual objects, people, sometimes entire events. And everything came true: the events happened exactly as the boy had foreseen them. People came across to his cousins in life and played not the last roles in it. Objects... yes, they meant something, too. For example, once Dudley had a vision of a small gold statuette, and a couple of days later they took it out of some girl's purse. Only the statuette had a beacon, which the police used to find the thieves. They had a hard time getting away. I had to change my place of residence, asking Rita to take out some valuable things for them, and just stuff. It all worked out, but only because Dudley had had misgivings for a few days, and they'd somehow... mentally prepared themselves a little.

A few weeks went by, and Dursle's gift was getting worse, and with it his body temperature. The boys didn't connect it and thought Dudley was overcome with a cold. It made life very difficult for them, because Harry had to steal alone, and so he risked twice as much. Sure, they had savings, but not enough to buy medicine. And then again... the premonitions. Harold sighed and prepared for the worst, but continued to take care of his brother as best he could...

***

He was just out hunting, having just chosen a new victim and was about to act when suddenly... a huge owl swooped down on his shoulder, the weight of which made Potter wobble. And what a good thing that it was evening, otherwise passersby would be very surprised at such a sight, drawing unnecessary attention to the thief.

Harry wasn't frightened, no, though he flinched in surprise. Still, by some subconscious sense he knew that the giant bird would do him no harm. Though it did interfere with him. Very much hindered him! But there was no way to drive it away: he felt too well the sharp claws of the owl, which so far - only so far - gently clutched his shoulder, trying to hold on.

After some time to think about the situation, Harold found nothing better to do than ask the bird:

- I'm sorry," he whispered softly, fearing his chosen victim might hear him, "I don't know what you want from me, but please wait for me at home. I will be back soon. - He didn't understand why he was asking for something of the bird, and generally speaking to it as if it understood something, but he did. And, to his amazement, the bird gave a silent whoop, flitting inaudibly from his shoulder. Harold breathed a sigh of relief and concentrated on his fishing: he would have time to think about nature's jokes later...

***

- Harry, you're back! - Dudley exclaimed in relief as he heard the key turn in the lock. But he didn't like the look of his cousin: "What happened?!

- Dud, I'm going to ask you a strange question: did we happen to have a giant owl flying in? - Harry asked in an incredulous tone. He had already thought about what had happened and now... didn't know how to react. Either he and his cousin were lucky for oddities, or he had lost his mind, because an owl within the city limits, such as London, and even sitting on a boy's shoulder is fantastic.

Cousin looked at the slightly inadequate-looking Harry from head to toe and again to head, snickered something of his own, and nodded toward the window:

- So it's definitely up to you. He's been here for three hours, no less..." Harold looked out the ajar window to see the same owl perched on the window sill, waiting obediently for something to happen. - I got him drunk. He looked dead to me. There was an envelope tied to his paw. It has your name on it," Dudley said. He was frightened and unhappy that a bird was beating against the drafty window because of his cold, so he had to get out from under the covers, open that very window, and decipher the reason for the reproachful stare of the huge, scary bird. And Harry, as luck would have it, wasn't home!

- A letter, you say? And in my name, too? - Harold squinted.

- Yes, but I didn't try to untie it. I had a premonition... And I dreamt about the letter and the old man while you were away," Dursle warned nervously. - Harry...

- Don't worry, Dud, we'll sort it out," Potter resolutely took off his tattered boots, heading straight for the bird, and staring into the round yellow eyes like a mesmerized man. His hand reached for the owl and stroked its feathers. Harry, not expecting it of himself, thanked the bird for waiting. It hummed, like in a fairy tale, and held out its paw, to which a letter was indeed tied...

***

- Harry, you're back! - Dudley exclaimed in relief when he heard the key turning in the lock. But he didn't like the look of his cousin: "What happened?!

Cousin looked at the slightly inadequate-looking Harry from head to toe and again to head, snickered something of his own, and nodded toward the window:

- A letter, you say? And in my name, too? - Harold squinted.

- Yes, but I didn't try to untie it. I had a premonition... And I dreamt about the letter and the old man while you were away," Dursle warned nervously. - Harry...

- Don't worry, Dud, we'll sort it out," Potter resolutely took off his tattered boots, heading straight for the bird, and staring into the round yellow eyes like a mesmerized man. His hand reached for the owl and stroked its feathers. Harry, not expecting it of himself, thanked the bird for waiting. The bird, like in a fairy tale, hummed and held out a paw, which really had a letter tied to it...

***

The headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was just feeding his pet, the hand phoenix Fawkes, when suddenly he felt the signal of a tracking spell, which he attached to Harry Potter's letter. Of course, he couldn't move on the coordinates right away. Who knew where the boy was hanging around? So first he checked to see if the right person had touched the letter, and then he checked the address. Harry Potter was almost in the center of London! That raised questions, but it also made things easier. It didn't take more than five minutes to get ready to move. He couldn't apparate from the school, but he had the phoenix.

And so he, ready to lead his future hero into the tale, moved in a whirlwind of fire to... an old rotten house, only to be immediately... hit on the nose with a stone. It must have been released from surprise and with all its might, and so... the broken nose crunched again, more than once. The old wizard owed, clasping it, and looked around...

The blanket had not yet had time to sink down on the couch, and at the edge of his vision flashed someone's heels... And the frightened boys would sneak away! If someone other than Albus Dumbledore himself had appeared to them. The latter, unfortunately, managed to pull himself together quickly, for he was not famous for his cold-bloodedness of thought for nothing. The front door and two windows were instantly sealed by the wave of a magic wand. At the influential elderly man with a reputation as a kind grandfather, two pairs of children's eyes stared out of the door openly hostile. The headmaster instantly realized his mistake: now it would be difficult to gain the trust of a national hero.

In the boys Albus easily identified Dudley Dursle and Harry James Potter, who for some reason in all self-renewed wizarding lists had recently become listed as Harold.

- Who are you, how did you get here, and what do you want from us? - Harry inquired of the alien coldly and earnestly, not at all childishly. Albus sighed: he could not do without magic.

***

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