Hogwarts: Becoming the White Lord from Breathing

Chapter 75 Awkward Birthday

Harry's birthday was an extremely important day for the Dursleys.

This had nothing to do with Harry, though.

"Listen, we all know today is a very important day. Today I might make the biggest deal of my life!"

"I think we should go over our afternoon schedule again.

Everyone should be in their seats at five o'clock, Petunia, should you—?"

"In the living room, waiting to give them a cordial welcome."

"Very, very good, Dudley?"

"I'll get your coat for you, Mr. White, while I wait to open the door for them."

"Excellent, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon, and then he turned suddenly to Harry. "And you?"

"Me?" Harry was slightly distracted. What did he hear, Mr. White? Damon's full name seemed to be Damon White?

But - how is this possible - isn't the person they are meeting today the president of a large company?
It's probably just the same name, right?
Seeing Uncle Vernon's face visibly redden, Harry quickly replied:

"I stayed in my bedroom, didn't make any noise, and pretended I wasn't home."

"Right," said Uncle Vernon fiercely. "I'll take him into the living room, introduce him to you, Petunia, and give him a drink. At a quarter past five—"

"I declare dinner open."

"Dudley, what are you going to say—"

"Shall I show you to the dining-room, Mr. White?"

"What about you?" Uncle Vernon asked Harry fiercely.

"I stayed in my bedroom, made no noise, and pretended I wasn't home," Harry said.
"Oh right! Now, we should also say some compliments at the dinner table, Penny, do you have any suggestions?"

"Mr. White, Vernon told me that you were once a piano prodigy. Our Dudley has always loved piano music."

"Very good Dudley?"

"How about this: 'Mr. White, the teacher asked us to write about the person we admire most, and I wrote about you.'"

This was more than Aunt Petunia and Harry could bear.

Petunia was so happy that tears streamed down her face and she hugged her son tightly, while Harry hid his head under the table, afraid that they would see him laughing.

"What about you, Harry?"

Harry straightened up, trying to keep a straight face.

"I stayed in my bedroom, made no noise, and pretended I wasn't home."

"That's right! Now—get back to your bedroom, and if you make even the slightest noise while you're at it—" Vernon's voice was extremely forceful and threatening, "you and your noisy beast will be kicked out of my house forever!"

Harry took the biscuits that he had not finished and returned to the bedroom. Hedwig was still angry with him and turned her head away, unwilling to eat the biscuits he handed her.

He sat down on the bed with Hedwig's cage in his arms. The sky outside was dim and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the lawn, which reminded him of the sunset at Hogwarts - how happy and free.

But now, he could only hide in the dark room and sing to Hedwig's cage:

"Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me"

He sang birthday songs alone, without a card or a gift, and had to pretend that he didn't exist.

Harry had never felt so alone.

No one wrote to him the entire summer, and Ron even said he wanted to invite him home, so why was there no news?

Time and again, Harry came close to using magic to open Hedwig's cage and let her take a message to her friends.

But it's too risky.

Underage wizards were not allowed to use magic outside of school - Harry had not told the Dursleys about this rule; he knew they were only afraid he would turn them all into beetles, so they hadn't locked him in the cupboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick.

Otherwise, he would be doomed to be locked up in the basement this summer - the place was dark, damp, and had a strange smell. Staying there made him feel as if he had become moldy.

"Is Harry Potter sad?"

A strange, sharp sound suddenly rang out, startling Harry, who was silently crying! He looked up and saw a small green monster - it had two large bat-like ears and a pair of protruding green eyes as big as tennis balls!
"Shall I hold your coat for you, Mr. White?"

Harry heard Dudley's voice coming from the hall.

"Oh—hello, I'm not sad, I'm singing."

Harry said unnaturally.

"Harry Potter!" the creature shrieked, so loudly that Harry was sure he could hear it downstairs. "Dobby has been wanting to meet you, sir. It would be a pleasure."

Harry was hazy about what happened next - he couldn't make sense of the situation, and things were taking a turn for the worst.

Dobby the elf kept making strange noises. In order to tell Harry that the upcoming new semester would be dangerous, he had to punish himself physically so as to circumvent the constraints of the contract. Harry believed that everyone on the first floor must have heard his strange noises.

Uncle Vernon would definitely give him a good beating after this no matter what!

But Harry couldn't care less.

"So, you're the one who intercepted all the letters sent to me! Give them back to me!"

"Harry Potter cannot return to Hogwarts. It's dangerous there! If Harry Potter doesn't listen to me, Dobby will have no choice!"

Dobby the Elf opened the door and ran to the kitchen on the first floor while Harry was trembling with fear. He used a levitation spell to grab the plate of pudding and lifted it to the ceiling. It was Aunt Petunia's masterpiece, with three layers of cream piled high and violets sprinkled with icing sugar on top.

"No," Harry said in a low voice, "please, they'll kill me."

"Harry Potter must promise not to return to school—"

"Dobby. Please."

"Promise, sir."

"I can not!"

Dobby gave him a sad look.

"That's all Dobby can do, sir. It's for Harry Potter's own good."

The pudding plate clattered to the floor, and Harry felt his heart stop.

With a loud crack like a whip, Dobby disappeared.

There were screams from the dining room, and Uncle Vernon rushed into the kitchen to find Harry standing there stunned, covered head to toe in Aunt Petunia's pudding.

Harry knew he was finished.

Uncle Vernon threw a mop at him roughly. "Take care of this place! I swear, after the guests leave, I'm going to beat you half to death or get the hell out of this house!"

Vernon left gruffly, and Harry heard his voice change instantly, strangling the spy's voice, and say:
"Did that scare you? My nephew—he's a little bit mentally ill—gets nervous around strangers, so we let him stay upstairs."

"oh!!!"

Harry heard Aunt Petunia's scream, and an owl whizzed in from the dining room window, dropped a letter on the handsome boy's head, and whizzed away again.

"I-I can explain it all."

Harry heard Uncle Vernon's voice grow strained, and at the same moment, footsteps sounded in the hall.

"No—I'll use my own eyes to judge what's going on."

Harry heard a gentle voice in the distance, accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps, but he didn't have time to think too much about it.

He had to fix this before things got any worse!
Harry tidied himself up hurriedly. He took the pudding off his head. The sticky feeling invaded every inch of his palm. The cream stuck to his hair, then to his collar, and then all over his trousers. Desperate, he grabbed the cream on the toe of his shoe and smeared it all over the back of his trousers.

He hoped that it was not too late - although he himself did not have much hope.

Harry felt like he was about to cry, but at the same time, a dangerous idea came to his mind - enough, let everything be destroyed! No matter what happened next, now he would perish with the Dursleys.

They will lose the most important business orders, and they will be kicked out of this cage, or return to the moldy basement!
Whatever, come on! He's ready!
The sticky feeling on his head made Harry a little angry. He felt as if something was wrong with him - he seemed to be losing his mind.

But at this moment, Harry heard a familiar and surprising voice.

"Hey! Harry!"

(End of this chapter)