Things seemed to have come to a temporary close.
After returning from Diagon Alley, the Dursleys hosted a lively dinner party in the evening, and Lynn received an invitation to join them.
Vernon opened a bottle of champagne he had been saving for a long time, unwilling to drink it until now. The sumptuous dishes displayed the full extent of Petunia's culinary skills.
In addition to the big meal, there were many different kinds of food and toys from the wizarding world, bringing childlike smiles to the faces of the two adults.
Uncle Vernon ate a Pepper Imp, and the next second, white smoke puffed out of his ears just like a steam train, and his mouth emitted a "woo-woo" whistling sound.
"Hahahaha, Dudley, try this quick!"
Vernon stuffed another Pepper Imp into Dudley's mouth. Seeing Dudley puffing out steam and whistling too, he was as amused as an overgrown child.
The atmosphere in the house was joyous, with everyone enjoying themselves thoroughly. But after playing for a good while, this dinner party accompanied by loud music was drawing to a close.
"I've never been this happy before!"
Harley spread her arms, skipping along in front of Lynn. She had offered to walk Lynn out, but really, she just wanted to step outside for some fresh air.
To avoid detection by the neighbors, the Dursleys had closed the doors and windows and turned up the music to mask the noise caused by eating the magical food, but this made the house a bit stuffy.
"Me too. By the way, thanks for the gift, Harley."
Lynn walked with his hands in his pockets. The night wind was a bit strong and very cool, causing his casually tied hair to flutter in the breeze.
"Lynn, why do you keep your hair long?"
Harley suddenly spun around with a hop and walked backward, facing Lynn.
"Because I'm too lazy to get it cut, and I don't want to go to a barbershop. I just find a cord to tie it up; it doesn't get in the way anyway."
"Doesn't that make washing it a hassle?" Harley frowned slightly in distress. "I'm not used to it, anyway. Having long hair is too inconvenient for a girl; it's easy to crush it while sleeping."
"It's alright. My bathroom might be a bit more high-tech. After washing or soaking, there's a smart dryer that dries it with one button press."
"Huh?" Harley blinked, speaking in confusion. "Don't you live in a tent? Can a tent have a bathroom?"
"Why not?"
"I don't believe it, unless you take me to see it."
"Sure."
Lynn didn't mind showing Harley his Universal Tent. Even if he told people the items from the "four-dimensional pocket" were future technology, they would just treat them as magical items. No one would believe the truth.
It was just that, a lone boy and a lone girl late at night...
Oh, there was no need to worry about that. Lynn didn't have the slightest thought about Harry or Harley. He had long since grown aesthetically weary of mortal flesh. Did they think his year of hard cultivation in X-ray vision was just for show?
After seeing so much, it was all just lumps of meat of different sizes; nothing special.
After walking for a few minutes, they arrived outside an unoccupied house. Lynn's gaze fell on Harley, and in a flash, she was teleported directly inside the house. Immediately after, Lynn appeared beside her.
The superpower of teleportation allowed him to move not just himself, but objects too. However, moving living things other than himself took a bit more effort.
The Universal Tent was placed on the floor, and they crawled in one after the other. After seeing the various functions of the tent with her own eyes, Harley touched things left and right curiously. A day in Diagon Alley hadn't worn out her curiosity for this new world; she was very interested in Lynn's tent.
Especially when it switched to bathroom mode. The steaming hot, spacious hot spring pool and luxurious shower facilities made her blink her shimmering eyes at Lynn.
"Can I try it?"
"Do you want to take a bath? Put your clothes in the washing machine over there; it automatically washes and dries them so they're ready to wear when you're done. That thing dispenses body wash and shampoo, with lots of scents to choose from. The pool water temperature also automatically adjusts to the most comfortable level. Anyway, bathing here is convenient no matter how you do it."
"This tent is so high-class!"
"I always thought that while you were wandering outside, Lynn, you were sleeping in the wind and eating dew every day—living a hard life. But looking at this, you enjoy life even more than when I lived at the Dursleys'."
Perhaps because the current Harley hadn't fully adapted to the identity of being a "girl," or maybe for some other reason, before Lynn could even say anything about stepping out to give her privacy, she had already stripped off her clothes. Like a joyous animal, she began washing away the day's accumulated fatigue in the steaming water vapor.
Lynn didn't look too much. He took off his socks and sat by the pool to soak his feet, pulling a very old book from his backpack. It was the introductory textbook on wandlore Ollivander had given him—Magical Plants of Wonder · Volume I.
To become a qualified wandmaker, one must memorize the properties and functions of various magical materials. Only after understanding these can one attempt to learn how to fuse the magical traits of different substances. It is a subject more complex than Potions, because wand making has no fixed recipes like potions do.
At some point, Harley, having finished her shower, had entered the hot spring pool. The water was shallow, only reaching her shoulders if she crouched down. Harley squirmed over to Lynn's side and glanced at the cover of the thick book.
"This doesn't look like a school textbook, does it?"
She reached out and poked Lynn's calf.
"When I went to buy my wand, I asked Mr. Ollivander a lot of questions. He was happy to teach me some things, so he gave me a lot of books. I'll probably go to his place during future holidays to learn how to make wands. It's quite interesting."
"Really? Lynn, you're amazing!"
"Just a little personal hobby. I'm quite interested in tinkering with items."
Lynn closed the book and set it aside, then looked down at Harley.
"You're a girl now. Don't go running into the boys' restroom or even the boys' bathhouse later on; you'll scare people to death."
"Although I do forget sometimes..." Harley smiled sheepishly. "But, Lynn, you're different. You're probably the only person in the world who truly knows my identity."
"That may be true." Lynn thought for a moment and replied:
"But Harley, you should integrate into your current identity as soon as possible. In a few years, even with that excuse, you can't act like this. People will misunderstand."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone this secret. But even if I did, they probably wouldn't believe it."
Harley seemed to realize this point. "Yeah, probably. But being a girl doesn't seem to be all good. Aunt Petunia told me that girls feel unwell for a period of time every month. Maybe this year, maybe next year, I might encounter that."
"Then drink plenty of hot water, or brew a cup of warm brown sugar water."
"Why do I feel like you know everything?"
"Read more books. Books have everything."
"Oh." Harley nodded. In her eyes, Lynn was indeed someone who loved to read. "Then have you thought of a name for your owl?"
In the afternoon, accompanied by Hagrid, Harley had gone to Eeylops Owl Emporium and bought two beautiful owls. Harley had taken a liking to a white Snowy Owl at first sight, and the gift she gave Lynn was a beautiful black Eagle Owl.
"Let's call them... Hedwig and Sigurd."
"Those are nice names." Harley nodded; she liked the name Hedwig very much, as if that beautiful white Snowy Owl was meant to have that name. "Do these two names have any meaning?"
"Their meanings are: Hedwig, from Old German, meaning 'refuge in battle'; and Sigurd, from Old Norse, meaning 'guardian of victory'."
"How many books have you actually read, Lynn?" Although she already knew Lynn understood many things she didn't, Harley was still surprised.
"When wandering outside, it was boring, so I could only read. I don't have a social security number, and my birth certificate is stuck at the orphanage, so I'm currently undocumented. If I learn a bit more, at least my life in the future will be a bit better."
"Well, that does sound tough for you."
Harley suddenly stood up. "It's about time; I should go back. I've been walking all day and feel so tired. But thanks for your hot spring; soaking in it was so comfortable."
"Alright. Stand in that spot; your body and hair will be dried instantly, and your clothes should be washed and dried by now too."
With her hair fluttering in the warm breeze, Harley opened her arms. The task of drying hair, which used to be troublesome, was completed instantly with the help of future technology. Changing into dry clothes, Lynn saw Harley out of the house.
"Remember to come to the house for breakfast tomorrow. Bye-bye!"
Waving to Lynn, Harley left with light steps.
Deep night arrived again. The slightly cool night wind blew through the empty streets of Privet Drive. Tonight the weather was clear, a good night for sleeping. Some touched their pillows and fell into dreamland moments later, while others tossed and turned, sleepless all night.
Only two not-so-large owls flew together silently under the night sky, beginning the moonlit hunt belonging to fierce predators.
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