Boys with Books

'Boy, we're leaving.'

Harry looked out from over the top of the book he was reading. Aunt Petunia was already paying for Dudley's magazine. Uncle Vernon and his cousin were waiting at the door of the shop.

Aunt Petunia was walking towards them now, and Uncle Vernon looked at him again.

'Get a move on, you little pest.'

Harry checked what page he was on, 80, and placed the book back on the shelf.

They came into the bookshop every Saturday. Aunt Petunia would look at the cooking books - she liked Delia Smith - and Uncle Vernon would look vaguely at the Second World War books, but spent most of his time impatiently pacing the shop floor, muttering about the cost of books these days. Dudley never moved from the magazine stand, and when Aunt Petunia had finished looking at the new books, she would walk over to her son and he would give her the pile of magazines that he wanted. Harry knew he never read any of them, but looked at the pictures once, before throwing them away.

Every Saturday Harry would walk over to the shelf in the corner and pick up the copy of Swallows and Amazons, and read it until he was told it was time to leave. He felt a little bit guilty reading it in the shop, but his aunt and uncle wouldn't buy it for him. No-one ever moved his copy, and in fact he'd seen one assistant at the shop pick it up once, only to be nudged by a colleague and, with a side look at Harry, tell him to put it back. It made Harry feel special, having the shop assistants like him that much. He would have borrowed it from the library if Aunt Petunia would have ever let him go, and the school library did not have it.

He loved Swallows and Amazons. The Swallows were two brothers and two sisters, and they went on holiday and had adventures in a sailboat. The Amazons had only just turned up in the books, and they were pirates, and now the Swallows and the Amazons were fighting over the island, and whom it belonged to.

Harry would have loved to escape his aunt and uncle and go on a sailboat to an island and have adventures with boys and girls that were like him, but with his family he didn't really fancy being stuck on an island. And if he did end up like that, he hoped Pirates would make Dudley walk the plank. Harry tried not to giggle at the image in his head of Dudley breaking the pirates plank just by standing on it. He made sure he put the book back in its place and turned to go to the door.

Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley weren't there! He ran to the door quickly, but he could see the car pulling out of the parking space. Dudley was sitting in the back, and he stuck his tongue out at Harry as, as Uncle Vernon turned the car around while Harry ran towards them. Once Uncle Vernon was facing the right way on the road, he wound his window down.

'As you can't be bothered to leave at the same time as the rest of us, you can walk home.'

The car drove off. Harry was left on the pavement on his own. He breathed in sharply and tried not to cry. His eyes felt hot and itchy and he rubbed them, to stop the tears. He was all on his own in town. He knew the way home, it wasn't far, but it was the first time outside of school, or his cupboard, that he'd ever been alone. He crouched down on the pavement, hugging his knees, and looked at the ground.

He could hear the cars go by, and feel their shadows as they blocked the sun. There were people walking past him, behind him on the pavement, and he heard a girl say.

'Mummy, that boy's on his own.'

She was quickly hushed.

'He looks like a homeless boy. It's best to leave him alone.'

No one stopped to talk to him, and Harry was almost glad. He didn't really want people to talk to him. There had been a policewoman who had come to school a few times, and she had told them never to talk to strangers.

'Excuse me?'

Harry looked up. There was a kind looking man staring down at him.

'Hello. What are you doing down there?'

Harry stood up and looked at the man properly. He was wearing old clothes that were so patchy they reminded Harry of his own. He was not old, much younger than Uncle Vernon, but he had grey hair under his hat. He was quite thin, but looked fairly cheerful, so he couldn't have been unhealthy.

His expression was one of concern, and Harry felt a little better.

'Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have gone home.'

The man looked like he was about to say something, before he checked himself, and asked instead, 'What is your name?'

'Harry.'

'Well, Harry, you can call me John.'

'John.'

'Yes. It's my second name. My first name would sound a little bit odd to you.'

Harry didn't say anything. Who had a funny first name, but a second name of John? There was a boy in his class who had a funny name, but Cosimo's parents were from Italy, and he didn't have a normal second name.

'So why did your family leave you here?'

'I was reading,' Harry whispered.

'An admirable trait in itself. Why did that upset them?'

'They wanted to go.'

'Well would you like me to escort you home?'

Harry almost nodded, but then the policewoman at school came back into his head.

'I'm not allowed to talk to strangers.'

'Well, in most circumstances, I would say that is a good thing. But today you are allowed to ask for help if you need it.'

Harry nodded.

'How far is it?'

'It's just around the corner of the newsagent's,' Harry said, pointing at the shop down the road. John gave him a funny look.

'And you came in the car?'

'Dudley doesn't like to walk, and Uncle Vernon likes to drive.'

John shrugged.

'Well that won't take very long. Would you like something to eat before we go?'

Harry shook his head, and John nodded.

'Yes, you're probably right. Very responsible of you.'

Harry shuffled his feet.

'John,' he muttered, 'I need the toilet.'

He expected to be shouted at, or at least have the man glare at him. Instead John smiled at him fondly, and ruffled his hair.

'I believe there's a toilet in the bookshop. If you ask nicely I'm sure they'll let you use it.'

Harry ran in and John followed.

By the time Harry had come out of the toilet he half expected John to have gone as well, but instead he was flicking through a book. Harry saw it was a children's' book and giggled. John looked at him with a smile.

'What's so funny?'

'That's for kids.'

John looked at the front cover of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

'Just because a book got magic in, does that make it for children?'

'Yes.'

'Why?'

'Because magic isn't for grown-ups. They like real things.'

'Magic isn't real?'

'No.'

'You're very confident for one so young.'

'I'm nine and a quarter,' said Harry indignantly, knowing that John was making fun of him.

'That's a good age to be. But when you're older you might see things differently.'

He put the book back on the shelf, and Harry checked to see his book was where he had left it. It wasn't there! He looked around wildly at the other shelves and then at the cashier, who smiled indulgently.

'What's the matter, Harry?' John looked as if he was trying not to grin.

'My book has gone.' Harry tried not to wail. He had hoped that the bookshop assistants would keep it for him until he had finished it. He sighed, and realised that he shouldn't have expected anyone to be that nice to him. John reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, and brought out Harry's book.

'Is this the book you wanted?'

Harry watched John's hands offer him the book, but made no move to take it.

'The woman behind the desk said it was the book you always read. So I thought it was about time you actually owned it.'

Harry slowly took it from John's hand, as if expecting him to withdraw it. When he took it, he held it in both hands and stared at the boat on the front cover.

'Thank you, Sir.'

John laughed, 'You can call me John. I don't bite you know.'

Harry managed to fit the book in his pocket, and looked up at John with a large, if shy, grin on his face.

'Come on, we'd best get you home.'

Harry felt a hand on his back guiding him out of the shop. The assistant behind the till waved at him as he left.

The walk did not take them long. The road was empty, but John made him check both ways before crossing and Harry was reminded of the policewoman at school again, and when she had come to tell them how to cross the road. He wondered what she would say about strangers buying him books.

'Why do you like that book, Harry?'

'Well, because the children get to leave their parents and have adventures all on their own. And there are pirates.'

'You know there's a chance that when you get to go to secondary school you'll be alone with other children and you'll have opportunity for all sorts of adventures. Would you like that?'

Harry wondered for a moment. There were children at school now, but he didn't get on with them. Dudley didn't like people playing with his cousin, and everyone did what Dudley wanted. And they certainly didn't have adventures. But it sounded nice enough to pretend that school could be like that.

'Will there be pirates?'

John laughed, 'That I can't promise you I'm afraid.' He paused for a minute, 'But perhaps. After all, while I was at school there were Marauders. In that school anything is possible.'

'What school did you go to?'

'A school of magic.'

Harry thought to himself. No school taught magic. But perhaps this was pretend as well. So perhaps in his pretend school there could be pirates and magic. Then you really would have adventures.

They stopped at the corner of Harry's road.

'Will your aunt and uncle be angry if I take you home?'

Harry wanted to say that they would be angry anyway, but he nodded.

'Then I shall stay here, and watch to make sure you get home safe.'

Harry looked up at him, unwilling to leave his new friend. John took off his hat and knelt down so he was at eye level with Harry.

'The chances are very slim of me seeing you again anytime soon, as I was just passing through today. So I'll wish you farewell for now. But please remember Harry, that even if your family aren't very nice to you that there are people out there in this world that would love to meet such a nice boy as you, and they'll treat you much nicer. You'll get to meet them soon enough, and when you're older I'll see you more often. I can virtually guarantee it. But you'll probably have forgotten all about me by then. So keep your book safe, and hide it from your family, so it's something that just belongs to you.'

Harry wanted to hug John, but didn't know him so well. John, however, laid a hand on his shoulder, and it was enough.

'Here.'

John gave him a large rectangle covered in foil, and Harry unwrapped it eagerly. It was chocolate. John broke off a bit and ate it, to prove it was safe, so Harry did the same.

The chocolate was like nothing Harry had ever tasted before. It was creamy and melted on his tongue. He didn't think he'd ever eaten anything so delicious in his life, and it relaxed him like nothing ever had before. He grinned at John, who returned the smile.

'Run along then Harry, and look after yourself.'

Harry walked home, his head held high. He had had a great afternoon and a wonderful adventure all on his own. He hadn't needed friends, because he'd made one of his own, and there hadn't even been any pirates. He knew he'd be in trouble once he got inside, but he had decided that some adventures were worth the trouble they came with, and he wouldn't have changed today for the world.

Remus waited until he saw Harry wave from the drive of his house and walk to the front door, before he placed his hat back on his head and wandered back down the road. He was very proud of James and Lily's child, and wished there was something he could do to make his life easier. But Dumbledore, he knew, would never allow it, and would probably reprimand him if he found out that Remus had been in Surrey at all. But he'd done enough today, and had even avoided Arabella Figg's personal army of cats in the process. He'd been able to see the goodness of both parents in the child, and he knew that in a few years time Harry would go to Hogwarts, and Remus would be able to keep a much better eye on his best friends' son.