A year in the life of Harry Potter
Chapter 24: August, 20
"Remember what we told you?" Andy asked Harry. The day before the young boy had run into him and his friends: Otto, Riley, Connor and Nigel. They were five seventeen-year-old homeless boys and had token Harry in.
"Yes," Harry swallowed. They stood in front of one of the most expensive clothing shops in London. The idea to shoplift didn't appeal to him, but Andy told him it is better than to beg and tell lies.
"Remember," Riley said. "We do this only to stay alive." Harry nodded again and entered the building with Nigel who would play the role of Harry's older brother. It took them few moments to figure out where the changing rooms were, but once they had located them they looked for some clothes which would fit Harry. They found two trousers and a jacket, all three on hangers, and another t-shirt which wasn't on one. Nigel put that between the trousers so that it couldn't be seen and made then with Harry his way over to the changing rooms.
"Three things?" a bored lady asked Harry, and he nodded. She gave him a round bit of plastic on which the number three was printed on. He went into one of the cubicles. Andy had told him that that would happen, that was why Nigel had hid the t-shirt, so that the lady on the entrance to the changing rooms would think he had less clothes to try on than he actually had.
Harry pulled the shirt he was wearing off, tore the price label off the unpaid t-shirt, made sure there were no other security labels on it and then put it on, his original shirt on top after that. He waited a few moments and went out again. He hoped no one would notice. He gave the three hangers with clothes on to the lady and went over to where Nigel was waiting.
"Nothing?" Nigel asked. Harry shook his head, even more nervous than before. The two went out of the shop.
"And?" Andy asked as soon as they were a few hundred meter away from the building.
Harry pulled his t-shirt up a bit so that the older boy could see the t-shirt beneath.
"Good job," Andy smiled. "I told ya boys, we got here a pure genius!"
Harry faked a smile. He had a bad feeling about what would happen because of this.
Later, after they had hot dogs for lunch, they sat down.
"Why did you run away?" Andy asked Harry.
"Found out my adoptive father was responsible for my parents death," Harry answered.
Otto raised his eyebrows. "Killed 'em?"
Harry shook his head. "Told their killers their whereabouts."
"We five ran away 'cos our old men... beat us up every chance they got," Connor explained.
Harry stayed silent for a moment before he asked, "Why didn't you ask me these questions earlier?
Andy grinned. "That hemp smoking was just to see if you were a coward. That shirt you stole showed you're born to be one of us."
"Where did you get the hemp?"
"We got our secrets and you got yours," Nigel shook his head. "That makes it even. Anyway, you guess they're gonna look for you?"
Harry nodded. "Def," he said.
"How far will they go? Telvision?"
Harry shrugged. "Maybe."
"Then we'd better hurry up," Andy said, standing up. "I think there are some lady scarfs waiting for us."