Harry might not always understand rules, especially the ones people don't tell him. He doesn't always follow the ones he does understand, like how he was supposed to hoover.
But Harry knows everyone in Canada is breaking the driving rule. They're all driving on the wrong side. Logan says it's different here, so maybe people here won't think they're freaks.
They keep driving around on the wrong side.
Logan steers them away from the busy roads. Eventually, they're surrounded by trees, alone on the road. Logan twists the throttle, and they soar even faster. Some of the animals don't seem too keen on the engine, like Harry.
Harry thinks he sees a bear in the thicket of trees whizzing by.
Logan slows the bike in the middle of the forest, pulling off on the still wrong side of the road, hiding the bike in the trees.
Harry looks around, and Logan says "British Columbia. Might feel more at home, here."
Logan sort of smiles around his cigar, like he's being funny, but Harry doesn't get the joke. He follows Logan through the trees, up a hill, to a cave.
Harry's cupboard sometimes felt like a cave, but he never imagined he'd ever be in a real one. He sets off to explore the deeper, darker parts.
"Careful, bub." Logan warns him. Harry grunts. He isn't scared of the dark. He's used to it, with his cupboard.
Logan grunts back, shaking his head. "You ain't going to like falling, or twisting yer ankle. I haven't seen a healin' factor on ya."
Harry sighs and returns to Logan's side, even though his curiosity is pulling him towards the depths of the cave.
Logan sniffs out and stabs a few rabbits for them to eat, and Harry helps Logan collect firewood. Harry feels a bit sorry for the rabbits, trying not to look as Logan skins them with his claws, but he's really hungry.
That night, Harry hears wolves howling, but he isn't scared. He misses the shaggy dog from the plane. All the dogs were much nicer than Ripper was.
Harry thinks the howls sound sad. A wolf would fit right in with them. Harry grins, hands jumping in excitement. He tiptoes past Logan and heads into the woods.
The moon shines bright overhead, and Harry picks his way through the forest towards the howls. He can't speak with words like other people do, but maybe he can speak wolf.
Harry lets out his own howl, hoping the wolves will come to play.
Instead, he hears a growl from behind him. A familiar growl.
"What do ya think yer doin', bub?"
Harry doesn't turn around. He stares off in the direction of the woods.
"Look. I've lived with wolves, but they ain't pets." Logan tells him. Harry darts ahead. If Logan lived with wolves, why is he trying to stop Harry?
Harry grabs Logan's arm, trying to tug him forward. With his other hand, he pets Logan's arm hair, and Logan snorts.
"Wolves ain't dogs. They're feral, like I was."
Harry howls again, still tugging, and Logan tugs back. "Come on, bub. Back to the cave."
Harry reluctantly lets Logan lead him back to the cave. The fire has died down, but Logan lights it up again. Harry gazes at the dog tag around Logan's neck, not sure why Logan has it, since he's not a dog.
He's been wearing it the whole time Harry's known him, like Ripper, only on a chain, not a collar.
Logan's tag says Wolverine. Was that one of the wolves he lived with? He prods the tag questioningly.
"Guess that was my army codename." Logan says. "Wolverine."
Does being Wolverine mean Logan can turn into a wolf? He already has hidden claws, and he's really hairy. It's not too hard to imagine him becoming a wolf for real.
Harry throws his head back like a wolf howling at the moon. Logan snorts. "Wolverines ain't wolves."
Harry frowns. What is a wolverine, then? Is it made up?
"Now it's my cage name." Logan says with a dangerous grin. Harry isn't scared.
They stay in the cave for a few more days. Harry quite likes the idea of being feral and living in the woods with Logan, but eventually they climb back on the bike and roar down the road. Probably because Logan used his last cigar.
As they drive, some creature Harry's never seen before darts in front of the motorbike. It freezes, and Logan yanks the handlebars, leaning, but it's too late-
Harry shouts, and suddenly, they bike lifts off the road like an airplane, the wheels barely grazing over the animal's horns.
Harry gasps. This is just like a dream he's had. He always wanted to fly off on this bike, and it's really happening. His warning yell becomes a whoop of joy. Logan's still cursing, gripping the handlebar tight with one hand and wrapping his other arm around Harry, as if Harry might fall off.
Flying feels easy, natural.
"Yer just full of surprises." Logan says. "Time fer landin'"
Harry doesn't want to stop flying, but now they're barely missing trees and Logan's struggling to steer through the air. He leans sideways, and Harry whoops again.
Their landing is just as sudden as the takeoff, but not quite as smooth.
As soon as they hit the ground, Harry longs to take off again.
Still, his heart feels light, almost like he's still flying, and he feels even better when Logan says "Good on ya, kid. You saved the elk, and saved our ride from getting wrecked."
Logan buys more cigars, and checks them into a motel, which is like a hotel but the rooms are right by where they parked. It's almost worse, watching Logan take the bike and head off somewhere. Maybe another pub fight.
Harry hopes Logan's not going back to the forest without him. He stays awake, bouncing his ball around the room and bouncing on the bed, something he was never allowed to do at the Dursleys. Not that he could have done so without cracking his head on the underside of the stairs.
Logan smells like beer, smoke and sweat when he comes back. Aunt Petunia would have turned up her nose, and Uncle Vernon would have called him a wastrel like Harry's dad, but Harry would be happy to have Logan as a dad.
Logan doesn't send Harry to school, but that suits Harry just fine. He doubts the schools here would know what to do with him any more than the local primary school the Dursleys briefly sent him to in Surrey.
Harry's content to travel around with Logan, alternating between motels and the forest. They don't go back to the same cave, which is somewhat disappointing. As horrid as the Dursleys were, it was nice being able to crawl into the same cupboard every night. Sure, Harry always has the bike, and the hotel and motel rooms don't change much, but it would be nice to have a home.
Logan fixes that when Canada starts getting colder. He buys a rather beat-up old pickup truck, with a trailer for his motorbike. Harry misses roaring around on the saddle, but the truck's warmer, and he doesn't need his headphones in the truck.
Logan turns the back of the truck into a home by attaching something called a camper to the large open boot on the back of the truck. There's a bed in a little cranny above the truck's roof. When Harry rides up there, it almost feels like flying, except there's no wind blowing his hair.
Harry's new home isn't much bigger than his cupboard, but it's much better, and it can carry more than the bike. Harry's content to curl up on the mattress next to Logan at night.
It's even better than a cave.