Chapter 14: Pathways
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With that in mind, Harry scanned the street for any path that he could use to avoid the traffic and still keep an eye on his target.
Nothing. There were no by-pass lanes and nor were there any little pathways between buildings he could sneak through. There was no way he could follow him on ground.
The only way to go was up.
He caught sight of a steel bar jutting out of the side of a half-constructed building that ran along the main road.
Using his new-found DEX boost, Harry ran full speed straight towards the wall and jumped, grabbing hold of the bar.
Almost instinctively, he swung his weight around, letting go of the bar mid-swing, only to catch hold of a window rail. With each push and jump, he climbed the building, aided by his Home Turf STR and DEX.
Reveling in his newfound power, he grabbed hold of a ledge above the topmost window and pulled himself up, his muscles slightly protesting under the strain they were put under.
He then shimmied along the ledge till he reached a small jutting out brick on which he gained some footing.
Just as he had stabilized himself and was taking a breather, he felt the brick start to give way under his weight.
Eyes widening, he braced himself and with all his might jumped, grasping at anything he could find. Luckily, his hands found the edge of the roof and with a grimace, he pulled himself onto it.
And just in time, it seemed.
Ping!
You have exited the wards of Privet Drive. All home turf boosts negated
Harry thanked whichever God it was that was looking after him before he saw the screen that had been floating in front of him all this time.
Sprinting, Lv-10 (30%)
Your speed in sprinting is that of an advanced sprinter-15 miles an hour.
'Well at least there's that,' Harry thought as he started moving on, marking Dedalus Diggle from his vantage point path along the rooftops of the closely packed buildings.
He tried to avoid the eyes of anyone who could've thought him suspicious and tried to use Gamer's Mind to judge where the man was going.
Harry knew enough of London to tell that they were heading towards Greater London, but he wasn't intimately familiar with the area.
He quickly dropped down to the lower roof of the next building and was about to run ahead when he suddenly caught sight of Diggle entering a small pretty shop that, strangely enough, most people on the footpath seemed to be avoiding.
Harry quickly entered the rooftop entrance to the stairwell of the building he was on and ran down the stairs and out onto the street, only to see Diggle disappear behind a curtain around the back of the shop through the shop's window.
Harry ran across the street and entered the shop, pulling forth his innocent 'lost child' guise, and quietly walked to the backside,
wondering why the lady at the counter didn't stop him, only to stop short himself as he saw the scene in front of him.
A row of people were lining up in front of a fireplace that seemed to burn green fire for some reason!
Just as he was about to wonder why, much to Harry's shock, an old gentleman entered the fire. And despite his misgivings, the fire didn't even burn his clothes!
The old man simply yelled "Aventoville!" and the fire seemed to engulf him. When the flames receded, he had disappeared.
Harry was floored! But soon enough, Gamer's mind asserted itself, and he pulled himself together and used observe on the fireplace.
Floo Fireplace
A fireplace connected to the floo network. It is a mode of transportation in the wizarding world in which a wizard or witch goes from one place to another by standing in the emerald green flames and saying the name of the place very clearly.
"Bloody Hell!" Harry muttered, wide-eyed, "Wizards traveled through fire! That is so cool!"
He looked around but he couldn't find Diggle. Just as he was starting to get distressed, he saw a lady collecting some silver coins from the people before they stepped in. A plan formed in his mind.
He walked over to the lady, a Miss Becklew according to the box floating above her, and spoke in a childish voice,
"Exshcuse me mish. My uncle just went into the floo and he shaid that I could come on my own if I wis-wished cos I am a grown up now. Bu-but I forgot what to say when I'm in the fire. "
In normal situations, a usual 11 years old might not have succeeded in this amateurish deception, but Harry's small stature worked in his favor.
The lady seemed to almost melt over his glasses and wide green eyes as she cooed over him as she asked "Aww. Do you remember your Uncle's name little man?"
"De-Ded-Dudlush Diggul." Harry said, adding a stutter for effect. At the moment, he was frankly surprised at his own acting skills.
"Dedalus, he did mention his nephew was coming over." The woman muttered as she checked the paper she was holding for the name.
"Charing Cross little man, think you can remember that?" she asked, and Harry nodded. "Yes? Good.
Now go stand in the line and go through when your turn comes. Got that? Now scoot!" She said with a smile.
Harry walked towards the end of the line and tried not to feel bad about lying to the nice lady. He didn't quite succeed.
Ping!
Skill leveled up!
Lying, Lv-2 (30%)
This is your ability to lie to people, the higher the level the better the lie and less chance of discovery!
10% chance of success, less based on how extreme the lie is.
He was getting better at lying and he didn't know how to feel about it. On one hand, he was improving a skill, and on the other hand, he was improving lying.
Deciding to look on the bright side, Harry waved away the screen and started reading the various signs all around the room.
Much to his surprise…
Ping! Ping!
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