Harry Potter: The Boy Loved by Beasts

Chapter 19:trashy old computer

"Seriously? That breaks your defense?" the Author said dumbly, staring at Vira.

Vira crossed his arms. "Look, I've been stuck in a town with no entertainment aside from playing with Viper and the others, and also..."

"Also what? That thing is worse than a TV from that era. At least a TV had channels."

Vira looked away. "It just... looked more enchanting the more I stared at it."

Seriously, the thing that managed to break Vira was a computer, and it didn't even have anything good in it—the specs sucked.

Its RAM didn't even reach a megabyte. Heck, it wasn't even close, with only 4KB of RAM and a floppy disk for storage. And even if it were better, it wouldn't really matter or be of any use to Vira. The internet, as we know it, was in its infancy at that time. The only things he could do with that machine were messaging, accessing banking services, reading the news, and using other government-provided functions.

But who was he even going to message? Viper? Because no one else was going to respond to him at all. And as for banking services and news—this guy is three. He's not even eligible to have a freaking bank account! And what's a petty thief supposed to do with national news?

Watching Vira stare longingly seemed to draw attention—not just ours, but also that of the pedestrians and, most importantly, the shop clerk.

Noticing the dirty kid standing in front of his store, smudging his windows with grime, the clerk felt the urge to kick him away and scold this street rat. But the serpent's red eyes, locked onto his every move, made him hesitate.

It wasn't like he didn't know what that serpent was. As the only venomous species in the UK, he was well aware of adders and how their venom wouldn't do much. But no matter what, he didn't want to get bitten. So, he held back.

His legs may have stayed still, but his mouth clearly didn't. As he wasted no time cursing at Vira.

Clerk: "Get out of here, you filthy gutter rat! You're affecting business!"

Although Vira couldn't hear him and hadn't seen him speak, he could still sense the man's words weren't anything pleasant. The clerk's mean expression, combined with Viper's undisguised hostility toward him, made that much clear.

Oh, how much he would have loved to smash this guy's smug face and stab him a few times. But unfortunately, the active surveillance of the CCTV, pointed straight at the entrance, would definitely capture him. And if he actually pulled out his knife, he'd probably be caught—not just by security guards, but also by the pedestrians standing around, watching the show.

So, he had to calm down and walk away. Naturally, he vowed to burn this place down once he settled here. Even if he didn't decide to stay in this city permanently, he would at least burn this place before leaving.

Thinking such thoughts, Vira wandered through the city, hoping to find a decent place to stay—at least one less polluted than this hellhole.

While not forgetting to pick the pockets of some passersby and snatch food that caught his eye, Vira continued wandering around.

It wasn't that he wanted to buy the food—he doubted the vendors would even sell it to him, judging by the disgusted looks on their faces. So, he simply helped himself, eating whatever he wanted.

Though, to be fair, it was probably less about him and more about the snake coiled around his neck—not to mention the horde of animals trailing behind him. Rats, lizards, toads, even crows had started following him like he was some kind of walking zoo exhibit.

Unfortunately for the vendors, Vira had long since grown used to the presence of animals around him. So much so that his sense of normalcy had twisted—he'd even started to find toads cute. Playing in the mud had become second nature, and whenever he played with cats and dogs, he ended up completely covered in them. The fact that only his bottom half was muddy right now didn't seem strange to him in the slightest.

So, without a care, he continued taking whatever he wanted—whether it was wallets from unsuspecting pedestrians or items from shops. It was a miracle he hadn't been caught yet, considering how eye-catching he was.

But as the sun began to set, Vira still hadn't found a place to stay.

Luckily for him, a luxurious-looking vehicle drove past. Without hesitation, he chased after it, figuring that wherever its owner lived had to be better than the filthy alley he had been planning to crash in.

So, Vira, along with his army of pets, followed the car until they reached a nice-looking place.

There were trees—real trees, not just posters. Vira hadn't seen one since entering the city. Aside from the weeds growing by the roadside, the only greenery he had seen so far had been people's clothing. But here, there were actual trees.

The air felt so much better—not as fresh as the countryside, but compared to the hellhole he had just come from, it was amazing. There were no constant, grating city noises either. As they moved further in, the scenery changed. Large, elegant houses came into view.

These houses were three or four times bigger than the one Vira had lived in back in the countryside. With their tall towers and sprawling balconies, they looked almost beautiful.

When the car finally passed through the security checkpoint, Vira turned to his newly made animal friends.

"Any of you know a way in?"

Their responses delighted him at first—but that excitement quickly turned to disappointment. Every path they led him to either ended in a giant thorny bush or a hole in the wall too small to fit through.

After running into these obstacles a few times, Vira lost interest in searching for a better route. He was tired. After walking around constantly all day, he just didn't feel like putting in any more effort.

So, he simply decided to sneak past the guards.

With a year's worth of hiding experience from surviving in town, he was confident he wouldn't be spotted—especially with the animals covering him. Besides, the guards weren't exactly great at their job. Lax and distracted, they stood around chatting with each other, casually smoking their cigarettes.

Vira asked a few crows to block the security cameras monitoring the area and then simply walked in.

With his small figure, he was lower than the window where the guards were keeping watch. And with the cameras obstructed, there was no real need for him to hide.

Just like that, Vira entered a well-developed area of Leicester—Oadby.

This place was supposed to be a well-protected, high-class neighborhood—home to professionals, businessmen, and academics. But for Vira, sneaking in had taken less effort than stealing from Sphinx's owner.

Well… maybe that was because this was just the main entrance. There were still patrolling security guards throughout the area, and every house had its own private guard.

But Vira doubted that would make much of a difference.

Besides, that mean old lady was the real deal. The first time he stole from her, she had gone as far as sealing every window and even the tiniest holes in the walls. If not for the fact that she literally fell asleep standing guard by her doorstep, Vira might have had to give up on the challenge.

After entering the compound, Vira asked the crows and other birds to scout for any inhabited places nearby.

Following his command, they took off in all directions, and with the help of nearly a hundred birds, Vira managed to locate a seemingly unoccupied house. It wasn't abandoned, but aside from guards stationed outside and a few lights turned on, there were no real signs of life—at least, not that the birds could find when he asked them to check inside.

So, just as before—and with the same ease—Vira slipped through the side gate, which, for some reason, had been left open.

After entering, he walked for a solid ten minutes before finally reaching the house. Then, without hesitation, he washed up, picked a random room, and collapsed into bed—finally allowing his exhausted body to rest for the night.