The Return to Hogwarts

Aunt Petunia started shedding tears again. She'd lost almost all her hair this summer because of Dudley's new recipes and the unpopular boy in the house. But the problem still had to be faced. As Aunt Petunia clutched her chest, trying to persuade Dudley, she turned around and saw Harry standing silently in the dining room doorway.

Dudley immediately noticed Aunt Petunia's stiff expression. His small eyes were filled with confusion. Turning around seemed like a particularly difficult thing for someone of his size. After struggling for a while, he finally managed to turn around. Then, the arrogance on his face immediately disappeared. Harry could see the fear in Dudley's hunched-over features.

how to say?

Although troubled by his situation with the Dursleys, Harry had to admit that Dudley and Aunt Petunia's expressions were quite amusing; it seemed that the fact that the 'murderer' Sirius Black was his godfather had indeed terrified the Dursleys.

"I think Dudley is right--"

Harry shrugged dismissively, his gaze drifting to his own plate on the counter.

"The portion of food was definitely too much for me."

Harry's sudden voice nearly startled Uncle Vernon so much that he fell off his chair. He finally put down the Daily Mail, his messy beard trembling uncontrollably.

Harry's long experience made him instinctively hold his breath, because he expected his Uncle Vernon to yell at him for his sudden appearance, and indeed, his Uncle Vernon looked furious.

Nothing happened; the little argument in the kitchen was quickly resolved thanks to the Dursleys' tacit understanding. Aunt Petunia swiftly brought the food to the table, Dudley stopped his tantrum, and he quietly ate his sausage, head down. Uncle Vernon, after muttering "How could he do this?" under his breath, also picked up his knife and fork and began to eat. They began to ignore him again.

Since the beginning of this summer vacation, the impulse that often welled up in my heart has reappeared.

Harry's face was ashen, his teeth clenched, his chest heaving as he desperately resisted the temptation to pull out his wand, give Dudley a pig's tail, and make Aunt Petunia's forehead sprout antennae.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Uncle Vernon didn't yell, "Go open the door, boy!" Instead, he struggled to his feet and walked toward the foyer.

Regardless, Harry couldn't let the evil thoughts welling up in his mind become reality, but if he stayed here, the Ministry of Magic would probably send him another warning for underage wizards using magic without permission. He glanced at the food assigned to him on the counter, but instead of going to take it, he turned and headed for the stairs. But just as he stepped onto the stairs, a roar filled with fear and anger suddenly erupted from the foyer!

It's Uncle Vernon!

The sudden roar startled Dudley and Aunt Petunia in the kitchen, while Harry quickly recovered after a brief moment of shock.

Professor Blaine's physical education class had made Harry much more agile than before. His right hand lightly touched the armrest, and with a little effort, he flipped over. Before he could even reach the foyer, his terrified Uncle Vernon, like a runaway bull, came crashing into him.

"Hide! Penny, Dudley, it's that murderer!"

The open door let in the intense midday sun, and two human figures stood in the dazzling light.

Harry's heart pounded. Amidst the horrified screams of Aunt Petunia and Dudley, Harry, as if struck by lightning, trudged towards the foyer. Once his eyes adjusted to the intense light, the two faces standing in the shadows finally came into focus.

"Sirius Lupin, Professor Lupin!"

I apologize to everyone. There have been some work-related issues, and I've been cleaning up the mess these past few days, so progress will be a bit slow.

Chapter 450 Reconciliation with the Dursleys

2023-08-30

After the enthusiastic shouts, Harry couldn't help but blink, afraid he might have mistaken someone for someone else, but he quickly dismissed the ridiculous thought and rushed over.

Sirius looked well, though his skin was much darker and rougher than it had been a month ago. Professor Lupin, on the other hand, looked quite different. Harry knew he had been at St. Mungo's for almost half a year, and the lack of outdoor activity made Professor Lupin look a little pale, but his eyes were much brighter.

"Phew, you really came! And Professor Lu Ping, I didn't expect that!"

Harry couldn't completely suppress the excitement in his heart, and he said in a trembling voice.

Seeing Harry, who had grown so much taller in just one month and was now almost as tall as him, Sirius's smile was full of affection. He ruffled Harry's perpetually messy head.

"How could I miss your birthday, Harry? Breaking a promise isn't my style."

Sirius's words made Harry look embarrassed, but he still kept grinning foolishly, feeling every cell in his body filled with joy.

"Speaking of which, Harry—"

Professor Lupin spoke in the same gentle manner as always. Moreover, he was always considerate of others' feelings. His gaze swept over Harry's shoulder, looking into the room, a hint of worry in his voice.

“That Muggle who just ran over was your uncle, right? I think we should apologize to him for showing up without prior notice. He seemed quite frightened.”

"Oh, forget about that annoying Muggle, Remus."

Sirius Black didn't care at all about not being invited; he put his arm around Harry's shoulder and walked straight into the foyer, while Remus looked resigned.

“I think we should at least wait until we get the homeowner’s permission before coming in, Sirius—”

“Oh, then you’ll probably have to wait a long time, Professor Lupin!” Harry said with a grin.

“I’m no longer your professor, Harry. Just call me Remus, okay?--”

Remus clearly knew who the Dursleys were, and after hearing Harry's words, he smiled helplessly and followed them into the foyer.

The Dursleys had vanished; they weren't in the kitchen. Harry knew Sirius and Remus wouldn't be particularly curious about the Dursleys' house, so he led them straight up the stairs to the second floor.

Harry's room was a mess, mainly because he'd been so worried about whether Sirius would pick him up on time these past few days that he hadn't bothered to tidy up. With three people suddenly walking in, there was practically nowhere to sit. Sirius, however, didn't care at all. He sat down directly on Harry's desk, watching with a smile as Harry frantically tidied up. Fortunately, Remus was considerate; he waved his wand and began gathering the magical items and clothes scattered throughout the room, picking up one open chest after another.

"Oh, I really wish I could use magic during summer vacation--"

Harry's tone held a hint of resentment, but he quickly put it aside and looked intently at Sirius.

"Tell me about your adventure with Professor Blaine, Sirius! Where did you two go?"

"Oh, this one—"

Sirius Black surveyed the gradually tidying room, clicking his tongue in slight dissatisfaction, but he didn't raise any written objections. Hearing Harry's question, Sirius raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Well, it was absolutely amazing, Harry. I can't tell you exactly what we went through, I promised Amos Tower I'd keep it a secret, but I can tell you it was an adventure like no other, a million times more amazing than when I first saw Hogwarts Castle many years ago!"

"What on earth is that!"

Things involving Professor Blaine are always particularly interesting. Harry selectively ignored Sirius's words and still asked eagerly.

"Don't ask, Harry—"

Remus casually picked up Harry's Charms paper that he had tossed on the floor, glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, simply sending the summer homework flying into the box.

"I asked Sirius several times, but he wouldn't say anything. To be honest, Bigfoot, I'm quite curious about what method Amosta used to get you to keep quiet. You know, you weren't exactly good at keeping secrets back in school."

"Don't try to provoke me into saying it, Moonface—"

Sirius said with a grin,

“You know Amosta’s temper. He allowed me to tell you about this adventure, but not now. If I did, he would definitely come after me and erase all of your and Harry’s memories.”

"yes--"

Remus couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, he's absolutely capable of doing something like that."

Last summer, Harry had accompanied Professor Blaine to the underworld deep within Knockturn Alley, where most of the wizards were far from respectable. Given Professor Blaine's ease of movement there, Harry wasn't naive enough to believe he was as law-abiding as Hermione. Considering the consequences of knowing secrets he shouldn't, Harry shrank back, not daring to press further.

"I thought Professor Blaine would come with you, Sirius—"

Professor Blaine was also a wizard who was very close to him. Harry hoped that Professor Blaine could appear on Privet Drive again. Moreover, Professor Blaine's identity was special. His intimidation of the Dursleys was not just because he was a wizard. If he was willing to help him talk to the Dursleys, the Dursleys would treat him much better.

"Because of your injury"

Sirius Black stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that discussing Voldemort in a Muggle's house was unwise.

“He was planning to come see you, Harry, but something urgent came up, and we parted ways after he came ashore. I was going to invite him to watch the World Cup with us, but he's clearly not very interested in those kinds of events—”

In a sense --

Remus's searching gaze swept across Harry's room.

“Amosta is a pure wizard; he is fascinated by the mystery of magic itself, which is one of the reasons why he has achieved so much at such a young age,”

After confirming that nothing was left in the room, Remus looked at Harry, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

"We need to get to Arthur's house now. We can't use the Floo Network, and Apparition is still a bit too difficult for me. We'll have to take the Knight Bus there. Harry, I'm sure you won't mind traveling this way?"

"Oh, if I could, I'd rather walk over there."

Harry's words, spoken with a bitter expression, made Remus chuckle.

Remus made Harry's trunk float up automatically, while Harry carried Hedwig's birdcage, and the three of them went downstairs together.

"etc--"

Harry was preoccupied with leaving Privet Drive and heading to the Weasleys' house, while Sirius, who was bringing up the rear, suddenly stopped and called out as he passed the stairs.

"What's wrong, Sirius?"

Remus asked warily.

Sirius let out a disdainful snort, and under the watchful eyes of the other two, he pulled his wand from his sleeve and waved it lightly at the cupboard below the stairs.

Wow!

The cupboard door suddenly opened, and the Dursleys, who had disappeared for half a day, rolled out to Harry's astonishment.

This cupboard used to be Harry's living space, so he knew exactly how much room it had. It was hard to imagine that Uncle Vernon and Dudley could fit themselves inside.

Out of fear, Dudley struggled a few times but couldn't stand up. Aunt Penny immediately threw herself on Dudley, sobbing softly, her eyes filled with terrified tears.

"Get out of my house now, or I'll blow your head off!"

Surprisingly, Uncle Vernon showed quite a bit of backbone. Even though the fat on his face was trembling with fear, he still held up his double-barreled shotgun, which had been ravaged by Hagrid once, and roared at Sirius.

Sirius ignored Remus's warning and Uncle Vernon's threat, instead sticking his head out into the stairwell to take a look. When he pulled his head back in, his sun-baked face was even darker.

"No, Sirius—"

Even Harry could tell that Sirius might be preparing to teach the Dursleys a lesson. He yelled urgently, abandoned Hedwig, and rushed over to hug Sirius's hand.

“Amosta told me they made you live in this cabinet for many years!”

Sirius Black's grey eyes blazed with anger as he stared at the Dursleys. He spoke sharply.