HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

Well, Aunt Maggie's arrival wasn't all bad.

For example, he used this incident to blackmail his Uncle Vernon into signing the consent form at Hogsmeade.

Harry happily returned to his room and carefully put away the consent form.

Before long, Aunt Petunia was screaming for Harry to come downstairs to greet the guests.

Harry went downstairs and reluctantly opened the door.

Aunt Maggie stood on the threshold, carrying a huge suitcase, with her beloved dog Lippi tucked under her other arm.

She shoved the suitcase into Harry's arms, shoved him aside, and hugged Dudley, kissing him several times.

She and the Dursleys went into the kitchen.

Harry slowly carried his suitcase upstairs—he was trying to stall for time and avoid spending too much time with Aunt Maggie—or better yet, not at all.

When he returned to the kitchen, Aunt Maggie and the Dursleys were chatting happily, not giving Harry a single glance.

As Harry was about to sit down, the old dog Lippi suddenly barked at him, and Maggie turned her attention to Harry for the first time.

"So you're still living here," Maggie said.

"Yes," Harry said dismissively.

"Don't answer me with that ungrateful tone!" Maggie roared, just like Uncle Vernon, her eyes darting around the room. "Where's your brother?"

Harry didn't know what to say, so he simply remained silent.

"He's staying at the juvenile detention center, Maggie," Uncle Vernon said. "I told you, he did something wrong and was kept there."

Harry couldn't help but let out a cold laugh upon hearing this.

"Don't sneer at me!" Maggie looked furious, her finger almost poking Harry's face.

"Looks like the people at St. Bruce didn't teach you brothers how to be decent human beings either, huh? You and your brother are two of a kind. Don't think that just because you didn't stay at the academy, you're any better than him—"

She suddenly laughed. "Did they beat you with canes? If you ask me, people like you deserve a good beating..."

Harry answered absentmindedly.

At least Uncle Vernon signed his consent form, so Harry could barely put on an act in front of Aunt Maggie.

Uncle Vernon, worried that Aunt Maggie had really angered Harry, tried to change the subject, but Aunt Maggie persisted, "When is his brother coming back? He might already be dead by St. Bruce's men—"

These words really touched a nerve with Harry.

The wine glass next to Maggie suddenly shattered, spilling red wine all over her.

The Dursleys looked at Harry with suspicion and uncertainty.

"I'm warning you, you're forbidden from speaking ill of West." Harry's face darkened.

Aunt Maggie screamed, glaring angrily at Harry, about to say something, when in the next second her body swelled up like a balloon, popping several buttons off her clothes.

"Maggie!"

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Penny shouted together, while Maggie had already left her seat and was rising towards the ceiling.

Harry laughed heartily.

Amidst the chaotic screams, the doorbell rang, followed by the sound of the door being opened. The Dursleys' house was in complete disarray, and no one noticed the doorbell.

"Looks like I've arrived at an inopportune time?"

Harry heard a familiar voice and turned around abruptly. He saw a slender boy leaning against the doorway, his short red hair gleaming in the sunlight.

"West!" Harry shouted in surprise and rushed to West's side.

He looked at his brother, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, with suspicion and noticed that West's appearance had undergone subtle changes.

Her soft features became sharp, her eyes changed from emerald to dark green, and a small beauty mark appeared under her eye—most importantly, she was half a head taller than him.

West looked at Harry, who was somewhat stunned, and couldn't help but find it amusing. "What's wrong? Don't you recognize me? —" In order not to scare Harry, he even drank the anti-aging potion and returned to his thirteen-year-old appearance.

Before he could finish speaking, Harry's fist had already landed on his handsome face.

"Hiss—" West staggered from the blow, looking up in disbelief. "Are you trying to murder your own brother—"

Harry stood frozen in place, fist raised, eyes red, and suddenly tears began to fall.

He roared gruffly, "You still remember your brother?! Where have you been all year?!"

"I..." West couldn't help feeling a little guilty and ashamed.

He walked up to Harry, gave him a hug, and said, "I'm sorry, Harry, I'll tell you slowly when I have time, okay?"

On one side, there's deep brotherhood; on the other, chaos reigns.

Uncle Vernon was grabbing Aunt Maggie's foot, trying to pull her down, but he almost got carried into the air himself.

"You two! Put Maggie down!" he roared.

"So, what's going on?" West asked.

Harry calmed down and said, "She was saying bad things about us, and I couldn't help it."

"I see, you brought it on yourself." West nodded thoughtfully, ignoring Maggie's words, since she had said quite a few unpleasant things about him and Harry. "Go pack your things, I don't think you want to stay here anymore."

Harry was overjoyed and ran upstairs at full speed to pack all his luggage, not forgetting to grab Hedwig's cage.

West helped Harry pick up the two boxes and walked out of the Dursleys' house.

"Stop right there! You two!" Uncle Vernon roared, bursting out. "Come back! Get this sorted out!"

West pretended not to hear and continued walking.

Harry, however, calmed down and hesitated before saying, "Should we put her down? After all, underage wizards are forbidden from using magic."

West glanced at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected Harry to become so rational after a year apart.

"No need," West said. "The Ministry of Magic will handle this. For now—let her stay airborne a little longer."

West led Harry to a deserted street corner, preparing to Apparate back to the manor, when he suddenly noticed the alley between the garage and the fence.

A large, black dog with dry, matted fur was hiding inside, its big, round eyes fixed on them.

"West, why did you stop..." Harry followed West's gaze into the alley and also spotted the large, menacing-looking black dog.

He cautiously raised his wand.

The big black dog seemed to realize that it had been discovered and turned to leave.

"Immediately imprison them."

Before it could leave, a binding spell tied it up, forcing it to lie on the ground.

With a triumphant smile on his face, West walked up to the big black dog, squatted down, and stared at it.

Big black dog: "..."

The big black dog stared at West with its big, moist black eyes and licked West's hand in a flattering manner.

"..." Now it was West's turn to be speechless.

He wiped his damp hands with disgust, his expression complex, wondering if Sirius had been a dog for too long and had really come to see himself as one.

"West, why are you grabbing it?" Harry asked, puzzled.

The big black dog looked at Harry, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end it only whimpered twice and lowered its eyes with a pitiful expression.

"You'll find out soon enough," West said with a smile.