Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 267 The Promise with the Dursleys

"At times like this... perhaps we should have something to drink."

Dumbledore glanced at Harry beside him, then at the three trembling figures opposite him, and with a gentle wave of his wand, a flask and five glasses appeared on the coffee table.

The wine jug automatically filled the glasses to about seven-tenths full, then floated towards everyone in the living room.

"Lady Rosmerta's finest mead, it's quite delicious, you should try some." Dumbledore was the first to pick up his glass and take a sip, a look of pure delight immediately spreading across his face. The Dursleys frantically tried to back away, but the glass clearly wasn't going to let them off the hook, continuing to slam against their hands.

The scene made Harry laugh uncontrollably, but he felt it wasn't right to laugh out loud like that, so he picked up his cup as a cover, which had absolutely nothing to do with his desire to drink the mead.

"Alright, now we can talk." Dumbledore put down his cup, and the jug automatically refilled it. He pushed up his glasses and looked directly at the Dursleys, who were huddled together.

"What...what do you want to talk about?" Vernon mustered his courage, but his voice was still trembling.

"You guys probably realize it too, Harry's turning 18 next year..."

"No!"

Before Dumbledore could finish speaking, Aunt Petunia interjected, "He's not an adult yet! He's a year younger than Dudley, who won't be an adult until the year after next!"

"In fact, in the wizarding world, seventeen is considered adulthood," Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "It's different here."

"This is ridiculous." Uncle Vernon shook his head, but his hand was gripping Aunt Petunia tightly beside him. Her current state was unlike anything Harry had ever seen before; something was very wrong. Only Dudley remained bewildered, still dodging the cup that had jumped into his hand in a hurry.

Dumbledore glanced thoughtfully at Aunt Petunia, then said, "As you probably already know, the wizard Voldemort has returned to this country, and the wizarding world is currently in a state of open war."

"Since his return, he has made several attempts to kill Harry."

"You could say that Harry is in a more dangerous situation now than he was more than a decade ago when I put him on your steps."

"At that time, I left you a letter, hoping that you could treat him as your own child and raise him to adulthood."

"However... you obviously didn't do that."

Dumbledore looked calmly at the Dursleys, his tone slightly cold.

"You never treated Harry like your own son; you often neglected him and abused him."

The Dursleys pressed closer, and Uncle Vernon was about to object, but the words remained unspoken. Aunt Petunia, however, spoke up: "But he's grown up under our protection, you can't..."

“I don’t deny that.” Dumbledore raised his hand, interrupting Aunt Petunia. “Fifteen years ago, when I brought Harry here, I cast a spell that would give him the greatest protection while he still considers this place home. Evil from the wizarding world, especially Voldemort who has returned now, cannot truly kill him.”

"In addition, the magic that Harry's mother Lily cast on him before she died was enough to ensure his safety."

"However, for some reason, Lily's magic failed, and Voldemort was able to touch Harry. This means that the magic I cast was Harry's only protection until he came of age."

"That means that when Harry turns seventeen and becomes a man, this last safeguard will also disappear."

"And my only request of you is this: you must allow Harry to return here before his seventeenth birthday, and ensure that the protective force I have placed upon him continues until then."

After speaking, Dumbledore kept a close eye on the Dursleys' expressions, awaiting their response. However, the Dursleys remained silent. Dudley frowned, still struggling with the cup. Uncle Vernon frowned, his expression unnatural. Aunt Petunia opened her mouth as if to say something, but Uncle Vernon pulled her back, and she closed her mouth again.

"Alright..." Dumbledore said knowingly, waving his wand to put away the flask and cup, which made Dudley breathe a sigh of relief.

"We should go, Harry, where's your luggage?"

"It's still upstairs, I've already packed it up."

Dumbledore nodded, and with a flick of his wand, Harry's luggage floated down the stairs. He straightened his cloak, waved to the Dursleys, and said, "Well then, goodbye." Then he quickly left the living room.

"Goodbye." Harry waved and hurriedly said goodbye to the Dursleys before chasing after Dumbledore.

They stepped out of the room, surrounded by Harry's towering pile of luggage, with Hedwig's cage on top, flapping its wings at them.

"We're going to be doing something that won't be convenient to carry them with us, so I'll take them to the Burrow." Dumbledore glanced at Hedwig, who was still struggling, and drew his wand. "However, you can take your invisibility cloak with you; we might need it..."

Upon hearing this, Harry laboriously retrieved the Invisibility Cloak from the trunk and casually stuffed it into his pocket. Seeing this, Dumbledore waved his wand, and the messy trunk and Hedwig vanished instantly.

"Alright, now we can really set off," Dumbledore said, taking the lead and walking ahead, with Harry close behind. But they hadn't gone far when Dumbledore stopped, nearly causing Harry to bump into him.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Get your wand ready, Harry," Dumbledore said.

"A wand? But I can't use magic outside of school, Professor." Despite saying this, Harry, looking puzzled, still pulled out his wand.

"I'll allow you to use any magic and spells you can think of if we're attacked. You know what the situation is like right now," Dumbledore said, shrugging. "However, I don't think you'll need it tonight, just in case."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because you're with me, Harry, I'll protect you," Dumbledore said calmly. "However, we must also avoid certain things that have a very low probability of happening..."

He turned to Harry, looking into his bewildered eyes, and said softly, "For example, if we run into Voldemort and your former classmates, that would be terrible."

"So, before we head to our final destination tonight, we need to pick up one more person."

"Who?"

"Miss Granger."

(End of this chapter)