Along Privet Drive, Little Huijin, Surrey, under the gloomy sky, were rows of houses of the same style. Like the Dursleys' house, the houses of the neighbors were lined up one after another. This boring quiet place had nothing to do with magic, just like the Privet Bush, which was the source of the neighborhood's name. This bush was used to make the hedges between the houses in the suburbs. The Dursleys had chosen this place in the hope that the name would bring them good luck, as a symbol that would allow them to be normal people and stay away from wizards.
The room on the second floor, in Harry's bedroom with a trapdoor, contained a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk on which Hedwig lived in a cage. There were some books that might have belonged to Dudley, but Dudley had never read them, and some old toys that could not be repaired. After 1991, Harry's uncle, Vernon, gave Harry the room where Dudley kept his junk.
It was not out of kindness. When Allen and Flaig visited Harry Potter and received the first acceptance letter for the Hogwarts, and when Vernon saw the address written on it: "Mr. Harry Potter, Little Huijin, Surrey, the storage room under the stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Huijin, Surrey", Vernon was very scared, because he realized that people in the magic world might have known how badly Harry had been abused.
Therefore, he let Harry live in one of Dudley's spare bedrooms upstairs, in case he got into trouble.
Harry was stacking his junk into a suitcase. There was a broken mirror on the table next to him. Sirius was looking at Harry's face in the mirror.
Sirius said in a heavy tone, "Harry, remember to keep the wand in a place where you can get it at all times... Did you leave the back garden door open for us?"
Harry paused in the middle of zipping up his backpack. He adjusted his glasses and looked at Sirius in the mirror in confusion. "It should be half open. I'll go down and check it later. But Sirius, do you think we'll be exposed? Fu Di … Uh, sorry, I mean, will the mysterious man appear? "
After a moment of silence, Sirius said in a hoarse voice, "Anyway, you have to be prepared this time … In order to avoid the Ministry of Magic's surveillance of your aunt's house, other than those responsible for interference, they will go to Mrs. Arabella Feig's house on Wisteria Street first. The rest of you will teleport to my house on Privet Drive first. Let's meet like this."
Harry nodded and put away the mirror fragment. Then, he picked up a solid wooden photo frame on the table. The photo in the frame was taken by the Muggle. Harry's parents were smiling at Harry outside the frame. When Harry first entered this small bedroom, the Muggle photo had been placed here.
After carefully stuffing the photo frame into the backpack, Harry finally pulled the drawstring on the backpack. By the time he finished packing his luggage, the sky had already begun to darken. The sun outside the window shone a fiery red light.
Uncle Vernon bellowed from downstairs, "Boy!"
"I'm coming!" Harry sighed and got up. He opened the door and suddenly heard the sound of broken porcelain under his feet. A cup of black tea was placed on the ground outside his bedroom door. He accidentally stepped on it.
"What …?"
Harry looked around. There was no one on the staircase landing of No. 4 Privet Drive. Dudley probably thought he was smart and wanted to play a prank on him. Harry did not clean up the tea on the ground. Instead, he picked up the broken pieces of the teacup and threw them into the full trash can behind the bedroom door. Then, he leaned on the stair railing and looked downstairs. He saw Uncle Vernon quickly dragging a suitcase to the corner of the living room that was full of gifts. In the past, this corner was almost always filled with Dudley's birthday gifts at this time of the year.
Uncle Vernon, who called Harry down, seemed to have no intention of talking to him. His fat body walked quickly. He anxiously called, "Hurry up, Dudley. Hurry up."
"I still don't understand. Why do we have to leave here?" Dudley walked out with a punching bag on his shoulder. Harry's cousin was different from his usual round and chubby appearance. He now looked like a big guy with strong muscles, although he still had an ugly blonde curly hair and wore a disgusting leather jacket.
"Because according to them, this place is no longer safe!" Vernon dragged another bulging suitcase with all his strength and piled it into the pile of gifts. "You want to bring this with you? Thanks to that boy, we have to run for our lives! "
"I need it to keep my body strong. If there's no internet in the place we're going, then this will be my only source of pleasure." Dudley's punching bag knocked down the luggage that Vernon had just piled up.
"Well, since you like it, we don't have to carry it ourselves." Vernon's beady eyes kept darting around as he thought about the things he could bring with him. Then, he seemed to have noticed Harry and immediately shouted angrily, "Hey, boy, when are they coming?"
Harry had been ordered around like this for 16 years, so he didn't have much of a reaction to it. He glanced at the travel clock on the mantelpiece and said in a flat tone, "They just contacted me. They will be on time."
Dudley's eyes followed Vernon around the room. Finally, Vernon stopped in front of Harry. His purplish face scrunched up. "I've changed my mind … I'm not leaving. This is my home. I've been living in this house for more than 10 years … It's all a lie. I didn't sleep last night, thinking about this. Is there a problem with the house you bought for me? There must be a conspiracy. Are you trying to take over the house?! "
"House?" Harry asked, "What house?"
"This house!" Uncle Vernon screamed. The veins on his forehead started to throb. "Our house! The property prices around here are skyrocketing! You want to send us away. You showed me a big house that you actually rented or played some tricks on us? Then, before we knew it, the name on the deed became yours … "
"Are you confused? Plotting to take over this house? Are you really as stupid as you look? " Harry asked impatiently. "I'm afraid you've forgotten. My godfather bought a house nearby. It's just a small amount of money for him. My parents also left me enough money. What do I want your house for? For all those happy memories? "
Silence — Harry thought he had silenced his uncle with this remark.
"You claim," Uncle Vernon said and began to pace again, "that this devil …"
"… Lord Voldemort," Harry said impatiently. "We've discussed this a hundred times. It's not a claim, it's a fact. My godfather and Mr. Weasley … "
Vernon Dursley arched his shoulders angrily. Harry guessed that his uncle wanted to get rid of that memory. At that time, Harry had just started his summer vacation when the two adult wizards suddenly came to visit. The appearance of Sirius and Mr. Arthur Weasley on his uncle's doorstep had given the Dursleys a most unpleasant shock, and Harry had to admit that Mr. Weasley and his Godfather had, one after the other, smashed half the parlour into rubble, and their reappearance was certainly not to Uncle Vernon's liking.
Outside, the sun was hanging low over the privet hedge. The neighbor's lawnmower had died again. Uncle Vernon did not immediately speak. He continued to pace and then suddenly looked up. "Don't you have a Ministry of Magic? Then, why can't they protect us? In my opinion, we, as innocent victims, have done nothing wrong except for adopting a suspect. We should be protected by the government! "
"The Ministry of Magic has always been protecting us. You don't think that the strange fires and hurricanes were really accidents, do you? Even the fog that appeared from time to time … was caused by the Dementors. "Harry saw his cousin Dudley's frightened expression and laughed.
Dudley raised his hand to cover his mouth. When he saw Harry staring at him and laughing, he slowly lowered his hand. "They … there are more of them?"
"Don't worry, the Ministry of Magic will regularly send people to use the Guardian Charm to expel them …" Harry pretended to comfort his cousin and then suddenly said, "But you know, other than the two who attacked us last time, there are of course more of them. There were hundreds, maybe thousands now? Because they live on fear and despair, and they can't be killed … so the Ministry of Magic can only expel them temporarily. That's why the fog is in waves now. "
"Okay, okay," Vernon Dursley growled. "Then tell me, why can't we ask the Ministry of Magic to protect us? Why do we need to rely on your society? That little group of yours? "
Harry couldn't help but laugh again. His uncle was always like this, pinning his hopes on the authorities, even in the world where he was hostile and distrusted. "The Ministry of Magic seems to want to use me to lure out the Dark Lord … Of course, I'm not against it, and I'm not afraid of it. Unless you have the same intention as me, maybe I can try to persuade my godfather again?"
"No!!!" Vernon screamed. He was panting heavily, and his thick black mustache was also moving up and down. His big face was still flushed purple. "I mean … Well, boy, you'd better not let me find out that you're lying to us!"
Embarrassed, Uncle Vernon pulled Dudley up the stairs and went back to his room to continue packing.
Harry shrugged and walked aimlessly to the kitchen. Apart from the room he was living in, the kitchen was the place he was most familiar with in this house, except for the storage room under the stairs. These were the places where he could stay the longest.
Harry walked a few steps to the kitchen and stopped. He thought he saw Aunt Penny standing in the middle of the kitchen. Harry didn't understand why she didn't participate in their conversation just now.
Aunt Penny was standing straight, her thin body looked even smaller. Her hands were clasped in front of her. The kitchen, which used to be spotless, was empty. All the kitchen utensils had been packed up and thrown into the living room.
"We've lived here for twenty years, and now we have to move out overnight." Penny said without looking back. Her neck, which seemed to be twice as long as others, was slightly lowered. She raised her eyebrows and eyes. Although she didn't look back, she knew clearly that it was Harry. Vernon and Dudley were both big men, and they wouldn't walk so lightly.
"They will torture you. If they think you know where I'm going … or even if it's just for fun or to vent … After the house is no longer protected, they will immediately appear … I think you can hear my conversation with Uncle Vernon just now!" Harry's voice was obviously higher than usual. His tone was obviously impatient. He took a few slow and heavy steps into the kitchen.
Penny's slightly lowered and mean cheeks suddenly turned to Harry. She squinted at him as if she was looking at an ignorant child. Her voice was heavy and slightly hoarse as she said with hatred, "Do you think I don't know how capable they are?"
Harry's green eyes locked on Aunt Penny's face with some distrust and doubt. Aunt Penny was just a Muggle. How would she know what the Death Eaters were capable of and how cruel they could be?
"That night in Godric Valley, you're not the only one who lost your mother. You know …" At this time, Penny's voice was hoarse and low. There was even a little tremor in her old and sorrowful tone. She looked up and squeezed out the words from her throat. "I also lost my sister."
(End of Chapter)
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