A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 600 Today is a good day

"Snape's house has been bombed. Do you have any leads?"

After writing this line, Dumbledore hesitated for a long time before finally clicking send. At the same time, he was worried that if he asked this question, Charles would take it as a suspicion that he was the murderer.

Charles used to be calm and collected, but his mental state has been unstable ever since he was captured by the fairy. A few days ago, his magic went berserk, so it's best to be careful.

However, Charles predicted the Snape family's house would be bombed four years ago, so let's ask what details he didn't mention back then.

"Drip drip!"

The communication notebook quickly received a reply.

“Hello, Charles Smith is unable to reply to you right now. Please leave a message if you need anything, and I will pass it on to her when she returns. — Gabrielle Delacour”

Dumbledore smiled after reading it. It turned out to be Professor Delacour's youngest daughter. It seemed that her grasp of English was not very good, as she had spelled "he" as "she".

"Hello, Gabrielle, I'm the older brother of the bearded old man. When will Charles be back? You use 'he' for Charles, and 'she' for you girls, so don't get it wrong."

Dumbledore then corrected Gabrielle's mistake.

He felt a little depressed. Gabrielle frequented the Hog's Head pub when she came to Hogsmeade and became acquainted with Aberforth, while he, the big boss of the wizarding world, was only "Aberforth's brother".

Gabrielle replied quickly.

"Hello, Principal. Charles has something very important to do, and I don't know when she'll be back. I'm waiting for her too. Charles is a girl now."

Dumbledore was somewhat speechless.

"Did Charles drink that potion that turns him into someone else?"

He thought Charles had drunk the compound herbal remedy again and turned into a girl.

Gabrielle's reply silenced him.

"No, Charles has now become a girl named Charles."

Dumbledore blinked, scratched his head, and even the wisest of wizards couldn't understand the meaning of those words for a quarter of an hour.

Suddenly, he thought of something and jumped up from his chair.

At 3 Privet Drive, Harry sat in the living room, grinning foolishly. He held today's Daily Prophet in his hands like a precious jewel, having read the front page headline countless times; he could recite it backwards.

The fireplace door opened, and he thought it was Black coming over, but it turned out to be Dumbledore.

Dumbledore simply nodded to him and strode upstairs to the second floor.

Harry was puzzled, but followed upstairs and saw the headmaster wave his wand, making Charles's bed float up and hover under the ceiling.

He noticed that there were many more books under the bed than before.

"The negative impact on teenagers is immeasurable."

Dumbledore found evidence in numerous Japanese documents that confirmed his suspicions.

Harry had already tiptoed downstairs and run back to 4 Privet Drive.

Although he couldn't read Japanese, he could still understand the diagram. Now he was certain that Charles was in trouble, and it was serious trouble.

Harry had just stepped out of room number 3 when he was surprised to find Petunia standing in front of the door.

Penny, dressed in a decent-looking dress and clutching her handbag—the kind she only uses on important occasions—was about to open the door.

"Go change your clothes quickly!" Her tone was as sharp as ever, but strangely lacked real anger; instead, there was an irrepressible excitement. "Go wash your face under the tap, we're leaving right away."

Harry froze, momentarily stunned, and cautiously asked, "Go...out?"

“Don’t just stand there, hurry up!” Penny urged. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

Harry returned to his room in Number 4 and changed into the clothes he had worn on his trip. In the foyer, he saw Vernon dressed in his best suit, his large body swaying uneasily, his thick, short eyebrows tightly furrowed, and his face flushed red.

Dudley was dressed in clothes that his parents considered appropriate, which would normally earn him praise, but today the two of them seemed to be thinking about something else.

Harry only had Dudley's old coat, which was still too big for him. Several torn parts had been patched up and embroidered by Petunia, but after the embroidery was removed at Hogwarts, it was repaired with mending magic, so it was still wearable.

Vernon would fly into a rage every time he saw the dress, thinking it was very abnormal and fearing that it would come out and dance in the living room in the middle of the night.

Harry didn't want to go out with them; nothing good ever came of it before. So he deliberately wore this outfit and swaggered around in front of Vernon, hoping to get scolded and then punished by being forced to stay home.

However, as soon as Penny saw him come downstairs, she said, "Okay, that's enough. Let's go, the car is all warmed up."

Vernon swallowed back the anger that was on the tip of his tongue, and looked at his wife with confusion and worry.

“Penny, darling,” he tried to begin, “where are we going? In such a hurry? And with him…”

He gave Harry a disdainful look.

“We’re going shopping in London,” Penny announced, her voice unusually cheerful. “We’ll use that… well, my private account that I’ve been saving up for so long.”

"Dada will definitely go too."

She paused, her gaze quickly sweeping over Harry's oversized, worn-out coat and trousers, before adding, "Harry, come too. Hurry up, don't dawdle."

A deathly silence enveloped the foyer.

Dudley's mouth dropped open, and he asked excitedly, "Can I have a remote-controlled airplane?"

Penny smiled and nodded.

Vernon's face turned completely purple. Petunia had actually used her own money to go shopping—something that had never happened before. He was utterly bewildered by his wife's unusual, almost unquestionable, action. Harry himself froze, wondering if he was under some kind of curse, or if he had fallen asleep on the sofa and was dreaming. Petunia had actually taken him shopping in London, and with her own money no less?!

Petunia went to the garage first, and Vernon glared at Harry, growling in a low voice, "Boy, did you do something to her?"

Harry had no doubt that if he agreed, Vernon could pack him in a sturdy wooden box and send him to India.

“I can buy things with my own allowance,” Harry said, then added, “the kind Mr. Smith gives me.”

Vernon thought about it and agreed, finally saying only, "You'd better not have done anything!"

With a tap of the accelerator, they arrived at a spacious, bright, and air-conditioned luxury shopping mall in central London.

Penny's behavior became even stranger. Not only did she buy Dudley a bunch of toys and snacks, but she also dragged Harry into a clothing store that he never thought he would step into, a store that looked expensive.

"Try these."

She pulled out a few well-tailored dark jeans and a high-quality navy blue polo shirt and handed them to Harry.

Harry was carrying a brand new pair of sneakers, the same brand as Charles's.

"Go to the fitting room and change quickly."

Penny's tone left no room for argument, and her eyes shone with an astonishing intensity.

Harry, still half-asleep, changed into his new clothes and looked in the mirror at the unfamiliar boy who had instantly shed his pitiful image, feeling a strong sense of unreality.

Finally, Petunia bought Harry eight sets of clothes for all four seasons.

Vernon was panting heavily, his face growing increasingly purple, but Penny completely ignored him and promptly paid the bill with a thick wad of cash.

As evening fell, the group returned home from the mall laden with purchases, and Penny announced that they would have dinner at a popular family restaurant nearby.

For the first time ever, she ordered the largest ice cream and chocolate lava cake for Dudley and Harry, which startled them.

Dali is still on a diet plan. He's only ever seen these two things in his dreams, and his eyes lit up.

Harry began to think that Vernon's concerns were not unfounded; could it be that Charles had cast the Imperius Curse on Petunia?

As Harry mechanically scooped his ice cream, trying to comprehend this bizarre day, a muffled conversation drifted over from the next booth, a few words floating clearly in:

“It’s definitely him, Severus Snape…yes, right here in Spider’s End…”

"I heard the whole house...it's terrifying, it was blown to bits..."

"The Aurors are still investigating, but no one saw who it was; all the clues have been blown up..."

"Because of this, orders for personal home security systems are pouring in today, and existing customers are even asking if we can upgrade..."

“Hmph! Lawlessness!” Vernon immediately frowned, muttering angrily, “Listen to this! Houses were blown up in broad daylight! What kind of world is this! The law is absolutely terrible! If you ask me, we should use severe punishment and send all the prisoners to India!!!”

He angrily forked a large piece of steak, as if the poor security had affected his appetite.

Harry's heart stopped for a moment, and he abruptly looked up at Petunia.

Her back was ramrod straight as she listened intently to the conversation beside her and Vernon's complaints, her face radiating an even more striking, strange light.

A cold, satisfied smile bloomed at the corners of her thin lips—an expression Harry had never seen on her face before.

She even ordered two more puddings, pushed them in front of Harry and Dudley, and said in a light, almost floating voice, “Eat up, kids, today is a good day, worth celebrating.”

In that instant, Harry pieced together the scattered fragments in his mind.

Yesterday, when Black was telling himself about Snape's leak of the prophecy, someone was eavesdropping. At that time, the only person coming to No. 3 Privet Drive through the main entrance was Penny, who was cleaning. It was obviously her.

An absurd, crazy, yet perfectly reasonable thought popped into Harry's mind—Penny bombed the Snape house!

On the way home, the car was silent. Dudley, holding his new remote-controlled airplane, dozed off contentedly. Vernon drove, occasionally glancing with a puzzled and worried look at his unusually quiet wife beside him, who was staring out the window.

Harry huddled in the back seat, his mind racing through Black's words and everything that had happened that day, and the guess was becoming clearer and clearer.

Everyone was a bit tired, so when they returned to No. 4, Privet Road, they all washed up and went to sleep.

Harry finished his shower and returned to his room. As he passed the master bedroom, he heard Vernon's faint voice, his tone uncertain and hesitant: "Honey, are you sure you're okay? You haven't been acting right all day... are you... are you feeling unwell?"

He was a little worried that Penny might be doing this because she had some bad news from her recent medical check-up.

Penny's voice came from the bedroom: "I'm fine, darling."

"Really. It's never been this good."

Soon, Vernon's voice rang out:

"I'm tired, I'm too busy, and I have to go to work tomorrow."

"It's still early, it's too hot. Dada, go on a diet tomorrow."

"The sound insulation is poor, the bed is too small, and it's not good to disturb the neighbors."

"No matter how far apart we are, our hearts are always connected. Can you let me rest for a while?"

Vernon remembered that Harry had a strange classmate who had seven brothers and sisters. It seemed that those strange people had some redeeming qualities. Why not ask Harry to ask him and find an opportunity for everyone to have a chat?

Harry had already gone to sleep across the street. When he passed Charles's room, he saw that the bed had been put down and there was nothing underneath.

He couldn't help but wonder if Charles would cry if he came back.
Meanwhile, Charles was squatting under a large tree drawing circles, as if he had suffered a severe blow.

(End of this chapter)