Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 112 111. Potter Memorial and Dumbledore's Call
In the center of the square stands a war memorial. Before Uncle Vernon got close to it, he had already recognized it from a distance as a war memorial commemorating the Second World War, an abstract sculpture with an exaggerated shape.

But when several people walked up to it, Uncle Vernon was shocked to find that the abstract sculpture had changed. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a sculpture of three people: a man with disheveled hair and wearing a pair of glasses; a woman with long hair and a beautiful face; and a baby boy sitting in his mother's arms.

Uncle Vernon became very nervous. He looked quickly at Harry and then at the other people in the square. He thought that he had done something so strange and obvious no matter how he thought about it, and that he might have been seen by people on the street or other people in the square.

His whole body was tense, and Uncle Vernon's expression and movements were somewhat funny. Coupled with the exaggerated expression on his face as if he was afraid of being discovered, it somewhat diluted Harry's complicated feelings at the moment, and he became at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"It's okay, uncle," Harry comforted, "It will only change when a wizard comes in front of the statue. People who are not involved cannot see it."

"That's great." Uncle Fenon was obviously relieved, and he finally had the mind to take a closer look at the statue.

They looked very familiar. One was his wife's sister, the other was his brother-in-law, and the baby had grown up and was standing next to him. Even last year, the couple commemorated by the statue had appeared before him and gave him a great fright.

However, the two people last year were not real bodies in memory, but a translucent soul state.

Soul, listen, what a wonderful word. To be honest, before last year, Vernon had never thought that he would be associated with this word.

To be honest, there have been so many wonderful things happening in the past one or two years, so many that Uncle Vernon himself could hardly believe it, and many things have obviously become different...even he himself realized this.

There is also a text engraved on the base of the monument: The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Obviously, even Vernon could understand that this statue actually commemorated not only the Potter family, but also all those who were killed by that mysterious dark wizard.

"Well..." Uncle Vernon muttered. He looked at the face of the statue of James Potter with a complicated expression.

The face of James in the statue is full of determination and fearlessness, and his movements are full of a heroic sense of being about to die - to be honest, James's righteous face does not correspond at all to the face in Vernon's memory.

Whether it's facial expression or demeanor, or anything else...

"...So at least you are not such a complete nuisance, huh?" Fenon's voice was not loud, and perhaps only he could hear it at this moment.

He reached out and patted his wife's shoulder. Since a while ago, Penny has been standing there blankly, staring at the monument intently - so many years have passed, and this is the first time that Penny has come into such close contact with the traces left by her sister before her death.

So mixed with emotions.

"Let's go, Petunia," Uncle Vernon said. His voice was not hurried, and it could even be described as gentle compared to his usual tone. "We can go to the house and take a look... there should be a lot more..."

Uncle Vernon turned his gaze towards Harry, only to find that his nephew, who for some reason had suddenly become smart and mature since last year, was also staring at the statue - at first glance, the statue no longer gave him the same feeling as usual.

"... Let's go, uncle." When Uncle Vernon was hesitating whether to call his nephew, Harry turned around and said calmly: "According to the information I asked, the house should be on the other side of the church - we can go to the church first, my parents' graves are in the cemetery behind the church."

Dudley seemed to want to comfort Harry, but at this moment he didn't know what to say.

No one would raise a different opinion at this time, so a few people walked through the village church and came to the cemetery at the back - there were many tombstones here, a lot of them, because the Muggles living here would also bury the remains of their relatives in the cemetery.

However, it was not difficult for Harry to find the tombstone belonging to his parents, because the cemeteries of the wizards living in Godric's Hollow were separated. He only had to pass through a narrow door on the side, and there were rows of tombstones standing on the light blue silver carpet, engraved with the surnames of ancient wizard families. This was precisely the fundamental reason why this church was rumored to be haunted.

James Potter

【Lily Potter】

Harry and the other three stood in front of the two tombstones. The air became solemn. Harry stared at the tombstones of his parents. There was a pattern of a flying broom carved on James' tombstone, while there was a lily on Lily's tombstone. The carving was very delicate and beautiful.

"Are you okay, kid?" Uncle Vernon pressed Harry's shoulder with a little force.

"It's okay." Harry's voice was still calm, as if he was awakened from deep thought.

Sad? Angry? Hateful? Regretful? Harry didn't know what he looked like in the eyes of others, but he knew it himself - just last year, in the magic mirror that could reflect the things people desired most, he did not see Lily and James.

Even Harry already knew the answer in his heart, that is, if what faced him at this moment was the death of the Kanes, he would definitely not be as calm as he is now.

As for this moment, perhaps it is just more of a feeling.

"I'm fine," Harry repeated again, "Don't forget that it won't be difficult for me to see them again."

Harry's words instantly diluted the solemn atmosphere, and even Aunt Petunia, who had been crying and wiping tears from the beginning, burst into laughter - she still could not forget the shock she felt when she opened the door that afternoon last year and saw the translucent body of her sister who had passed away many years ago floating in front of her.

After the memorial service, Harry and the other three walked out of the church. Harry's eyes kept moving across the tombstones of all sizes. Some of the tombstones had obviously been there for too long, and even the words engraved on them had become blurred due to the erosion of time.

Harry even saw many familiar surnames, such as Dumbledore.

Suddenly stopping, Harry looked at the tombstone in front of him. He saw quite familiar handwriting on the surface of the tombstone - the handwriting of Dumbledore, the one who was currently the headmaster of Hogwarts.

Harry had seen this elegant handwriting with circles within circles several times on the small notes sent by Dumbledore. It could be said that it was very personal.

In other words, were the two tombstones in front of us erected by Headmaster Dumbledore himself?
[Kendra Dumbledore] - Judging from the words on the tombstone, this is the tombstone of Dumbledore's mother.

[Ariana Dumbledore]-This tombstone is the tombstone of Dumbledore's sister.

In addition, Harry also saw a special inscription on Ariana Dumbledore's tombstone - [Where the treasure is, there the heart is also].

Suddenly, Harry's heart moved slightly, and he felt that he might have inadvertently discovered the secret hidden by Dumbledore.

Why was he so excited when he found out that Harry could bring back the souls of his loved ones, but why didn't he do anything substantial?

Why did Dumbledore ultimately refuse Harry's help despite having made his desire so clear so many times?
Is it because there is still a hurdle in his heart that he cannot cross? A secret that he cannot express?

Ariana Dumbledore... Harry muttered to himself and memorized the name. After leaving the small church in the village, they turned into a narrow path. Although it was their first time in Godric's Hollow, Harry felt as familiar with it as if he was back home, and walked through various paths.

Harry had used the Vision Technique to overlook the entire Godric's Hollow. Among a whole series of intact and exquisitely decorated houses, a piece of dilapidated house ruins that was deliberately isolated was so obvious.

After passing through rows of houses and turning around a narrow path, the group was a little closer to their destination... Finally, they reached the end of the path, and in front of them was a low stone wall. Behind the wall was a deserted garden full of weeds and nettles.

At the end of the garden stood a dilapidated house with a collapsed roof, broken windows, and ivy covering the walls.

At the front of the house stood an old man with white hair and beard. He was wearing a light blue robe covered with golden symbols of unknown meaning such as triangles and circles. He had a pair of glasses on his nose and seemed to be gazing at the house in front of him in deep thought.

"Dumbledore?!" Even before Harry could shout out the name, Petunia yelled in astonishment, "Why are you here?!"

"...Oh, Miss Petunia, and Mr. Dursley... and little Mr. Dursley, good morning." Dumbledore was awakened from his thoughts by Petunia's words. He turned around and greeted them in a rather light tone, "I have to say you are a little late, Harry."

"Sorry, I was delayed a little at the church." Harry nodded and said, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"Wait, so it was you who actually called him here?" Aunt Petunia turned to Harry in surprise and asked, "Why?"

"Because what we are going to explore is actually an old mansion of a wizard family. Such houses usually have many defensive measures," Harry explained patiently. "Since my knowledge of magic is still very shallow, I specially invited Headmaster Dumbledore to help us in case of any accidents."

"Like I said before, you have a very good vigilance, Harry," Dumbledore said cheerfully, "Don't worry, I didn't wait here too long, it's just that Fawkes was too fast."

Before going out in the morning, Harry asked Fawkes to deliver the departure signal to Dumbledore, who had made an appointment in advance.

"That would be great," Harry joked, "Please take care of today's work. I will give you some delicious snacks as a reward afterwards."

"Honestly, Harry, I'm even a little touched, you know?" Dumbledore deliberately wiped his eyes and said, "If I think about it carefully, this seems to be the first time you've asked me for something related to magic - at least you're not ordering me to dig some soil here or move some trees there."

"Actually, whether it's digging or moving trees, they're both magic-related things," Harry said, pretending not to understand, "It's the same thing."

"No, no, no, that's not the case," Dumbledore said in a fake serious tone, "I'm glad you discovered my true use, Harry. If you had done that earlier, you probably wouldn't have to wait at the door of the headmaster's office late at night for me to show up."

"Really?" Harry couldn't help but complain, "I think you'll find a way to avoid me no matter what I do."

"I'm sorry - you guessed it right."

As soon as the words fell, Harry and Dumbledore burst into laughter in unison, causing the other three to look at each other in surprise.

Especially Uncle Vernon, he never thought that his nephew would have such a good relationship with the headmaster of the magic school - it was as if there was no age difference between them and they were a pair of good friends.

This kind of laughter somewhat eased Uncle Vernon's nervousness. Ever since Dumbledore appeared, he had been on high alert, protecting Dudley on the other side of his body and keeping Dumbledore away from him.

Dumbledore didn't care about Uncle Vernon's actions, and after chatting casually with Harry, the few of them walked around in the dilapidated garden and walked towards the interior of the house which was already in ruins.

"Come to think of it, I haven't wished you a happy birthday yet, Harry." Suddenly remembering something, Dumbledore took something out of his pocket and handed it to Harry. "Fortunately, it's not too late to make up for it now - Happy Birthday."

A piece of cake, judging by the color, it probably tastes like lemon, a very healthy and refreshing green.

"It doesn't have any special meaning, it's just an ordinary gift." Dumbledore winked playfully, "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not." Harry took the cake, broke off a piece for himself, and handed the rest to Dudley who was waiting anxiously. "Not everything has to have a meaning. Thank you for your gift."

"Ah, another statement that I couldn't agree more with," Dumbledore sighed, "I am beginning to become more and more curious about your unknown experience, Harry... Perhaps the two of us will get along very well in many things."

"Maybe," Harry shrugged.

In fact, he did not think that he and Dumbledore were the same kind of people. There were huge differences in their thoughts and personalities, and the two had great differences in their views on many issues.

But there is no need to say these things now.

To Harry's surprise, many things in Potter's old house were still there - what he meant was that they had not been stolen by the thieves. After all, the owner had not returned for twelve years, and there was not even anyone to look after it.

The mirror inlaid with real gold is still hanging on the wall, even though it is covered with tattered spider webs. There are also the silver candlesticks and the statues inlaid with jewels... Even though everything is covered with traces of time and hair and even feces left by animals of all sizes, they still stay intact in this house.

"Ah, you have to know, Harry," Dumbledore said with emotion after hearing Harry's question, "Voldemort disappeared without a trace the night he killed the Potters, leaving only a baby boy with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. This news is like a ray of light, illuminating those who are struggling to survive under Voldemort's reign of terror."

"That night, countless families and countless wizards toasted to Lily and James' feat, and to you, until dawn."

Dumbledore's meaning was clear.

"That is to say, even the most despicable thief would not take the money in this house because he admires my parents' righteous deeds?" Harry said with a complicated expression: "This is really... the wizarding world is really simple."

Perhaps it was because the power of magic and potions allowed wizards to easily satisfy their own food and clothing without having to worry about survival. At least in Harry's memory, when a person was trapped between the pressure of survival and the desire to live, some people could indeed stick to their bottom line, but more people would only take risks.

Not to mention the world of Azeroth, this is also true of the Muggle society in this world itself.

"Not to that extent." Dumbledore obviously heard what Harry was saying, and added: "The Ministry of Magic still provides some protection here as a commemoration of the Potters' contribution."

Not only the monument in the square remains as a memorial, but also the house where the Potters once lived.

On the murderous night twelve years ago, the power of the curse almost destroyed the house into a dilapidated ruin, with the roof collapsed and the windows broken. When Harry and his companions pushed open the door and walked in, they saw that most of the decorative stained glass in the hallway was shattered.

When the sunlight shone on the remaining fragments of glass, one could not even see any transparent reflected light, but instead a patch of shiny dust... and large patches of spider webs.

(End of this chapter)