Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 267: The Dursleys

No. 4, Ligustrum Road, in a small villa.

"Honey! They're almost here!"

Penny said she was already wearing a light orange cocktail dress.

Vernon and Dudley, dressed in formal attire and bow ties, hurried into the living room and saw a long limousine and several smaller cars parked at the door.

"It's said that dear Mr. Porter is very interested in something called 'Geoball,' so I'm going to tell you a joke about a Japanese golfer..."

Vernon nervously muttered to himself.

Several people got out of the car. They looked very young, but no one would underestimate them because they were protected by seven or eight bodyguards in suits.

"One last time, after welcoming them, what should we do?"

Vernon said.

“I opened the door for them immediately and then said,”

Dali's chubby face crinkled with laughter.
"May I carry your clothes for you, Mr. Green, Mr. Finley, and Mr. Potter?"

"Then I will lead them to the living room, introduce them to you—Penny, and pour them drinks. 2:15—"

"I declare dinner open."

Penny said.

"Dudley, what are you going to say—"

"Shall I take you to the restaurant, gentlemen?"

As Dudley spoke, he stretched out his fat arm to point the way to the unseen gentlemen.

"Such a model gentleman!"

Aunt Penny said, sniffling.

“Absolutely right! Afterwards, we should say something complimentary at the dinner table. Penny, what do you want to say?”

“Mr. Potter, Vernon told me you’re fantastic at ball sports… Mr. Green, could you tell me where you bought your clothes…”

"Very good... Dudley?"

“How about this: ‘Mr. Potter, the teacher asked us to write about the person we admire most, so I wrote about you.’”

Everyone was very satisfied.

Only Sheen, standing behind the door, had a strange expression, while Justin was trying his best to suppress his laughter.

Harry covered his mouth, trying to hide his laughter.

Then, the doorbell rang quickly.

With a friendly and obsequious smile, Vernon opened the door as if Dudley had practiced it countless times.

"welcome!"

Penny said.

Then a boy with an extraordinary bearing and fair skin walked in.

"Oh! You must be Mr. Green!"

Sheen nodded expressionlessly.

Penny was overjoyed. What a handsome and wealthy young man... He was said to own the largest manufacturing workshop in all of England.
"Mr. Finley, this way please—"

Vernon was both warm-hearted and cautious, and his reputation speaks for itself. His family history dates back to the 17th-century Civil War. His ancestor, Sir Thomas Finley, was the Commander-in-Chief of the Parliamentarian army and a key ally of Oliver Cromwell.

Although the family lost power after the Restoration, they were granted the title of Earl of Finleyry by Queen Anne in the early 18th century through shrewd marriage alliances and a shift towards royalism, in recognition of their financial support during the War of the Succession.

Upon spotting the last person's shadow, Vernon quickly gave a wink, and Dudley, understanding perfectly, went to meet him. Then, as planned, he said:
"May I carry your clothes for you, Mr. Green, Mr. Finley, and Mr. Po, Mr. Po, Mr. Po—"

Dali stood there dumbfounded, his lips opening and closing, then opening again, and finally trembling.

"I'm sorry, sir, Dudley must be sick."

Penny didn't know what was going on, but she quickly pulled Dudley behind her and put on a smile as she went to greet him.

“Potter!” she screamed.

"Ah! Ah! I'm so sorry—"

Vernon pulled Penny behind him again.

Then he shouted:

"Harry Potter?!"

Harry remembered Justin's instructions in the car and said nothing.

“Surprised? Mr. Potter was a good friend of my father, but unfortunately he had no children. We finally found his distant relative, Harry Potter.”

Justin explained, seemingly casually.

Vernon and Penny were speechless, and Dudley shrank back behind Penny.

The meal that followed was spent in an eerie atmosphere.

Looking at their smiles, which were more like cries, and listening to their stammering praise of Sheehan and Justin,

Harry knew that his life with the Dursleys had been completely changed. Although his Uncle Vernon, who now needed his help, was still speechless, the days of living in the stairwell were certainly gone forever.

During the meal, Justin pretended to look curiously at the stairwell and said:
"It seems like your nannies aren't treated very well, but seeing this reminds me of what my housekeeper said about a family here who always abuses children."

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is already searching and should be here soon…

These words turned the Dursleys' faces pale.

This was, of course, a plan discussed by Justin and Sheehan, but the final decision still rested with Harry.

He can send this family to jail, or he can make them pay a huge fine.

Harry's expression remained grim. After the initial elation of triumph, he began asking himself a series of pointed questions.

He couldn't answer; he just wanted to escape as quickly as possible.

Sheehan watched Vernon eat like a zombie, Petunia's spoon trembled, and Harry wore a conflicted and pained expression...

His gaze became even more profound.

Everyone in this family is so engrossed in their own world that no one truly enters the other's heart.

They are lonely individuals; they appear to be intertwined, but in reality, they are several incredibly lonely individuals.

“If escaping for now makes you feel better, Harry, we can leave here.”

After the meal, Brooch said.

Harry looked up in a daze and still saw Sheen's slightly gentle face.

……

In the end, Harry did not decide to tell the truth to the arriving Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children staff, and from that moment on, the Dursleys seemed to tremble with disbelief.

They returned to Diagon Alley.

Hermione, Ron, and Neville watched the whole farce through Justin's open window from inside the car.

They were having a heated discussion, and Hermione and Ron both agreed that Harry's decision to let them go was unwise.

Harry remained silent.

At Florin's Ice Cream Shop, no one bothered Harry; they chose to let him have some peace and quiet by himself.

Harry saw a blurry gray sky in the distance, and an owl flapping its wings, but it seemed weak and listless.

Occasionally, the black shop rooftops would obscure the view of eagles flying overhead against the fiery red sunset, and before I knew it, the melted ice cream in my cup had spilled down.

There was another person across the table:

“You chose to forgive, but that doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten… Harry, you’re true to yourself, and that’s a remarkable thing.”

Sheen's green eyes were tinged with the fiery red of the sunset, and Harry noticed his nose was starting to sting.

(End of this chapter)