I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 178 Harry's Birthday Party

Harry would never call Louis in the middle of the night, after all, he knew Louis had a bad temper when he woke up, and if he disturbed the guy, he might get into trouble.

The next morning, Harry went downstairs for breakfast and found the Dursleys already sitting at the kitchen table, watching a brand new television set—a gift to welcome him and Dudley home for the summer holidays, or at least that's what his uncle told him.

Dudley kept complaining loudly that the refrigerator in the living room was too far from the television. During most of the summer, Dudley spent his time in the kitchen, his greedy little eyes fixed on the television screen, stuffing his mouth with food while his five-layered chin trembled incessantly.

Harry sat down between his Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley. Uncle Vernon seemed to have gained a little weight, making it quite difficult to sit between him and Cousin Dudley, thankfully he was rather thin.

There seemed to be something extra for breakfast today. When Harry looked closely, he saw a blueberry pie and some bacon, all of which were his favorite foods.

"Happy birthday, Harry." Uncle Vernon patted him on his thin shoulder with his big hand, almost knocking him and the chair apart.

Aunt Penny also came over with a plate of sausages and joined Dudley in wishing him a happy birthday.

This flattered Harry, as it was the first time in thirteen years that the family had wished him a happy birthday.

"Thank you, thank you." Harry's eyes welled up with tears; this had once been his greatest wish.

He picked up the plate of blueberry pie, saw Dudley's longing gaze, hesitated for a moment, and then gave him half a piece.

"Thank you, Harry." Dudley wasn't too surprised; he knew his little cousin was soft-hearted.

Harry took a bite of his blueberry pie and turned to look at the television. The news anchor was reporting on a fugitive, and was halfway through his report.

"The public must be aware that Blake is armed and extremely dangerous. We have set up a hotline, and anyone who knows Blake's whereabouts must report it immediately."

"Don't tell us he's up to no good," Uncle Vernon snorted, glaring at the prisoner over the newspaper he was reading. "Look at him, all dirty and with that expression, he's clearly not a good person."

Harry looked at Black on the screen, and it was true. His face was covered in grime, his beard was unkempt, and his hair looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time, as if it were matted together.

The news anchor reappeared on screen: "The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries will announce today—"

"Keep going!" Uncle Vernon roared, glaring furiously at the announcer. "You still haven't told us where this madman escaped from! What's the point? He might be coming down this street soon!"

Harry knew that his uncle was quite afraid of dying.

"Uh, Uncle Vernon..." Harry called out to his uncle, nervously watching him as he looked at him with a face full of anger.

After all, no one would be happy to have their anger interrupted.

But Harry's next words caused Uncle Vernon's expression and attitude to completely change.

"Can I use the phone for a moment?" Harry asked hesitantly. "You know, it's my birthday today, and my classmate Louis asked if I could come to my birthday party..."

"Your classmate, Louise?" Uncle Vernon's voice rose eight octaves, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Your Highness? What are you waiting for? My Harry, inviting classmates over for a birthday party is what we should do. You should call right now!"

"Ah... I suggest we wait a bit, Louis usually gets up quite late..." Harry cautiously reminded him.

"Oh, that was my oversight, Harry." Uncle Vernon's eyes nearly disappeared with laughter. He pinched Harry's cheek and said with a grin, "You were so thoughtful, Petunia. Dinner tonight must be sumptuous, very sumptuous..."

"Oh, right, Uncle Vernon." Harry finally revealed the dagger hidden in his map of Yan Kingdom, which was actually the Hogsmeade signature form, and handed it to his Uncle Vernon: "The school said that third-year students can go to Hogsmeade Village on weekends, but a guardian's signature is required..."

Without a word, Uncle Vernon turned around, took out a ballpoint pen from a corner, and signed his name on the application form in a flourish.

"Shouldn't we care about the growth of young people?" Uncle laughed until his eyes disappeared. Then he stood up and said, "I'd better leave now, Penny, Maggie's train arrives at ten o'clock."

Harry, still basking in the joy of receiving the signed document, was startled by the words and brought back to reality with a sour expression. "Aunt Maggie?" he blurted out. "She—uh, is she coming here?"

Maggie was Uncle Vernon's sister. Although she wasn't really related to Harry, according to kinship etiquette, Harry still had to call her Aunt. Aunt Maggie lived in the countryside, in a large garden around her house where she kept dogs. She didn't come often, but every time she did, it left Harry with terrible memories that lingered in his mind, casting a deep shadow over his young heart.

"Maggie will be staying here for a week." Uncle Vernon said nonchalantly, turning to Harry and reassuring him, "Don't worry, Maggie will only be staying here for a few days. She certainly won't make things too difficult for you."

Look at what he's saying! Harry would never believe that Aunt Maggie, who has always targeted and looked down on him, would let him off the hook.

After calling Louise, Harry sat there somewhat sullenly, feeling emo. He really didn't like Aunt Maggie.

But his emo period didn't last long. Soon after, Aunt Penny called him downstairs to greet the guests.

After standing there for two or three minutes, I heard the crunching sound of pebbles being crushed. This was Uncle Vernon's car driving back into the driveway. Then came the sound of the car door closing with a "thud," and footsteps on the garden path.

Aunt Penny opened the door, and Aunt Maggie stood on the threshold. She looked just like Uncle Vernon—sturdy, with a thick, purplish face and even a bit of stubble, though not as heavy as Uncle Vernon. She carried a huge suitcase in one hand and her grumpy old dog, Lippi, tucked under her other arm.

After a brief moment of intimacy with Dudley, she slipped him a crisp twenty-pound note. Harry took the heavy trunk and tried to drag it upstairs as long as possible. He was like an ostrich, hoping to spend as little time as possible chatting with her.

But happy times always pass too quickly, and he couldn't possibly move for a whole day. When he returned to the kitchen, Aunt Maggie was already eating fruitcake and drinking tea, while Lippi was licking his food in a corner. Harry saw a fleeting look of disgust in Aunt Petunia's eyes—his aunt was extremely disgusted with all kinds of animals, you could say she treated them all the same.

But judging from Aunt Petunia's expression, she seemed to be angry but dared not speak out. This older sister-in-law came from a wealthy family and had often bullied her. Since Harry came along, she hadn't targeted her when she came here. Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a tiny bit of remorse towards Harry.

Harry felt a little better after that; it turned out his aunt wasn't targeting Hedwig after all...

Just as he sat down, Lippi started barking wildly, and Aunt Maggie turned her attention to Harry for the first time.

"So you're saying you're still staying here, are you?!" Aunt Maggie demanded angrily.

"Yes," Harry replied listlessly, adopting Snape's tone in his reply.

Harry swears to God, he feels that Snape's attitude isn't always so bad, at least not at this moment, it's just too much to imitate him...

That's awesome, Professor Snape! I, Harry Potter, want to kiss you in person!

"Don't say 'yes' with that ungrateful tone!" Maggie roared. "Vernon and Penny took you in, they're really good enough. I wouldn't have done it. If someone had dumped you on my doorstep, you would have gone straight to the local orphanage."

Harry thought to himself, "It wouldn't be so bad if I went to an orphanage."

But despite his inner turmoil, he still had to put on a smile, and Professor Snape's signature smile reappeared on his face.

"Don't give me that fake smile!" Aunt Maggie snapped. "I can tell you haven't improved at all since I last saw you. I hope the school will force this inhuman little beast to learn some manners." She took a large gulp of tea, wiped her stubble, and continued, "Vernon, I've forgotten again. Where did you send him?"

"Royal Westminster College," Uncle Vernon said immediately.

"Oh, Royal Westminster School..." Aunt Maggie repeated softly, as if talking to herself, then her voice rose an octave: "What? You actually sent him to Royal Westminster School? Good heavens..."

I thought Harry would be lucky to get into even an ordinary public school, but who would have thought he'd get into such a good one? One of the top schools at that…

"Are you crazy, Vernon? Sending him to such a good school and letting my precious Dudley..." Aunt Maggie scolded Uncle Vernon, spitting as she spoke.

Uncle Vernon endured his sister's roar until she finally calmed down before continuing, "Actually, Harry's father has a very good relationship with a prince. Not only Harry, but our whole family has made a lot of money thanks to his father..."

Aunt Maggie opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.

I thought Harry was a nobody, an orphan who lost both his parents, but I never imagined he was a dragon king who had returned.

Even Lipis, who was gnawing on a meaty bone nearby, raised its front paws again and looked at the promising young man in front of it, whom it had once bitten.

Just as the atmosphere suddenly fell silent, the doorbell rang. Harry stood up as if granted a reprieve: "It looks like Louis is here. I'll go open the door."

"Go quickly, go quickly, don't keep His Highness waiting..." Uncle Vernon said hurriedly, urging everyone to get up quickly to greet the distinguished guest.

Maggie reluctantly stood up and quietly asked Vernon, "Vernon, who is this prince you're talking about...?"

"Good heavens, of course it's His Highness the Duke of Cambridge, His Majesty's nephew..." Aunt Penny said quickly, with a hint of pride in her voice—this is my nephew's friend.

Harry opened the door and was surprised to find not only Louise in front of him, but also his classmates from Hogwarts with whom he had a good relationship, including Catherine, Hermione, Neville, Hannah from Hufflepuff, Justin from Ravenclaw, and even his arch-nemesis Malfoy.

"Happy birthday, Harry," everyone said in unison.

Harry was stunned for a moment, his eyes reddened, and tears welled up and fell to the ground.

"Damn it, Poot, you're acting like a woman..." Draco said to Harry with disdain.

At this moment, even Draco seemed adorable to him. He quickly invited his classmates in, and now the once spacious room felt cramped because of their arrival.

"Your Highness." The family bowed to Louis and Diana. Aunt Maggie was initially reluctant, but upon seeing Diana, she couldn't help herself and hurriedly began to bow.

Looking at the lively living room, Aunt Maggie felt a strong sense of dissatisfaction. She nudged Vernon privately, intending to leave.

Seeing Harry doing so well is more painful than seeing her sleeping in a pigsty.

Vernon was naturally delighted. Since the family's financial situation had improved, he had become less fond of his older sister, who was usually arrogant and domineering because of her wealth.

If it weren't for the sake of family etiquette, who would be willing to put up with such a bad temper?

After Maggie left, Harry's face lit up with an even happier smile, and he became that carefree, silly boy he used to be at school again.

There's an old saying that goes, "Fools are often blessed."

The only slight disappointment was that the Weasley family was on vacation in Egypt and couldn't come to his birthday party. It would have been incredibly lively if the Weasley twins had been there.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw a large black dog clinging to the window, staring intently at him. Yes, Harry felt that the dog was staring straight at him.

That's strange...

Before he could even take a second look, Aunt Penny shooed the big dog away through the window.

He turned his head and saw Uncle Vernon chatting enthusiastically with Louise. It was fortunate that Louise was so talkative that they could keep talking. Looking to the side, he saw Dudley staring at Hermione with a dreamy look—which startled him. But upon closer inspection, he realized that Dudley wasn't looking at Hermione, but at the cauldron cake and the licorice wand in Hermione's hand.

It turned out that when Louis and his friends came, they brought a lot of snacks from the wizarding world. Harry saw the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans placed to the side, so he went over, opened the beans, took out a handful, and handed them to Dudley.

"Cousin, would you like to try this delicious bean candy?"

Harry's smile instantly transformed from that of a silly boy to that of a cunning fox. If Petunia had seen this, she might have been reminded of the mischievous James.

(End of this chapter)