The days at Hogwarts

The resentment was so strong that it seemed to turn into substance and spread along the telephone line.

After a moment of silence, Loren coughed twice and changed the subject: "How are you getting along with your aunt's family? Is it still a headache?"

"It's the same as before." Harry sighed deeply. "I can't accept their love calmly, nor can I get angry at them calmly. You know, Aunt Petunia still let me move to the upstairs bedroom, and Uncle Vernon actually prepared a birthday present and cake for me. Uh, although most of the cake was eaten by Dudley...

Aunt Petunia even said she wanted to take me to the zoo, but I didn't agree. If I had dreamed about this two years ago, I would have immediately realized that I was dreaming."

"You wrote to me last time and told me to treat them like strangers. I tried, but I couldn't do it... To be honest, I would rather they treated me like they did two years ago. That way I would feel better."

Harry's tone was complicated, with hatred, disgust, and discomfort with this kind of care. He had always longed for family affection, but had never experienced real family affection. When family affection came in this way, Harry couldn't let go of the past and was full of entanglements.

Loren didn't have any good suggestions: "If you're not comfortable with each other, spend less time together."

"That's what I do now. I stay in my room alone when I have free time." Harry sighed regretfully. "It's hard for me to believe it myself. There's still a month left before school starts, and I've already finished my homework."

"Hermione must be envious of you. She is having a headache over her History of Magic thesis." Loren said with a smile.

"You have to be kidding. Hermione is having a headache over her History of Magic essay? Worried that her ideas won't fit on the parchment?"

"About the same. She plans to condense the history of ancient Egyptian magic into her thesis, which is expected to take several scrolls of parchment."

"Hahaha, that's exactly what Hermione would do." Harry said, "Is she here? I want to say a few words to her."

"In fact, this is the Granger family's phone number. Wait a minute." Lauren shouted towards the study, "Hermione, Hermione! Harry wants to talk to you."

Hermione heard the voice and ran out of the study with a quill in her hand. She took the phone from Loren and said, "Happy birthday, Harry!"

"Thank you, Hermione!" Harry became more talkative after changing to another person. He threw the question that Loren hadn't answered to Hermione again, "How was your trip to Egypt? Did you meet Ron and the others?"

"Oh, actually it's very complicated. We didn't meet Ron, but we met his eldest brother, Bill Weasley. We also met Professor Barbour of the Ancient Runes and participated in the development of a pyramid ruins. I can't tell you the details because Professor Barbour asked us to keep it secret."

Hermione said, glaring at Loren, who took out a quill and drew a little turtle on her hand while she was talking on the phone.

"It's going to be an exciting adventure!" Harry's eyes turned green with jealousy.

"How was your birthday?" Hermione asked.

"Very good! I like all your gifts. Ron gave me a looking glass, Sirius gave me a Firebolt, and I just happened to try out your broom care kit."

Thinking back to the three-digit price tag I saw at the Quidditch supply store that day, it was an old-fashioned flying broom, and the price of the Firebolt was negotiable...

Hermione fell silent for a while. Pure-blood families are really rich.

Look at Loren who painted little turtles on his nails. Well, this guy is rich too.

"By the way, have you received the list of books for next semester from school? The textbook for Care of Magical Creatures is very interesting. Hagrid has already sent it to me."

"Really? I can't wait to preview what's in store for next semester. But we haven't received it yet, so I guess the owl is still on the way."

……

"Speaking of birthdays, I remember that Loren's birthday is August 6th, which is coming soon. I'm wondering what birthday present to give Loren. He doesn't seem to like Quidditch very much. You know him better, do you have any suggestions?"

Listening to Harry's voice, Hermione glanced at Loren calmly. The fool was still painting the turtle's shell black. "Birthday presents are good if they come from friends."

"That makes sense. Let me think about it."

"Ah."

Suddenly, a vague voice came from the other side, and Harry's voice became a little flustered: "Okay, let's stop here for today. I have to discuss the reception of Aunt Marge with my uncle and aunt. Goodbye Hermione."

"After that--" Before Hermione could finish her farewell, the other end of the phone had hung up.

Loren watched as Hermione put down the receiver, pulled her other hand out of his, used a cleaning spell to wash off the turtles drawn on it, and made it white and tender again, and then pressed that white and soft hand on his face...

4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

"Aunt Marge?" blurted out Harry, standing at the edge of the table, as if struck by a blow. "She—she's coming here tomorrow?"

Aunt Marge was Uncle Vernon's sister. She lived in a house with a large garden in the countryside and kept many bulldogs. She did not often come to Privet Drive, but every visit left a horrible impression on Harry, which was still fresh in his memory.

At Dudley's fifth birthday party, Aunt Marge hit Harry's calf with her cane to prevent him from winning over Dudley in the game... There were many such incidents. The last one was the year before Harry went to Hogwarts. Harry accidentally stepped on the paw of her beloved dog, and the dog chased him into the garden outside and climbed up a tree. Aunt Marge called the dog back after midnight. To this day, Dudley still laughs until tears come out when he thinks of this incident.

Aunt Peggy looked at him with a very strange expression. Harry was a little dazed. He couldn't remember what he had said to Uncle Vernon. In short, he had to behave like an ordinary middle school student during the week when Aunt Marge came to live with him.

Harry went upstairs to his bedroom in a depressed mood. He slowly put away all the gifts and birthday cards, as well as the homework and magic books... Thanks to Loren, at least the storage scales saved him from having to dig a hole in the ground to hide these things.

After packing up, Harry walked over to Hedwig's cage. Next to him was Ron's Errol, an old owl who had been exhausted from delivering his birthday present to him. Hedwig was sleeping soundly with his head buried in his wings.

"Hedwig, Hedwig!" Harry woke up the Snowy Owl with a sad face. "I'm afraid you'll have to go out for a week. You can take Errol back with you. I'm afraid he'll have an accident on the way. Ron will take care of you. I'll write Ron a letter and explain everything to him."

Snowy Owl Hedwig's big amber eyes were full of reproach.

Harry apologized: "I'm sorry, but we can't let Aunt Marge find you..."

Ten minutes later, Errol and Hedwig flew out the window together with a text message for Ron.

The next day, nine o'clock in the morning.

"Okay, Petunia, I'm going to pick up Maggie at the station," said Uncle Vernon, standing up clumsily. "Dad, do you want to go for a ride with me?"

"No." Dudley spoke to his father rudely.

"Dad is dressed up beautifully today. Go to the station to meet your aunt. She will be very happy. There is also a beautiful bow tie that your mother bought for you." Aunt Petunia combed Dudley's thick golden hair with her hands and whispered in his ear, "Maybe Aunt Marge will be happy to give you a lot of pocket money."

Dudley stood up suddenly, and with his trembling chubby body he followed Vernon, and they went to the station to pick someone up.

Harry sat on the sofa in a daze, with the ending animation of Dudley's failed game in front of him. He didn't actually care what was in front of him or what was happening around him. He planned to cope with the whole week in this state.

Aunt Petunia walked over to the TV to put away Dudley's game console. Her skinny figure swayed in front of Harry and she said lightly, "I don't really like Maggie."

"Huh?" Harry came back to his senses slowly.

"Her dog always chewed up the carpet, sofa, curtains and tablecloths. She always gave the dog human tableware, some of which were very expensive... The dog's saliva and urine spilled on the floor, and it took me a long time to clean it up."

"But why..."

"Because she's Vernon's sister." Aunt Petunia said, put the game controller back in the cabinet, turned and walked back to the kitchen. She was going to start preparing today's lunch.

Harry stood there in a daze.

The TV disconnected from the game console, and the broadcast signal took over the TV screen again. The news anchor was interrupting with a piece of news:

"…The public is reminded that Lestrange and Peter are armed and extremely dangerous. A dedicated hotline has been set up and anyone who sees them should report it immediately."

In the blink of an eye, there was a crunch of gravel outside, Uncle Vernon's car slowly turned into the drive, and several people got out and walked along the garden path.

"Get to the door!" Aunt Petunia whispered to Harry.

Harry walked over dejectedly and opened the door. There stood Aunt Marge.

She looked a lot like Uncle Vernon, tall and stocky, with a purple face, and even a moustache, but not as thick as Uncle Vernon's.

She had a suitcase in one hand and a grumpy old bulldog in her arms with the other.

"Petunia!" Aunt Marge strode past Harry as if she didn't see him.

Aunt Marge and Aunt Petunia were kissing each other, but it was actually Aunt Marge hitting Aunt Petunia's dry, thin cheekbones hard with her big chin.

Harry saw Aunt Petunia in pain, tears welled up in her eyes. Maggie and Vernon probably thought those were tears of reunion after a long separation, and they both laughed happily.

By the time Harry came down from carrying Maggie's trunk upstairs, they were already sitting together enjoying tea and cakes, and the old bulldog, Lippy, was slurping his tea in the corner.

Harry saw Aunt Petunia frown slightly as the dog splashed tea and saliva onto the clean floor.

The people at the table were exchanging pleasantries, but as soon as Harry sat down, Lippy started yelling at him like he was a stranger in the house.

This drew Aunt Marge's attention to Harry for the first time, and she shouted, "Why are you still here!"

"Yeah." Thinking of Aunt Peggy's words, Harry forced a bitter smile at her.

"Don't grin at me!" cried Aunt Marge. "I see you haven't made any progress since I last saw you, and I was hoping school would teach you some manners."

She took a sip of her tea and wiped her moustache. "Vernon, tell me again, where did you send him to school?"

"Hogwarts, a first-rate school for delinquent children," said Uncle Vernon promptly.

"Got it," Aunt Marge shouted across the table, "Do they use whips at Hogwarts, boy?"

"Yes." Harry thought of the threats Filch had made to them, and added, trying not to laugh, "The administrator would hang the students by their thumbs from the ceiling and whip them."

Aunt Petunia's eyes widened immediately. This was different from what Lily said. Hogwarts was restructured?

"That's great," said Aunt Marge. "I don't want to listen to that boring sermon about not using corporal punishment. Some people deserve to be spanked, and in 99% of cases, a spanking will solve the problem..."

Aunt Maggie was still chattering away, saying she would write to the school and increase the severity of his caning.

Harry thought that this man would get along well with Filch, and Filch thought so too, but letters written by parents to the school were usually read by Professor McGonagall or Headmaster Dumbledore, who would most likely throw the letter into the fireplace.

In this way, Aunt Marge lived at 4 Privet Drive. She always found opportunities to pick on Harry and scold him loudly. Sometimes Harry even missed the previous days, at least without Marge.

Maggie often hinted at why Harry had become such a loser.

"Vernon, don't blame yourself for the way this kid turned out. If something is broken in his bones, no one can do anything about it."

……

"This is a basic law of heredity, and it is often seen in dogs. If the bitch is ill, the puppies will certainly not be much better."

……

Harry suppressed his anger and endured until the last day.

The dinner was very sumptuous. While Aunt Petunia was enjoying her after-dinner coffee with her fingers curled up, Dudley was eating his fourth cookie.

Aunt Maggie smacked her lips, burped loudly, and patted her belly. "Excuse me, but I'm really glad to see a healthy boy, Dada. You'll be a strong man, just like your father."

"And look at this one," she said, tilting her head toward Harry, "this one is just a rat-like, wimpy-looking fellow. Some dogs are like that. I drowned one last year. He was just like a little mouse, all sick and stunted.

Like I said, it’s all genetics. Bad genetics are bound to come out sooner or later.”

Aunt Petunia's smile became forced and ugly. She finally put down the coffee in her hand and looked at Maggie with a cold expression.

"Oh, Petunia, I'm not saying anything bad about your family." Maggie patted Petunia's bony hand with her shovel-like hand, "but your sister is such a scum. Sometimes people like this appear in good families, and then she eloped with a scoundrel, and now she's sitting in front of us.

That fellow named Potter, a loser, a lazy fellow, a liar, a good-for-nothing, who gave birth to this lying villain to be a burden to these respectable, hard-working relatives!"

Aunt Marge was getting angrier and angrier. She looked at Harry's angry eyes and screamed, "You rude, ungrateful little -"

When hearing these words, Harry felt a strong impulse in his heart. He couldn't help but tremble in his hands. Anger surged up through his blood, making him feel a little headache.

The world fell silent, everything slowed down, and Harry could see the wine dripping down the tablecloth onto the floor, splashing in asymmetrical patterns.

He saw Aunt Petunia's mouth opening and closing, her skinny pony face swollen red, arguing loudly with Marge.

Some powerful energy cheered around him, flowing rapidly, filling the small house, responding to Harry's will, as if he were using his own arm...

Chapter 274 Another Year in Diagon Alley

August 8th, early in the morning, Hampstead Gardens on the outskirts of the city.

The light outside the window is very strong and penetrates the curtains. Although the temperature today is a bit hot and humid, it is another good summer day for people who don't need to go out.

"boom!"

With a slight explosion, Hermione appeared in Loren's bedroom, with a cunning light flashing in her eyes, like a little squirrel stealing bread.

After standing still, I immediately looked at the bed, but there was nothing.

Hermione couldn't help but show a puzzled expression when she saw this: "You got up so early? That's impossible."

At the window, Loren turned around and blinked.

Hanhan, who was standing on the table, also looked up at her.

There was also a pretty yellow owl next to her that she had never seen before. It also looked up at her and tilted its little head.

Hermione met the gazes of the two owls and felt that they were laughing at her. She couldn't help but blush a little: "I'm here to wake you up!"

Hermione became more confident as she spoke, as if her words were convincing herself: "By the way, I came to ask if you have any plans for your birthday. Yes, that's it."

Loren looked at the girl, who was at the age of youth and looked beautiful even with simple clothes. She was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt with a simple Dalmatian pattern on a white background, and a pair of light and loose brown shorts. The white socks and dog cartoon slippers made the exposed calves straight and white, like peeled lotus roots.

"Yes, I believe it. I will ask Headmaster Dumbledore next semester to learn how to set up an anti-Apparition magic circle in the bedroom."

Hermione didn't care. Next semester was next semester's matter. If this bedroom was really anti-Apparition, she still had the Unlocking Charm and could still enter the bedroom.

Without dwelling on this topic for long, Hermione noticed the strange owl on the windowsill and asked in confusion, "Did anyone send a letter?"

Loren raised the letter in his hand: "It's a notice from the school--"

"Well, why haven't I received the book list that Harry mentioned a few days ago?" Before he could finish, Hermione couldn't wait any longer. She walked over in slippers, snatched the parchment from his hand and quickly glanced through it.

"No special news, just that third years can visit Hogsmeade openly. They need to have their guardians sign the permission form enclosed."

Loren grabbed some dried meat and fed it to the two owls, poking the base of their wings with his fingers from time to time. The two furry birds were not annoyed, but focused on the food and let him tease them.