Aunt Marge had always hated Harry, and now that she saw him speaking so casually to her brother, she became even more displeased.
She stopped stroking her dog and pointed accusingly at Harry.
"Oh, so you're still living here?"
Harry ignored her and did not answer.
That only made Aunt Marge angrier.
"I'm talking to you, you ungrateful little brat! My brother was kind enough to take you in, and this is how rude you are?
"If it were up to me, I'd have packed you off to an orphanage long ago! Vernon, don't you agree?"
Marge waited for her brother to back her up so they could sneer at the little nuisance together.
But after waiting a while, she got no help at all from her dear brother. Confused, she turned to Vernon and asked, "Vernon, what's wrong with you? Say something. Don't you think I'm right?"
Even more unexpectedly, that little brat she hated so much copied her tone exactly and said, "Uncle Vernon, what's wrong with you? Say something. Do you think Aunt Marge is right?"
The moment Harry finished speaking, Vernon finally snapped out of it and said miserably, "Of course she's wrong!"
That answer stunned Marge. She reached over and touched her brother's forehead in confusion.
"You don't have a fever. Vernon, what's the matter with you? Why have you suddenly..."
Before she could finish, Vernon cut her off.
"Marge, stop right there. Harry is a good boy, and having him as part of this family is an honor!"
To be fair, Vernon was terrified.
His idiotic sister, how could she say something so clueless?
At this point, it was not Harry depending on the Dursleys, it was the Dursleys depending on Harry.
Ever since they had been able to use magic, the Dursleys' quality of life had improved dramatically. After getting a taste of what magic could do for them, none of them wanted to go back to their old lives as Muggles.
Now the Dursleys could not possibly throw Harry out. They were still too busy trying to stay on his good side.
Vernon carefully turned his head and studied Harry's expression. Seeing that Harry still wore a teasing smile, Vernon's heart jolted, and he immediately barked in a stern tone, "Marge, never say anything that hurts family unity in my house again. Harry is an indispensable part of the Dursley family. We would never throw him out!"
Petunia chimed in from the side. "Exactly. This house can't function without Harry."
Even Dudley, who had just been pulled into Marge's lap and bribed with piles of snacks, spoke up.
"That's right. Harry's my favorite brother!"
He even handed most of his snacks over to Harry, trying to smooth things over.
"Don't be mad, Harry. Aunt Marge doesn't understand anything. Don't bother stooping to her level."
Marge: "???"
What was going on here? Had Harry Potter used that disgusting magic of his to curse the whole Dursley family into acting like this?
At that thought, Marge's anger flared instantly, and she shouted at Harry, "You little brat, you really are as badly brought up as your parents were! What did you do to Vernon and the others to make them defend you like this?
"Undo your filthy magic right now, or I swear I'll fight you myself!"
If Marge had only been attacking Harry himself, he would have just smiled and ignored the clown.
But the moment he heard her drag his dead parents into it, Harry's expression turned cold in an instant, and he pulled out his wand.
Vernon's face changed immediately, and he hurried to stop him. "Harry, wait, Marge was only..."
Harry cut him off. "Uncle Vernon, don't push your luck."
Vernon awkwardly lowered the hand he had raised to intervene, stepped back, and did not dare say another word.
At this point, Harry was the head of the Dursley household. Forget punishing Marge a little, even if Harry told them to throw her out that second and cut all contact with her forever, they would obey without hesitation.
There was only one reason.
Magic was just too irresistible.
Seeing Harry draw his wand, Marge finally looked a little frightened, but she still forced herself to act tough.
"You rotten little brat, let's see what you think you're going to do to me!"
She charged at him, trying to snatch the wand from his hand.
But she was far too slow to stand any chance against Harry. Harry gave a light wave of his wand and pointed it at her.
In the next instant, Marge's body began to change rapidly.
Her fat body compressed down and down until she turned into a thin, flat kite.
Harry opened the door, hung her from the roof, and smiled at her.
"Aunt Marge, you can stay up there tonight. I hope this gives you time to think about what you did wrong. If not, I don't mind leaving you there longer."
Marge vaguely knew that wizards were not supposed to use magic in front of Muggles, so she immediately planned to scream for help and draw attention from the neighbors, forcing Harry to let her down.
But to her shock, no matter how loudly she yelled, even after her throat turned hoarse, not even the people walking down the street noticed anything strange.
After spending an entire day hanging in the air, Marge finally broke. She kept begging Harry to bring her down.
And after giving her enough punishment, Harry naturally did just that and ignored her from then on.
Because of this incident, Marge was now terrified of Harry. The moment she was let down, she did not dare stay with the Dursleys another second. She grabbed her dog and fled in a panic.
A few more days passed, and soon it was time for Hogwarts to start again.
As usual, Harry went to Diagon Alley to buy the books and supplies he would need for the coming term.
The moment he stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, the familiar noise washed over him like a wave.
In one corner, a few elderly wizards were red-faced and arguing over a game of wizard chess, their pieces clacking sharply against one another.
At the bar, a witch gently blew across a mug of Butterbeer, making the foam rise and fall.
And behind the counter, Tom had already spotted Harry the moment he walked in.
With a broad smile on his face, Tom hurried around the bar and came over to greet him.
His old age made his steps a little unsteady, but there was a peculiar excitement in his eyes.
"Harry, my boy, there you are at last." Tom reached out with a callused hand and gave Harry's shoulder a warm pat. "There's something special I need to tell you today."
Harry frowned slightly, a trace of confusion rising in him. "Mr. Tom, what is it?"
Tom gave him a mysterious blink and lowered his voice.
"The Minister for Magic wants to see you, my boy, today. He specifically told me that the moment you arrived, I was to bring you straight to him."
Harry was startled inside.
The Minister for Magic?
Why would the Minister want to see him?
Could it be that the plan between him and Dumbledore had somehow been exposed before it had even begun?
Harry kept his expression calm, but magic was already surging through his body, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
He half expected the next second to bring a flood of Aurors pouring out from the corners of the Leaky Cauldron, surrounding him, and arresting him under some invented charge or another.
That was how people in power had always oppressed anything new, and always would. They never cared much for rules or laws.
Because they were the rules.
Even with all kinds of thoughts racing through his mind, Harry showed no outward sign of panic. Instead, he said steadily, "Mr. Tom, thank you for telling me. Please take me to see the Minister."
"Of... of course. This way, my boy."
Tom led the way while Harry thought behind him.
No matter how far Tom's imagination could stretch, he never would have guessed that the child walking behind him was not nervous in the slightest, but instead was weighing a string of dangerous possibilities.
For example, should he move first and seize the Minister of Magic outright? It would alert the enemy, yes, but it would also leave the Ministry leaderless for a while and might create a useful advantage.
In the end, though, Harry dismissed the idea and let Tom continue leading him.
Even if a swarm of Aurors suddenly appeared and surrounded him, with Harry's current strength, they still would not be a match for him.
So it was better to stay still and see what happened. If the Minister really had discovered his plan with Dumbledore, then Harry would act immediately.
And if this was all just a misunderstanding, he would proceed according to the original plan.
Tom led Harry through the pub toward a hidden door.
Along the way, the patrons kept glancing over curiously and whispering among themselves, wondering what Tom could possibly be taking the Boy Who Lived away for.
When they reached the door, Tom knocked lightly. The door slowly opened, and a soft glow spilled out from within.
"In you go, my boy." Tom gave Harry a gentle nudge. "And remember, the Minister's a very important man. Mind your manners."
Harry gave no real reaction and stepped over the threshold into the room.
It was a small chamber. In the center sat a desk piled high with papers and magical objects.
Behind it sat the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, looking at Harry with a smile.
"Harry, we meet again."
The two had met once before at Harry's award ceremony and never again after that. This was only their second meeting.
Harry gave him a mild, polite smile, carefully betraying nothing.
"Yes, it's been a while, Minister Fudge. May I ask what you wanted with me?"
Fudge's expression immediately turned serious. His voice dropped low and solemn, as though he were announcing a terrible disaster.
"Harry, did you know? Sirius Black has escaped."
The moment he said it, Fudge stared hard into Harry's eyes, clearly hoping to read something from his reaction.
But the boy in front of him remained calm and unreadable, his expression still as a deep well. Even with all his experience, Fudge could not pick up a single clue.
Really, this child was far too mature.
Harry frowned and asked in confusion, "Sirius? I remember he was one of Voldemort's most loyal followers, a murderer without a shred of mercy.
"He was locked up in Azkaban. Isn't Azkaban supposed to be the safest prison there is? How could he possibly escape?"
Fudge gave a cold snort.
"Hmph. Azkaban has always been secure, but this time... this time Voldemort must be involved behind the scenes.
"Sirius has been locked away for years and hates the Ministry with a passion. And now that Voldemort is backing him, the first person he'll come after is you, Harry."
He stood up, came around the desk, and patted Harry on the shoulder.
"Sirius used to be a close friend of your parents. But then he betrayed them, and that betrayal led to their deaths.
"He knows you're a threat to him now. Since he's escaped, he'll do everything he can to kill you and remove that threat for good."
Fudge paused, clearly waiting for Harry to ask for help.
That way, he could do the Boy Who Lived a favor and at the same time place Ministry people around him in a perfectly reasonable way, keeping him under watch.
But what he had forgotten was that Harry was no ordinary child.
He had defeated Voldemort more than once.
With Harry's current strength, he was no weaker than the Minister of Magic himself.
Harry only shrugged and said lightly, "No need to worry, Minister Fudge. As one of Voldemort's followers, Sirius is surely weaker than Voldemort, and I've beaten Voldemort more than once. I can beat Sirius too."
Fudge choked on that answer. It took him a long moment before he managed to say helplessly, "Harry, I know you're brave, but Sirius is an extremely dangerous man. You absolutely must not underestimate him. The Ministry will increase your protection, but you must stay alert as well."
Harry nodded. "Of course. I'll take good care of myself."
After leaving Fudge's office and returning to the main room of the Leaky Cauldron, Harry spotted his friends.
Hermione and Ron were sitting in separate chairs, apparently in the middle of an argument.
As Harry drew closer, he heard Ron complaining that Hermione's cat had frightened his rat, while Hermione was snapping back that Ron's rat was filthy anyway.
At the mention of the rat, Harry remembered that as far back as first year, he had sensed that Ron's rat seemed to be some kind of magical creature, but for some reason it had never shown any real special traits.
Thinking of that, he carefully examined the rat again for the first time in two years. It was definitely a magical creature, but it also seemed to differ ever so slightly from an ordinary one.
So Harry formed observation runes in his eyes and used them to inspect the rat more closely.
The instant he did, he froze, and then a meaningful look appeared on his face.
Well, that explained it.
No wonder this rat had always felt so wrong.
It was an Animagus.
A wizard had transformed into it.
Harry did not point out the rat's abnormality. This was not the right place. He planned to wait until they were back in the Hogwarts dormitory and then tell Ron about it.
The moment Ron spotted him, his eyes lit up.
"Harry, over here!"
Prompted by Ron's voice, Hermione whipped her head around, then ran straight over and threw her arms around Harry.
"Harry, I'm so happy to see you!"
"Hermione, so am I." Harry stroked her hair gently, his voice warm.
Off to the side, Ron froze in place, and the smile on his face slowly shifted into a deadpan look.
Great. The two of them were practically about to make it official at this point. Before long, one member of the trio was going to start feeling very left out.
Honestly, the two of you are the worst.
As Ron brooded, he could not help wondering whether he ought to find himself a girlfriend too.
Soon after, Harry ran into the rest of the Weasley family, and also into clingy Ginny. Just like before, Hermione and Ginny were instantly prickly with each other.
Then everyone headed for King's Cross Station, made their way to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and boarded the Hogwarts Express.
Harry had expected this to be another dull trip.
But clearly, this time was different.
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