Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 46 The Dursleys' Attitude

Before Harry learned he was a wizard and went to Hogwarts to study magic, the Dursleys forced him to call Maggie Dursley "Auntie." (Although Maggie was Uncle Vernon's older sister and not related to Harry by blood.)

Harry disliked Aunt Maggie. He remembered this plump woman, who often walked around with her bulldog, offending him more than once. He still vividly recalled the two most egregious offenses.

The first time was at Christmas the year before Dudley graduated from elementary school, when Aunt Maggie deliberately gave Harry a box of dog food biscuits. This left Harry, who had never received a gift before, with a very serious psychological trauma.

The other incident occurred the summer before Harry went to Hogwarts. Maggie, who was visiting Vernon, chased Harry all night because Harry had accidentally stepped on her beloved dog's paw. Harry, chased into a tree, didn't carefully climb back into the cupboard until late at night. (Maggie called the dog back because she wanted to cuddle her "precious son" to sleep, not out of kindness.)

Maggie was not Vernon or Petunia; she had no obligation to raise Harry whatsoever. After only a few brief encounters, Mo Ran even ranked this woman's level of dislike as second only to Umbridge.

……

Boom, boom, boom.

A knock on the door made Maggie stop just as she was about to bring the brandy glass to her lips. She shifted her large bottom, which was almost filling the chair, with difficulty, and turned to her brother, asking:

"Who did you meet? Vernon?"

Uncle Vernon considered all the business partners who might be visiting, but ultimately had no clue. He shook his head and said:

"No, I even notified my friends at the company that I have family matters to attend to these days and asked them not to bother me."

Aunt Penny, who was adding meat to Dudley's plate, seemed to remember something, and her tone became a little flustered.

"Don't go to the door, Vernon. You just locked the door, right? Remember that news report on TV warning the public? They said a guy named Bright escaped from some prison. He's armed and extremely dangerous... Oh my god, could he come to our house? What's the number for that special tip-off hotline again?"

Maggie Dursley, having had a few drinks and relying on her tall, muscular build, acted as if she didn't care about Blake at all, saying:

"You mean that scoundrel? I saw some news about him on the way here. Tsk tsk tsk, his hair is such a mess, even a stray dog's fur looks neater than his. If you ask me, we don't need to be afraid of him at all. Even if he comes here, Lippi (the name of the bulldog Aunt Maggie brought this time) will subdue him."

After saying this, Maggie Dursley actually bent down, held her glass to Lippi's lips, and asked in a grunting, pig-like voice:

“Oh Lippi, my good boy, you can definitely bite that Blake to death, right? You’re such a good boy. Would you like some brandy? Come on, let Mommy feed you…”

Compared to Maggie's carefree attitude, Penny, as a mother, was clearly more cautious. She stood up, winked at Vernon, and then made a loading motion with her hand, signaling her husband to hurry up and get the shotgun from the basement.

“Haha, Maggie is right! We don’t need to make a fuss. Little Huijin District is a high-end community. How could such shady people break in? You guys continue eating. I’m going to the restroom.”

Uncle Vernon stood up jokingly, but just as he was about to head towards the basement, Harry, who had been knocking on the door just moments before, simply used "Alohomocolic Opening" to unlock it.

Hello, I'm back.

Harry greeted him naturally:

"I saw the lights were on, so I just used my key to open the door. I hope I didn't disturb your meal?"

Almost instantly, Harry attracted everyone's attention with his handsome looks and elegant demeanor.

Having not seen Harry for many years, Maggie Dursley had no idea who the boy in front of her was. She instinctively adjusted her posture and whispered to Vernon and Petunia:

"Ahem... Vernon! Who is this young gentleman? Introduce him to me."

"he……"

“Harry, my name is Harry Potter, Aunt Peggy…”

Before Uncle Vernon could speak, Harry introduced himself, dragging out the word "aunt" as if it were longer than a basilisk's tail, just to mock the fat woman before him.

Peggy Dursley's expression was as if chilled to the bone; just hearing the name Harry Potter sobered her up considerably. The facial muscles that had been contorted with excitement and curiosity relaxed completely. Her chubby face now resembled that of Lippi, a pit bull covered in wrinkles.

"What's going on? Vernon?"

Peggy Dursley said coldly:

“I just heard from Dudley that this brat was sent to the St. Bruce Safe Center Juvenile Delinquency School two years ago. Isn’t that a boarding school? How did he escape?”

Sitting next to Maggie Dursley, Dudley was incredibly pleased with his aunt's sudden change of heart. After so many days and nights, he could finally hold his head high in front of that damned Potter.

"Dali, didn't I tell you not to talk about your cousin? What else did you say to Maggie?"

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Uncle Vernon walked over to his son with a stern face and whispered. As the supervisor of the Groning drilling rig, a seasoned businessman, he could easily see that Harry's actions were a test of his attitude.

"But Dad, isn't this the truth? My cousin is a good-for-nothing, a slacker, and no normal high school wants him. He's wasting the hopes our family has for him. If it weren't for places like the St. Bruce Safe Center for Juvenile Delinquents, where else would he go?"

Large beads of sweat began to trickle down Vernon Dursley's temples.

He had considered the possibility of being betrayed by his own son, but he thought that at most Dudley would get into fights at school, or when he grew up, he would secretly drive away in the family car and crash into a fire hydrant or something.

Who knew that this brat would specifically target his cousin, who possessed extraordinary magical powers and had been kind to his family's business, and try to mess around with him.

This really worried Vernon.

"Um... Penny?"

Vernon's voice trembled slightly, and his face and neck had turned an unsightly purplish-brown.

"Oh, and Dudley, go get the desserts from the kitchen for your mother..."

"Okay, Vernon, you and Peggy will wait a moment!"

As Aunt Penny pulled Dudley toward the kitchen, the clattering sound of her slippers hitting the floor filled the dining room, gradually plunging it into an awkward silence.

Harry glanced at his Uncle Vernon and his sister with a hint of amusement, then took out the permission form from his pocket and said:

"That's right, Uncle Vernon, St. Bruce wants us to have a guardian sign a document to authorize students to participate in community service and earn pocket money."

Vernon had never found Harry's voice so pleasant, not even after the last deal. He let out a long sigh and then hurried over to Harry.

"Of course, of course! Go ahead and do it. If you don't have enough money, just tell me... Wait, what's with the pen... Where did I put it?"

Harry had no intention of making things difficult for Vernon. Using the small space obscured by the permission form, he summoned a drop of water; then, to Vernon's astonishment, he cast a transformation spell, turning it into a pen.

Ignoring the complex mix of surprise and fear he was experiencing, Vernon Dursley steeled himself and picked up the magic pen Harry offered, quickly signing his name on the parchment. However, just when he thought the matter would end thanks to his nephew's magnanimity, a menacing voice came from behind him.

"You've been too lenient with him, Vernon!"

Maggie Dursley roared:

"Isn't taking him in enough? I told you before, if I had found him at my doorstep, I wouldn't have kept him at home at all, I would have sent the kid straight to the orphanage."

Vernon looked like a child who had accidentally broken an expensive work of art, grimacing and eyes tightly shut. But no matter what expression he made, he couldn't stop his older sister's verbal onslaught.

"Don't waste your money on him. Let him do community service like those prisoners! You can't blame yourself for this kid's incompetence! Let me tell you, if a person's core is corrupted, then no one can do anything about him!"

Does Maggie Dursley truly hate Harry? Yes. However, her current outbursts are largely a way to ease tensions and retaliate against Harry's awkwardness when he first walked in.

……

"This is a very simple genetic problem. I often see it in dogs. If a mother dog has a problem, the puppies will definitely not be healthy either!"

“Maggie…”

Finally, even Vernon couldn't stand it anymore. Having already signed his name, he turned around, a broad smile on his face, and said to his sister:

"I remember you just said you left your dog with Colonel Fabrice, right? How's he doing lately?"

"He retired, and I've conveniently found him something to do. You can't just live a life of idleness, right, Vernon? It's like some useless, swindler, lazy, and good-for-nothing guy who, after wasting his own life, leaves behind an unbearable burden, becoming a burden to his respectable, hardworking relatives..."

“Ma…”

Uncle Vernon was about to say something when a sudden gust of biting cold wind made him and Peggy gasp for breath. The chill seeped into their skin, gradually penetrating their fat and muscles, finally invading their chests and reaching their hearts.

The drinks and food on the table frosted and froze at a visible speed. Lippi, who had been lounging nearby, whimpering and running away from Maggie's thick legs, was completely oblivious to the fact that his master was shivering and convulsing from the cold.

Harry wasn't the one who caused all of this.

Having studied Occlumency with Professor Snape for nearly two years, he had also achieved considerable skill in Legilimency. It's no exaggeration to say that, starting this summer, the minds of Muggles would no longer be able to keep any secrets from Harry.

The reason he deliberately revealed himself after sensing Maggie Dursley's arrival was to provoke her and then punish the damned fat woman by going berserk with his magic.

"It's a Dementor!?"

The sudden drop in temperature made it feel as if the whole world would never experience happiness again, instantly reminding Harry of the dark magical creatures that even Professor Scamander couldn't treat equally.

"Expecto Patronum!" (The Patronus)

In just 0.1 seconds, Harry had his wand firmly in his hand and, as instructed in the book, recited the Patronus Charm to banish Dementors. However, to his surprise, the wand, which had been with him for over two years and had always been reliable in battle, did not react at all.

"what?"

Harry instinctively put his wand away and looked around, but the lights in the room flickered and dimmed. Soon, complete darkness enveloped Privet Drive.

A series of piercing sounds came from the darkness, and a blurry figure slowly drifted past the frosted glass window.

"Gubraithian!" (Gubraithian Fire)

The chill that was about to engulf her body, and the discomfort of water being poured into her ears, were dispelled by the blue flames. But the feeling of being pulled down by negative emotions was still very obvious.

A scream that seemed to come from a great distance suddenly rang in Harry's ears.

"You fucking..."

Almost instantly, Harry recognized the terrified, pleading voice. Having had his Obscurial grow by being forced to do so by Mo Ran's method of playing back memories, he certainly remembered that it was the voice of his mother, Lily Potter, begging Voldemort not to kill her before she died.

Upon hearing Harry swear for the first time, Moran displayed the same anger. A dark magical power, even deeper and more terrifying than that of the Dementors, slowly seeped out, forming a protective barrier around Harry's body along with the Grub's Flame.

Dementors are physical entities and cannot pass through solid barriers. Using this fact, Harry gained more time to manipulate the Gryphon Flame to rescue Vernon and Maggie.

Screams filled with fear, shock, and hysteria echoed through the dining room. Harry didn't have time to explain what had happened to the two women, nor did he even want to consider whether he should let Maggie off so easily. He used magic to lock them, along with Dudley and Petunia who were peeking out, into the kitchen.

Just as the kitchen door closed, a tall, imposing figure in a tattered black cloak pulled open the bedroom door from a distance. Its face was completely hidden under the hood, filthy and sinister; the only exposed hand resembled the rotting corpse of something dead, soaked in water.

"Dementors are among the most abhorrent and dangerous dark magic creatures to have ever been born in the magical world. They lurk in the darkest and dirtiest places, spreading corruption and despair. All peace, hope, and joy are their favorite food. Do not approach them. Even the most powerful wizard can be turned into a walking corpse like them by a Dementor if they are not careful. You will become a soulless puppet, remembering only the worst memories of your life, and be doomed forever. In my opinion, a Dementor's kiss may be more evil than the Avada Kedavra Curse!"

"Is there any way to eliminate these disgusting creatures, Professor?"

"Unfortunately, wizards haven't found a way to kill Dementors yet; only the Patronus Charm can banish them. Perhaps some genius will invent a magic that can solve the problem once and for all..."

Memories of his past studies flashed through Harry's mind, but even after reviewing Professor Scamander's teachings, he still couldn't find any effective magic to replace the Patronus Charm.

"Where exactly did the problem lie? There's no way I could have misremembered the spell or incantation! Could it be that this magic, like the Ancient Flame, has special casting conditions? Did I overlook it because I was too confident?"

Snapped!

A crisp sound rang out in the air.

The Dementors, who had no sight and could only lock onto their targets by smell, froze for a moment before finally spotting Harry, who had Apparated to Privet Drive, amidst a long series of gurgling sounds coming from their throats.

"One, two, three? What's going on?"

In the darkness, the response to Harry's question came from the fierce black mist controlled by Moran. In just a single exchange, the three Dementors floating in the air were firmly bound by Moran.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

Spinning, squeezing, and condensing magic flowed back and forth. Mo Ran used all his strength, but still couldn't inflict any real damage on the Dementors. Like Harry's Grubber's Flame, the special magical methods they used could only slightly affect the Dementors' movement.

Just as Harry and Moran were about to increase their magical output and try again, a strange stinging sensation suddenly came from the depths of their souls.

"Someone is watching us from the shadows! Over there!"

Because he often acts silently, Mo Ran's sensory abilities are much stronger than Harry's. But strangely enough, after just realizing there was something wrong with the narrow alley, he underwent a complete 180-degree change in attitude after alerting his host.

"Wait! No! Don't act rashly, Harry! The Ministry of Magic should be here soon. It would be bad if they found out that we were using magic so frequently by crossing the line of sight. Let's wait and see."

Harry was somewhat puzzled by Moran's words and actions, but out of trust, he suppressed his curiosity to rush up and investigate the truth.

……

In the distance, Sirius Black, who had been released by Mo Ran, was running in the form of an Animagus, a large black dog.

He couldn't remember how many times he had escaped the Dementors' pursuit, nor could he recall how long it had been since he had transformed into human form.

Now that he had fulfilled his wish to "see Harry with his own eyes," there was only one thing on his mind—to tear that rat hiding next to the red-haired boy to shreds!