0414 The Dursley’s

After the eager shout, Harry couldn’t help but blink rapidly, afraid that his eyes were playing tricks on him. But as the familiar figures drew closer, he dismissed this ridiculous notion and sprinted towards them, his feet barely touching the ground as he covered the distance in two long steps.

Sirius stood before him, looking remarkably well considering his past. His skin had taken on a darker, weather-beaten appearance since Harry had last seen him a month ago, testament to whatever adventures he had been on. In stark contrast, Professor Lupin stood beside him, presenting quite the opposite picture. Harry knew he had spent nearly six months at St. Mungo’s. Due to the long absence of outdoor activities, Remus’s complexion looked somewhat pale, but his eyes were much brighter.

“You really came!” Harry exclaimed, his voice cracking with emotion, a lump formed in his throat as he struggled to contain his joy. “And Professor Lupin, I didn’t expect to see you here!”

Harry couldn’t fully suppress the excitement bubbling up inside him. It coursed through his veins, making him feel light-headed and giddy.

Sirius’s gaze fell upon Harry, taking in the changes that just a month had made. The boy had shot up several inches, now almost matching him in height. A fond smile spread across Sirius’s face, his eyes crinkling at the corners with genuine affection. With a familiar gesture that spoke of years of missed opportunities, he reached out and ruffled Harry’s perpetually unruly hair.

“How could I possibly miss your birthday, Harry?” Sirius’s voice was warm and reassuring, tinged with a hint of mischief. “Breaking promises isn’t my style, you know. I’m a man of my word, even if the rest of the world might doubt it.”

Sirius’s words made Harry’s cheeks flush with a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure. He couldn’t help but grin foolishly, feeling the joy radiate from every cell in his body.

“By the way, Harry—” Remus’s voice cut through the moment, as gentle and measured as ever. Always considerate of others’s feelings, he glanced over Harry’s shoulder towards the house, his tone tinged with slight worry. “That Muggle who just ran inside—that’s your uncle, isn’t it? I think we should probably apologize to him. We did show up rather unexpectedly, and he seemed quite… startled.”

“Oh, don’t bother with that nasty Muggle, Remus,” Sirius said dismissively, clearly not giving two Knuts about the lack of invitation or the propriety of their arrival. With a casual air, he draped his arm around Harry’s shoulders and strode towards the hallway. Behind them, Remus could only shake his head with a mixture of resignation and helplessness.

“I really think we should at least wait for the homeowner’s permission before barging in, Sirius—” Remus’s protest was halfhearted at best, knowing full well it would fall on deaf ears.

“Oh, you might be waiting until the next century then, Professor Lupin!” Harry chimed in, unable to keep the grin off his face. The thought of his aunt and uncle willingly inviting wizards into their home was so absurd it was almost laughable.

“I’m not your professor anymore, Harry. Just call me Remus, please.” A wry smile tugged at the corners of Remus’s mouth. “Well—” He trailed off, clearly aware of the Dursleys’ attitude towards anything magical. Hearing Harry’s comment only confirmed what he already knew. With a helpless shrug and a resigned smile, he followed the pair into the hallway, his footsteps echoing in the unnaturally quiet house.

The Dursley family had disappeared somewhere; they weren’t visible in the kitchen. Harry knew Sirius and Remus wouldn’t be very curious about the Dursleys’ house, so he led them directly up the stairs to the second floor.

When they reached Harry’s room, it was clear that tidiness had not been high on his list of priorities. The space was a chaotic jumble of magical items, textbooks, and clothes strewn about with reckless abandon. It was evident that Harry had been far too preoccupied with anticipation of Sirius’s arrival to bother with something as mundane as cleaning.

With three people suddenly crammed into the small space, there was hardly room to breathe, let alone sit. Sirius didn’t seem to care about the mess in the slightest. He perched himself on the edge of Harry’s cluttered desk, grinning as he watched frantically trying to pack up.

Thankfully, Remus was more practical in his approach. With a casual flick of his wand, Magical objects and wrinkled clothes began to sort themselves out, leaping through the air as if possessed and neatly arranging themselves in the open trunk at the foot of Harry’s bed.

“Oh, I really wish I could use magic during the summer holidays—” Harry said, his tone tinged with mild resentment. But he quickly pushed that thought aside and looked eagerly at Sirius. “Tell me about your adventure with Professor Watson, Sirius. Where exactly did you go?”

“Oh, that—” Sirius surveyed the gradually tidying room, looking slightly dissatisfied as he smacked his lips. But he didn’t voice any criticism. Hearing Harry’s inquiry, Sirius raised an eyebrow and smiled, “How to put it… It was extremely exciting, Harry. I can’t tell you exactly what we experienced—I promised Bryan to keep it secret. But I can tell you this much: it was an adventure unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. A thousand times more awe-inspiring than when I first laid eyes on Hogwarts castle all those years ago!”

“But what exactly was it?” Harry pressed on eagerly selectively ignoring Sirius’s mention of secrecy. Things involving Professor Watson were always particularly interesting.

“Now, now, Harry. Stop prying—” Remus’s voice cut through the air as he stooped to retrieve Harry’s discarded Charms essay from the floor. He glanced at it briefly, an eyebrow rising in silent commentary, but said nothing as he sent the summer homework flying into the trunk with a gentle swish of his wand. “I’ve asked Sirius multiple times myself, but he’s been frustratingly tight-lipped about the whole affair. To be honest, Padfoot, I’m quite curious about what method Bryan used to keep you so secretive. It’s not like you were particularly skilled at keeping secrets to yourself back in our school days, were you?”

“Don’t waste your breath trying to provoke me into spilling the beans, Moony—” Sirius retorted with a grin . “You know Bryan’s temper as well as I do. He’s allowing me to share some of the experiences from this adventure, but not just yet. If I were to start blabbing about it now, he’d be on us faster than you can say ‘Quidditch’, and both you and Harry would find yourselves with a few holes in your memories.”

“Yes—” Remus couldn’t suppress a chuckle, shaking his head. “Yes, he’s absolutely capable of doing something like that.”

Harry’s mind flashed back to the previous summer when he had followed Professor Watson into the depths of Knockturn Alley’s underground world. The wizards who frequented those dark corners were far from upstanding citizens, and for Professor Watson to move freely in such circles… Well, Harry wasn’t naive enough to believe the professor was as law-abiding as Hermione would like to think. Considering the potential consequences of knowing secrets he shouldn’t, Harry felt a chill run down his spine. He shrank back slightly, suddenly less eager to pry into matters that might be better left in the dark.

“I had thought Professor Watson might come with you, Sirius—” Harry’s voice was tinged with a hint of disappointment.

Professor Watson was another wizard Harry had grown quite close to, and he had hoped that he might appear again on Privet Drive. Moreover, Professor Watson had a special status, his intimidation to the Dursleys wasn’t just because he was a wizard. If he were willing to intervene on Harry’s behalf, to have a ‘chat’ with the Dursleys, their attitude towards Harry would likely improve dramatically.

“Because of your dr—” Sirius started to speak but suddenly became alert and closed his mouth halfway. He clearly realized that discussing topics related to Voldemort in a Muggle house was unwise.

“He had originally planned to come and see you, Harry,” Sirius continued, choosing his words more carefully. “But some urgent matters came up unexpectedly. After we came ashore from our… expedition, he parted ways with me rather abruptly. I had wanted to invite him to watch the Quidditch World Cup with us, but you know Bryan—he’s not exactly the type to get excited about sporting events, magical or otherwise.”

“In a sense—” Remus’s gaze swept through Harry’s room as he spoke, his tone thoughtful, “Bryan is what you might call a ‘pure’ wizard, in the most academic sense of the term. He’s fascinated by the mystery of magic itself, which is one of the primary reasons he’s achieved so much at his relatively young age. Well-“

After confirming that nothing was left behind in the room, Remus looked at Harry with a gentle smile, “We should probably get moving. We’re heading to Arthur’s house now. Unfortunately, we can’t use the Floo Network for this trip, and Apparition is still a bit… challenging for me in my current state. We’ll have to take the Knight Bus to get there, Harry. I trust you won’t mind traveling this way?”

“Oh, if possible, I’d rather walk all the way to the Burrow,” Harry said with a grimace, the memory of his last trip on the violently unpredictable Knight Bus making his stomach churn. His reaction drew a sympathetic chuckle from Remus.

Remus charmed Harry’s trunk to float automatically, while Harry carried Hedwig’s cage. The three of them went downstairs together.

“Wait—” Harry’s mind had been whirling with thoughts of finally leaving Privet Drive and joining the Weasleys. But suddenly, Sirius, who was behind, came to an abrupt halt as they passed the stairs leading down to the ground floor.

“What’s wrong, Sirius?” Remus asked, his voice sharp with sudden alertness, his hand instinctively moving towards his wand.

Sirius let out a contemptuous snort, his grey eyes narrowing as they fixed on a point just beyond Harry’s shoulder. Under the confused and slightly uneasy gazes of Harry and Remus, he smoothly pulled his wand from his sleeve. With a casual flick, he aimed directly at the innocent-looking cupboard under the stairs.

CRASH!

The cupboard door burst open with explosive force, nearly flying off its hinges. In a tangle of limbs and terrified yelps, the Dursley family—who had been conspicuously absent for the past half hour or so—tumbled out onto the hallway floor. The sight was so unexpected and absurd that Harry could only stare in utter astonishment.

This cupboard had once been Harry’s bedroom. He knew exactly how cramped and claustrophobic the space was, and it boggled his mind to imagine how Uncle Vernon and Dudley, with their considerable bulk, had managed to squeeze themselves in there.

Dudley, his face as pale as Nearly Headless Nick, struggled to extricate himself from the tangle of bodies. It took several attempts before he could stand upright, and his legs wobbled like jelly as he gasped for air. Aunt Petunia, her horse-like face contorted with fear, immediately threw herself over Dudley like a human shield. She whimpered softly, her eyes brimming with terrified tears as she stared up at the wizards looming over them.

“Get out of my house this instant, or I swear I’ll blow your ruddy heads off!” The unexpected show of bravado came from none other than Uncle Vernon. Despite the way his multiple chins quivered with fear and the sweat beading on his brow, he still managed to raise his prized double-barreled shotgun—the very same one that had been twisted into a pretzel by Hagrid years ago. His pudgy fingers trembled on the trigger as he aimed the weapon at Sirius.

Completely disregarding both Remus’s warning look and Uncle Vernon’s empty threat, Sirius took a step closer to the stairwell. He stuck his head into the cupboard, peering into the dark, cramped space. When he pulled back, his face, which had been tanned by weeks of wind and sun during his recent adventure, had turned an alarming shade of purple.

“No, Sirius—don’t!” Even Harry could see the dangerous glint in Sirius’s eyes. He knew that Sirius was about to do something rash. With a cry of alarm, Harry dropped Hedwig’s cage (earning an indignant hoot from the owl) and lunged forward, grabbing Sirius’s arm with both hands.

“Bryan told me everything, Harry,” Sirius’s grey eyes were full of anger as he glared at the Dursley family. “He told me they made you live in this… this broom cupboard for years!” Sirius’s grip on his wand tightened, his knuckles turning white. “If you’re willing, Harry, I’ll make them live in there for a few days—see how they like it! It’s the least they deserve after what they’ve done to you!”

“Don’t do anything foolish, Sirius!” Remus’s normally gentle tone became much sterner. “Do you want to go back to Azkaban?”

“I don’t care!” Sirius shouted, his neck stiffening with anger.

Seeing that thin stick pointing at him, Uncle Vernon broke out in a cold sweat. His two brawny arms seemed to have turned into willow branches, soft and trembling, and the shotgun in his hands clattered to the floor.

“Don’t do it, Sirius!” Harry emphasized again. He looked at Aunt Petunia, who was still sprawled over Dudley, and at the trembling Uncle Vernon. His emerald green eyes showed reluctance.

“That’s all in the past now, Sirius!” Harry said, panting. “Since you last spoke with them, they’ve been… well, they’ve been very decent to me this summer. Really, I can swear it. They’ve changed their ways!”

At Harry’s unexpected defense, Uncle Vernon’s face froze in an expression of utter disbelief. His small, watery eyes widened to an almost comical degree, darting between Harry and the wand still pointed at his chest. Even Aunt Petunia, who had screwed her eyes shut in anticipation of some horrific magical punishment, cautiously opened one eye to stare at Harry incredulously. It was clear that she, like her husband, couldn’t quite believe that Harry would cover for them after everything that had happened between them over the years.

“Is that true?” Harry’s words had an effect. Sirius’s raised arm was no longer so firm. He slowly lowered his wand, looking at Harry dubiously. “They’ve really been treating you better?”

“I promise you!” Harry said ‘firmly’.

“Well then—” Harry seized the moment of hesitation to pull Sirius behind him and tried to force a smile at the dazed Dursley family. “I suppose this is goodbye until next summer, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, Dudley. I… I hope you have a pleasant year.”

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