The Return to Hogwarts

“This is it—” Uncle Vernon said in a low voice.

Dudley watched all this greedily, his fat face distorted against the car window, while Harry was uninterested. Indeed, this manor was the most luxurious house he had ever seen, but in his heart, the somber Hogwarts Castle was his paradise.

“I am Vernon Dursley, here to visit Mr. Blaine. We have an appointment—”

Harry looked at Uncle Vernon, who was facing the stern-faced guards in front of the big iron gate and whose voice was trembling, and suddenly felt like laughing. To be honest, he had never seen Uncle Vernon speak to anyone in such an attitude before!

Since outside vehicles were not allowed to enter the manor, Harry had no choice but to walk with the Dursleys, who were carrying flowers and fruit baskets, towards the manor.

As they walked along the straight path paved with pebbles, his cousin Dali nervously clutched the hem of his clothes, his small eyes darting around, but he didn't dare to ask a single question. Clearly, he knew this wasn't a place where he could act spoiled and show off his personality.

Perhaps because the owner of the manor was seriously ill, the closer one got to the manor, the more solemn the air became. Even the staff who were taking care of the manor bowed to them with very serious expressions.

Through all this, Harry roughly understood that the owner of the manor was probably in very poor health.

“Ah, Mr. Lawrence—”

Uncle Vernon, his face flushed and beaded with sweat, suddenly exclaimed in surprise. He shrugged off Aunt Penny, who was walking stiffly behind him, and walked toward a lean man with shiny slicked-back hair, a small mustache, and a wrinkle-free suit. The man looked to be quite old.

“That’s Mr. Blaine’s butler,”

Aunt Penny tilted her head slightly and whispered a reminder.

"He has been frequently relaying Mr. Blaine's instructions for the past two years and is highly trusted. Remember to show him respect, especially you!"

Harry knew, of course, who Aunt Petunia was referring to when she reminded him of "you." He glanced at the butler and, for some reason, suddenly remembered Filch, the very unpopular castle caretaker at Hogwarts.

"Perhaps they both do similar jobs—"

Harry forced a smile at Lawrence, thinking to himself.

Chapter 130 Photos

The interior decoration of the house is worthy of its magnificent and luxurious exterior. Every mahogany floor in the spacious living room is polished to a shine, as if it has been wiped with a stain remover. A large chandelier made of thousands of pure crystals hangs from the 50-foot-high ceiling, shining brilliantly in the sunlight streaming into the room.

The manor butler, Lawrence, led the terrified Dursleys to the right of the living room, around several corners, and stood in front of an elevator lobby.

Vertical elevators are usually only found in Muggle shopping malls and high-rise office buildings. Even Harry was somewhat surprised that there was an elevator in this building. It seems that Uncle Vernon's boss is indeed a very rich guy.

"I'm sorry, Vernon—"

The elevator dinged and stopped on the third floor. After they stepped out of the elevator car, the manor's butler, Lawrence, turned to the Dursleys, who were now only able to wear obsequious smiles, and said apologetically,

"Mr. Blaine is currently receiving treatment, and according to the doctor's instructions, he will be able to see you in about two hours. Would you please wait in the reception room for a while?"

"Of course, Mr. Lawrence!"

Uncle Vernon nodded repeatedly, "I'll do whatever you say!"

After several young maids served them tea and closed the door to the drawing room, a collective sigh of relief filled the elegantly decorated room. Uncle Vernon, who had been carrying a large belly for a long time, was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the soft sofa.

"This house is truly luxurious, Vernon!"

Aunt Penny's voice trembled with excitement.

“I dare say, if Eve knew I had been a guest in such a magnificent manor, she would be incredibly envious.”

Harry raised his eyelids slightly. Effin was Aunt Petunia's good friend, and the two of them loved to gossip about the neighbors.

“Mr. Blaine inherited this estate and drilling company from his father—” Uncle Vernon told Aunt Petunia and Dudley, “when he was only in his early twenties. Everyone was pessimistic about him, thinking he would make a mess of the already struggling company. But who would have thought that he would pull the company out of the mire with his intelligence and hard work—”

In fact, Uncle Vernon had told these things countless times at home, and even Harry himself knew them by heart. However, Uncle Vernon always patiently repeated them to everyone again and again.

"That's truly admirable—how did I do just now, Mom and Dad?"

Dudley stood up and tried to smooth out the wrinkles on his stomach, but after a few attempts, he knew he was just wasting his time. So he looked up at his parents with a disgusting smile.

"Fantastic, my darling!"

Aunt Penny immediately stood up and took Dudley's arm, her proud eyes glistening with tears.

"Not a single impolite act; a true gentleman!"

"His father, who has seen a lot, also has the courage!"

Uncle Vernon chuckled as well.

Dudley proudly swayed his chin, looking at Harry who sat there silently and expressionlessly, a malicious glint suddenly appearing in his small eyes.

"Oh, but I think there's someone here who's been scared out of their wits, isn't there!"

Even if you're terrified, I won't do that!

Harry, who immediately understood who Dudley was talking about, said angrily. He sensed that the Dursleys seemed about to scold him again, so he spoke quickly before he could finish.

"You told me many times yesterday that I am not allowed to move around or say a single word without your permission!"

"Alright, kid, at least you have some memory!" Uncle Vernon muttered, his breath catching in his throat, but then his tone became arrogant again.

"When you see Mr. Blaine later, you should know what you're doing, right?"

"know."

Harry said sullenly, "Observe Mr. Blaine's physical condition carefully, and when you ask about Mr. Blaine's physical condition in a clever way, keep your ears open and don't miss a single word."

"very good."

Uncle Vernon gulped down the black tea in his exquisite teacup and nodded with satisfaction.

"After the meeting, I will tell Mr. Blaine's butler that we have a friend who is particularly skilled at dealing with this kind of illness. Everyone knows that having this disease is a dead end, but Lawrence is helpless now. As long as you assure him that you can come up with a way to help Mr. Blaine regain some of his spirits, he is willing to persuade Mr. Blaine to try it!"

When Harry heard his Uncle Vernon's specific request yesterday, the first thing that popped into his head was the energizer. That stuff is safe, has no side effects, and is very common in the wizarding world. It's also easy to buy, and he himself has drunk it many times.

Harry believed that if he sent Ron a letter, Ron could easily help him get a large jar.

Of course, the biggest question remains whether giving wizard potions to unsuspecting Muggles violates the wizarding secrecy law, and how serious the offense is.

On the way here, Harry was still thinking about these questions. He guessed that this shouldn't be considered a serious mistake. Think about it, how many Muggle-born wizards are there in the wizarding world now? All those wizards have Muggle-born family members. What if their family members have some kind of illness that Muggle hospitals are not good at treating? Nine times out of ten, they would resort to the power of magic.

Another thing that helped him decide to do this despite the punishment was that at the start of his second year, Dobby closed Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, causing him and Ron to miss the Hogwarts Express. Left with no other option, the two of them had to drive Mr. Weasley's heavily modified car to Hogwarts.

It's worth noting that Ron's father, Mr. Weasley, was in charge of preventing wizards from misbehaving, but he himself broke the rules. This made Harry realize that there probably aren't many wizards in the wizarding world who are as law-abiding as they are on the surface.

"Oh, come and look at this photo! Penny and Dudley!"

Waiting is always long and tedious. Bored, Uncle Vernon began to look around at the commemorative photographs hanging on the walls of the drawing room. He stopped in front of a gray-white photograph near the doorway, pointed at it, and said…

"This is a group photo of Mr. Blaine with everyone when he first took over the company. He was incredibly handsome back then, and many girls in the company admired him. Ah, I was so thin back then, less than 200 pounds!"

Yes, but it weighs more than twice as much as me—

Harry looked at his Uncle Vernon's obese body and nodded with a sense of sympathy.

The Dursleys had photos of Dudley everywhere, but very few of the couple, and those were mostly in their bedroom, a place Harry was strictly forbidden from entering, along with Dudley's bedroom. In the years before he went to Hogwarts, Aunt Petunia was personally responsible for cleaning those two houses.

Seeing the three people huddled in front of the photo, talking animatedly, Harry, who was sitting quietly in his chair, couldn't help but feel a little curious.

Just as Harry was wondering if his Uncle Vernon was really a little thinner than a whale when he was young, the drawing room door quietly opened, and the elderly butler who had led them earlier, though not young, was still polite and seemed quite kind, reappeared, but with a deep worry etched on his brow.

"Mr. Blaine is tired, Vernon. It's best to keep the meeting to within five minutes."

Uncle Vernon nodded and bowed in agreement, and after the old butler left the drawing room first, he immediately turned around and waved repeatedly to Harry.

"Come here, kid. This place is huge. If you get lost, by the time the staff find you, you might already be dried out!"

If he could, Harry would love to take the Dursleys to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry so they would know what a magnificent castle really is. He slowly got up, his face grim, and walked toward the door. As he passed the photograph that Uncle Vernon had mentioned earlier, he glanced at it subconsciously.

Clang!

As everyone turned to look at him in astonishment, Harry opened his mouth, ignoring the bruised bump on his forehead, staring blankly at the man standing in the middle of the crowd in the photo, and murmured in disbelief.

"Professor Blaine?!"

Chapter 131 Writing a Letter

Initially, Professor Blaine was merely an investigator assigned by the Board of Governors to investigate the Chamber of Secrets incident at Hogwarts. Later, for reasons unknown, he briefly became their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Having already spent two years at Hogwarts and been taught this course by three different professors, Harry can confidently say that Professor Blaine is definitely the best of the three.

Of course, the other two professors, one possessed by Voldemort and the other proven to be a big fraud, are better than these two and don't seem to prove anything.

However, many senior wizards, as well as professors of other courses at Hogwarts, have commented that Professor Blaine is the most competent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts in the last decade or so, which speaks volumes.

In addition, Professor Blaine was the most powerful wizard Harry had ever met.

He would never forget the basilisk that had kept him on his toes in the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin, which Professor Blaine had easily dealt with like a goblin. Of course, Headmaster Dumbledore was definitely more powerful than Professor Blaine. Although Harry had never seen Headmaster Dumbledore in action, he firmly believed that.

Halfway through the second semester of his sophomore year, after the Chamber of Secrets incident was resolved, Professor Blaine quickly left Hogwarts, and since then, no news of him has been heard again.

His mysterious departure mirrored his mysterious arrival.

Many young wizards, including Professor Blaine himself, Hermione, and Ron, were saddened by his departure, but they all knew that it was Professor Blaine's own choice, and everyone should have the right to choose their own path in life.

Since Harry first recalled the name yesterday morning, Kurard Blaine, the owner of Uncle Vernon's drilling company, had not for a single second connected him with Professor Blaine, even though they shared the same last name.

But this surname is just a very common surname among Muggles and wizards, just like Voldemort's original name 'Tom'. The owner of the Leaky Cauldron also has this name. Does that mean that someone would think that there is some kind of kinship between them?

However, with the same surname, the same gray hair, and features almost identical to those of his father, almost everyone who knows their parents would say the same thing upon first seeing him.

Professor Blaine grew up in an orphanage—