Fortunately, Your Family Doesn't Keep Pets

Suddenly, the creak of a wooden door came from upstairs. Heavy footsteps thudded down the hall, followed by an excited voice. "What happened?"

"Oh, Dudley!" Petunia immediately tensed up.

She held both hands out in front of her, terrified that Uncle Mu En would hurt her child, and anxiously shouted upstairs, "Go back, Dudley."

Uncle Mu En looked up and saw the chubby boy standing bare-chested in the hallway.

"Long time no see." Uncle Mu En greeted him with a smile.

Dudley looked indignant as he glared at Uncle Mu En. "Why did you come to our house?"

"Oh, no! Dudley, go back! Go back!!" Vernon let out an anxious growl as well.

Uncle Mu En felt rather helpless. Their posture and tone made it seem as though they were treating him like a wanted criminal.

"Don't worry. I have no ill intentions toward children." Uncle Mu En nodded and walked straight into the living room beneath Vernon's gun barrel. He spotted an armchair first and settled into it comfortably.

"Shall we talk?"

"Mum, what happened?" Dudley tried to come downstairs.

The two moustaches above Vernon's lip wriggled like caterpillars. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Go back and play your video games, Dudley. It's nothing, just a conversation between adults."

"All right." Dudley sounded bored, then thudded back to his room.

At last, the living room fell quiet for a moment.

Vernon's gun was still trained on Uncle Mu En as he threatened viciously, "If you make any sudden moves, don't blame me for what happens."

Uncle Mu En waved a hand. "Suit yourself. Keep holding it up if you don't mind getting tired."

Seeing that neither of them intended to sit down, Uncle Mu En spoke directly. "At first, I wondered whether I should approach you more politely."

"But then I realized that your prejudice against wizards had long since taken root, so I decided not to waste my kindness on people who wouldn't appreciate it."

"I came mainly to talk about Harry. I heard Mr. Dursley say earlier that he was forbidden from leaving the house again. I was wondering whether that violated our original agreement."

At that, Vernon's face reddened again. "I have no need to talk about agreements with a wizard who lives in a stinking heap of garbage. We will never allow that little bastard to have anything to do with wizards or magic again."

"Sorry, but your objection is invalid," Uncle Mu En said indifferently. He did not understand why the Dursley Residence harbored such intense hatred toward wizards, but he did not care.

"What I'm saying is that he is my handyman now, and I have an obligation to ensure that he can continue working for me."

"If you disagree, then I—"

Vernon suddenly raised his gun again and snarled, "Then what?"

"Then I'll report you to the court for child abuse. If I remember correctly, there are relevant provisions in the Children and Young Persons Act." Uncle Mu En smiled at Vernon.

"You didn't think I was going to use magic, did you?"

"You're overthinking it. What you've done is enough to make even a judge lose his wig in anger."

Vernon and Petunia clearly feared the law more than magic. Over the years, Harry had often been sent to Mrs. Figg's whenever the family went out because laws prohibited them from locking a child alone in the house.

And in their eyes, magic could be countered with a gun. But if they were actually charged with a crime, their family would be ruined.

Vernon kept taking deep breaths, furious as he exchanged looks with Petunia.

"And Mrs. Dursley, with your sister being a witch, surely you know that Harry is bound to attend Magic School sooner or later."

"Or do you think you can turn Harry into an ordinary person through your own efforts? That you can stop him from going to school?"

Petunia suddenly felt as though invisible hands were squeezing her throat, leaving her unable to breathe.

Magic School. Yes, of course she knew about it. Her damned sister had gone to Magic School and ruined everything for her.

Just like when she had written to Dumbledore as a child, wanting to attend Magic School herself, only to be rejected... could she really stop that little bastard from learning magic? Could she make him an ordinary person by herself?

Petunia collapsed onto the sofa beside her as though her spine had been ripped out, lowering her head helplessly.

"Any other questions?" After a long while, Uncle Mu En checked, but no one answered him.

Seeing that, he stood and reminded them, "Don't let him be late tomorrow."

With that, he walked toward the entrance hall. At the door, he put on his coat, picked up his hat, and turned back.

"Fortunately, your family doesn't keep any cats or dogs," Uncle Mu En said calmly, with a faint note of mockery.

"Otherwise, the neighbors would be able to tell at a glance that he lives worse than a dog in your house."

"Honestly, I hadn't intended to interfere in your family affairs. It would have made me seem like someone talking big without knowing your hardships, since you were forced to take him in as well."

"But as his only relatives in this world, at least treat him like a human being."

With that, Uncle Mu En pushed open the door and left.

After returning to Moonlight Castle, Uncle Mu En lay on the red sofa. Lucifer darted out, curious about where he had gone.

It was quite a coincidence. Ever since Harry had crushed the flowers outside his door, Uncle Mu En had set up a monitoring array outside.

Not long ago, he had sensed a fluctuation of magic. When he went out to look, he discovered that it was coming from the Dursley Residence, so he decided to make a trip there.

At the time, Harry had been on the verge of a magical outburst.

"It was nothing. Just a couple taking the hatred and prejudice accumulated by the previous generation and venting it on an innocent child." Uncle Mu En smiled and said no more.

Lucifer naturally understood roughly what had happened. He could not really understand human thinking, only finding it boring, so he lazily curled back into the fire.

Uncle Mu En picked up his book again and read it word by word.

From Grindelwald and Dumbledore to Voldemort, nearly a century of Wizarding World history gradually unfolded before him. A vivid Wizarding World slowly took shape in his mind.

Elsewhere, Harry lay awake in his cramped room, tossing and turning. Uncle Vernon's words kept echoing in his mind. Would he still be able to go to Moonlight Castle? Would he still be able to learn magic?

In truth, he knew that Uncle Mu En should be able to deal with Uncle Vernon, but he could not stop himself from imagining the worst.

In his daze, he did not know how long it took before he finally fell asleep. In any case, early the next morning, he was awakened once more by loud pounding on the door.

But when he opened it, he saw Uncle Vernon smile for the first time. Though it was forced and stiff, it was undeniably a smile.

"Get up, Harry... As for this cupboard, your aunt and I have considered that... you've grown up, and this place really is a little too small."

"So we thought about it last night. You'd be better off moving into Dudley's other bedroom."

"Why?" Harry was utterly confused. A smiling face and a bedroom were both far too unusual.

"No questions!" Uncle Vernon roared.

"Go to Number Thirteen and ask that damned wiz... your employer for leave. Then come back and move all your things upstairs. Go now!!"

Harry was overjoyed. All right, it was strange, but if it was a good thing, why refuse it?

Harry hurriedly put on his shoes, then ran while pulling his abnormally oversized shirt over himself. He raced to Moonlight Castle and told Uncle Mu En about it.

Uncle Mu En merely lifted his eyelids from the sofa. Only then did he notice through the door Harry had opened that it was already daylight.

He yawned and said expressionlessly, "Whatever. Go ahead."