School Starts

When Harry emerged from the bathroom, Dudley immediately burst into ear-splitting laughter, just as expected.

"Oh my God, Mum, come look! Harry's turned into this freakish mess." Dudley pointed at Harry's head, making no effort to hide his mockery.

Petunia could barely hold back a laugh as well. Standing beside Dudley, she helped him get dressed. "All right, don't get too excited, sweetheart. Raise your left hand."

Harry touched the scar on his forehead and said calmly, "There's nothing funny about this, Dudley. If anything is funny, I think it's having your mum help you get dressed."

Dudley's face immediately flushed red at those words, and he was about to teach Harry a proper lesson right there.

"Enough, stop fooling around!" Vernon's voice rang out, interrupting Dudley. "Get in the car. We still need to get to school."

Harry straightened his clothes, then followed Uncle Vernon outside.

Behind them, Petunia had just picked up Dudley's shoes to put them on for him when Dudley snatched them away, intending to put them on himself. At the same time, he did not forget to glare viciously at Harry's retreating back.

Petunia showed no reaction to Dudley's rude and disrespectful behavior. On the contrary, she thought her precious boy had grown up—he could even put on his own shoes now. Her face was full of gratification.

Outside, the moment they rounded the corner, Vernon grabbed Harry by the collar and slammed him against the car. Bracing both hands against the roof, he glared at him viciously.

"Listen, I don't know how much you learned from that man, but you know the rules of the Dursley Residence. Don't cause trouble for me at school!"

Harry looked at Vernon without yielding. "As long as Dudley doesn't do anything out of line, neither will I."

Harry had already learned about the divide between the ordinary world and the Wizarding World, and he had gained some understanding of the Wizarding Secrecy Act enforced by the Ministry of Magic.

He knew that using magic in full view of Muggles could draw the attention of the Ministry of Magic.

And Uncle Mu En was not exactly on good terms with the Ministry of Magic. Harry had known that from the first time he met Uncle Mu En.

Rather than caring about what might happen to the Dursley Residence, he simply did not want to bring trouble to Uncle Mu En.

But that did not mean he would do nothing.

For example, he could pretend that he could cast magic whenever he wanted. Perhaps that would make the Dursleys wary of him.

It would make his days ahead a little easier.

Hearing Harry's words, Vernon felt as though something were lodged in his throat. His face reddened with rage.

He slapped the roof of the car and growled, "Get in the car."

As he spoke, he unceremoniously drove Harry into the car, then shut the door.

Then, with only the car door between them, he called Dudley over and gave him some instructions.

After only a few sentences, Harry heard Dudley roar through the door, "Why?! He's the one who bullied me!"

As he spoke, his eyes even began to moisten. Harry was all too familiar with that act. Dudley had not cried in years. He was a genuine little tyrant—who could possibly make him cry?

But as long as he squeezed out a few tears in front of the Dursley couple, no matter how unreasonable his request was, it would be granted in an instant.

This time, however, that trick might fall flat. Petunia patted Dudley's little head to comfort him, as though being unable to bully Harry had wronged her precious boy beyond measure.

Vernon was heartbroken too, but he still coaxed him. "Dudley, we need to act more friendly. Like a great superhero, they always show tolerance toward those wicked villains, don't they?"

As he spoke, Uncle Vernon took out his wallet, pulled out ten pounds, and said, "And this is our reward for superheroes."

Harry could swear that beneath the arm Dudley used to wipe away his tears, he saw a smile.

"All right, Dad. I promise."

"That's my good boy." Satisfied, Vernon put a hand on Dudley's shoulder and helped him into the car.

The moment Dudley climbed into the car, he waved the banknote at Harry and smiled smugly.

Harry turned his head away, utterly unconcerned.

At least Dudley would not trouble him for a while.

However, that so-called while was far shorter than Harry had expected...

Elsewhere, Mu En stood outside Moonlight Castle, stretched comfortably, and looked over the scenery below the cliff.

The view here truly was beautiful, but after looking at it for so long, even he had grown a little tired of it.

Walking into the castle, he immediately poked Lucifer with a fire poker.

"Mmm... Huh? What are you doing so early in the morning?"

"Stop sleeping. We're leaving!!" Mu En said.

Lucifer flared up in an instant, suddenly full of energy. "Where are we going?! I suggest we head north to the sea, then raid our way along the coast. Better yet, we can recruit some sailors to handle the chores, and then..."

"Stop!" Mu En cut off Lucifer's rambling at once and looked at him helplessly. "Pirates are outdated! Besides, we're not raiding anyone. We're just changing locations—traveling, understand?"

Lucifer immediately lost interest. Crossing his arms, he looked down on Mu En. "Boring!"

After saying that, he picked up the map beside him. "Then where are we going?"

"Let's head south along the Scandinavian Mountains."

Lucifer looked at the map. "That means... Norway!!"

Norway...

Mu En suddenly thought of something, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Norway held no small place in magical history.

He searched through his memories and found a wizarding village in Norway mentioned in one of the books he had read. Then he took Lucifer's fireproof map and marked the location.

"Let's head here first."

"Fine." Lucifer nodded. Then his body expanded rapidly, and flames raced through countless pipes, spreading across the entire castle.

In the empty forest atop the cliff, the rumble of steam suddenly rose, startling a flock of birds into flight.

Hiss—

Thick white smoke spewed from the pipes atop the castle. The entire castle began to tremble slowly, then several small mechanical claws lifted it up.

Moonlight Castle, which had remained in place for nearly two months, set off once more!

Mu En flew out of the castle and hovered high in the air. He gently raised his palm toward the castle.

There seemed to be several spells that could be cast upon the castle.

As his fingertips moved, one spell after another gradually took effect over the castle.

"Silencio—Evanesco—Muggle Repelling Charm—Salvio Hexia—"

A thin pale-blue membrane gradually spread over the castle. Soon, the entire castle no longer made any sound and became difficult to observe or notice.

Mu En was somewhat surprised. "Casting so many spells at once, and they do not conflict at all.

The formation of spells is driven by desire, which moves the laws of the world. Following the pathways traced by incantations and gestures, they fill themselves in.

Without outside interference, the way these spells fit together is as naturally integrated as the organs within a human body.

There is no need for the caster to consciously consider how these different spells should be modified, added to, or reduced."

Shape the bones and meridians, then let them grow naturally...

It was difficult not to be curious about such a method of casting.

"Stop!!" Mu En seemed to hear Lucifer's voice beside his ear.

"Stop being so greedy for magic. At this rate, you might as well go back to sleep!!"

Mu En stroked his beard and smiled helplessly before flying back into the castle.