Encounter

The drive took eight hours. Mr. Hall pulled into a residential neighborhood lined with similar two-story detached houses.

Yet Eli found it increasingly familiar.

"Dad, where are we?"

Eli finally could not help asking.

Mrs. Hall tilted her head slightly, but Mr. Hall answered first. "My old classmate lives here. It's called Little Whinging. If I remember correctly, it should be on Privet Drive... Number Four. Yes, Number Four, Privet Drive. What is it, Eli?"

Number Four, Privet Drive!

If it had only seemed vaguely familiar before, Eli now understood everything.

This was where the Dursley family lived. Harry Potter was Mrs. Dursley's nephew, and he lived in the cupboard under the Dursleys' stairs.

Eli had never imagined that his father's old classmate would turn out to be Dursley!

He had been wondering how to meet his brother—Harry Potter. This was practically effortless.

As they drew closer, Eli, as a transmigrator, had never really felt much brotherly affection for Harry.

Perhaps it was because of the blood flowing through this body, or perhaps because of the soul of the younger Potter that had merged with his own.

Eli could not stop a feeling of melancholy from rising within him.

He and Harry had once faced Voldemort's Killing Curse together, but he did not bear that lightning-shaped scar, the symbol of dark magic.

"Half of my life was saved by my brother..."

Eli was slightly dazed as his hand unconsciously rose to touch his forehead. There was not a single mark there.

Seeing that something seemed wrong with Eli, Mrs. Hall worriedly held his shoulder.

"Eli, are you carsick?"

Mrs. Hall's voice pulled Eli from his thoughts.

He composed himself and smiled at the worried Mrs. Hall, shaking his head. "I'm fine, Mom. I was just distracted."

Only then did Mrs. Hall relax.

The car soon came to a stop, and Eli looked eagerly out the window.

At the entrance to Number Four, Privet Drive, the Dursley family stood neatly arranged to welcome them.

Mr. Dursley, fat as though he had swollen up, had carefully combed what little hair he had left. He wore a suit that looked several sizes too large.

Mrs. Dursley, on the other hand, was extremely thin. Her long, slender neck looked especially suited for spying on the neighbors. She had dressed up carefully too, wearing a long dress whose color matched Mr. Dursley's suit quite well.

The little gas cylinder standing beside Mrs. Dursley was their son, Dudley Dursley.

He wore a bowler hat and a neat outfit that looked like some school's uniform. He appeared quite particular about his appearance.

When the Hall family's car stopped, Mr. Dursley sucked in his stomach and immediately beamed, his eyes nearly disappearing from his smile.

Mrs. Dursley did the same, though she was more restrained than her husband. Still, the smile on her gaunt face looked somewhat stiff.

The Hall family got out of the car.

Mr. Dursley came forward. "Oh! Ernest, I'm so glad to see you. We must have a proper catch-up today!"

Mr. Hall stepped out of the car. Tall and well-proportioned, he looked no less impressive than a model. His crisp dark blue suit made him seem especially composed and reserved.

He extended his hand in greeting. "Hello, Vernon. You still look as energetic as ever!"

Mrs. Hall approached with Eli, and Mrs. Dursley greeted her.

"Hello, Doris. Welcome to our home."

Setting aside her usual stern business style, Mrs. Hall wore a dark-colored dress.

"Hello, Petunia. Thank you so much for inviting us." Mrs. Hall was poised and graceful, while Mrs. Dursley seemed somewhat constrained.

Mrs. Hall's aura as a strong career woman made her uncomfortable.

Eli looked carefully around, but he did not see the figure he remembered, and he could not help feeling disappointed.

While the two families exchanged pleasantries, an elderly woman seemed to be watching from a house across the street.

The moment Eli got out of the car, the old woman noticed him.

Eli's deep red hair was just long enough to cover his ears.

Perhaps due to heredity, Eli was tall but somewhat slender. As a child, he had often been mistaken for a little girl.

"Lily?" the old woman murmured. Her cloudy eyes trembled constantly, and she appeared excited.

After exchanging greetings for a while, the adults seemed quite familiar with one another, while Dudley stood idly to one side.

Mrs. Dursley noticed Eli beside them, but it was as though she had seen something utterly unbelievable.

Sealed memories were suddenly thrown open.

Eli immediately noticed that something was wrong with Mrs. Dursley and inwardly cursed his carelessness.

With a thought, waves of magic spread from around him.

Mrs. Dursley froze for a moment, then immediately returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Once the greetings were over, Mr. Dursley led them inside.

Eli let out a breath. He had truly been careless just now.

He had worried about this before. Would Dumbledore take notice of him because of his appearance?

There was nothing strange about it; he simply looked extremely similar to his biological mother, Lily Potter.

If Harry had his father's face and his mother's eyes, then Eli had his mother's face and his mother's eyes!

For some reason, his father's genes had suddenly become so weak. In any case, Eli had perfectly inherited Lily Potter's genes.

His deep red hair and handsome features had both come from Lily Potter.

Dumbledore was known as the greatest white wizard of the century, and his strength was beyond question. Even Voldemort had been deeply wary of him at the height of his power.

But to Eli, Dumbledore's most terrifying trait was not his strength, but his masterful Legilimency!

What Dumbledore was best at—and enjoyed most—was secretly reading other people's thoughts.

To him, only by controlling everything could he better protect the Wizarding World as a white wizard.

If Dumbledore learned that Eli was a transmigrator, who knew how that old man would scheme against him!

Just now, Petunia had remembered Lily upon seeing Eli. To prevent anything uncontrollable from happening, Eli had used a Confundus Charm.

It made everyone overlook his appearance.

Everyone entered the house, where the living room had been carefully arranged.

Mr. Dursley poured drinks for the Hall couple.

It had to be said that Mr. Dursley truly deserved his position as a successful corporate executive. He was excellent at dealing with people, and at least Eli could find no fault with him.

Aside from being ugly.

Mrs. Dursley was also an attentive hostess, though she looked as if she were forcing herself.

That fleeting rush of memories had reminded her of a past she did not wish to recall.

She no longer remembered what had just happened.

But the emotions remained.

She tried her best to restrain them, yet she kept stealing glances at Eli.

A familiar feeling surged into her heart, but whenever she tried to examine it closely, it slipped away.

Eli did not notice Mrs. Dursley's strange behavior. He merely looked around, his gaze lingering on the cupboard beneath the stairs for a long time.

If nothing unexpected had happened, Harry should be in there.

The Dursley family never let Harry meet guests.

"This must be Eli. I hear you'll soon be attending Eton College. You have such a bright future ahead of you!"

Eli politely smiled at Mr. Dursley.

Mr. Hall laughed heartily and politely praised Dudley as well. "Dudley is quite impressive too. That's a Smeltings Academy uniform, isn't it? A fine-looking young man!"

Pride immediately appeared on Mr. Dursley's plump face. His son always made him proud.

Eli had no interest whatsoever in this kind of mutual flattery, but it would have been rude to leave, so he could only look around in boredom.

Suddenly, there was a thump from the cupboard behind them. The Hall couple both turned to look.

Dursley's expression darkened, but he quickly recovered. "It's the cat. Our cat is always moving about. Annoying thing."

The Hall couple did not think much of it.

But Eli knew that Harry, his brother, was inside.

Seeing old Dursley's ingratiating smile made Eli unhappy.

When he saw that the cupboard door was locked from the outside, an idea came to him. He stirred his magic and opened the lock.

With a creak, freed from the lock's restraint, the door opened a crack.

When Harry inside saw the door open, he thought his aunt and uncle outside had come for him.

He walked out and softly asked, "Did you call for me?"

The room immediately fell silent, and the Dursleys' smiles froze on their faces.

They had just said there was a cat inside, yet a child walked out the next moment.

Their lie had been exposed on the spot. The awkwardness was one thing, but they absolutely could not let today's guests misunderstand!

Mr. Dursley reacted again. "Oh, this is my nephew. His family is gone, so we took him in. But he has a terrible temperament and loves causing trouble! To keep him from making a mess, we let him stay in there for now."

Eli did not listen to Dursley's words. His entire attention was fixed on the small, thin boy.

Harry, who had just emerged from the cupboard, was instantly drawn to the red-haired, green-eyed boy. The familiar feeling left him bewildered.

Looking into Harry's green eyes, Eli also fell into a daze.

This was their first meeting: one in the cupboard, the other in the living room.