An Unexpected Visitor

Before we knew it, the sky had darkened.

A gentle breeze rustled the neat hedges lining Privet Drive, and the street Silencio and spotless under the dark sky.

The streetlights along the street lit up one by one, and once again illuminated the number four bronze plaque on the Dursley family' front door.

Just as Uncle Vernon was about to explode, the minute hand of the alarm clock pointed to twelve, and almost at the same time, the streetlights outside the window suddenly went out.

The sudden darkness, like a flash of lightning, jolted everyone awake from the strange atmosphere. Uncle Vernon sensed something was wrong and quickly pretended nothing had happened, placing the pie he was holding on the table.

Just then, a tall figure in a long cloak walked along the path in the Dursley family' garden, and then the doorbell rang.

"Ah, I know that. You ring the doorbell, right? That uses electricity too! I'll go open the door!" Mr. Weasley said cheerfully.

A deep voice said, "Good evening, Arthur."

"Dumbledore!"

"Professor!"

"Headmaster!"

"It's a wizard again!"

Everyone froze in shock. Standing in the doorway was a tall, thin man with silver-white hair and a beard that reached his waist. He wore a pair of crescent-shaped glasses perched on his aquiline nose, a black travel cloak, and a pointed hat.

"Sirius, I don't think you've forgotten what I said. Where are Petunia and Dudley?" Dumbledore said in a friendly and approachable tone.

"They went to my sister's house. Is there a problem?" Dumbledore's tone seemed to give Uncle Vernon a bit of courage, and he said, stiffening his neck.

Dursley—

"You Muggle!" Sirius and Mr. Malfoy shouted in turn.

"Sirius! Lucius!" Dumbledore's reminder made them stop what they were about to say.

"Thank goodness, otherwise those words would have been really nasty," Harry thought with a sense of relief for some reason.

"Hey! There are some polite wizards out there. This is my house." Uncle Vernon breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to say something more, but something about Dumbledore seemed to make him breathless for a moment.

Perhaps it was Dumbledore's striking wizarding aura, or perhaps it was simply because even Vernon Dursley could sense that he found it difficult to act arrogantly in front of this man.

"Professor, what did you say to Sirius?" Harry asked.

Harry suddenly realized that all this strangeness might be related to what Dumbledore had said to Sirius earlier.

"I'd be happy to share with you. However, I don't think it's wise to linger at the door." He nimbly stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him.

"It has been a long time since I last visited," Dumbledore said, looking down from his hooked nose at his Vernon Dursley. "I must admit, your agapanthus is in full bloom."

Vernon Dursley remained silent, but judging from his darting little eyes, he was probably trying to recall when Dumbledore had been there.

"Ah! You must be that Aberforth guy, the one who left Harry, that little rascal, in our house," said Uncle Vernon.

"I think so." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, gesturing to stop Sirius from about to erupt in anger.

"How lively! Arthur, Lucius, I don't know why you're fooling around with Sirius, but it's clearly unwise to let Harry leave his family behind," said Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore, I—"

"We are—" Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley both looked very anxious to explain.

This made Ron and Draco, who had originally wanted to interject, decide to wait and see.

"You're their leader, right? I'm going to report this guy, Sirius, for saying a lot of nasty things to us and threatening us with his magic tricks." Uncle Vernon said, pointing his chubby little finger at Sirius. Sirius didn't seem to care at all; he just wanted to explain everything, but he was hesitant because of privacy—he wanted to discuss the issue of Harry and his two friends' less-than-ideal sexual orientations within their own group.

"Dursley, I'm glad Harry didn't suffer the same abuse as Dudley here," Dumbledore said.

"We—abuse Dudley? What are you doing—?" Vernon Dursley said angrily, but Dumbledore raised a hand to signal for quiet, and the room immediately fell silent, as if he had suddenly rendered Vernon Dursley mute.

"Ten years ago, I left Harry on your steps with a letter explaining that his parents had been murdered and that I hoped you would treat him like your own child. But you did not do as I asked. You never treated Harry as your son. All he received from you was neglect and constant abuse."

"To be honest, I can understand what Sirius did. He must have told you that he is Harry's godfather."

"I really want to say something, but no matter how miserable, unpopular, or abused Harry is here, you at least reluctantly gave him a place to stay. You even suffered an attack by wizards because of him."

"In this way, the protective power in Harry based on his mother's bloodline will continue to be effective." Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"Wait, a wizard's attack? When?" Uncle Vernon asked in confusion.

"That was a very cunning wizard. He cleaned up the traces of the attack, but Dudley undoubtedly still has that wizard's magic within him," Dumbledore said.

This was also why he tolerated Dursley's rudeness.

"Wait, Uncle Vernon and the others were attacked because of me?" Harry looked incredulous, gripping Ron's hand tightly. This made Mr. Weasley, who wasn't entirely aware of the situation, sigh.

"That's more like it," Sirius muttered.

"Now I understand, Dudley became a playboy like you, all because of you, I understand," said Vernon Dursley, turning his gaze from Dumbledore's face to Harry, then pulling his trousers up.

He seemed to be swelling up, his large, purplish-red face stretching out in front of Harry.

"Alright, that's all settled now," he took a deep breath, his shirt taut at the chest. "You can get out of this house, kid! You can't stay here. We were willing to take you in on the condition that you don't threaten my wife and son, and you don't cause us any trouble. If you do threaten us—I've had enough! Get out!"

"I don't think so. Harry staying with you is also for your protection. The most dangerous time is when he leaves you—his mother's protective power will disappear from you," Dumbledore said patiently.

"Fine, I don't care anymore, you bunch of freaks can have the living room!" Uncle Vernon glared at Harry for a few moments, then stormed upstairs.