Harry leaned back against the sofa, his mind a complete mess.
Sirius and his maternal cousin had played a ruthless hand.
They had not threatened the Dursleys with magic. They had simply stunned Uncle Vernon with money.
They had turned Harry Potter into a walking pound sterling.
"But..."
Harry could not help frowning as he looked at Vernon in his frenzied state.
"Why? I mean... don't you hate people like us more than anything? Didn't you say wizards were all... abnormal?"
At the word "wizards," Aunt Petunia's hand suddenly tightened on the sofa's armrest, and her lips trembled, as though she wanted to correct Harry's choice of words. But after glancing at the stack of letters, she forcibly held herself back.
Uncle Vernon's smile froze for half a second, then turned into a calculating sneer.
He puffed out his chest and clasped his hands behind his back, looking every bit the elder lecturing an ignorant youngster.
"Boy, this is the adult world. Do you think I don't understand anything? Do you think I'm just a man who sells drills?"
He snorted, walked over to the drinks cabinet, and poured himself a brandy-something he normally only drank on holidays.
"That wanted criminal of a godfather of yours... all right, don't glare at me. I mean the former wanted criminal.
"According to that Mr. Holmes's explanation, it was a judicial misunderstanding.
"He was merely falsely accused among your lot... those people."
Vernon swirled his glass, the liquid clinging to its sides.
"Then why did the United Kingdom's government issue a warrant for him? You work with the government. I don't believe your lot can control the government completely..."
"Though I have my reservations about your dreadful legal system, if the United Kingdom's government has withdrawn the warrant, that means he's legally in