The Dursleys had no objections to Harry's proposal.
Just as Harry had imagined, even though their relationship had been repaired, Vernon still didn't want others to know of Harry's existence.
On the other hand, Vernon was well aware of his sister's nature—her tongue was even sharper than his own.
Petunia and Dudley had now accepted Harry, so he naturally had no problems. But his sister was different—for all these years, she had been urging the couple to send Harry to an orphanage.
Expecting such a person to accept Harry was simply impossible.
If Harry remained here and Marge said sothing unpleasant or did sothing unseemly, it would be embarrassing for everyone.
Now that Harry could proactively suggest leaving for a while, it couldn't be better.
"It's good that you're leaving. Otherwise, I'd really have to rack my brains figuring out what to tell Marge about you. Here's a hundred pounds—don't misunderstand, I'm not doing this out of concern for you.
After all, you're leaving from my house, and I simply don't want others to look down on you. What? You're saying you need to drive you to your classmate's house? Of course, I do—did you expect to walk there on your own two feet?"
Sherlock already knew the rest of the story.
"Outrageous!"
After hearing Harry's account, the usually good-tempered Mrs. Hols beca angry.
Violet Hols was a very gentle, traditional English woman who loved her husband and sons deeply. Take Mycroft, for example—although he had been recruited by the governnt at a young age, which seed like an honorable thing, she would rather her son could be an ordinary person who never had to face danger. Unfortunately, children grow up and make their own choices. She could only keep this care and worry silently buried in her heart.
Because of this, when she heard about Aunt Marge's actions, she beca rarely angry.
"Hitting a five-year-old child's shins with a walking stick, giving dog biscuits as presents, and letting a dog chase you up a tree until midnight—how could she do such things! Is her heart made of stone?"
Mr. Hols also frowned.
When Harry had co here last ti, he already knew that Harry had suffered greatly over the years. So much so that when the couple ntioned Harry could treat this place as his own ho, Harry's first reaction was to ask if he could live in the cupboard.
He hadn't expected that Harry had endured far more grievances than imagined—it was absolutely outrageous!
Harry was startled.
In his impression, Mrs. Hols was even gentler than Mrs. Weasley, and every ti he saw her, he couldn't help feeling a sense of closeness. He had never even imagined that Mrs. Hols could get angry.
Although Mr. Hols beside her was also frowning, in Harry's view, Mrs. Hols at this mont was more frightening than he was.
Harry felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles, with thorns in his back, treading on thin ice.
He wished he hadn't ntioned this matter.
"A-Auntie, it's all in the past now. My relationship with them isn't like it used to be anymore..." Thinking of this, he hurriedly explained, "Actually, I think Aunt Marge had a point."
"Child, what are you saying?" Mrs. Hols looked at Harry with a gaze that held both helplessness and affection. "She treated you like that, and you're still defending her?"
Seeing Mrs. Hols like this, Harry secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Because she always thought Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia shouldn't have taken in. She even said that if soone had dumped on her doorstep, she would have sent to an orphanage long ago."
Speaking of this, Harry couldn't help but think of Tom Riddle. He had grown up in an orphanage and eventually beca the Dark Lord who terrorized the entire wizarding world.
If he had really grown up in an orphanage, would he have beco a villain too? Probably not, right?
"Being with them is worse than staying in an orphanage," Mrs. Hols said coldly, her anger clearly not yet subsided.
Sherlock suddenly spoke up. "Actually, the headmaster is the one who handled this matter poorly."
"The headmaster—you an Professor McGonagall who ca to our house?" Mrs. Hols imdiately rembered that sowhat stern professor, sowhat surprised that these matters were related to her.
"No, soone else—Albus Dumbledore," Sherlock said. "He was the one who insisted on sending Harry to the Dursleys, and all these years, he's believed that Harry was doing well on Privet Drive."
"This is what he calls doing well?" Mrs. Hols laughed bitterly, wondering if this headmaster nad Dumbledore had sh*t in his brain.
"Because he's lived too long," Sherlock explained patiently to his mother.
"Our morally bankrupt country only passed formal child protection laws in 1989. Before that, there was even a period in history when three-year-old children were made to clean chimneys.
Headmaster Dumbledore was born in the Victorian era—his perspective on many things still belongs to that bygone age, naturally different from ours, including this point. Besides, his unique life experiences have also influenced his worldview, which is why he has such understanding."
Hearing this, Mrs. Hols took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking,
"Harry, from now on, for all holidays, unless you want to stay at school, you'll stay here directly. Don't go back to Privet Drive anymore! If that headmaster doesn't agree, let talk to him!"
At this mont, Harry firmly believed that even when facing Professor McGonagall, Mrs. Hols would not be at a disadvantage.
Indeed, gentle people are truly frightening when they get angry.
He regretted again that he shouldn't have ntioned this matter—at least not in such detail. Now he didn't know how to respond.
Fortunately, Sherlock spoke up in ti to help him out:
"Mother, that won't work."
"Why not?"
"Harry has an ancient protective magic on him. He needs to stay there for at least a month each year."
"Then stay there for a month and then co over!"
Hearing Mrs. Hols's words, Harry was deeply moved. At this mont, he seed to receive maternal love from Mrs. Hols.
"Mrs. Hols, actually my relationship with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia is much better than before. Thanks to Sherlock, they don't treat like they used to. If it weren't for Aunt Marge coming this ti, I would have had a pretty good sumr! I now have my own separate bedroom, and this holiday my cousin even gave lots of comics and toys."
Harry hurriedly spoke up for the three mbers of the Dursley family.
The more he said, the angrier Mrs. Hols beca.
How much suffering must he have endured to consider his cousin giving him presents as sothing worth bragging about?
Looking at Harry's sincere gaze, Mrs. Hols suppressed her anger and simply changed the subject.
"Harry, I heard from Sherlock that tomorrow is your birthday?"
"Um, yes!"
"Where would you like to go?"
"What?"
"Never mind, you and Sherlock should rest early tonight. Just listen to our arrangents when you get up tomorrow morning."
"Huh?"
Harry was confused.
He didn't dare ask Mrs. Hols in her current state, so he went to ask Mr. Hols, but Mr. Hols just smiled without saying anything.
He could only ask Sherlock. But he had a feeling he wouldn't get the answer he wanted from Sherlock.
Sure enough, Sherlock's response was: "Ti will tell you all the answers."
Harry: (￣_￣|||)
Seeing the mysterious appearance of the Hols family trio, Harry could only go to sleep early with an uneasy heart.
The next day.
Mrs. Hols woke Sherlock and Harry early, telling them they were going out today.
Sherlock naturally had expected this.
Harry was completely bewildered.
However, in the ti that followed, he finally experienced Dudley's happiness.
Mrs. Hols felt that Harry had been wronged on Privet Drive and decided to give Harry a truly aningful birthday.
She treated Harry as another one of her children, taking Harry to visit every place she could think of.
When Harry sat beside Sherlock enjoying the feeling of the gentle breeze on his face, he couldn't help but burst into tears.
You must know that just two years ago, on Dudley's birthday, Harry had thought himself incredibly lucky simply because it was the first ti in his life, he had ridden in Uncle Vernon's car to go to the zoo—even though this was only because the Dursleys didn't dare leave him alone at ho and had no way to arrange for him otherwise.
At the park entrance, the Dursleys had bought Dudley and his friend Piers large chocolate ice creams. Only because the ice cream seller kept asking did they reluctantly buy Harry a cheap lemon popsicle.
Harry had thought the popsicle was quite good at the ti.
When eating lunch at the restaurant, Dudley complained that his knickerbocker glory wasn't big enough, so Uncle Vernon quickly ordered him a larger one and let Harry finish the original one.
Harry had happily licked the sundae because it was the first ti he had tasted such expensive treats.
Last sumr, the days Harry spent at the Burrow had also been very happy.
But even so, Harry still couldn't forget that day.
If it hadn't been for releasing the Brazilian boa constrictor afterward, resulting in him being locked in the cupboard for a month, it really would have been the most perfect day of his life.
After learning he was a wizard and entering Hogwarts to study for two years, Harry had originally thought he had long since adapted to life in the wizarding world.
But when today he followed the Hols family to the zoo and enjoyed happiness like other children his age, he realized sothing.
The reason he loved the wizarding world and accepted the fact that he was a wizard in such a short ti was because his previous life in the Muggle world had been truly terrible.
He was, after all, just a child!
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