Harry's plan crumbled the moment Aunt Petunia's fingers closed around the parchment. Instead of the hurried signature he had hoped for, she pulled the document close to her face with the intensity of a hawk examining potential prey.
Her thin lips moved silently as she read, her eyes scanning every line with meticulous attention that made Harry's stomach drop.
The kitchen fell unnaturally quiet except for the continued buzz of the television and Uncle Vernon's breathing. Even Dudley had paused his mechanical consumption of breakfast to observe the unfolding drama.
"Hogsmeade... weekend visit permission..." Petunia's voice grew sharper with each word. "Don't think you can fool us with your sneaky tricks!"
Uncle Vernon heaved fat body from his chair. His thick fingers snatched the permission form from his wife's grasp. He held the document at arm's length, squinting through the reading glasses that were on his nose.
After several moments of examination, Vernon's face twisted into a sneer that revealed his yellowed teeth. "Ha! So, the little troublemaker wants to gallivant around some freaky village, does he?"
His voice carried the satisfied tone of a man who had just discovered his neighbor's valued garden gnome had been stolen. "Well, let me tell you something right now—you don't have a snowball's chance in hell!"
The triumphant gleam in his pig-like eyes was obvious.
"Oh, really?" Harry forced himself to remain calm, and still spoke expressionlessly. "I'm sure Professor Westeros would be more than happy to help me solve this little problem."
The words struck the Dursley family like thunder. Vernon's sneer froze on his face as if he had been petrified, his double chin trembling with what Harry realized was fear. The color drained from Aunt Petunia's already pale face until she resembled a corpse.
Harry was somewhat surprised by this reaction. They seemed very afraid of Professor Westeros.
"You—you wouldn't dare try that trick!" Vernon sputtered, his voice rising to a near-shriek as he struggled to maintain some authority. "If that freak dares to show his face at my house again—"
"You sign the form, and I won't need to trouble him," Harry interrupted smoothly, producing a quill from his pocket.
Vernon's expression became even more unpleasant, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Finally, he agreed to sign the parchment, but with one condition.
"There!" He spat. "But you're going to tell anyone who asks that you're attending St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. If anyone finds out about your... abnormalities... through you, there will be consequences."
This made Harry breathe a sigh of relief.
In fact, if Vernon had ultimately refused to sign, Harry wouldn't have wanted to trouble Adrian either. That would have caused many unnecessary problems.
"Take your things and get out of here."
After signing, Vernon shoved the quill and permission form into Harry's hands, glaring at him angrily.
Harry put the items away and shrugged his shoulders.
At least he had gotten the result he wanted.
An Unexpected Encounter
That afternoon, Harry walked toward Adrian's shop carrying a small black case, sighing helplessly.
He had originally planned to stay home and work on his summer homework today.
However, plans couldn't keep up with changes.
At noon, Vernon's sister Marge had come to visit the Dursley house.
His Aunt Marge was also an unpleasant person, just like all the Dursleys.
When he was young, Marge had often bullied him, including but not limited to. beating Harry's shins with her walking stick, giving him dog biscuits, and setting her dog on him to chase him up trees...
What was worse was that Marge was going to stay at the Dursley house for a whole week. Therefore, Harry had no choice but to hastily escape from the Dursley house.
He really didn't want to have any conversation with Aunt Marge.
Thinking of this, Harry glanced at the small black case in his hand, and his mood improved slightly.
Inside was the Broomstick Servicing Kit that Hermione had given him.
He really wanted to use the tools inside on his Nimbus 2000, but unfortunately, due to the Dursleys' opposition, he had stored all his magic-related items with Adrian, including his broomstick.
He was so focused on his destination that he nearly collided with another figure approaching the shop from the opposite direction.
"Remus," Harry said, unable to hide his surprise.
He remembered that Remus should have already resigned.
"Oh, Harry," Remus replied with a distracted nod. "Good afternoon."
With that, he pushed open the door first.
Harry hurried to follow, noticing that Remus's expression seemed somewhat serious.
'Had something bad happened?'
Inside the shop, Adrian was lying lazily on the sofa, holding today's Daily Prophet in his hands.
Seeing the two enter, he put down the newspaper and smiled. "Hello, Remus. Oh, and Harry. What brings you both here with such serious expressions?"
Remus didn't exchange pleasantries and asked directly. "Have you read today's Daily Prophet?"
"Ah, of course." Adrian's responded nodding casually. The newspaper was still in his hands.
Today, Sirius Black had finally escaped from Azkaban.
The Daily Prophet had given this news a large spread, with Black's photo alone taking up nearly half the page. In the photo, Black looked haggard, his eyes vacant, his black disheveled hair almost covering half his face.
Honestly, Adrian somewhat admired him.
Crossing a vast ocean without a wand—that wasn't something that could be accomplished by willpower alone.
"Sirius Black has escaped," Remus sighed. "You should know what this means, Adrian."
"So what?" Adrian shrugged, standing up from the sofa and saying casually, "It has nothing to do with me."
"Who is this Black you're talking about?" Harry, who had been listening quietly, suddenly interrupted. "This morning, I saw on Muggle television that a criminal named Black had escaped from prison."
"Probably the same person," Adrian confirmed with a nod, and explained straightforwardly. "He's a criminal from Azkaban—the wizarding prison. The Ministry of Magic maintains certain contacts with the Muggle government for situations exactly like this. They're concerned that Black might try to hide in the Muggle world, so both sides have issued wanted notices."
Harry took the newspaper from Adrian's hands, and sure enough, the portrait on it was almost identical to the face he had seen on television.
He was immediately surprised. In his imagination, the wizarding world and the Muggle world should have been separate.
What Harry didn't know was that there were quite a few people in the Muggle world who knew wizards existed, especially those with wealth and status.
"I don't think this matter has nothing to do with you, Adrian," Remus said, shaking his head and explained. "Black is a Death Eater."
"A Death Eater!" Harry exclaimed, the newspaper nearly slipping from his fingers. He naturally knew that Death Eaters were what Voldemort's followers were called.
Remus ignored Harry's outburst, and kept his attention focused on Adrian with intensity. "You should know about the things Black has done. He was sent to Azkaban. Who do you think he hates most now?"
"You're afraid he escaped to come after Harry?"
"Yes," Remus confirmed and warned him. "Be careful, Adrian. Be very careful."
"You don't need to worry about that, Remus," Adrian smiled and shook his head. "Do you honestly think Black could threaten Harry under my protection? Besides, things might not be quite as simple as you think..."
"Wait! Wait!" Harry felt like his head was spinning, overwhelmed by the rapid-fire exchange of information and implications. "That guy named Black escaped from prison specifically to come after me?"
Adrian reached out and ruffled Harry's messy hair. "Don't be afraid, he can't threaten you."
Seeing that both had confirmed this, Harry suddenly felt somewhat surreal.
His life was truly thrilling and dangerous.
Last term, he had faced down a thousand-year-old basilisk in the depths of Hogwarts. Now, apparently, an escaped Death Eater was hunting him to seek revenge on him.
Remus left after delivering his warning—he had come here just to tell Adrian this news.
Of course, Adrian, who knew the truth, wasn't panicked at all.
Now they just had to wait for Black to show himself, and then everything would be clarified.
However, Harry didn't think so.
Because of this matter, he was distracted all afternoon, his mind was filled with Black's sinister face from the newspaper.
On the way home that evening, his nerves were constantly tense, always feeling that from some dark corner, that disheveled fugitive was watching him.
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