"Get up! Get up! Quickly!"
The urgent knocking on the door sounded, and Harry Potter groggily opened his eyes.
He instinctively reached for the magic wand under his pillow, only to grasp at thin air.
His green eyes narrowed as he raised his arm, only to discover his arm had become thin and frail.
What's going on?
Alarmed, he looked around and found himself in a small, cramped space.
The cupboard under the stairs...
The cupboard under the stairs at the Dursley house, what a distant memory this is.
Could it be, I've returned to 1991?
"Wake up!"
Another shout, and Harry came to his senses, remembering it was the voice of his Aunt Penny.
He hadn't heard this voice for six years, he had almost completely forgotten about the Dursley family.
Harry sat up in bed, surveying the small cramped space.
This is much smaller than the dormitory at Hogwarts, he thought.
Ever since he found that acceptance letter in the cubbyhole, he inexplicably arrived at a school called Hogwarts, where he had studied and lived for six years.
He even felt that he was almost integrated into that Victorian era, although he suddenly found himself back in the Elizabethan era for some unknown reason.
Harry picked up his glasses from beside the pillow, looking at the tape-wrapped glasses arms, he flicked his fingers lightly.
The tape made a crackling sound, spun around the glasses arm, and flew into the glasses. Meanwhile, the glasses arms returned to their original condition.
Putting on his glasses and opening the door, Aunt had already left, greeted by an indescribable smell — following the sound to the kitchen, he found that the smell seemed to emanate from a large iron basin in the sink.
Aunt's family had already gathered at the dining table, how they managed to resist this disgusting smell — but given Dudley's pig-like personality... and physique, it would be odd if he's not eating.
Upon seeing Harry arrive, Uncle Vernon instinctively furrowed his brow.
Before he could say anything, they heard a clatter from the mailbox, followed by several letters dropping onto the doormat.
"Why are you just standing there?" Uncle Vernon's tone was unpleasant as he turned to Dudley: "Use your Smelting Wand to make him go pick them up."
Seeing Dudley reaching for his wand with ill intent, Harry looked at him deeply and turned away.
On the carpet by the door lay three letters, one from Aunt Marge, one that seemed to be a bill, and the last addressed "Surrey, Little Whinging District, 4 Privet Drive, the cupboard under the stairs, Mr. Harry Potter."
The envelope was made of heavy parchment, the address written in dark green ink with no postage stamp.
Harry took a deep breath and flipped the letter, finding it indeed sealed with a wax seal resembling the Hogwarts crest.
Such a letter, yesterday —
No, to be precise six years ago, he had found in the cupboard under the stairs and then went to the Victorian era over a hundred years ago.
He held the letter and, amid Uncle Vernon's impatient urging, slowly walked back to the kitchen, placing the two letters on the table, before opening the one addressed to him.
"Dad!" Dudley suddenly shouted: "Dad! Harry seems to have received something!"
As soon as the words fell, Harry felt someone rushing towards him, instinctively raising his hand, and Uncle Vernon, who had rushed in, was floating and then suddenly fell to the ground.
Wandless Magic, Silent Spell.
This is the chief of Hogwarts Dueling Wands, Harry Potter.
Wingardium Leviosa, the standard Floating Spell.
In combination, there was also Descendo (Muffled Down), a set of spell combinations taught to him by Sebastian Saru of Slytherin College.
Considering that his uncle, who is comparable to a Giant in size, could be fatal if he fell like this, Harry instinctively stopped the spell halfway after Descendo.
Uncle Vernon's nose was only inches from the ground, Harry fanned himself with the letter, hearing Uncle Vernon shouting and cursing, Harry snapped his fingers, and Uncle Vernon's mouth, which was spewing profanity, was zipped closed like a zipper.
"Do you mind?" Harry raised an eyebrow and asked politely.
Aunt Penny let out a sharp bang upon witnessing this scene.
"You... you haven't attended the Hogwarts... that freak school yet, how come you can use magic?"
Harry astutely caught the details in Aunt Penny's words, lifted his head, and his emerald eyes met Penny's: "That's not important. What's important is how do you know about Hogwarts, about magic?"
Speaking, he waved the letter in his hand.
"I..."
Penny felt a little parched.
"Seems you have many things you're hiding from me, Aunt," Harry remarked with a light chuckle, speaking with a relaxed tone amid the stunned gaze of Dudley and the frightened gaze of Aunt Penny: "So, do you mind telling me?"
"No, impossible!" Aunt Penny was hysterical.
Harry put down the thick parchment letter, seeing Aunt in such a state and Uncle Vernon with his mouth blocked and his body suspended in mid-air still struggling to pursue him, memories flooded back like tidal waves.
Years of abusive living, not the six years at magic school can dilute it, instead becoming even clearer at this moment, even if he didn't resent Aunt's family for this.
But given Aunt Penny's attitude, Harry didn't mind scaring her a little.
"Aunt should know, wizards have a spell called Mind Reading — as the name suggests, it allows reading other people's memories." Harry said politely and elegantly, "I don't think we have reached the point where using this spell is necessary, have we?"
Penny looked at her nephew with trepidation and unfamiliarity, why overnight had he become so... courteous?
She had once attended upper society banquets with Vernon, Harry's demeanor was identical to those "big shots" she had seen!
However, what she didn't know was, thanks to the neurotic headmaster Phineas Black, Hogwarts students had to learn etiquette, and it was the aggravating so-called "Pure-blood Nobility" etiquette!
Even a stone would be marinated after six years, let alone Harry, this naturally intelligent young wizard.
"Alright, alright." Aunt Penny relented under Harry's "courteous" threat, "Your parents were both wizards, killed because they offended a powerful Dark Wizard, isn't this enough? I don't know what your parents learned in that freak — gimmick school, I only know this much!"
"So, you're not a wizard?"
After speaking, Harry noticed Aunt Penny's face turned extremely hard to look at.
"Thank you, Aunt, for the information, I suppose I don't need to go to Stone Wall Middle School, do I?"
Harry chuckled lightly as he stood up, waving fingers to release Uncle Vernon from the spell, and without looking at them, returned quietly to the cupboard under the stairs amidst their wary gazes.
Back in the cubbyhole, Harry opened the envelope, scanning it briefly, and spotted a blind spot.
Albus Dumbledore?
Harry furrowed his brow, recalling the headmaster called Phineas Black during his schooling at Hogwarts.
Could it be that Phineas Black is dead?
Harry's mood, originally unpleasant due to Aunt's family, was immediately lifted by this piece of good news.
Merlin's puffed sleeves...
This is truly a cause for celebration!