At Dursley, Harry found life this year even more pleasant than the last.
Vernon had already been promoted to General Manager of his company, and he was absolutely beaming, strutting into work every day in a meticulously tailored suit.
This change in status only solidified his determination to cling to Harry.
So, ever since Harry returned, although he wasn't waited on hand and foot, he didn't have to do any chores, and on top of that, there was a massive supply of snacks, a privilege even Dudley didn't receive.
Dudley had been envious for a long time, and he would sneak into Harry's room every day to ask for snacks.
Having been back for nearly a week, Harry had slowly adapted to this lifestyle, even gaining two or three pounds.
"Harry, come eat!"
Hearing Aunt Petunia's call, Harry walked down from upstairs.
Vernon was already sitting at the dining table, and when he saw Harry come down, he smiled kindly at him.
Dudley was sitting in front of the TV, his eyes glued to the screen, while continuously stuffing his mouth with cockroach clusters.
"Dudley," Petunia shrieked, "Stop eating that disgusting stuff and come eat."
"I know, I know." Dudley bit down hard on another cockroach candy, then slowly stood up and came to the dining table.
"Why is it all vegetables? There's no meat at all!" Dudley complained, dissatisfied, "I want meat."
"I've already told you, the beef lately isn't safe to eat." Petunia placed a plate of sliced fruit on the dining table, then sat down next to Dudley.
Ever since Mad Cow Disease broke out in May, the British public had practically said goodbye to beef.
The government had racked its brains but failed to find the cause of the outbreak, and now Mad Cow Disease was spreading more and more widely, subtly showing a tendency to spread to other surrounding countries.
"The government has most likely found the cause of Mad Cow Disease," Vernon muttered, "They just don't dare to say it."
"What about chicken? What about pork? Surely those meats are fine to eat?" Dudley sulked, not wanting to eat, and he glanced at Harry's plate, saying unhappily, "Why does Harry get a chicken leg? I want one too!"
Vernon cleared his throat and advised Dudley, "Harry is too thin compared to you; he needs to eat more meat to grow.
As for you, Professor Swan said your physique is a bit over the limit and needs to be controlled. Just eat your vegetables. If you can lose ten pounds this summer, I'll reward you with a thousand pounds."
Harry felt like laughing when he remembered Professor Swan telling Uncle Vernon that Dudley's weight needed to be controlled.
He lowered his head and chuckled secretly, then focused on eating his own meal.
He wondered how Sirius was doing now?
He took a bite of chicken leg meat, recalling the last time he saw Sirius in Hogsmeade New Town before boarding the Hogwarts Express.
To make a living, Sirius had rented a stall in the New Town with his Ministry of Magic compensation to sell some of the prank items he had refined.
Harry had also tried to persuade him to find a more respectable job, at least one with much better pay, which would also secure his livelihood.
Harry even considered asking Sebastian for help to arrange a job for Sirius.
But as soon as Sirius heard this suggestion, he refused without hesitation.
He vowed to Harry, "Working for someone else is out of the question, let alone working for Stinky Swan. Only by being your own boss can you live comfortably."
Harry had once wanted to take out some funds from Gringotts to help Sirius get through the most difficult initial stage, at least to rent a storefront in Hogsmeade instead of a mobile stall.
However, Sirius felt too awkward to use a junior's money to develop his business, so he firmly refused Harry's kind offer, even if Harry wanted to invest money.
Fortunately, he possessed a considerable alchemy talent, and in his youth, he had experience refining the marauder's map, so some of the small prank items he refined were quite popular with students.
Fred and George loved them even more, immediately digging into their pockets to buy many small items.
Sirius also borrowed some money from Lupin to purchase basic materials for refining tools, then worked tirelessly every day refining them.
Thus, in the past half month, with the boost of news coverage and interesting products, he had established a firm foothold in Hogsmeade New Town.
Now, even though students were on holiday, his business hadn't declined too much.
After all, Hogsmeade New Town has a huge flow of people, with Wizards from all over visiting every day, and the small items Sirius refined were perfect as small gifts for their younger relatives.
Moreover, more and more Wizards were choosing to settle in Hogsmeade; as far as Harry knew, most of the graduated seniors had already chosen to buy homes there.
Sirius had no shortage of customers; he just complained to Harry that his hand speed wasn't fast enough.
Harry took a sip of soup, then thought somewhat distractedly.
Perhaps he could refine some small items while at Aunt Petunia's house to help Sirius with some of the burden.
Although he still had to study with Professor Snape during the day, he could still squeeze out some time in the evening.
Oh, right, the day after tomorrow is Peter's execution day. I wonder if Sirius will go to observe it personally.
Thinking of Peter, a strange worry rose in Harry's heart.
He recalled what Ron had told him and Hermione after the Divination Class exam.
Ron said that after the exam, as he was leaving the classroom, he returned the crystal ball on the floor to Professor Trelawney.
As a result, Professor Trelawney seemed to have a fit, speaking some inexplicable words with empty eyes and a hoarse voice.
"The rat escapes, the Dark Lord is reborn, blood stains the earth. The lion glares, the dragon spreads its wings, and the millennium-old pattern is thus changed!"
At the time, Ron had recounted it in a joking tone, and combined with Trelawney's reputation at school, none of the three of them took that prophecy to heart.
After all, Professor Trelawney would make several prophecies at school every year, but no one had ever seen any of them come true.
Therefore, to this day, Harry had not mentioned the prophecy Ron heard to any adult.
However, now that Peter's execution day was approaching, Harry felt that something was off, like a lump was stuck in his chest.
Although Harry didn't believe Professor Trelawney's prophecy would come true, he couldn't help but repeatedly ponder that prophecy these past two days.
Does 'the rat' refer to Peter? And who do 'the lion' and 'the dragon' refer to?
Knowing that Peter is an Animagus, the Ministry of Magic surely wouldn't let him escape, would they?
If so, the Ministry of Magic would be too incompetent.
Finding no answers, Harry had to give up. He quickly finished the food in front of him, then walked upstairs.
"I'm done eating. I'm going back to my room to study."
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