Howl flipped the page back to the table of contents, looking at a subsection in the History of Magic, and fell silent for a moment.
"Sit down. I know very little about you, but perhaps the book will give us answers."
Harry noticed "History of Magic" on the book's cover, which he found a bit strange, but he didn't say much, instead sitting down as instructed.
Then, Howl turned the book to that page and began to narrate while reading.
Under Howl's gentle and slow narration, a picture from over a decade ago gradually unfolded before Harry's eyes, and then, this picture became increasingly chilling, making him feel cold all over.
An hour later, Howl closed the book, took a deep breath, and turned to look at Harry.
Harry's eyes were somewhat red. Just as Howl had said, he was trying to hide his emotions, but his constantly twisting and intertwined fingers showed that he was not as calm as he appeared.
After a long while, Harry finally said, "I..."
His throat was very hoarse, and he almost choked. After coughing twice, he said with a bitter smile, "Petunia and Vernon always told me... my parents died in a car accident."
"If you want to vent your emotions, please do." Howl waved his hand and placed the book on the table.
Harry shook his head, "Actually... I don't even know what to say. I'm not as sad as I imagined. Uncle Howl, am I... too indifferent?"
"Of course, it's not your problem." Howl shook his head, "After all, you've never met them. We only understand a corner of their past from the cold words of history books.
Their preferences, their personalities, we don't even know what they looked like... Perhaps in the future, these things will gradually enter your mind, little by little. Like a dull knife cutting at you..."
Harry was silent for a while before saying, "I want... I want to know more about them."
"Of course, that's only natural." Howl nodded and pushed the book in front of Harry.
He didn't know Harry's parents, so he could only give Harry the history book and couldn't help him much.
Perhaps in the future, when Harry goes to Hogwarts, he can learn more about James and Lily's lives there.
Harry carefully turned the pages, while Howl stood up and went into the kitchen...
In the evening, Harry bid farewell to Uncle Howl on the sofa and closed the door. It was raining lightly again in London. He waited for a red car, which looked black in the night, to pass before crossing the road.
He felt somewhat dazed all evening, with different images and voices of his parents constantly being written and then denied and erased in his mind.
What kind of people were they? How did they talk? How did they laugh?
If they hadn't died, would everything be different?
All sorts of jumbled thoughts intertwined in his mind, like a tangled ball of thread, leaving him unsure how to deal with them.
Pushing open the door, what greeted him was still that house that looked warm but was actually cold.
If his parents were inside the house at that moment, what would it be like?
Click—
The door was pushed open again, and Vernon, wearing a brown overcoat, walked in, looking indignant. As soon as he entered, he saw Harry standing by the door, pushed him aside, and cursed:
"Get back to your room! You're still on confinement!"
After cursing, he took off his rain-soaked overcoat and hung it on the coat rack, then walked towards the living room.
Petunia also walked out of the living room and hugged Vernon.
"You knew about this all along?"
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind Vernon.
His fat body turned with some difficulty in the entryway, his eyes narrowed into slits, clearly very angry: "What did you say?"
Harry stood up and calmly looked at the two of them: "My parents were Wizards. You knew about it all along, didn't you? My mother was your sister, wasn't she?!"
Petunia stumbled back two steps, her mouth trembling as it opened, her face filled with terror. Vernon's entire face suddenly turned red and hot like a boiling kettle, twitching uncontrollably.
"Don't—"
His voice was like a volcano about to erupt, and his huge body quickly pressed towards Harry.
Until it was right in front of Harry's face.
"Don't you dare say that word in this house!"
Harry looked at Vernon's face and suddenly found that he wasn't so scared anymore.
On the contrary, he seemed to understand why Uncle Howl told him not to show his emotions on his face.
Although he had seen Vernon's angry face countless times, this time, he saw something else in the anger.
"You really did know!" Harry realized, choosing to confront Vernon's anger for the first time.
He said seriously, "Otherwise, why would you hate magic so much? It's because you know magic."
"Shut up!" Vernon grabbed Harry by the collar, opened the cupboard door, and tried to stuff him inside.
Harry struggled, clinging desperately to the doorframe, and cried out hoarsely, "I just want to know why you lied to me! Is that wrong?!"
"Shut up! Shut up!" Vernon pried Harry's fingers open one by one and threw him onto the small bed board in the cupboard.
Bang—
The door was slammed shut. White dust from the stairs fell on Harry's head. The small window on the door was opened again, and Vernon stared intensely at Harry.
"I don't know how you found out about this, but from today on, you're not allowed to go anywhere."
He didn't care how Harry had found out these things, but from today on, everything would be nipped in the bud by him.
Having said that, Vernon slammed the small window shut.
Petunia kept patting her chest, taking deep breaths. She was terrified. That fellow, how dare he speak like that in this house!
Vernon patted his wife's shoulder, constantly comforting her.
Suddenly, a knock sounded.
Both of them were startled. Who would be visiting them at this hour?
After exchanging a glance, Vernon led Petunia to the living room sofa, then went to the door and opened it.
Outside the door was a man in a sharp suit, with a cold, chiseled face. He wore a brown fedora and a wool coat.
"May I come in? As a visiting neighbor." Howl took off his hat, revealing a gentle smile.
"No, I refuse!" Vernon said ungraciously, but Howl had already walked in, praising, "It's so bright. I actually wanted to put more lights in my house too, but unfortunately, I don't have complete electrical facilities."
Saying that, he took off his hat and coat and hung them on the coat rack.
"I said, you're not welcome—"
Howl paid no attention, walking straight ahead. As he passed the cupboard, Harry's voice sounded. He was banging on the door, constantly asking something. He already knew who the visitor was from the voice.
However, Howl simply pushed open the small window and said, "You should be sleeping, kid."
"I..."
"Trust me."
After Howl finished speaking, he closed the small window again. He waved his hand over the small door, isolating the sounds from inside and out.
Then he turned to look at the dark gun barrel and the figure holding the shotgun behind it.
"Mr. Dursley, I just want us to calmly discuss the child's matters. Are you sure you want to do this?"