As soon as she opened the letter, Amanda saw Harry's familiar handwriting, though it was even messier than usual, likely due to the rush.
"Dear Amanda, just as you and Hermione said, the Ministry of Magic has made its move against me. Two Dementors came, and I drove them away with the Patronus Charm. What should I do next?"
"So it really was Dementors." Hermione leaned over to look at the letter in Amanda's hand and frowned.
"Mm," Amanda replied expressionlessly, folding the letter twice to put it away while taking out the communicator from her pocket. "This is the best choice Fudge could have made."
She dialed Harry on the communicator, and he picked up almost within seconds.
As soon as the connection was made, Harry slapped his hand against his face. "Merlin's beard, I completely forgot I still had this communicator to use."
Nearby, Hedwig, who had just finished drinking water and resting, heard her master's voice. She spread her wings, flew a short distance, and landed on Amanda's shoulder. Carefully retracting her talons, she tilted her head, looking at her master, who was somehow inside that small board.
"Hedwig, thanks for your hard work just now." Harry smiled gently, his mood seemingly unruffled by the sudden appearance of the Dementors.
Hedwig gave a soft hoot, as if responding to him.
"Harry, what's the situation on your end? Has the letter from the Ministry of Magic arrived?" Seeing the interaction between the boy and the bird finish, Amanda asked Harry through the communicator, her expression unchanging.
"The letter arrived," Harry said, not at all surprised that Amanda had predicted this. He pulled out the letter the Ministry of Magic had sent him and unfolded it to confirm once more. "It's from the Improper Use of Magic Office. It says that according to Ministry regulations, I've been expelled from Hogwarts, they're going to destroy my wand, and I have to go to the Ministry for a hearing on August 12th."
"Hah, this is the first time I've heard of an underage Young Wizard having to stand trial for using magic to protect themselves," Hermione sneered. "If they actually followed the law, even if an underage Young Wizard really did misuse magic during the summer break, it wouldn't warrant a full hearing."
"Also," Harry fumbled around and found another letter nearby, "there's another letter here sent by Mr. Weasley. It says Headmaster Dumbledore already knows about this and told me to stay put, and not to hand over my wand."
"Mm," Amanda nodded with a cold expression, her eyes fixed on Harry's in the communicator. "Harry, do you want to leave there now?"
"Don't worry about anything else; I can handle everything. Just tell me if you want to or not."
After a long silence, Harry finally nodded slowly. "I do, but didn't Mr. Weasley say..."
"That's only because Headmaster Dumbledore and the organization he leads against Voldemort are afraid you'll be harmed by Voldemort if you come out."
Amanda interrupted Harry bluntly, her voice indifferent and cold, yet to Hermione beside her and Harry in the communicator, it sounded clearly gentle and reliable.
"And that problem ceases to exist as long as you are with me."
"Oh, oh," Harry responded blankly, then immediately reacted. "Wait, are you coming to pick me up to stay with you guys?"
Harry's eyes widened in astonishment, and he instinctively looked at Hermione next to Amanda.
Hermione raised an eyebrow and spread her hands. "I have no objection to it, and my parents would welcome you too."
"Uh." Harry nodded stiffly, a thought taking firm root in his mind: once he reached the Granger Residence, he would never step out of his room unless absolutely necessary. He must not disturb Amanda and Hermione!
"Good, stay right there." Amanda gave a slight nod, handed the communicator to Hermione, and instantly vanished from the spot.
When she reappeared, she was already by Harry's side.
Standing firmly on the floor, Amanda scanned Harry's room. With a gentle wave of her right hand, all of Harry's belongings began to pack themselves into trunks automatically.
The commotion upstairs clearly alerted Mr. and Mrs. Dursley downstairs, and they came rushing up two steps at a time.
Vernon looked at Amanda and Harry with fury, his fat face turning purple.
"Boy, how dare you! How dare you invite your kind into our home again!"
"Mr. Dursley, Mrs. Dursley, hello." Amanda nodded politely in greeting, reaching out to catch the packed trunks as they floated through the air.
Vernon Dursley's reaction was within her expectations—a very normal reaction for a Muggle who simply feared and detested magic.
But Petunia Dursley's reaction—Amanda's gaze quickly swept over her face, interpreting her micro-expressions in an instant.
Nervousness, fear, hesitation, and a hint of determination?
She was nervous because Amanda had arrived, and part of her fear was also because of Amanda's presence, but not entirely.
That look of fear had been there before she even saw Amanda at the door, so something else must have happened just now to frighten her.
Hesitation—what did she have to hesitate about? The only thing requiring a decision right now was undoubtedly whether to let Harry leave with her.
So that must be what she was hesitating about. As for that hint of determination, Amanda looked into Petunia's eyes; her gaze flickered toward Harry from time to time, so her determination was likely a desire to keep Harry there.
However, based on Harry's descriptions of Petunia and Vernon's usual behavior and the fact that Dudley had just encountered Dementors, she should have wanted Harry to leave immediately.
That meant something had prompted her to make this decision—the thing that frightened her.
Amanda's mind worked rapidly. Only three parties knew about tonight's events so far: herself, the organization led by Headmaster Dumbledore, and the Ministry of Magic.
She and the Ministry could be ruled out, so Headmaster Dumbledore must have written her a letter or sent her something.
Considering Harry was fostered here to maintain the blood magic protection, there needed to be an informed person in the Dursley family. Without a doubt, the best choice for this was Harry's mother's sister, Petunia Dursley.
Therefore, Headmaster Dumbledore must have sent something to Petunia just now to remind her of the blood magic protection's existence, forbidding her from kicking Harry out.
And she was afraid because of it, but considering the hesitation hidden beneath the fear in her micro-expressions... Amanda surmised that she likely felt a genuine bit of concern for Harry in her heart.
After all, he was her own sister's child, regardless of everything else.
The entire deduction was completed within seconds. By the time Amanda finished, Petunia had finally found her courage and spoke.
"He can't leave. He has to stay here."
Petunia's words were exactly as Amanda expected, but they made Harry freeze, and even Vernon looked at his wife in disbelief.
He had thought—he had thought his wife couldn't wait for Harry to leave. "Petunia, this boy, he..."
"Vernon," Petunia shook her head gently, "he has to stay here."
"Oh, well, fine then." Vernon eventually nodded, then turned back to look at Harry, narrowing his eyes.
"Did you hear that, boy? You're staying here."
"I apologize, Mrs. Dursley," Amanda said, stepping forward slowly while holding Harry's trunk. "I can understand yours and Headmaster Dumbledore's desire to ensure Harry's physical safety, but I believe that while ensuring his safety, we should also try to keep him as happy as possible."
"That's why I want to take Harry away. Of course, I will inform Headmaster Dumbledore, and I will also ensure Harry's physical safety."
"You promise?" Petunia asked instinctively, then quickly added.
"You promise Dumbledore won't cause trouble for us?"
"I promise." Amanda nodded seriously.
"Neither Headmaster Dumbledore nor the other side will be able to cause you any trouble."
As Amanda spoke, she slowly raised her right hand. "Safe Garrison!"
With a flash of white light, the Dursley family home was completely enveloped by this defensive magic.
Looking at Mr. and Mrs. Dursley expressionlessly, Amanda said calmly, "My defensive magic is different from that of most other Wizards."
"My defensive magic is far more powerful. Now, any Wizard who harbors ill intent toward you, or dark creatures like Dementors, will be unable to enter your home."
"Fine." Petunia nodded reluctantly. Looking at the young girl before her, for some reason, she felt the girl's figure was slowly merging with the image of Dumbledore she had once seen.
In fact... she seemed even slightly more imposing.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Amanda said in a calm voice, turning to look at Harry. "Grab my arm."
"Okay," Harry nodded, looked at Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, and reached out to grab Amanda's left arm. "See you next summer."
As soon as he spoke, the two of them instantly vanished from the Dursley family home.
When they reappeared, Hermione was already standing in front of them. "Good evening, Harry."
"Good evening, Hermione." Harry immediately let go of Amanda's left arm upon seeing Hermione.
"Uh, won't using magic like that just now cause trouble for you?" he asked, looking somewhat uncertainly at Amanda, who was placing his trunk on the ground.
"No," Amanda shook her head decisively. "Your Trace was already triggered once at the Dursley family home a short while ago, so it doesn't matter."
"I've already set up various defensive spells here as well. The reaction from Trace won't be able to get out at all."
As Amanda spoke, her lips curled into a faint smile. There were simply too many loopholes in Trace used by the Ministry of Magic that could be exploited.
Thinking this, Amanda picked up the parchment and quill from the desk and handed them to Harry.
"What's this?" Harry looked at the parchment and quill thrust into his hands, confused. What did Amanda want him to write?
"Dementors, which should be under Ministry supervision, appeared in a Muggle community and attacked you. After you legally protected yourself, the Ministry also illegally ruled that you misused magic, and even worse, they're demanding you go to the Ministry for a hearing, which is a serious violation of regulations."
"Being treated like this, being so wronged—aren't you going to speak out and condemn the Ministry? Won't you tell everyone about your grievances?"
Amanda turned her head and slowly raised an eyebrow at Harry. Harry understood instantly.
"Oh! I get it! I'll write the speech tonight and go to Diagon Alley to deliver it tomorrow morning."
"Remember to make yourself sound a bit more pathetic, like how scared you were when you saw the letter from the Ministry," Hermione added from the side.
"Okay," Harry nodded vigorously. "But maybe I should go say hello to your parents first?"
He scratched his head sheepishly. "I'll probably be a bother to them for the next few days."
"It's no trouble," Hermione shrugged, leading the way to the door. "Follow me. Mom and Dad should be downstairs watching television."
While Hermione took Harry to greet the Grangers, Amanda took the opportunity to sit at the desk and write a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore, explaining that she had already picked up Harry.
After quickly finishing the letter, Amanda paused for a moment before folding it to hand to an Owl.
After thinking for a while, she held the letter in her right hand, visualized Headmaster Dumbledore's appearance, and combined it with the sensation of using Apparition. Amanda spoke clearly and deliberately.
"Swift Delivery."
Pop!
A faint crack of air sounded, and a flash of green flame flickered in Amanda's right hand. At the same time, at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, 12 Grimmauld Place, Headmaster Dumbledore, who was assigning tasks to everyone, quickly reached out to catch the letter falling from the green flame above.
Reaching out to stop the others from becoming overly alert, Headmaster Dumbledore glanced at the envelope and chuckled.
"It seems our Miss Amanda has created a very practical little spell for herself."
Saying this, he opened the envelope with a smile. After reading the contents, he shook his head with a mix of helplessness and realization.
"No need to think about going to the Dursley family home to pick up Harry anymore." He tucked the letter into his wizard robe pocket.
"What?" Sirius froze for a moment, looking at Headmaster Dumbledore in confusion. Hadn't they just been discussing when would be the best time to pick up Harry and bring him here?
"Miss Amanda has already gone and picked up Harry. He is very safe with her."
Basically all the Order of the Phoenix members present agreed with Headmaster Dumbledore's statement. One reason was their trust in Headmaster Dumbledore, and another... almost everyone there had seen Amanda in action.
It really was... at the very least, they felt themselves inferior.
With a wave of his hand, he had a quill and parchment automatically write a reply. Headmaster Dumbledore smiled and handed it to the newly arrived Phoenix, Fawkes.
Reaching out to catch the reply falling from the air, a flash of gold and red feathers crossed Amanda's eyes—it was Headmaster Dumbledore's Phoenix.
Thinking this, she opened the letter and took a look. Amanda nodded slowly. It seemed the small spell she had come up with for convenience had been a success.
However... considering this spell only required knowing what the recipient looked like and their name to deliver something instantly, Amanda believed that the use of this spell was certainly not limited to just sending letters.
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