"The secret I know is that the Dark Lord, whom the magical world generally believes has fallen, isn't dead at all!"
"As for anything more, I really can't reveal it, because this secret concerns the safety of the entire magical world."
"You should know, the last pure-blood revolution stirred up by the Dark Lord resulted in the deaths of thousands of wizards, and the casualties among innocent ordinary people numbered in the tens of thousands."
"If the impact caused by the Dark Lord wasn't so horrific, how could he have become a taboo in the magical world?"
"Now, the Dark Lord could make a comeback at any time, aiming to launch a second pure-blood revolution."
"Because the target the Dark Lord wants to eliminate is wizards of Muggle descent like us!"
"Once the Death Eaters learn of your existence, the ones to suffer will likely be your Muggle parents!"
Hearing that the Dark Lord had brutally murdered so many lives, and might even endanger her own parents, Hermione was still a little afraid.
She lowered her voice, asking with a solemn expression, "It sounds like the Dark Lord is very much like the 'failed painter' who started World War II?"
Harvey said, looking slightly surprised, "Your analogy is quite fitting. The Dark Lord simply wants to eliminate all non-pure-blood wizards and create a new world where pure-blood wizards rule over Muggles."
"He's a madman, isn't he?" Hermione felt that the magical world was simply too insane. To think someone would want to imitate the 'failed painter' and commit mass genocide?
Harvey put on a serious face and said, "In the magical world, as long as one is powerful enough, even if the Dark Lord wanted to slaughter all of humanity, it wouldn't be impossible for him to succeed."
But with a shift in tone, Harvey displayed his manliness, patting his chest as he said:
"But Hermione, you don't need to be afraid. Even if this world is taken over by the Dark Lord, I can take you to live in another world."
Though the Purple Titan in the Marvel Universe is far more terrifying than the Dark Lord, that is...
Harvey silently added in his heart.
"No matter how terrifying the Dark Lord is, I won't be a deserter!" Despite her young age, Hermione's eyes were full of determination. "I believe that evil will eventually be defeated by justice, and someone will always step forward to be the savior!"
Harvey was defeated by Hermione's naivety. The point is that I can take you to live in a whole new world!
Never mind.
He smiled helplessly and changed the subject to something more amusing.
"Do you know who the savior was that defeated the Dark Lord last time?"
"Who?" Hermione tilted her little head, staring at Harvey with her beautiful light-green eyes.
Harvey said faintly, "It was a baby who was only seven months old!"
Hermione: "???"
A seven-month-old baby defeated the Dark Lord?
Even fairy tales wouldn't dare to write a story like that, would they?
Hermione indicated that she couldn't understand it.
Harvey was just about to explain, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mrs. Granger standing at the doorway, though he didn't know when she had arrived.
"Uh, Mrs. Granger, I came to discuss studying with Hermione..."
Any normal person could see Harvey's guilty look, let alone the astute Mrs. Granger.
"Darling, how could you just casually kiss a boy?"
Mrs. Granger questioned her young daughter with a tone of disappointed exasperation, like a warm coat that had sprung a leak.
Hermione's face instantly flushed red with shame.
It was all Harvey's fault. How did their kiss get discovered?
She stammered, "Mom... when did you get here?"
Mrs. Granger said in annoyance, "Right when you two locked lips!"
The two children immediately put on a guilty expression of having done something wrong, lowering their heads and trying hard to minimize their presence.
"Child, you come out with me first."
Mrs. Granger called Harvey out of her daughter's room.
In the second-floor hallway, Mrs. Granger earnestly instilled in Harvey all sorts of grand principles about how puppy love would delay his studies.
She even laid down the law, stating that there was to be no tasting the forbidden fruit before coming of age, and so on and so forth...
Harvey felt as if he had returned to his childhood when a teacher would pull his ear to scold him. Mrs. Granger's words went in one ear and out the other; he just put on an act and kept nodding.
After finishing her lecture to Harvey, Mrs. Granger sent him back to the guest room to rest, while she herself walked into her daughter's room with a stern face.
Harvey deliberately slowed his pace and soon heard Hermione's frantic voice explaining things from inside the room.
"Mom, what are you talking about... I didn't take off my clothes... I wasn't tricked either... I was just... just..."
Hearing this, Harvey felt a wave of emotion. It seemed he already held a place in Hermione's heart, seeing as she had started lying to fool her mother.
The next day, due to the rules that had been laid down.
Harvey was strictly forbidden from going near Hermione's room.
Thus, the two children could only sit in the living room every day. On the surface, they just stared at each other, but secretly, they were sneakily exchanging magical insights.
Neither of them wanted Mrs. Granger to discover their little secret about magic.
It wasn't until July 1st that two letters delivered by an owl completely shattered the peaceful atmosphere in the Granger household.
That morning.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger were eating breakfast at the dining table, with Harvey, who never missed a chance to eat, sitting right beside them.
Suddenly.
An exclamation came from the second floor of the villa, drawing everyone's attention.
Mr. Granger, dressed in his white dentist's coat, was eating rather hurriedly because he only had half an hour left before work.
He looked up and listened carefully, thought he had misheard, and ignored it, continuing to tackle the bacon and whole-wheat bread in front of him.
Mrs. Granger, however, wasn't deaf. Upon hearing her daughter's cry, she stared at Harvey with a face full of blame, assuming this kid had pulled some prank again.
There hadn't been a single day of peace in the house these past few days. Harvey and Hermione were always acting mysterious, doing who-knew-what.
As a result, Harvey put on an innocent look and assured Mr. and Mrs. Granger, "I absolutely haven't provoked her lately!"
"Really? Good children never lie."
Mr. Granger, realizing he hadn't hallucinated the sound, asked with half-belief and half-doubt.
Actually, he quite liked the child. After learning that Harvey was an orphan, he generously allowed Harvey to stay as a boarder in their home indefinitely.
But now, Mr. Granger was beginning to doubt whether his decision had been too hasty.
Clearly, Harvey's innocent look failed to earn the trust of the Grangers.
He lowered his head and was just about to confess, ready to admit the fact that he had secretly stolen Hermione's fake braces.
But then came the hurried "thump, thump, thump!" of footsteps from the staircase.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger turned to look. Hermione, wearing a pink checkered skirt, was so excited that her cheeks were flushed red. She held up two letters and jogged all the way over to them.
"Mom, Dad, look quickly! These are acceptance letters from Hogwarts!"
Hearing this, Harvey couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement. Didn't two letters mean that he also had the chance to attend Hogwarts?
"Hogwarts? How come I've never heard of this middle school?" Mr. and Mrs. Granger exchanged a confused glance.
Mr. Granger picked up one of the letters.
The envelope was made of parchment, and the addressee was written in emerald-green ink: To Mr. Harvey Ferguson, The North-Facing Bedroom on the Second Floor, 8 Heathgate Street, London.
The bright red wax seal featured a crest: a lion, a snake, an eagle, and a badger, all vividly depicted around a capital letter 'H'.