When Vernon saw Sirius, he was extremely shocked. He could not understand why this man was walking together with Harry. Judging from his attitude, however, this man was most likely another damned wizard.
Uncle Vernon suddenly took a deep breath, puffing himself up like a pufferfish to make himself look a little "bigger."
While he straightened his clothes and tie to appear more respectable, Sirius walked up to him with Harry.
"Mr. Dursley? Hello." Sirius extended his hand to Vernon. "You've worked hard all these years taking care of Harry."
Standing behind him, Harry tried hard to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.
The Dursleys' so-called "care" would be more accurately described as "keeping him alive." But with Sirius here now, he had no intention of stirring up trouble. He just wanted to quickly fulfill Dumbledore's request.
After spending half a year recuperating at the ancestral home, Sirius's mental state had improved greatly. He had regained his carefree and handsome demeanor, and since his attitude was polite enough, Uncle Vernon reluctantly shook his hand lightly—then immediately pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted.
"And you are?" Uncle Vernon's small eyes were full of suspicion.
"I'm Sirius Black, Harry's godfather."
Vernon and Petunia beside him both widened their eyes at once.
Harry actually had a godfather? How did they not know?!
"Wait a minute! You're this boy's godfather? Then—then why has he been living in my house for more than ten years?" Uncle Vernon could hardly suppress the anger in his heart.
The trouble Harry, this burden, had caused him over the past decade was something ordinary people could hardly imagine.
Sirius had originally felt quite a bit of guilt toward the Dursley family, as well as some gratitude for raising Harry. But Vernon Dursley's words and attitude gradually irritated him, so he replied stiffly, "I was imprisoned in Azkaban, the wizarding prison, until recently. I only escaped from there not long ago."
Although Uncle Vernon did not know what Azkaban was, he could certainly understand the words prison and escaped.
His small eyes were immediately filled with terror.
In his eyes, wizards were already a bunch of freakish potential criminals. And now the person in front of him was actually a criminal among wizards—wasn't that a criminal among criminals, a freak among freaks?
He was so frightened that he didn't know what to say. Meanwhile, Harry stood to the side watching his uncle with amusement, having no intention whatsoever of telling Vernon that Sirius had actually been cleared of his charges.
"You.. you!" Uncle Vernon's voice trembled, and shiny beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead. Suddenly he realized that there were actually many wizards present in the station.
"Do you realize there are a lot of wizards here? And you're just swaggering around like this—" Uncle Vernon lowered his voice, trying to pressure Sirius while also avoiding drawing attention from others.
He was afraid that if Sirius were discovered and cornered, he might take him hostage.
"Heh~ I know, because I've already found a way to regain my freedom. My wanted status has been lifted," Sirius said, seeing straight through Vernon's thoughts. He deliberately altered his wording, subtly implying that the warrant had been canceled through improper means.
Sure enough, Vernon was thoroughly intimidated by him.
Seeing Vernon standing there pale-faced like a deflated balloon, Sirius finally felt satisfied.
"I came today to tell you one thing: this summer, Harry will be moving to live at my house."
Vernon: "!!!"
To his ears, those words sounded like heavenly music!
He had never imagined that this wizard—who might very well be a criminal—would bring him such wonderful news.
"So he's moving out of my house?" Uncle Vernon asked eagerly.
If he could dump the burden of Harry onto the man in front of him, that would truly be wonderful!
"Of course not." Remembering what Dumbledore had written in his letter earlier, Sirius immediately shattered Vernon's fantasy.
"Harry still has to treat your house as his home until he comes of age."
Sirius's words made Vernon feel as if he had fallen into an icy abyss. But after a moment's thought, his mood improved slightly, because this Black fellow had said until Harry comes of age.
Didn't that mean that once the little brat became an adult, he would have nothing more to do with him—not even a penny's worth of connection? That didn't sound too bad. He only needed to endure for a few more years.
"Fine." Uncle Vernon shrugged and let out a loud snort through his nose.
"Then will he still come back this summer?" Petunia, who had been standing quietly to the side the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
"I don't think so, but he'll go home with you first to have a meal before leaving."
For the Dursley family, this was undoubtedly good news. Compared to having Harry stay the entire summer, treating him to a single meal was hardly a problem.
Several of them left King's Cross Station together in Uncle Vernon's new car, heading toward Privet Drive in Devon.
They would complete Harry's "handover procedures" there.
Rhys watched with great interest as Harry and his aunt's family performed what felt like a situational comedy together. Afterward, he said goodbye to the Greengrass family and set off on the road to Little Hangleton.
For a wizard like him, traveling did not take much time. Rhys did not expend much effort before finding Hangleton.
However, as time had passed, the Hangleton of those days had already split into two villages: Little Hangleton and Great Hangleton. Following his now blurred memories, Rhys instinctively walked in the direction of Little Hangleton.
When he reached the end of the tree-lined path and saw the hill not far away, the gray and faded memories in his mind gradually became vivid again.
Yes, this was the place. After leaving Hogwarts back then, he had chosen a place like this to live under an assumed name, spending his days in seclusion.
With considerable wealth at the time, he had purchased quite a few properties and even adopted a little boy with the surname Gaunt. Only at the end of his life had he finally left this secluded residence.
Before departing, he had taken most of his magical artifacts with him, but he left all his liquid wealth and the estate he had built up over the years to that Gaunt boy.
A string of memories flickered through his mind like images in a lantern show. Standing where he was, he lingered in those past memories for quite a while before finally walking along a small path toward Little Hangleton.
Little Hangleton was a beautiful village, nestled between two steep hills.
From a distance, the church and the graveyard were clearly visible, hardly different from how they had been a thousand years ago.
A manor stood on the slope across the valley, surrounded by a wide stretch of green grass.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI