Chapter 783: The Dursleys Depart (Edited)

Harry stayed in his room at the Dursleys' house, gazing at the thick, cold fog outside the window that didn't match the season.

It was a cold fog that Harry was familiar with, a cold fog that formed when Dementors gathered in numbers, and it had been appearing in more and more places in England since Dumbledore's "death".

Sirius wrote to say that the Order of the Phoenix had attempted to send men to exterminate the Dementors but had been ambushed by Death Eaters, vampires, and even giants, and would have lost men if it weren't for Fish's timely treatment.

And the Ministry of Magic dragging its feet...

Not only did they continue to whitewash peace in the "Daily Prophet," claiming that the Dementors had lost control due to Fudge's capture, but they also arrested several members of the Order of the Phoenix who had gone after the Dementors as "Fudge remnants," so Sirius and the others had to give up on that for now.

In correspondence with the "Daily Prophet," which closely followed the Ministry of Magic's pace, was "The Quibbler" compiled by Mr. Lovegood. Rita Skeeter seemed to have taken a liking to the latter, and she had been publishing stories in "The Quibbler" for the past year that contradicted the Ministry of Magic, but she was clever enough not to mention anything about Voldemort, only questioning the Ministry of Magic's ability to get things done... just as she used to.

So Skeeter and "The Quibbler," while gaining more and more support from wizards, managed to get the Ministry to classify "The Quibbler" as dangerous reading and shut down the entire publishing company last week, and the Ministry issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Lovegood and Skeeter, even Luna.

Fortunately, Professor Moody and others have taken them to a secret stronghold of the Order of the Phoenix to protect them, but as long as the Ministry doesn't lift the warrant, they will have to remain in hiding, and Luna won't be able to return to school next term.

So... Voldemort must be defeated as soon as possible!

Harry withdrew his gaze, looked at the packed suitcases next to his bed, and clenched his fists in silence.

"Hey! You!"

Vernon shouted from downstairs at that moment.

Harry sighed helplessly, opened his bedroom door, and headed downstairs. If he was right, his Uncle Vernon had probably changed his mind again.

"I've changed my mind!" Indeed, as Harry approached Vernon, he heard him shout, "All that's nonsense, and I've decided not to believe a word of it. We're not going anywhere!"

Harry looked at his uncle, annoyed and amused. If he hadn't been worried that Voldemort wouldn't be able to find him after his mother's protection spell failed and took it out on the Dursleys, he would have run away to stay with Sirius, as he had done the two previous summers.

And once he had spoken to the Dursleys about the potential danger, Vernon was conflicted, changing his mind countless times in the intervening days, tossing and turning in bed every time he changed his mind, lugging their suitcases in and out of the car and back inside.

"I've said it many times," Harry persuaded patiently, "it will be dangerous for you to stay here."

"That's what you said when you sent the letter months ago!" Vernon grumbled, "Say that... that..."

"Dementors."

Dudley and Petunia, who were standing by, gasped in unison.

"Yes! Those monsters, you said they were out of control! But nothing happened!" Vernon looked as if he had seen through Harry and continued shouting, "Last night, I was awake half the night, staring at this thing. It must be a conspiracy, trying to take over the house!"

"The house?" Harry asked unconsciously, "What house?"

"This house!" Vernon shouted, veins popping on his forehead, "Our house! Property prices in this neighborhood are sky-high! You're trying to get us out of here, and then you'll pull some trick, and before we know it, the deed will be in your name..."

Harry was left speechless as he absurdly looked at the building. While the Dursleys' house wasn't bad, it didn't differ much from the cupboard where Kreacher lived compared to the long-gone ancestral house of the Blacks.

Of course, the Black ancestral house had little to do with Harry at the moment, especially if Sirius had his own children in the future, but...

"I have a house," Harry said casually, "My parents left me a house in a place called Godric's Hollow, where all 'our kind' live. Why do I need this house? For all those old happy times?"

Although Harry had only heard about his house from Sirius and had never actually seen it, even if it were as simple as Kreacher's cupboard, it was still a thousand times better for Harry than the Dursleys'.

"Besides," Harry pointed to the cold, foggy sky outside, "These fogs are made by Dementors, and when they gather in numbers, they appear like this."

Dudley covered his mouth and stuttered, "Th-them... Are there more of them?"

"More?" Harry laughed, "You mean, apart from the two that attacked us last time? Of course there are more, now there are hundreds, maybe thousands, because they thrive on fear and despair..."

"Alright, alright," grumbled Vernon, "You've made your point clear..."

"I hope so," said Harry, "Once I turn seventeen, those guys will be able to find all of you, and they will surely come after you."

"But what about my job? And Dudley's school?" Vernon's voice faltered, but he continued searching for an excuse. "I don't think a bunch of idle wizards care about those things..."

"Don't you see?" An impatient Harry couldn't help but shout at Uncle Vernon, "They'll torture you, kill you, just like they did to my parents!"

"Dad," exclaimed Dudley, "Dad... I want to go with those people from the Order of the Phoenix."

"Dudley," Harry smiled with rare kindness, "For the first time in your life, you've said something sensible." Then he added, "Besides, the Order of the Phoenix will arrive soon, and so will Fish. Are you going to let them come all the way here for nothing?"

Vernon fell silent for a moment upon hearing that the dreaded cat-eared boy was coming, and Petunia let out a shriek before hugging Dudley tightly.

And Dudley warned with a pale face, "The luggage! Our luggage isn't ready!"

Then Harry saw his uncle and aunt rush past him, running to their room, and after a while, they dragged several massive suitcases back to the living room...

During this time, the Dursleys packed and unpacked this luggage countless times, but this time, it was definitely the quickest.

Harry rolled his eyes. If he had known the matter was so simple, he should have mentioned Fish from the beginning.

It didn't take long after the Dursleys had packed their bags when the doorbell rang, and none of the three had any intention of answering.

So, naturally, this "tedious task" fell on Harry.

"Good morning nya, Harry!"

(ΦωΦ)

There they were, Fish, Hestia Jones, and Dedalus Diggle, who had escorted Harry.

Fish strutted into the room and greeted the Dursleys, who were huddled like quails.

"Hello..." Vernon responded uneasily, forcing a smile on his face.

With Fish by their side to scare them, the Dursleys didn't make any more fuss and obediently followed Hestia and Dedalus outside the house.

But as they were about to walk out the door, Derek suddenly looked at Harry with a puzzled expression.

Harry returned the gaze with curiosity.

Then, to Harry's amazement, Derek gently released himself from Aunt Penny's embrace and walked toward him.

Dudley extended his chubby hand.

Harry looked at him slightly stunned and then, unconsciously, shook his hand, while Petunia and Vernon watched as if the sky was falling on them.

"You saved my life," Dudley explained softly, and then added, "Goodbye, Harry."

"Alright..." Harry smiled, shaking Dudley's hand twice, "Maybe. Take care, Big D."

"Huh? You're actually not that bad." Fish approached and showed his kindness to Dudley, "Want a snack?"

(ΦωΦ)つ

Fish handed over his precious snacks...

The result was a startled shriek, and Dudley ran off without looking back.

"Nya?"

(?ω?)?

Fish scratched his head and, after a little memory jog, remembered that last summer he had given Dudley some rather "special" snacks.

"Fish does want to give him something good to eat this time..."

Fish muttered, somewhat offended, as he looked at the fleeing Dursleys.

Harry chuckled dryly, thinking that even if Fish presented the most delicious and expensive food in the world, Dudley would never dare to touch it again.

Once the Dursleys and the two members of the Order of the Phoenix were in the car and drove away, Harry straightened up and asked solemnly, "When do we start?"

"I don't know nya!" Fish naturally responded, "Fish is only here to beat up Voldemort nya! Fish isn't interested in knowing anything else nya!"

(?ω?)