Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 22 Humble Abode

The journey from Surrey across most of England was no easy feat, especially since Harry had to ride the Nimbus 2000 while also wearing the Invisibility Cloak to avoid the sight of Muggles. By the time he finally arrived at the Burrow, the 'Light as a Feather' charm he had cast on his suitcase with his wandless spell was almost worn off.

As a rosy glow rose over the white horizon in the east, Harry wiped the sweat from his brow and chuckled to Hedwig, who was perched on his shoulder:

"You must have had a great time flying all the way, without having to carry any luggage."

"Cuckoo!"

Hedwig flapped her wings a few times and then tugged at Harry's hair in protest.

"Okay."

Harry stroked the snowy owl's white feathers and said:

“Go back to your cage for a while. I need to find Ron’s house before I can feed you. Let me see, it’s on the outskirts of Autri-Saint-Cazipol village.”

……

Ron's house wasn't hard to find; any wizard could spot the strange, crooked building with five chimneys from the bushes. But the door was a different story. Harry dragged his suitcase around the Burrow for most of the way before finally finding it in the pigsty and the garden with its fat chickens.

"what!"

The sudden scream startled Harry, who was about to knock on the door, but before he could even see the red-haired girl in her pajamas, she had already run upstairs. A few seconds later, Ron, George, Fred, Percy, and Mrs. Weasley all appeared on the first floor.

"Hey! Mom, look who's here!"

Fred said.

"No one but him could make Ginny scream like that."

George said.

"Quiet down, you two! Don't joke around with Ginny!"

Molly Weasley is much shorter than Fred and George, but whenever she gets angry, the mischievous twins look terrified.

Ron opened the door for Harry, took the luggage from Harry's hands, and asked:

"Harry! How did you get here? No, I mean, how did you get here? Did you receive my letter?"

"Hey, Ron!"

Harry hugged Ron first, and after greeting the Weasleys one by one, he slowly recounted how he had met Dobby.

"Could it be Draco Malfoy?"

Ron was the first to speak after hearing the story:

"First of all, he hates you a lot because you stole all the limelight from him at school; secondly, families with elves must be ancient and wealthy. He fits both of these criteria."

Don't you have one at home?

Ron blushed a little at Harry's question, but George quickly helped them ease the awkwardness.

"No, my mother always wished she had a little elf to help her with housework, but all we have in my house are ghouls in the attic and goblins all over the garden."

"Ghouls? Goblins?"

Harry tactfully changed the subject to other magical creatures.

“I’ve read about them in books, but I’ve never had the chance to see them in person. Could you show them to me, George?”

"Oh, of course. Mom always asks us to help her get rid of the gnomes in the garden. She even bought a book by Gilderoy Lockhart called 'How to Get Rid of Household Pests' recently."

Fred exchanged a sly grin with George, then whispered:

"You don't know Harry, Mom idolizes him!"

Molly Weasley, who was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the children, overheard her son's whispers. Blushing, she shouted without turning around:

"Don't talk nonsense, Fred! That...that's a good book, it can help people know about the pests in their homes. Besides, how can you let a guest catch goblins for you? Let Harry get some rest, he's been flying all night!"

George shrugged at Harry, his expression saying, "See?"

……

The process of eliminating the goblins was straightforward, much like when he was batting in Quidditch, and Harry quickly caught up with the Weasleys' pace.

Do you think Dobby was lying or not?

Which part are you referring to?

"It's the one that says something terrible is going to happen at Hogwarts this year."

Harry replied to Ron as he forcefully hurled the goblin away:

"I don't think it's easy to say. After all, a fairy can't use magic without its master's permission. If it really was following orders to harm me, it could have done something even worse."

"So, he might actually know something... Then why doesn't he just tell you? Oh, Harry, that throw you just made must have been over fifty feet!"

"Every time that guy is about to reveal some important clue, he bangs his head against the wall. I'm thinking of giving him some truth serum."

Suddenly, with a "whoosh," a travel-worn man in a green robe appeared.

"father!"

"Dad's home!"

Arthur Weasley was exhausted; even when he heard his sons greeting him, he only raised his hand in a polite greeting. After taking a large gulp of tea, Mr. Weasley finally regained some strength and exclaimed:

"Nine times! Nine times they raided my house! That old bastard Mundungus-Fletcher even tried to cast a spell on me while I was turned away..."

"Confiscating property?"

Hearing Harry mutter to himself, Ron quickly explained to his friend:

“My dad works in the Department for the Prevention of the Misuse of Muggle Items at the Ministry of Magic, but he actually loves Muggles. I think the reason he works in this department is because he wants to study Muggle things.”

Harry, who had never experienced a flying car adventure, had no idea that a magical car was hidden in the Weasleys' backyard, but Mo Ran was very interested in it. To be honest, he would much rather sit in the comfortable driver's seat and soar through the sky than stuff a stick between his legs.

After having breakfast with the Weasleys (without Ginny), Harry toured Mr. Arthur Weasley's shed, led by him. Besides the flying car, it housed a vast collection of Muggle everyday items. Mo Ran, who had been quietly watching from the live stream, was astonished; he had never seen a wizard possess such amazing talent for modifying human technology.

"That's brilliant!"

After learning from Harry how the telephone works, Arthur Weasley exclaimed:

"What geniuses! Even without magic, Muggles can create so many amazing inventions! Seriously, Harry! I think wizards are starting to fall behind Muggles in some ways."

Having already completed the transfer of consciousness with Harry, Mo Ran nodded, completely agreeing with Arthur Weasley's assessment.

"Yes, sir! And it's not just in everyday matters. Muggle technology is advancing rapidly in medicine, electronics, and the military. In a few decades, wizards may be the ones who need to catch up!"

Arthur is one of the few wizards who is not prejudiced against Muggle intelligence. Even though he and Moran know that magic has many inherent advantages over technology, they still agree with Harry's (Moran's) statement without hesitation.

“You’re right, Harry! Actually, I’ve always wanted to bring Muggle inventions to the wizarding world, but the people in the ministry are too inflexible. If I hadn’t deliberately left a loophole when drafting the law, then…”

"Ahem! Let's not talk about that now, Harry. Let's get back to our Muggle stuff. Can you tell me what this rubber duck is for?"

Harry (Mo Ran):

"..."

During his stay at the Burrow, Harry could barely focus on his studies; aside from eating and sleeping, he seemed to never leave Mr. Arthur Weasley's little shack. Fred, George, and Ron didn't think much of it; after all, Harry had already lent them Nimbus 2000 to play with—what could be more exciting?

August 5th arrived quickly, and the Hogwarts letter came as expected. To everyone's surprise, the envelope containing the return-to-school notice included a large number of Gilderoy Lockhart's works. (And of course, Hermione's belated letter.)

"Merlin's mustache, Harry! Apart from Miranda Goshark's 'Standard Spells Level Two,' most of the books on this list were written by Gilderoy Lockhart!"

Upon hearing Ron's voice, Fred also joined in the吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for complaining/criticizing).

“We fourth graders are going to buy his book too, and the price is even more outrageous than what George and I are paying! I really hope the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is just a Lockhart fanboy; I don’t want to take that guy’s class!”

George wanted to chime in, but after seeing the look in his mother's eyes, he decided to lower his head and focus on eating his breakfast.

"Oh my god..."

Mrs. Molly Weasley gasped when she saw the appendix on the back of Ginny's college acceptance letter. While comforting her youngest daughter, she pondered:

“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll always find a way. There are plenty of good things we can use on the secondhand market…” The journey through the chimneys using Floo Powder went exceptionally smoothly. Not to mention that Harry didn’t mispronounce Diagon Alley as “Duijiaoxiang”, with the Ancient Flame he now possessed, the ordinary green magic flame responsible for teleporting wizards had no choice but to obey him.

After emerging from the furnace, Harry shook the soot off his robes and then saw the brown-haired little witch standing on the conspicuous white steps of Gringotts.

"She's always so smart!"

Harry's words startled Ron, but before he could even process what he meant, his friend had already dashed off towards the Wizarding Bank.

Hermione, who had also noticed Harry, ran down the steps and rushed to meet him, soon bumping into him.

"Hi Hermione!"

"Hi Harry!"

The two young wizards, who were embracing each other, whispered greetings in each other's ears and then fell silent. They only separated awkwardly after Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and the Weasleys arrived.

"Are you going to buy books? I just stood in line for ages at Flourish and Blotts."

Hermione blushed and asked Harry.

"Hmm, we're still missing Gilderoy Lockhart's stuff."

Harry was also a little embarrassed, especially when he saw George and Fred staring at him with mischievous grins.

"Ah, you must be Hermione Granger! My wife and I are so honored to have heard Ron mention that he has a friend who is first in his class!"

Mr. Weasley was delighted to see Hermione, and he even recognized the Grangers, who were waiting anxiously at the Gringotts entrance for Hermione to introduce them.

Are those your parents?

Hermione's face turned even redder. She patted her forehead and said to everyone:

“Those two are my mom and dad. They are both Muggles, so they don’t dare to go too far.”

"Nice to meet you! I'm Arthur Weasley, and this is my wife, Molly. It's an honor to meet you both! Oh, by the way, do you have any pounds? I'd like to exchange some with you!"

"Arthur!"

……

With the help of Mr. Weasley, a Muggle enthusiast, Harry quickly escaped the noisy environment of Gringotts with Hermione. After taking a bag of money from the vault, he decided to stroll around Diagon Alley first, ignoring that Gilderoy Lockhart.