Chapter 66: Precaution
He had gone to Hogwarts, learned a great deal of magic, and made many friends. Yet during the summer, he had to leave the school he loved most and return to the life under the fence. The stark contrast made him sad, made him mournful, and nearly drove him insane.
He had thought he had seen the light—that happiness would eventually come—but he was wrong. Back at the Dursleys' house, he returned to the darkness of the past, forced to live like an abandoned dog once again.
He was on the verge of madness. The only thing he could do was practice meditation constantly; only through meditation could he regain a sense of control over his destiny. All his connections to the magical world—his spellbooks, wand, and flying broomstick—were locked in the cupboard under the stairs.
He had lost all contact with the magical world, unable even to receive letters from Hermione and Ron.
Thinking of Hermione and Ron, Harry felt a pang of guilt. "I shouldn't have doubted them. They're my best friends—and George too."
Through George, he learned that Ron and Hermione had written him many letters. Ron, in particular, had repeatedly invited Harry to spend the summer at his house. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't received a single one.
"It's that damn little creature," Harry realized immediately. It was a small creature from Voldemort's household. Not only had it been spying on Harry, but it had also intercepted letters from his friends, cutting him off from the outside world during the holidays. Only George's messenger—a clever raven—had escaped the creature's grasp.
"Don't let me see that little monster again. I'll crush it to pulp, flay it, and strip its skin," Harry thought, a deadly gleam flashing in his eyes.
"No, I shouldn't have such terrible thoughts… maybe it's better just to kill it," he shook his head. The thought of torturing an enemy made him uneasy.
George had noted that Harry's meditation practice had been too frequent lately, affecting his mood and making him tense. So he had stopped meditating. Since returning, he hadn't had time to review his textbooks or homework.
Harry ate dinner while thinking about his assignments and George.
George had learned that Voldemort's house-elf had appeared on Privet Drive, intercepted letters from Hermione and Ron, and even attempted to attack Harry on his birthday.
To be safe, George stationed his raven nearby to search for the creature and set up traps in advance to catch—or kill—it if necessary.
House-elves are no easy adversaries. In ancient times, they had resisted wizards, only to be conquered and reduced to slavery. A race capable of challenging wizards naturally possessed extraordinary power, and those selected by ancient wizards to serve a family were particularly formidable.
As a naturally magical creature, house-elves possess incredibly strong innate magic, far exceeding that of wizards. They can even use transformation abilities in places with strong magical restrictions, like Hogwarts.
This makes them almost omnipresent. They can be exceptional assassins or master thieves. Their terrifying abilities have claimed the lives of many talented wizards in battle.
Fortunately, their innate magical power also disrupts their intelligence, leaving house-elves generally low in IQ. Even as slaves, they primarily perform cleaning or cooking tasks. More complicated matters, such as stealing or killing, are beyond them, and anything requiring thoughtful planning will likely end in chaos. George never wanted a house-elf in his house—it was too risky.
George had his raven circle above Privet Drive, carefully scanning for the creature, but found nothing. "Like Harry, I saw the house-elf outside the house. That's never a good sign," he murmured.
That night, Voldemort's house-elf did not appear. A flying blue-green car entered George's view.
"Hey, George!" Ron and Fred sprinted toward him, carefully stopping the car in front of George.
Ron bent down and climbed out of the car. "George, what are you doing here? Have you seen Harry? Have you seen Harry? How is he? I wrote him twelve letters, and he never replied."
Suddenly, Harry had vanished without a trace, which made Ron very worried, especially since yesterday was Harry's birthday. Having received no news from Harry, he felt deeply upset. Today, he finally couldn't hold back and, together with his brother Fred, had stolen a car to get here.
Before seeing Harry, Ron first spotted George hanging around, and his heart immediately tightened. He ran over, thinking something had happened to Harry. George said, "Harry recently encountered some unexpected things, but he's fine. His letters were intercepted by a house-elf, so we need to ask him directly." George comforted Ron first and then asked, "Are you here to bring Harry to your house for the summer?"
"Of course. I've invited him twelve times. Even if he didn't receive my letters, it's safe to assume he agreed. My car will be here soon, so don't expect him to refuse," Ron said, clenching his fists, determined that Harry must get things done.
"By the way, George, since you're here, you must come visit my house. My mom wants to invite you. She's very curious about you—you're the one who broke Hogwarts records," Ron said, thinking meditation really sharpened his mind.
He hadn't expected his thoughts to move so quickly and immediately thought of an excuse to invite George over.
George groaned, then, seeing Ron's expectant expression, said, "Alright, let's call Harry now."
Although George hadn't originally planned to go to the Weasleys, having caught up with Ron, it was hard to refuse. Honestly, he was also curious about Ron's family.
The Weasleys were exceptionally unique in the magical world. More precisely, their mother was extraordinary. To be exact, Mrs. Weasley had a very large family. Ron had five older brothers and one younger sister.
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