Chapter 43: 43: The Dursleys

43: The Dursleys

"John, you're back. Your mother hasn't been in a good mood these past few days," Watson said as he saw John return home after a month.

At first, he was happy to see his son, but then he glanced nervously towards the kitchen.

"You didn't keep your promise to your mother, but I know you must have had other important things to attend to," he continued.

Despite Watson often behaving like an overgrown child, he was never muddleheaded when it came to important matters.

For him, Mrs. Wick's mood was a significant concern.

Hearing this, John felt a heavy weight in his heart.

The last week had been spent learning at Nicolas Flamel's home. That place was under the Fidelius Charm, making it impossible for owls to find him, and thus he couldn't keep up with his weekly letter-writing routine.

This had thoroughly angered Mrs. Wick. She rarely got mad, but when she did, she was hard to placate.

The last time Mrs. Wick was upset, she and Watson had the silent treatment for a week, and John had to survive on various bread spreads due to Watson's poor cooking skills. The thought of that made John shudder.

Fortunately, he had come prepared. Entering the kitchen, he found Mrs. Wick with a stern expression, not saying a word.

Despite her beauty and grace, when she was angry, Mrs. Wick could be as stubborn as a young girl. Braving her icy glare, John put on a fawning smile and pulled out a bottle of perfume he had bought in Paris from his suitcase.

"This is a special perfume I bought for you in France," John said, shamelessly trying to act cute as he looked pitifully at his mother.

She frowned.

'Take the bait' John looked at her with star-filled eyes.

'Ugh! No!' Her frown slightly faltered, but she still relented.

'Ok, what about that!' John lumped his shoulders, pressed his lips, and looked at her with big eyes.

And then, blinked three times!

Critical hit!

"Ugh!" His gaze pierced his mom's heart.

Mrs. Wick, who had been angry with John for not writing letters, couldn't hold onto her anger for more than three seconds after seeing his act.

However, as a mother, Mrs. Wick still sternly reprimanded John. "Little John, you're still young. It's dangerous for you to go to a foreign country alone. How could you forget to write to your mother?"

John accepted the scolding, nodding and bowing just like Watson did when he was in trouble.

Watson watched from outside, looking pleased as if his son had finally learned something valuable.

After successfully placating his mother, John was about to go to his room when Watson brought him a stack of letters.

"These are all from your friends. One of the owls is so old it crashed into the mailbox several times," Watson said, dropping off the letters before hurriedly leaving upon hearing Mrs. Wick's dangerous warning about wearing shoes upstairs.

John opened the top letter, which was from Hermione.

It listed a bunch of books she had read over the holiday.

John read through all of Hermione's letters, noting that in the last one, she mentioned Harry. Hermione had written to Harry multiple times over the holiday but had received no response.

After reading through the letters, John picked up the others, which included ones from Ron, Hagrid, and surprisingly, three from Malfoy.

He opened and read all of them, noting that aside from Malfoy's letters, the others mentioned Harry. None of them had received a reply from Harry and were asking if John knew anything.

"Could Harry have been taken by the Ministry of Magic?" John worried, recalling the incident when his magic had gone out of control and wondering if Harry had been taken by the Ministry instead.

Feeling concerned about Harry, who had taken the blame for his actions, John decided to find out what was happening.

Hiding the unicorn hair wand at home, John took his regular wand and went downstairs. Using a bit of cuteness, he managed to get a freshly baked apple pie from Mrs. Wick.

He put it in a box and headed to Number 4, Privet Drive, where he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

Coincidentally, a chubby boy answered the door.

Dudley, attracted by the smell of the apple pie, had rushed to the door ahead of his mother.

He was expecting a pleasant surprise to make up for the ruined feast from a few days ago. However, what he found was indeed a surprise, but one far more shocking than pleasant.

"HA! It's you! John Wick!"

Dudley screamed and displayed an impressive lung capacity for such a fat boy.

Petunia Dursley, initially puzzled by the commotion, rushed out to see what was happening. Upon seeing John, she immediately remembered him from King's Cross Station, where he had been with Harry and his wizard friends.

Vernon Dursley, Harry's uncle, also came out.

In his forties, he was so overweight that he had no neck and sported a thick beard.

Upon seeing John, Vernon's face fell, and he began to shout, "You lot dare to come to my house!"

Since seeing the warning letter from the Ministry of Magic a few days ago, Vernon knew that young wizards couldn't use magic outside of school.

Feeling emboldened, he yelled at John to leave.

"Mr. Dursley, I think you misunderstand," John replied with a polite smile. "My current address is Number 6, Privet Drive, making me your neighbor's child, coming to knock on your door."

Vernon was momentarily taken aback, and John continued, "Surely, Mr. Dursley, you wouldn't be so impolite as to turn away a neighbor's child bringing a gift?"

Vernon took a closer look and saw that John indeed brought a gift.

The rich, sweet smell of apple pie made his beloved son salivate uncontrollably.

Vernon's expression changed several times before he finally said with a scowl, "Since you're not one of those annoying wizards, come in."

John smiled slightly and handed the apple pie to Petunia, who was still wearing a stern expression, before stepping inside.

"Sit down quickly, then you can leave after a minute," Vernon said, not giving John a warm welcome.

John glanced at Dudley, who was eagerly unwrapping and devouring the apple pie, and thought how much the father and son resembled each other.

"Where's Harry?"

"Harry? Don't mention that boy to me," Vernon snapped.

He knew John had an ulterior motive.

Harry was locked up, with bars on his window, and only a small opening left for delivering his meals three times a day.

Vernon was determined to prevent Harry from returning to school, no matter who tried to change his mind.

Vernon stood up and checked his watch, then issued a curt dismissal, "Now you can leave my house. You lot are never welcome here."

His attitude made John frown, and the politeness he had maintained began to fade.

John showed no intention of leaving, prompting Vernon to try and physically remove him. John grabbed Vernon's thick, short finger and....twisted it forcefully.

"Ouuuuuuch!"

"Ou ou ou ou ou..."

Vernon let out a blood-curdling scream, causing Petunia to rush over in shock. She found her husband kneeling before John, whimpering in pain as his finger was bent back.

"Mr. Dursley, I think you might have misunderstood something," John said calmly.

"What! Misunderstood? There's no misunderstanding! If you don't leave, I'll call the police!" Vernon shouted, still trying to throw John out.

John, losing patience, said coldly, "I'm not just Harry's classmate. My father has connections with Mr. Finn Wallace. You know, sometimes dealing with people requires... different methods."

The name Finn Wallace made Vernon's blood run cold.

He knew that Wallace was the head of a London gang, a figure well beyond the reach of the police.

Initially confident that he had nothing to fear from wizards who couldn't use magic outside school, Vernon was now thoroughly terrified.

If what John said was true, dealing with him would be effortless for someone with such dangerous connections.

"A-Apologies, please forgive my rudeness," Vernon said through gritted teeth, forcing an ugly smile. "Harry is upstairs."

"Very well, Mr. Dursley, please allow me to see my friend," John replied, releasing Vernon's finger. Vernon, relieved, nodded and moved aside, quickly checking his finger for any serious injury.

John then turned his attention to Dudley, who was still devouring the apple pie. "Dudley, perhaps you should show me the way, don't you think?" he suggested calmly.

Dudley didn't respond immediately, so Vernon grabbed his ear and forced him to guide John upstairs. Dudley yelped in pain but reluctantly led John up the stairs.

Arriving at Harry's door, John paused to consider the door that was sealed shut, except for a small flap used to pass food through.

"I thought the UK had child protection laws," John muttered.

"He... he destroyed my father's business a few days ago," Dudley quickly explained, fearing he might be blamed. Despite not seeing John for a year, Dudley's fear of him hadn't diminished.

John rolled his eyes, thinking about how he didn't have a pencil with him this time.

He stepped forward and instructed Dudley to open the door.

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