#761 - Summer vacation (asking for monthly ticket recommendation)

“As for this photo…” Anduin twirled an old black and white photograph. “This was taken 11 years ago, when I spent Christmas with your parents. Can you recognize me in it?”

“Yes!” Harry nodded without hesitation, pointing to a young figure in the photo.

Despite so many years passing, Anduin hadn't changed much in appearance, and he could easily be distinguished from his temperament and clothing style.

“Then guess who I was holding in my arms at the time?” Anduin looked at Harry with a smile, hinting.

“Ah? Could it be… that's me?” Harry pointed to his nose in disbelief.

“That's right, and Neville was there too.” Anduin pointed to another baby next to him. “This is Neville, being held by Neville's grandmother, Augusta. Next to them are Neville's parents, Frank and Alice.”

“They were severely injured and lost their memories due to the persecution of the Death Eaters. They are still being treated at the Magical Injuries Hospital. Neville is also a poor child.”

Hearing this, Harry nodded in understanding. No wonder the professor had such a good relationship with Neville; it turned out he was friends with Neville's parents many years ago.

At the same time, he was shocked by his connection with Anduin. He originally thought that the professor and his parents were just ordinary friends. Who would have thought that the other party was so close to his family back then, even holding him as a baby.

After some感慨, Anduin seemed to recall something interesting, and his voice became much lighter.

“Heh, you were much more interesting back then than you are now, and also braver than I imagined. I remember that when the Christmas dinner was halfway through, we happened to be attacked by Death Eaters. Your mother, Lily, Neville's grandmother, and mother hid in the basement to take refuge.”

“Who would have thought that those Death Eaters would find us and launch an attack on the shelter? In the end, with everyone's joint efforts, all the enemies were wiped out.”

“As a result, you were extremely well-behaved until the end of the battle, and you didn't even cry once.” Anduin smiled, waving the photo in his hand, his eyes full of relief as he looked at Harry.

Listening to Anduin recounting the past, Harry felt as if he had returned to that turbulent era. But then his expression became tangled and lost. “So many dangerous things happened back then? But if that's the case, why did my parents still…”

“I can only say they trusted the wrong person.” Anduin shook his head sadly. “After that incident, the Order of the Phoenix… which was the organization that fought against the Death Eaters back then, unanimously decided that Voldemort's target was your family. To this end, they protected your parents with the 'Fidelius Charm'.”

“This is an extremely complex spell that can magically hide someone's secret forever in the soul of a living person.”

“And the person who is chosen—that is, the Secret-Keeper—the secret in their heart will never be discovered, unless the Secret-Keeper actively reveals it.”

“As long as the Secret-Keeper doesn't reveal it, even if thieves stick their noses against the glass of their living room, they won't see them.”

“In other words, unless the Secret-Keeper actively leaked the information, in the eyes of the Death Eaters and Voldemort, your parents were as safe as if they had disappeared from the world.” Anduin explained simply to Harry.

“Did my parents choose the wrong Secret-Keeper back then?” Harry could now hear what Anduin meant by 'trusted the wrong person'.

“That's right.” Anduin nodded, then pointed to several figures next to James in the photo. “Your father made several close friends since his student days. They are Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.”

“At the time, we all thought your father had made Sirius the Secret-Keeper. He was not only your father's best buddy but also your godfather.” Anduin sighed, pointing to the still-young Black in the photo.

“Everyone thought so? Does that mean they didn't actually choose him back then?” Harry was shocked when he heard this, partly because he was shocked by suddenly receiving so much information, and partly because he was surprised that he actually had a godfather?

“It would have been great if Black had been chosen back then.” Anduin's tone was full of regret when he said this. “That idiot Sirius thought he was too big of a target in the eyes of the Death Eaters, so he persuaded James to let Peter Pettigrew be the Secret-Keeper, while he was responsible for diverting the Death Eaters' pursuit. As a result…”

“As a result, Peter Pettigrew betrayed my parents?” Harry heard the meaning in the other party's words and clenched his fists in anger. He couldn't understand how that unfamiliar Peter Pettigrew would choose to betray his friends? They were clearly friends, weren't they?

“That's right, Peter Pettigrew betrayed James and Lily, and he's still alive now!” When Anduin mentioned this name again, a trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

“Peter is still alive? Where is he? Couldn't they catch him when the Death Eaters were destroyed back then?” Harry had been living in the Muggle world and knew almost nothing about what happened back then, so his mind was full of questions.

“No one knows where he is now.” Anduin shook his head. “After discovering that he had betrayed Lily and her husband, Sirius tried to catch him, but he escaped by faking his death at the time. Your godfather was wrongly accused of betraying your parents and was thrown into Azkaban for many years.

“Ah? Such a thing happened? Why didn't he defend himself?” Harry felt indignant when he heard that his godfather, whom he had never met, had ended up in such a state.

“Isn't that because of his stubborn personality and pride? Black believes that it was because he recommended Peter to James that caused their deaths.”

Anduin sighed helplessly, then comforted, “But don't worry too much, he has now been cleared of his charges. Voldemort publicly revealed everything that happened during the public trial.”

“Is that so? Where is he now?” After Anduin's introduction, Harry became interested in this godfather. Although he had grown up in his aunt and uncle's house, he had hardly felt the warmth of family. Now that he learned that he had such a relative, he naturally cared a lot.

“He's not in England right now. We'll have to wait a while before we can meet him.” Anduin returned the photo to Harry's hand and said softly.

“We? Meet?” Harry's eyes lit up when he heard Anduin's words. Could it be…

“That's right.” Anduin nodded and smiled, “You're going to be with me this summer. Let's go to France to see Sirius and see your uncle's business empire!”

Harry's face was flushed with excitement because of the good news. “Yay! That's great! Thank you, Professor, oh no, Uncle Wilson!”

Seeing this, Anduin smiled and patted Harry's head. “I know you've suffered a lot over the years. Don't worry, you won't be alone in the future!”

“Yeah!”

Harry was so moved that he couldn't speak. He only felt warm in his heart. Before today, he was just a lonely person, but now he suddenly had a godfather, and the professor in front of him had become his relative.

……

The next day, Harry excitedly went to the return platform with several good friends, which surprised Hermione and others.

You know, before yesterday, Harry was very resistant to the summer vacation, as if leaving Hogwarts was some kind of torture. As a result, the other party changed like a different person after a night.

“Harry, don't you hate going back to your uncle's house? Why are you so happy today?” Hermione looked at the other party in confusion.

“Hehe, I don't have to stay in that annoying relative's house this summer. You guys will never guess what happened.” Harry grinned happily, pretending to be mysterious and smiling.

“Don't play riddles with us. What happened? Where can you go if you don't go home?” Ron curiously approached Harry and kept asking.

“This summer, I'm going to France with Uncle Wilson!” After being questioned by Ron for a while, Harry couldn't hold back any longer, so he announced to several friends with a smile.

“Ah? You're going to France? And with Professor Wilson? And why did you suddenly call him uncle? Isn't that what Ron and Neville usually call him?” After hearing Harry's words, Hermione became even more curious.

“Haha, you don't know…”

Harry recounted his experience yesterday in high spirits, and then focused on showing off the fact that Anduin was going to take him for the summer vacation.

“Merlin's beard, so Uncle Wilson has a close relationship with your parents?” Ron widened his eyes somewhat exaggeratedly. “It's amazing that he could endure not recognizing you for so long!”

Then Ron pouted with some jealousy, “You're so lucky. You can go to France for the summer vacation. I guess I still have to stay in the Burrow and help my mother with work this vacation.”

“I see.” Neville suddenly realized, “I was wondering why you could go to France too. It turns out Uncle Wilson is taking you to see your godfather.”

“Neville, what do you mean by 'too'?” Ron stared at the strong boy next to him in shock. “Could it be that you also…”

“Yeah.” Neville nodded, “Uncle Wilson told me a long time ago that he would take me and Ginny out for a walk this summer.”

“What? Ginny can go too?” Ron was no longer shocked at this moment, but collapsed. “Why don't I know anything? Why didn't you tell us in advance?”

“Ah? Do I need to say this?” Neville scratched his head in confusion. “Uncle Wilson used to take me out to play often, so this is not a big deal for me. And isn't Ginny your sister? Didn't she mention it to you?”

“Who would contact that stinky guy who likes to show off for no reason!”

Ron covered his head speechlessly. He felt a headache when he thought that his two friends and sister could go abroad to have fun this summer, while he could only stay at home stupidly and help his mother clean up the smelly goblins in the yard.

“So you two are going to France for the summer vacation?”

Ron was struggling, but Hermione gave another assist, “I've always wanted to go to France to see it. My dad also said that he wanted to find a summer vacation to take me there. Why don't I ask him to let me go this year too, so we can meet up in France.”

“That's great.”

Harry and Neville's faces were filled with joy, “But can your dad agree?”

“What's the matter? Anyway, our family has the habit of going out for vacation every year. Where can't we go?”

Hermione's father, as a dentist, had a very comfortable life for his family, and she was the only child who was loved by thousands of people, so it was no problem for her father to change his mind.

“That's great!” Harry jumped up happily. “Why don't Neville and I ask Uncle Wilson later to see if he can take your family along the way?”

While the three were happily discussing how to play in France during the holidays, Ron's face next to him was already dark.

Even Hermione can go abroad to have fun? And can meet up? Thinking of this, Ron felt even more lost.

Then he secretly came up with a bad idea, and intentionally or unintentionally glanced at the twins in the distance.

However, he was very calm and didn't show anything, just accompanied Harry and others to board the return train.

After spending several hours on the train, the magical steam train finally entered King's Cross Station, which also declared that a school year at Hogwarts had officially ended.

When everyone happily got off the train, Harry saw Anduin waiting by the platform at a glance.

When Anduin saw Harry, he waved to him casually, “Let's go, I'll just go and meet your aunt and uncle's family.”

“Yeah!”

Harry nodded happily. Anduin had told him before that he would say hello to his aunt and uncle before taking him away.

But when he thought of his relatives, Harry couldn't help but mutter uncomfortably, “Uncle Wilson, my uncle and aunt have bad tempers and are not easy to talk to. Can they agree to your request?”

“Harry…” Anduin smiled and glanced at the other party, a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes, “Since you have stepped into the world of wizards, you should learn to think about problems in a wizard's way. Who told you that I would talk to your aunt and uncle properly? Who told you that I need to get their consent?”

“Ah?” Hearing Anduin's domineering remarks, Harry couldn't help but swallow, “You don't want to cast a spell on them, do you? It's illegal to cast spells on Muggles at will.”

“That's right, it's indeed illegal if you're discovered, but as long as we don't get caught, won't we be fine? Remember, this is the law of survival for wizards.” Anduin smiled indifferently.