In front of Harry, this was the first time Petunia spoke about her sister without ridicule or criticism.
Then he was surprised to find that his aunt's eyes were red. This was not the first time that his aunt had shown such an expression when mentioning his mother.
In the past, Harry always thought that her eyes were red from anger, but now he realized that this was not the case.
Vernon suddenly stood up, took out a bottle of sherry from the cabinet, poured it for himself and his wife, and then poured half a glass for Harry.
"No, no, he's not an adult yet." When Penny saw this, she wanted to grab the wine glass.
"This is at home. Harry is already five years old, isn't he?" Vernon insisted and handed the cup to Harry, "and I think Harry might need this to calm down today. Besides, he's starting to understand A family man deserves a glass of sherry after a meal.”
After Harry picked up the glass, Vernon added, "Of course, it's my first time drinking today, so it's only half a glass at most."
Vernon raised his glass as he spoke, and the three of them took a sip together.
What he took out was a bottle of sweet sherry, which was less than 20 degrees. Harry felt that the wine was not as spicy as expected when he took it into his mouth, but instead had a fresh and sweet aroma.
After letting out a sigh of relief, Harry suddenly turned his head. He seemed to have seen a familiar figure just now, but when he looked out the window, he didn't find anything.
Illusion?
Then my mind changed and I no longer paid too much attention. The upcoming conversation was more important now.
Uncle Vernon was sitting opposite, with his right elbow resting on the table and a goblet half in his hand, with a complicated expression on his face.
Aunt Petunia sat next to her, her thin upper body seemed to have lost strength, leaning on her husband's broad shoulders, her red eyes seemed to reveal the mistress's sad mood.
The aftertaste of sherry was still lingering on his tongue. It was just a small sip, but Harry was already slightly tipsy. He didn't know if it was his first time drinking or for other reasons.
Or maybe it was because it was the first time he sat across from his aunt and uncle in such a formal manner, talking like an adult about issues more serious than Christmas gifts and pocket money.
Perceivable growth sometimes makes young and ignorant boys get excited.
After taking the first sip of wine, the three of them sat there without speaking or even making any unnecessary movements. Even the little mouse who was poking his head behind the sofa seemed to be aware of the solemn atmosphere and tiptoed towards the kitchen.
In the end, as the head of the family, it was Mr. Dursley who was the first to break the silence.
"Okay, okay, I know it's hard to say something, but to be honest, Harry, initially I was advocating sending you to an orphanage."
At this point, Dursley paused for a moment, as if trying to formulate his words, and then continued without waiting for anyone else to answer.
"When you showed up at the door, well, it was about this size." The fat uncle gestured to the size of a basket, "But you know, Dali was about the same size at that time."
"Your aunt, and I, were not as well-off as they are now. It would be difficult for us to afford two children, especially... you already know about Lily and Potter... right?"
Harry nodded, feeling a little sad. He knew what his uncle meant. On that day, in Godric's Hollow, his parents bravely resisted the Dark Lord and died to protect him.
"I was very afraid that things would involve us and Dudley. I wanted to send you away, but Petunia..." Dursley stopped talking and looked at his wife. Petunia's body was unstable. Trembling.
Suddenly, the body that was leaning on her husband's shoulder stood upright. The woman stood up, stumbled around the table, hugged the thin boy into her arms, and started crying.
"You, you are my sister's only child. We almost lost contact when we grew up. She left no photos or messages. After the death of her parents, you were the only one. You are the only one who can prove that Lily existed."
Listening to his aunt's heartfelt cries, Harry's stiff body suddenly became soft. He crossed his arms and patted his aunt's back. Both of them were choked and speechless for a while.
"In the end, your aunt convinced me and you stayed, but it became Petunia's heartache from then on." Vernon took over, his deep voice seeming to represent that the past was not a happy one.
"She often screamed and ran to your bedroom, took you out of the crib, and hid you in various secret corners. For this reason, I had to take her to see a doctor, but the diagnosis was that there was nothing wrong except anxiety. "
"She still hides you from time to time. We all know that there is one..." Uncle Vernon seemed to have done a lot of mental construction before he uttered words that he would never have said before.
"...Wizard, that's what you call yourselves, right? Fortunately, the evil wizard has never been here since you came to this home."
Voldemort.
Harry secretly thought in his heart that he did not expect that this name, which frightened many wizards, would bring such great fear to his aunt and uncle.
This made him full of hatred towards himself and even more guilty towards the two people in front of him.
"You know, Penny can't tell the truth to the psychiatrist, otherwise others will think she is crazy. Later, I suggested that she tell it in a story, just saying it was a recurring dream."
"Petunia tried it, and the effect was remarkable. But it's not that the psychiatrist is very clever. He just told your aunt a joke." Vernon rubbed the beard on his face, as if he was relieved of the problem that had been bothering them for half a year. Such a childish thing was solved, and I felt a little speechless.
"He said, just hide him in the cupboard. A high-ranking man would never go there to hunt down a child."
For a moment, Harry's expression was a little wonderful, so is this why I've been sleeping in cupboards for ten years?
Thinking about the initial dissatisfaction with my uncle and aunt, I was allowed to sleep in the stairwell cupboard full of spiders even though there was an empty bedroom.
Unexpectedly, this turned out to be his own protection at first.
What he didn't expect was that it was actually Dali and him who slept in the cupboard at first, but before they could remember, the "balloon" cousin blew himself up at an extremely fast speed, which made the cupboard The cupboard is a little too small for him.
In addition, nothing happened for more than a year, and Penny was no longer so nervous, so she asked Dali to move back to the bedroom.
"Harry, do you remember what you were like when you were a child?" Petunia also calmed down at this time and asked, stroking Harry's hair.
Hearing his aunt's question, Harry was so embarrassed that he almost wanted to stuff himself into the gap in the floor.
How could you not know? At that time, I was resentful and would always use various hidden methods to cause trouble at home, or encourage Dali to fight with other children, especially those who were older than them. I would secretly cut off the flower stems planted by my uncle and put them in the bowl. Pee inside...
Well, this is really hard to forget. Even now when I think of that beating, it still remains fresh in my memory.
