Perhaps the fall had hurt his backside too much, because Vernon immediately came to his senses. He struggled to get up, but his body refused to obey him. He tried several times, but could not manage to stand up from the floor.
"It was you!" Vernon finally recognized who the girl in front of him was. Three years ago, during the summer, this same girl had used the same tone to make him let go.
"If you recognize me, then don't move. Move once and I'll beat you to death!" Eda said. "Now, let's solve the problem. Tonight, Dementors appeared in Little Whinging and attacked Harry and Dudley Dursley. Any problem with that?"
Eda's presence was something Harry could not compare with. Once she became serious, Vernon immediately became much more obedient. Vernon nodded, although the idiot still could not figure out exactly what a Dementor was.
"Good. Next, Harry used magic to drive the Dementors away and protect himself and Dudley Dursley. Harry was punished because he used magic outside school. Any problem with that?" Eda continued.
Vernon grunted, producing a tiny voice completely out of proportion with his size, like a mosquito. He said, "No."
"Good. For some special reasons, although you may be very unwilling to do so, Harry must remain in your home. Any problem with that?"
Vernon said nothing. He neither nodded nor shook his head, simply sitting there on the floor.
"Did you understand, Mr. Dursley? If you understood, give me an answer." Eda gently urged him, looking down from her lofty position at Vernon Dursley sitting on the floor.
"Impossible!" Vernon said agitatedly. "Here, this place only has him... He's the only one! That thing came here because of him. I can't let this boy stay here, absolutely not!"
Vernon did not dare say the word "wizard." He was filled with fear toward wizards, but for the sake of his wife and son, he gathered all his courage and firmly said no.
Moreover, Vernon had discovered part of the truth behind the "Dementor attack." He realized that it was not a coincidence and that Harry had been the target. Perhaps the blood flow to his brain had suddenly improved, allowing his intelligence to reclaim the high ground.
"We failed to reach an agreement. That's such a shame!" Eda said. "Never mind. We can find someone else instead. How about Sirius Black? Harry's murderer godfather?"
As if they had arranged it beforehand, the moment Eda mentioned Sirius's name, an owl flew into Number 4 Privet Drive. The fourth owl of the night brought a handwritten letter from Sirius.
"I've had enough! Get him, get this boy, and get all these disgusting owls out of my house!" Vernon shrieked hysterically. "And you! I don't care what you people are, I will never allow some lunatic to hurt my family!"
Eda ignored the hysterical Vernon. It was not as though he could break free from the restraints anyway. She looked at the letter first. Sirius had written:
Stay there! No matter what happens, do not leave that house again. I will come to get you as soon as possible.
The letter was very short, even shorter than Mr. Weasley's. It was so short that Harry felt Sirius had been rather cold about it.
His reaction was far too calm. Harry had single-handedly driven away two Dementors tonight. Was there really not a single person who would tell him, "Well done"?
Fortunately, fortunately, the letter still contained the words, "I will come to get you as soon as possible." Harry's mood did not sink back to rock bottom.
Vernon continued screaming, demanding that Harry get out of his house and stop bringing danger to his wife and son.
It was so unbearably noisy that Eda's head hurt. She waved her left hand in front of Vernon's eyes, and at last the world became quiet.
"Mrs. Dursley, I believe you know Professor Dumbledore, don't you?" Eda slowly walked toward Petunia and said meaningfully, "Professor Dumbledore asked me to send his regards."
Petunia's voice trembled. "I don't need his regards... I don't need them..."
Eda tilted her head and gestured for Petunia to look at Vernon. She said, "I don't think you want Professor Dumbledore to pay you a personal visit, do you? Harry has to stay here."
Petunia's breathing instantly became rapid. The name Dumbledore, and the thought of Dumbledore personally coming to visit, terrified Petunia. She looked as though she might faint at any moment.
Petunia's body continued to tremble. She struggled to swallow and said weakly to her husband, "That boy... that boy has to stay here, Vernon."
"Excellent! We've reached an agreement!" Eda said. "Now there's only the matter of Dudley Dursley."
As she spoke, Eda sat back down on the sofa and casually released the restraints on Vernon. Now that he was free, Vernon deflated like an old tire, his eyes filled with confusion and incomprehension.
Eda took off the small shoulder bag she was carrying and reached inside. Her entire arm disappeared into the tiny bag. After rummaging around for a while, she finally pulled out a glass bottle. The liquid inside was a bright golden yellow, like sunlight.
"Give this to your cousin to drink," Eda said as she placed the potion bottle into Harry's hand.
"What is this..."
"Elixir to Induce Euphoria. Whoever drinks it will be filled with an intense feeling of happiness. The side effect is that sometimes they start singing and can't stop," Eda explained. "But that's fine. I added peppermint to it, so this potion won't have any side effects."
Harry nodded and walked toward Dudley with the potion.
But Vernon and Petunia were very uneasy. They did not want their son coming into contact with anything related to magic, even though the Elixir to Induce Euphoria had a beautiful color.
"Whatever. Drink it or don't!" Harry snapped angrily and said sarcastically, "Just let your Dudders stay like this!"
With that, Harry angrily threw the bottle over. Petunia instinctively reached out and caught it.
The husband and wife looked at each other, not knowing what to do. They did not want Dudley to drink the potion, but neither did they want their son to remain in this foolish, dazed state, unable to even speak properly.
After hesitating for a long time, Petunia finally hardened her heart and poured the entire bottle of golden potion into Dudley's mouth.
In an instant, Dudley's deathly pale complexion became much rosier, and a happy smile spread across his face.
The way to deal with Dementors was the Patronus Charm, and casting the Patronus Charm not only required exceptional skill, but also a happy memory. Therefore, happiness and joy were indispensable factors in resisting Dementors.
This could also be considered treating the root of the problem. The happiness brought by the Elixir to Induce Euphoria could alleviate the damage the Dementors had caused Dudley to some extent.
With everything basically resolved and Dudley showing signs of improvement, Eda had successfully completed the task Dumbledore had assigned to her.
She put her little shoulder bag back on and left the Dursleys' kitchen.
On the lawn in front of Number 4 Privet Drive, Harry caught up with Eda. He wanted to see her off.
"Thank you for tonight," Harry said.
"You're welcome," Eda said. "You know there's an orphanage nearby, right?"
"I know." Harry nodded. "It's not too far from Privet Drive."
"Good. I'm staying there for the time being. Before Sirius comes to get you, if any trouble comes up, have Hedwig come there and find me."
"Okay," Harry said. "You be careful too. Things aren't peaceful right now."
"I think you could have a heart-to-heart talk with your aunt. She seems to be hiding a lot of secrets. About your mother, and about Dumbledore."
"I don't think she'll be willing to talk to me about those things." Harry smiled helplessly.
The two waved goodbye, and Harry stood at the doorway, watching Eda walk toward the road.
"And, Harry!" Just when Harry thought Eda would use Apparition to leave, Eda suddenly turned around and looked at him.
"..You did great tonight!" Eda said with a smile as she walked backward.
...
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel