Chapter 101: Wizard's Road Trip
Chapter 101: Wizard's Road Trip
"Who could it be at this hour?" Vernon glared at Harry, scolding him as he walked toward the living room door. "Get to it! If I don't see those socks clean in five minutes, you'll be in for a world of trouble!"
Harry weakly acknowledged and carried a basin of socks toward the bathroom.
Vernon opened the door to find a distinguished young man standing outside.
His small, round eyes bulged, and his fat face, which almost lacked a neck, had turned bright red from his recent tirade at Harry.
"Who are you looking for?"
Staring at Sherlock's handsome appearance, Vernon mentally ruled out one possibility after another before finally asking warily.
Sherlock smiled warmly.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Sherlock Forrest, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and your nephew Harry Potter's teacher. May I—"
"Bang!"
Sherlock's friendly smile froze as the door slammed shut, leaving a mere centimeter of space between it and his prominent nose.
From the first book, he knew the Dursleys were unfriendly toward wizards, but this reaction was beyond unfriendly—it was outright hostile.
Vernon, breathing heavily, stood rooted to the spot in his slippers, his emotions running high as he stormed back into the house.
"Harry Potter! Harry Potter!"
He shouted, causing the innocent Harry, who had soap on his hands, to emerge from the bathroom, and Aunt Petunia, who was preparing lunch in the kitchen, and Harry's cousin Dudley, who was playing a game in his bedroom, to rush to the living room in a panic.
"What is it, Vernon?"
Vernon ignored Aunt Petunia's question and glared at Harry.
"Letting those freaks know our phone number was bad enough, but you even gave them our address! Who gave you the nerve, Harry Potter?"
Harry's face was a mask of confusion as he stared at Vernon, unable to think of which friend might be visiting him during the summer.
His confusion was quickly resolved when the living room door suddenly opened, and Sherlock walked in expressionlessly.
Vernon, showing a protective courage, spread his arms to shield Aunt Petunia and his son Dudley.
But in Sherlock's eyes, Vernon's blind attempt to defend them without assessing the threat was extremely foolish.
"Get out of my house! This is breaking and entering! I have the right to attack you!"
Vernon brandished a baseball bat, trying to look fierce.
Harry, however, was stunned to see Sherlock walk in.
"Professor Forrest!"
Sherlock frowned at Vernon, and without a word, the baseball bat flew out of Vernon's hand and floated in mid-air.
"According to the Ministry of Magic, wizards cannot harm Muggles, but that only applies if you do not show any aggression. Mr. Dursley, do you realize how dangerous your actions were?"
Ignoring the Dursleys' shocked expressions, Sherlock explained his purpose.
"I am here on Professor Dumbledore's instructions. He wants me to take Harry out to handle some matters during the summer. I apologize for the intrusion."
Sherlock's demeanor was impeccable, and a letter flew out of his pocket, floating gently to Aunt Petunia.
"This is a letter from Professor Dumbledore. He says you will let me take Harry once you read it."
Vernon's face turned ashen, but he remained silent.
Aunt Petunia, pale, took the letter that floated toward her.
Her hands trembled as she opened it, read through it quickly, and then looked up at Sherlock.
"Are you... a professor at that school?"
Sherlock said nothing, turning to Harry to let him introduce him.
Seeing Vernon and Dudley's frightened reactions to Sherlock's magic, Harry felt a sense of satisfaction. He cleared his throat and introduced Sherlock formally.
"This is a former top graduate of Hogwarts, a leading Auror at the Ministry of Magic's Auror Office, a Master of Defensive Magic, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor—Sherlock Professor Forrest."
Sherlock rolled his eyes.
Harry's lengthy introduction was lost on the Dursleys, who likely understood only the part about being a teacher. But it seemed to have the desired effect, as the Dursleys appeared genuinely intimidated.
Now, Aunt Petunia was the one talking to Sherlock. She glanced at Harry, then back at Sherlock.
"How long do you plan to take him out?"
Sherlock mainly wanted to get out and clear his mind. He calculated the time and gave an approximate range.
"About two to three weeks."
Aunt Petunia pressed her slightly pale lips together and hesitated for a long time before continuing her question.
"What else will he need to bring?"
Everyone present understood her unspoken meaning; she was agreeing to it.
Vernon stared at her in disbelief, Harry let out an excited cheer, and Sherlock shrugged as he replied.
"Nothing else, just bring the essentials he needs as a wizard."
Harry immediately rushed to his room. He had always lived in the cupboard until last year, when his height made it impossible for him to continue staying there. Aunt Petunia had then cleaned out one of Dudley's spare rooms for him.
He quickly emerged with one hand holding Hedwig's owl cage and his wand tucked into his sleeve, while the other hand carried a suitcase.
"Thank you for your understanding. I wish you a pleasant life. Goodbye."
Sherlock nodded lightly at the Dursleys and then left with Harry.
Harry's previously excited expression froze when he heard Sherlock's final words.
As soon as they stepped out of the Dursleys' house, he anxiously asked Sherlock.
"Professor, were you serious about your blessing for Aunt Petunia and the others?"
Sherlock replied nonchalantly, "It was just a polite gesture. To be honest, I don't have a very good impression of your aunt and her family."
Harry let out a sigh of relief.
Although he didn't particularly like the Dursleys either, he wouldn't want them to suffer a curse from Sherlock and live in misery for the rest of their lives.
He then asked excitedly, "Where are we going, Professor? Did Professor Dumbledore give us a secret mission?"
His current happiness completely overshadowed the words he had said to Hermione and Ron last semester, when he claimed he would rather stay with the Dursleys than spend the summer with Sherlock.
Sherlock looked at the letter from Dumbledore to Nicolas Flamel, which contained an address near Paris, France.
"No, we're just going to visit a friend of Professor Dumbledore's."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I remember Nicolas Flamel used to live in Devonshire, but now he seems to have moved to France. Perhaps the old couple enjoys opera and went to France for that?"
"Nicolas Flamel!"
Harry repeated the name in surprise.
He was, of course, very familiar with this name. In his first year, he had protected the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort, which belonged to Nicolas Flamel.
"Yes, Nicolas Flamel. He destroyed his Philosopher's Stone but has some fragments left with residual magic power and high value. He wants to give them to some young people, and Professor Dumbledore asked me to take you there."
Harry's face lit up with interest, and he asked, "How are we going to get there? Floo Powder? Apparition? Or flying on a broomstick?"
Sherlock shook his head and pulled a business card from his pocket, saying casually, "We'll rent a car from a car rental company and drive there."
Harry's mouth dropped open, as if it could fit an apple inside.
"Drive? You mean a car?"
"Otherwise, why would I tell your aunt I'm taking you out for two weeks? Using magic to get to France and back would take less than a day."
Sherlock hailed a taxi, and the driver frowned at Harry's owl cage but eventually let them in.
Even if they were driving from Devonshire, England, to Paris, France, the round trip would take no more than two days, and if they were in a hurry, they could complete the journey in a single day.
But Sherlock was out to relax and wasn't planning to head straight to Paris. He intended to stop along the way, enjoying the journey and heading to their final destination when the time felt right.
At the car rental company, Sherlock paid the deposit, completed the paperwork, and rented a Ford car.
In his previous life, Sherlock had obtained his driver's license in college. Although the car's structure in Britain was different from what he was used to, it didn't take long to get familiar with it.
Once Harry got into the car, he released Hedwig from her cage, and she happily hopped around on the back seat.
He had never traveled far from home before, and the prospect of driving to another country with Sherlock filled him with immense curiosity and excitement.
"Where are we going first, Professor?"
Sherlock was studying a map of Europe, planning their route. But when he glanced up and saw the loose, oversized clothes Harry was wearing—clearly hand-me-downs from his cousin Dudley—he blinked and smiled.
"Let's go to a Muggle mall first and buy some things. We'll be spending a lot of time in this car, so we can stock up on snacks."
(End of Chapter)
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