Chapter 286: The Silent Ones
Chapter 286: The Silent Ones
"Crying?"
Harry suddenly felt like he didn't recognize this word.
He leaned forward and saw a few familiar boys at the corner, supporting each other as they emerged from the corner next to the supermarket. Some of them, like Pete, were actually crying.
Behind them, Vaid let go of his sleeves and said to the stunned cashier, "Can I have my change, please?"
"Oh... Okay," the cashier replied nervously.
As Harry walked out of the supermarket with the groceries, he still looked incredulous.
"How did you do that?" he asked Vaid in a low voice, "Did you use magic?"
"I learned some fighting techniques from Professor Abigail, and of course... magic," Vaid replied softly.
"Let me teach you a little trick—you can use the Sensory Amplification Charm on yourself to enhance your perception and be more agile during fights," Vaid whispered.
"Won't using the Sensory Amplification Charm trigger the Trace Threads?" Harry asked, puzzled.
Vaid laughed, "Who said I just used the Sensory Amplification Charm?"
Of course, he had been maintaining this inconspicuous yet useful charm for a long time.
And there was one more thing Vaid didn't tell Harry—
After learning Animagus, Vaid discovered that minor self-transfiguration wouldn't trigger the Trace Threads.
Magic flowed within him, acting upon himself without being released, so it wouldn't be detected.
He clenched and unclenched his fists several times, and his originally thick-jointed fingers gradually returned to the appearance they should have as a thirteen-year-old boy.
Behind them, Pete, who had been hit on the nose, was crying and sniffling, while his friend beside him complained, "Who is that guy? His fists are as hard as rocks."
"And he's really scary when he swears," another boy patted Pete's shoulder with lingering fear and said, "It's okay, Pete, I understand... I almost cried just from overhearing it."
"Potter's really found a powerful ally," another person glared at Dudley disapprovingly and asked, "Dudley, did you know he was so powerful? Why didn't you do anything just now?"
Dudley, the only one uninjured, stammered, "I... I had a stomachache today, I didn't feel well... so..."
In reality, he was just worried about growing a pig's tail again.
His father, Vernon, had mostly reverted to his old attitude since learning that Harry couldn't use magic outside of school, often cursing at Harry and sometimes even wanting to hit him with his wand.
But Dudley was much more cautious in this regard.
His thinking was simple—Harry was only prohibited from using magic, not truly unable to use it.
The law also forbids hitting people! Dudley didn't refrain from beating up other kids just because it was illegal!
So every time Harry pretended to use magic, Dudley would be scared.
But his dilemma was something these friends, unaware of magic's existence, couldn't comprehend.
They were angry at Dudley for 'looking out for himself' just now, and Dudley felt guilty, following behind them sheepishly.
The group of kids walked by the street, some crying, some swearing, making a noisy commotion.
Subsequently, two men squatting by the roadside, as if trimming bushes, turned to look at them, then glanced at the other side.
Vaid and Harry had already walked far ahead.
The dark-haired man whispered, "Harry Potter? I didn't expect him to live here... Who's the boy next to him?"
"You must have heard of his name—Vaid Gre," the other man with brown hair said with a hint of pride, "My student."
During his school days, he was quite an admirer of mine."
The dark-haired man gave him a strange look and bluntly exposed, "So... why are you hiding from your admirer, Lockhart?"
Lockhart's face changed, and he whispered urgently, "Don't call me by my name, Gal! What if someone hears us?"
"We must leave this place quickly!" Gal said to himself, "Harry Potter must have Ministry protectors around him. If we stay here, we might be discovered soon."
"We finally found a job with high pay and little work..." Lockhart was reluctant to leave.
"If you want to go back to Azkaban, then stay! I'm leaving."
Gal finished speaking and decisively walked away along a small path.
"Wait for me!" Lockhart hurried to catch up and said, "How long can we keep hiding like this? Why don't you come with me to Terford? There's a fan there who admires me very much, and she'll definitely help us."
"Don't forget that your scheme has been exposed!" Gal bluntly said, "The people who used to admire you have been emotionally deceived by you, and they might hate you more than anyone else now!"
Lockhart was stunned, then asked, "So what do you suggest we do?"
"Speaking of which... I also know a vampire, who is like an uncle to me." Gal pondered, "Maybe we can seek his help..."
...
Vaid didn't know that he had just passed by the two fugitives he was looking for.
The two of them returned to Sirius's house. Harry was obviously happy that the person he disliked had been beaten up, and he spoke with a tone of reminiscing about his past experiences.
"Once, I was chased by them and jumped onto the school chimney... I've never jumped that high before!"
Harry said with regret, "Why didn't I know that I could jump tens of meters high when I didn't know magic, but now that I've learned magic, I can't jump up there?"
"Perhaps it's because ignorant children are more likely to create miracles, probably because their minds are unconstrained?"
Sirius, who had just come down from the upper floor, heard his words and continued, "But grown wizards can control their powers."
He still had some soot on him, obviously having just traveled through the fireplace to and from 12 Grimmauld Place, returning Regulus's portrait.
Vaid thought for a moment and said, "If an adult completely loses their memory and their mind becomes like a blank sheet of paper, can they possess both qualities? Being able to do something extraordinary with the will of a child, and also quickly mastering their powers."
Sirius blinked and after a while, he said, "That's an interesting idea... But you'll need to find an amnesiac adult to verify it, right?"
"Actually, there is one." Lupin came out of the kitchen holding a plate, saying, "—The kind of person you're talking about, who possesses both qualities."
"Really? Who?" Harry asked curiously.
"Cedric Barrabone, a Silent One who lived to adulthood, caused great destruction in New York, America, and later died."
Lupin said, "I once read his story in an old newspaper, and I think he's the kind of person you're describing."
"What are the Silent Ones? What kind of people are they?" Harry asked further.
"That story is too long to tell now, but it's lunchtime." Lupin asked, "Who will help me set the table?"
The three people sitting on the sofa stood up together.
(End of Chapter)
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