章 113: 113
Chapter 113: Call the Police? I Can Help
The Dursleys were seated for dinner. On the table lay butter shortbread, fried cod, sausages, and vegetable soup. Dudley also had a generous serving of fragrant mashed potatoes.
"I don't want this!" Dudley erupted. "I want cheese bread! And I want barbecue!"
"Have it tomorrow morning, Duddy," Petunia said lovingly to her chubby son. "You need to eat well before school starts."
She always worried Dudley wouldn't get enough to eat at school.
"I want barbecue now! I won't eat anything else!"
Dudley insisted stubbornly, tears welling up as if he had suffered a great injustice.
Petunia hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, just wait a moment. Mommy will make you barbecue."
She got up to head to the kitchen, and at that moment, the doorbell rang, interrupting their dinner.
"Who could be visiting at this hour?" Petunia wondered aloud.
"No guests... it might be the mail," Vernon mused, intending to call Harry to answer the door, but then remembered he had locked the boy up. Reluctantly, he got up to open the door himself.
Standing outside were two strangers, one tall and one small, both impeccably dressed and bearing an air of authority. They were clearly not postal carriers.
"Hello."
Vernon's irritation at being disturbed during dinner melted when he recognized the visitor.
He started to recall... Was this man a business associate?
"Good evening, sir," Vernon asked politely. "May I help you?"
Penny heard the voice and stepped out of the kitchen. Seeing the man at the door, she felt a flicker of recognition.
"Hello, Mr. Dursley," Lupin said calmly. "I have some important matters to discuss, but not with you."
Confused, Vernon stepped aside involuntarily, watching the man, whose name he didn't know, enter his home.
"Wait - who are you looking for?"
Vernon hurried after him, asking cautiously.
At the doorway, Petunia gasped, her arms trembling as she pointed at Lupin. "You... you... you're... you're the best man..."
"Remus Lupin," Lupin acknowledged, looking at the thin woman. "It's been twelve years, Mrs. Dursley."
Vernon eyed them suspiciously but ultimately trusted his wife more. "Do you know him, Petunia?"
"You should know me, Mr. Dursley."
Lupin entered the house and glanced around before addressing the homeowner.
"—We all attended James and Lily's wedding, didn't we?"
Surprised, Vernon stammered, "You're... you were with that... wizard?"
The words barely left his mouth.
Meanwhile, Dudley, eating his fried cod, suddenly screamed. He dropped his plate, panicked, clutched his behind, spun around like a top, and bolted for the bathroom. Locking himself inside, he refused to come out.
—The last wizard he encountered was Hagrid, who left him with a pig's tail as a souvenir that had to be surgically removed.
"Oh - my poor Duddy -"
Penny hurried after him, trying to soothe her frightened son, but was nearly hit by the slamming bathroom door.
Startled, Vernon stepped back and grabbed a kitchen knife, pointing it shakily at Lupin. "What do you think you're doing? Get out! Penny, call the police!"
Uninterested in confrontation, Lupin turned and headed upstairs.
Penny rushed to make the call, but someone had already lifted the receiver.
"Call the police, you say? I can help."
Wade spoke calmly. "999? Or 116111? Either should suffice."
As he began to dial, his hand was stopped by cold fingers.
Looking up, Wade met Penny's pale face. "We can't call the police... We can't, Vernon..."
"What?" Vernon demanded loudly. He wanted to pursue Lupin upstairs but hesitated, torn between leaving his wife and son behind.
"Bang!" A loud noise echoed from upstairs, as though a bedroom door had been slammed open.
Then came Lupin's angry voice. "Is this what you feed him?"
Vernon seethed with anger, while Penny wore a look of shame.
But they listened to Wade.
"116111 is the Childline, the charity with legal authority over child welfare."
Wade explained kindly, "It's the only organization empowered to intervene in such cases."
Vernon stared in astonishment, his small eyes darting around nervously.
In the upstairs bedroom, Harry leaped out of bed, terrified by the stranger barging through the door.
"Who are you?"
He panicked, clutching a pillow defensively.
"Come with me, Harry." Lupin took a deep breath, tears glistening in his eyes. "I'm a friend of your parents... I'm here to take you away."
Harry hesitated only briefly before grabbing his hand.
For him, there was no worse place than the Dursleys'. He'd almost starved countless times there.
"Wait, Hedwig!"
Harry darted over to grab his owl cage.
Lupin glanced at the bowl nearby with disgust. It held a thin broth with a few wilted vegetables, much like the owl's sparse food bowl.
Back in the living room.
"You could call 999 to report an incident, but as guardians, it's illegal to neglect a child under 14's basic needs—food, clothing, medical care, and suitable accommodation—when financially able."
Wade explained calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, Harry was locked upstairs by you? The windows were nailed shut."
"Imprisoning, abusing, or neglecting children are all crimes under the Child Abuse Prevention Act, the Children Act, and the Children Guardianship Act passed three years ago."
"If you doubt it, check for yourself. Or call the police and let them decide right from wrong."
"How... how do you know all this?" Petunia asked incredulously. "Are you another... another one of them?"
These laws are complex, even for wizards, let alone ordinary people.
"My parents weren't wizards either, and I grew up in a similar environment as you."
Wade's tone grew slightly firmer. "What do you think, Harry? If you choose to call the police, these two could face serious consequences."
The Dursleys spun around in panic, finding Harry had followed Lupin downstairs unnoticed.
The realization terrified them.
Police... jail... Dudley being bullied at school... perhaps even dropping out...
Their future suddenly seemed cast in a dark shadow, and this shadow was brought by the little boy they had underestimated for so long.
Hatred filled Harry's heart.
For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to call the police, to see the Dursleys punished and his grievances known to the world.
But when he opened his mouth, he hesitated several times. Finally, scratching his head, he muttered, "I... let's go..."
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