章 39: Harry and Petunia
Walking out of the potions classroom, Harry was like a frost-bitten eggplant, completely wilted.
"Ethan, I'm sorry, I got you into trouble."
Harry felt very embarrassed. Professor Snape was targeting him, but because he couldn't answer, Ethan was targeted instead.
Luckily, Ethan answered correctly, so no points were deducted.
It was just that the little incident between Ethan and Hermione later led to some points being deducted, and Harry didn't know if that was his fault.
"This has nothing to do with you, it's Snape's problem."
There was another thing that was hard to say—this was called paying for the father's debt.
Who made your father steal someone's childhood sweetheart and use the magic Snape invented to hang him upside down in public, exposing his hairy legs and underwear? It could be said to be the shame of his life.
"I don't know why, but from the first time I met Snape, he's been unfriendly to me, especially today, like he wanted to gouge my eyes out."
Harry fell into a gloomy mood and couldn't pull himself out of it. All the other professors were kind to him, except for Snape.
"You could go back and ask your aunt about it."
Ethan offered a suggestion.
Snape was the "freak" that Harry's aunt Petunia used to talk about. Of course, that was when Snape was younger, and they definitely hadn't met since then. But Petunia must know what Snape thought of Lily.
"Why ask my aunt?"
Harry couldn't figure it out. His aunt was just an ordinary person, while Snape was a professor at a magic school. They were from two completely different worlds and had no connection at all.
"Well, since you said Snape had bad intentions towards you from the first time you met, and you didn't know each other, and he didn't know you, but he holds a grudge against you…"
"Then think about it, who would that grudge be against?"
Ethan continued to prompt, wanting to see what would happen if Harry learned about Snape in advance.
Anyway, this was just a small episode and wouldn't affect the bigger picture.
"With my parents?"
After thinking it through, Harry could only come to this conclusion.
It was confirmed that his parents were wizards and had left him a huge inheritance.
If his parents were still alive, they'd be about the same age as Snape and might have even been classmates. If there was any hatred, it would likely be between them.
"Is that true? You can ask your aunt about it when you go back for the holidays. It's just one simple question."
People who knew what happened at Hogwarts definitely wouldn't tell Harry. Other than his aunt, he had no other option.
"You know, my relationship with my aunt isn't great. She won't tell me anything."
Harry shook his head. Since childhood, his aunt's family made him live in a cupboard, wear worn-out clothes, and do all kinds of housework. They were indifferent to his cousin Dudley's bullying.
"Do you really think that?"
Harry nodded without hesitation. It was a fact—they just didn't like him.
Harry was still young and didn't understand much, but he'd probably figure it out later.
"First of all, you're not your aunt's son, so why should she raise you? Did your family give her any money?"
"It costs a lot to raise a child."
Ethan directly pointed out the harsh reality. Harry, who had grown up in the Muggle world, knew about laws and the existence of orphanages.
It wasn't like his aunt had to follow any rule about raising a nephew. Harry's father came from the wizarding world and had no property in the Muggle world. There was no benefit to raising him at all.
Even in the Muggle world, there were many cases of people plotting their relatives' property and letting the children fend for themselves.
Harry had his own room, ate with the family, and could even go to the zoo with them—things that would never happen at an orphanage.
Harry's aunt, in this sense, was a positive figure.
"But they're not nice to me!"
Harry had absorbed some of this reasoning, but after years of being treated so differently from Dudley, it was hard for him to let go.
"You have talents that they don't have. That's jealousy. You could also bring disaster to the family. That's fear. It's strange that they treat you kindly given those feelings, but they still care enough to raise you, despite the risks."
That was how Ethan saw it.
When Petunia was young, her sister showed wizarding talent. Petunia was envious and even wrote to Dumbledore asking to attend Hogwarts but was rejected. At the time, she was quite jealous of Lily, but she still saw her off at the train station, showing that she had deep feelings for her sister.
Later, when both had families of their own, Petunia knew that her sister and brother-in-law had died. She understood that the wizarding world was far less safe than the Muggle world.
And her sister's family had clearly offended some dangerous people in the wizarding world.
If their enemies found out that Petunia was raising her sister's child, it would put her own family at risk, especially once Harry's magical abilities became apparent.
"What should I do?"
Harry scratched his head, feeling conflicted.
The idea that his aunt actually cared about him completely overturned his previous beliefs.
"Explain it to her clearly, and occasionally send back some small gifts, like chocolate frogs. Anyway, you're not short on money. Just avoid anything magical—your aunt and uncle won't understand it."
"Okay! I'll think about it!"
"By the way, Ethan, do you want to visit Hagrid's house with me this afternoon? He's the giant who led us to the station."
"Sure, I don't have anything else to do this afternoon. I'll go with you."
Ethan agreed immediately. This was a great opportunity to meet one of Hogwarts' hidden figures.
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