Chương 94: Harry's thoughts
Greylin village, Gloucestershire;
Somewhere nearby the Forest of Dean lies a plain grass field spreading over 30 sq. km in area, which was bought by the House of Avery from the muggle government.
For the outside world, it was a simple grass field but hiding under powerful magical enchantments, there was a huge wizarding village with hundreds of houses and other structures built all over the place.
It took three months for the combined might of all the loyal adult wizards of Avery House to complete the enchantments. However, it is different from Hogwarts.
One can only travel to this place via special portkeys. Not even apparition will work. To break this ancient enchantment of Avery House, one needed the magic power that surpasses the combined magic power of the wizards who contributed to the task.
And such an amount of magic power is something a human cannot be born with. Whether it is Voldemort or Dumbledore, neither of them can enter through force. And it doesn't work even if multiple people work together. That leaves only one way.
Acquire a portkey from an allotted resident of here somehow and invade the place. But, even the strongest wizard cannot battle several elite dark wizards at once. This is why it is considered the perfect hideout for noble houses that don't want to side with the Dark Lord.
Fortunately, at present, the special portkeys weren't handed to anyone yet. Only Oakley Avery, Leon Avery, and Neal Slytherin have direct access to the place.
"Now, do you understand why we should stay here until Professor Dumbledore is here?"
As Neal was explaining the importance of the village of Greylin, Harry Potter nodded in a daze.
In Harry's life, he only went to three magical places. First, Diagon Alley, then, Hogwarts, and finally, Hogsmeade. So, all of this overwhelmed him a little bit. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel envious of Neal.
Both of them lost their parents around the same time, although for different reasons. Neal grew up at an orphanage and he grew up at Dursleys house but his life isn't any better with those muggle relatives.
While Harry is famed as the boy who lived, even though it is a bit later than him, Neal also became equally famous by becoming the heir of Slytherin. With the families of the three founders have long become extinct, Neal's position in the magical society is indeed a high level.
But, as time passed, everything changed. Neal excelled in academics, Quidditch, wizard duel, and even gained a powerful background while Harry failed at everything that people expect him to be.
Neal is no longer a simple heir of Slytherin. He was much more than his beginning, but on the other hand, people still treat Harry as the boy who lived. Of course, his achievements aren't to be ignored.
Becoming the youngest seeker in the century in the history of Hogwarts, stopping Voldemort possessed Quirrell from stealing the philosopher's stone, getting selected for the Triwizard Cup, and even fighting against a powerful dragon such as Hungarian Horntail, things like these are indeed worthy to brag. It's just that Neal's achievements overshadowed his.
More than the achievements, what affected Harry the most was Neal's duel with Voldemort. He was scared to death but not only did Neal calmly deal with the matter but also managed to fool the Dark Lord.
For the past four years, Harry didn't have any goals. He was just trying to go with the flow of whatever life planned for him. So, the achievements of Neal, the Weasley twins, Hermione, or the other students didn't affect him too much. In fact, he was a little bit happy that attention wasn't much on him as it was when he first entered Hogwarts.
But, now, Harry wanted to become like Neal. Maybe, it's because he was looking at Neal in a positive light, he remembered their first conversation on the train.
All of a sudden, he realized that they might have been good friends had he doesn't look at Neal in a bad light because of Slytherin House, Snape, or Malfoy. Well, his friendship with Ron also influenced him very much.
Harry then remembered the sorting hat. It was eager to put him into Slytherin but he was the one who chose Gryffindor. Why? Because of Ron and Malfoy.
Malfoy convinced him that all bad guys are in Slytherin with Voldemort being the prime example, and Ron's family was in Gryffindor, which was said to be the noblest and most courageous house of the four.
Did he do the right thing, back then? Harry wondered.
He had the recklessness of a Gryffindor but the mental abuse during his childhood had also created darkness in him. The best examples are to inflating up his aunt like a balloon and imprisoning his cousin in the snake chamber at the zoo. His dark emotions aided the magic to harm the others. After all, magic is only a medium. The intention of the user who applies them is important.
"Harry… Harry…" As he was busy with several thoughts in his head, Neal dragged back to reality by shaking him upon realizing that Harry Potter isn't listening to him.
"Ah, Yes?" Harry looked at him. "What were you saying?"
Neal was in a bad mood as he was not only involved in a battle that has nothing to do with him but his words also went deaf on this boy with a lightning-shaped scar.
Still, he kept his calmness and said it again while grabbing an empty flask, "As I was saying, you should check with Madam Pomfrey once we get back. I may have healed the injury with a Wiggenweld Potion but you were tortured by the cruciatus curse a few times. So, it's better to get a check on your mental health."
Harry slowly replied with a question, "Can I ask something? Why did you help me? If you have an escape route, you could just have escape by yourself. It's not like we are friends or anything. What if Voldemort had attacked you instead of taking you lightly?"
Neal had probably expected this question from the start. He answered, "Don't mistake me, Harry. Even if that Weasley friend is in your place, I would still save him. However, if you are facing the consequences of your own stupid actions, it would be another thing. Here, you are innocent and it is likely Alastor Moody was the culprit. Everything can be cleared once we return."
Meanwhile, Leon Avery returned to Tagues village and after reporting the matter to his father, Oakley Avery, the latter would tell his son to return to Greylin.
After that, Oakley makes a personal visit to London to pick up Dumbledore who left Hogwarts and patiently waited at the London Tower, where he was told to wait in the letter sent by Neal.
One can only apparate to a place where they had been once and clearly remembering the surroundings and everything. Dumbledore had never been to Greylin or nearby places and Neal doesn't know many places in London. So, he chose a popular spot for their meet-up.
Soon, both of the old men met at the place. However, due to the trust issues, Oakley didn't take Dumbledore inside the Greylin. Instead, both of them went to Tagues village, or one should say the Avery Mansion.
At the same time, Leon Avery returned to the house where Harry and Neal were waiting. He then took the both of them to the Avery Mansion.
The process might be a bit roundabout way but in the end, Harry had united with Dumbledore and he sighed in relief. Even if Neal saved him, his uncle or his grandfather were still strangers to him. So, Harry was wary of them and also nervous inside.
Now that he saw Dumbledore, Harry felt at ease in his mind. On the other hand, Dumbledore sighed in relief only after he saw the both of kids safe and sound.
It was then Neal opened up the topic that the minister is desperate to forget, "Professor, the Dark Lord is back. What now?"
Everyone's expression turned dark.
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