Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Archmage

The imperfect Unplottable Extension Charm cast by Hagrid only affected the living room space. The misaligned and distorted ceiling and walls didn't actually deform; they just looked awkward visually.

So, it didn't stop Dudley from getting in and out of the various rooms.

Dudley tossed Hagrid's coat into the washing machine in the Dursleys' house's bathroom and flipped on the switch, making the washing machine struggle to run.

He didn't mean to mess with Hagrid's coat. Instead, he wanted to create a reason for Hagrid to come back to the Dursleys' house.

This would boost the odds of success for his subsequent actions.

Back in the living room, there were the Dursleys, Harry, and Hagrid, already seated at the dining table.

There wasn't a chair in the house that could hold Hagrid's weight, so Aunt Petunia found a thick cushion for Hagrid and told him to sit right on the floor.

Even then, Hagrid towered over everyone in the Dursley family.

Everyone sat around the table, eyeing the two cakes on it - one tall and one short, one big and one small - waiting for Dudley to come back and taste them together.

Only the atmosphere was a bit awkward and flat, not as warm and pleasant as before.

Hagrid was over the moon and shared the sausages he'd just pulled out of his pocket with everyone.

The Dursleys' expressions were a bit stiff. Even though Dudley had convinced them, sitting with wizards still made them feel really uncomfortable.

Harry's expression was a bit conflicted too. After finding out that Hagrid was the one who'd brought him here back then, he was itching to ask Hagrid about the exact details of his parents' deaths.

Back then, the letter Dumbledore left for the Dursleys only said that Lily and James were killed by a powerful Dark Wizard. Before she died, Lily had set up powerful protective magic for Harry with love and sacrifice. However, the letter didn't specify the identity of the murderer.

In the book Major Events in Modern Wizard History that Dudley got from Diggory, the description was just as vague.

As if trying to avoid some taboo, the cruel murderer was only called 'the Dark Lord'. The book mostly focused on depicting Harry Potter's reputation as the Boy Who Lived and the Savior of the wizarding world.

As a time traveler, Dudley naturally knew the whole truth, but in the past, he couldn't just blurt it all out to Harry.

One reason was to keep Harry from wallowing in the pain of his parents' deaths during his childhood. The other reason was that Dudley couldn't explain where he got the information from.

So, Harry still only had a hazy understanding of his parents' deaths and was eager to find out the truth.

But in this situation and atmosphere, he didn't know whether to speak up or how to go about it.

"Let's dig into the cake first!" Dudley plopped down in the seat next to Harry. "We'll talk about other stuff after we're done eating."

Harry and the Dursleys heaved a sigh of relief, and their expressions relaxed as they started dividing the cakes.

Before they knew it, Dudley had kind of become the family's rock, giving his family members courage and strength.

Thanks to Dudley's high emotional intelligence, the cake - tasting session went off without a hitch and was really harmonious.

Dudley did boxing, so he had a good appetite. Uncle Vernon was chubby and had a huge appetite. And Hagrid, needless to say, with his giant blood and three - and - a - half - meter height, could really pack it away.

The two different cakes didn't go to waste at all and were gobbled up by everyone.

Two barrels of juice were also polished off.

Hagrid was quite full and extremely jubilant. In high spirits, he blurted out without a shred of tact:

"I used to misunderstand you Dursleys. You're not as hateful and mean-spirited as I thought! Harry has been well brought up by you. Although he's not as sturdy as Dudley, he still has a healthy physique!"

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's faces turned dark. They thought that wizards were truly a loathsome lot.

Dudley noticed this and quickly changed the topic, asking the question Harry was most eager to know:

"Hagrid, Harry is our relative. It's only natural that we treat him well. But how on earth did my Aunt Lily and Uncle James get killed? Harry and all of us want to know."

As soon as these words were uttered, a curious expression crossed Harry's face as he looked at Hagrid.

Although Aunt Petunia tried her best to hide it, she couldn't help but perk up her ears. She also wanted to know exactly what had made her sister leave her.

Hearing this, Hagrid's face grew solemn. He regarded Harry with a hint of pity before slowly saying, "There are some things I'm not particularly clear about either. I can only tell you what I know.

All this is because of a really, really wicked Dark Wizard, evil to the bone. He wa..."

"What's his name?" Harry couldn't hold back.

"Wa... Everyone is really hesitant to mention him and refers to him as the Dark Lord. Alright, his name is Voldemort!"

After uttering this name, Hagrid shuddered and edged closer to the fireplace before continuing, "Twenty years ago, the Dark Lord assembled a large number of wizards and founded an organization called the Death Eaters, reigning over the wizarding world.

Throughout all of Britain, except for Hogwarts under Dumbledore's leadership..."

The whole family just listened quietly to Hagrid's semi-public secrets about the wizarding world, each wearing a different expression.

After a moment, Hagrid was almost done speaking. He didn't know much either.

Only then did Dudley, integrating the information Harry already knew, grasp the key point and ask,

"Voldemort broke into Aunt Lily's house, killed Aunt Lily and Uncle James, but was repelled by the protection spell Aunt Lily had cast on Harry. As a result, he was seriously injured and vanished. No one knew whether he was alive or dead, and the British wizarding world regained peace because of this.

So here's the question. Why did Voldemort have to wipe out Aunt Lily's family? What was his motive?"

Hagrid thought for a moment and said, "I'm not really certain. He's a lunatic, a complete scoundrel. During that time, he murdered many well-known wizard couples in the wizarding world. Many wizard couples and their children perished, like the McKinnon couple..."

"Stop! Right there!" Dudley cut in. "Without any past grudges, if a ruler systematically wipes out a group, ruling out the possibility that he's gone mad, what could the reason be?"

As Dudley said this, he glanced at Harry.

Harry immediately began to think. After a few seconds, he came up with the answer, "It's because one person or some people in this group will pose a threat to his rule, or even his life!"

Dudley nodded in agreement. "That's right! And the person who poses a threat to Voldemort should be..."

"Me?!" Harry exclaimed in astonishment, following Dudley's train of thought.

Dudley nodded once more, and the room went quiet.

After a while, Harry broke the silence. "What makes Voldemort so certain that there's someone in this group who can defeat him? Can he tell fortunes?"

The concept of fortune-telling was brought up by Dudley when he told Harry Eastern stories in the past. Now, the fact that Harry can make this rational association instead of wallowing in grief and self-pity is sufficient proof that Dudley's intervention and guidance during Harry's childhood were highly effective.

"Fortune-telling? Harry, you mean divination, right?"

Hagrid picked up the conversation. "The Dark Lord knows a lot of powerful dark magics, but I've never heard of him having any outstanding talent in Divination. If you want to learn divination, Professor Trelawney at Hogwarts is really good at it."

"Could it be..."

Harry said excitedly, as if he had guessed some truth.

Just then, perhaps because he was thinking too much and too erratically, a dazzling green light suddenly flashed through Harry's mind, accompanied by a fit of evil, gloomy, and brutal laughter.

These were the memories from the night his parents were killed.

"Cousin! I..." Harry stood up abruptly, then felt a bit dizzy and stumbled two steps.