Knock, knock, knock.
Professor McGonagall waited a moment before someone she vaguely recognized opened the door.
"Can I help you?" Harry asked politely.
"Hello, Harry. Long time no see. I'm looking for a young man named Kane Heath, about your age," Professor McGonagall said, pulling an envelope from her robes and handing it to Harry.
"I brought this for you while I was at it."
With that, she politely stepped past Harry into the room, then courteously stopped in the entryway, waiting for the two adults of the house to appear.
"And you are?" Vernon, who had the day off, came out and asked politely when he saw Professor McGonagall in her elegant, refined attire.
"I am Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Professor McGonagall said firmly.
"I'm here to inquire about a missing young wizard, Kane Heath, and to deliver Harry Potter's acceptance letter."
"We won't let him go to some freak school. You can leave now. This house doesn't welcome you," Vernon snapped.
The moment he heard the words Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it was like a trigger had been pulled.
His first instinct was to get Professor McGonagall out of the house immediately.
"In the wizarding world, a guardian's wishes can only be considered opinions.
The real decision lies with the wizards themselves. And even if you're unwilling to let the two children attend Hogwarts, you should at least know where Mr. Heath is right now, shouldn't you?"
Professor McGonagall strode toward Vernon with an air of authority, gradually forcing him back into the living room before finally stopping.
"I've already called the police about that annoying brat Kane Heath. They'll find him. We don't need you here causing trouble," Vernon said, barely managing to hold his ground.
"No, let her investigate. She might be able to find out," Petunia Dursley said, having hurried down after hearing the commotion. After listening for a moment, she quickly spoke up.
"Petunia… ugh."
Vernon sighed, sinking back into his usual spot on the sofa, cranked the TV volume up to maximum, and muttered under his breath, sharp and bitter, "Two freaks. Now one's run off, and here comes another."
Professor McGonagall simply waved her wand to shield herself, Harry, and Petunia from the noise.
"Can you find Kane?" Harry asked firmly.
"Perhaps... do you have anything touched by Kane's power? Clothes, personal jewelry, or his room, a drawing he made?"
Harry and Petunia looked at each other and both shook their heads.
Suddenly, Harry thought of something and returned to his little cupboard under the stairs, pulling out the clothes he'd worn that night chasing Kane.
The clothes hadn't been washed yet. The shoulder should still have traces of the shadow Kane had used.
"Look, might there be some traces on the shoulder?" Harry handed the clothes to Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall poked at the clothes with her wand, and sure enough, she drew out wisps of shadow from within.
But in an instant, the shadow flew off toward Hogwarts and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Um... Professor, this..." Harry looked at the scene, somewhat bewildered, while Petunia, who'd been forcing herself to watch, slowly took half a step back.
"I can only say that Mr. Heath is at least still alive," Professor McGonagall said carefully.
"Well, someone as capable as him should be able to survive, but he's probably not doing well.
Right now it's lunchtime. He might be in some corner, digging through trash cans..." Harry said pessimistically about things that hadn't actually happened.
Soon, he looked back at Professor McGonagall. "Can you find him?"
"Absolutely. Even if I can't, Dumbledore won't ignore a missing young wizard," Professor McGonagall assured him.
"Then, Professor, I'll definitely see him at that Hogwarts place, right?"
Harry waved the acceptance letter in his hand.
"You will. Do you want to..." Professor McGonagall asked questioningly.
"I'm going to knock his teeth out!" Harry said viciously.
Professor McGonagall recalled that wisp of incredibly pure dark magic shadow and thought this Harry kid had guts and ambition. He was something.
Then she looked at Petunia. "This child needs a room, his own clothes, and to attend Hogwarts. Of course, this is just a suggestion."
"That's impossible!" Vernon, who'd been watching TV, suddenly roared furiously.
Professor McGonagall glanced at him.
"...Alright, alright. Petunia, go prepare a room for Mr. Potter." Vernon's voice grew quieter.
"And also..." Professor McGonagall continued.
"We'll let him go to that school, but we'll only allow him to leave this house. Everything else, we won't deal with."
This was Vernon's bottom line.
He probably would rather die than go to some place with wizards to buy textbooks for Harry or attend any parent meetings.
"I'll arrange for someone to stand in for you," Professor McGonagall said, looking back at Harry.
"Tomorrow morning, someone from the Weasley family will come to help you purchase what you need for school.
They're excellent people. The distinguishing feature is red hair."
"I understand, Professor," Harry nodded.
After Professor McGonagall left, she Disapparated back to Hogsmeade Village, then found a secret passage straight back to Hogwarts Castle.
A young wizard had gone missing, and this young wizard's magic was extremely concentrated dark magic.
This matter needed to be discussed properly with Dumbledore.
Soon, she entered Dumbledore's office. On his desk sat two cups of tea and a crystal ball.
"Dumbledore, this matter..."
Dumbledore raised a finger and shushed her. "A missing young wizard with traces of dark magic. I know."
"If you know, why are you sitting here?" Professor McGonagall asked seriously, arms crossed.
"Because I've already found him and brought him back. Right now, he's treasure hunting in the Forbidden Forest."
With that explanation from Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall stepped closer and looked at the crystal ball in the center of the desk.
Inside, the scene showed Kane and Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest.
By now, they'd been wandering around the Forbidden Forest for a while.
"So... Kane, are you really sure there are so-called Treeguards in the Forbidden Forest?" Hagrid asked, breathing heavily.
Kane shook his head. "Not sure."
"Okay, I was just as full of fantasies when I was eleven. I get it. But tell me, why do you want a Treeguard?"
Hagrid continued questioning.
"I want to take down a Treeguard and harvest its Living Logs for my wand," Kane said bluntly.
"The problem is… Kane, we might not have any Treeguards here," Hagrid said, his voice tinged with bitterness.
"No worries. I've got a plan."
Kane pulled out an acorn, one thoroughly corrupted by his shadow. Once it grew, it would inevitably become a Treeguard.
All that was left was the magic to make the seed sprout and mature rapidly. Conveniently, Hagrid just happened to have that magic.
"What are they doing in that little pit?" Professor McGonagall frowned, watching Kane and Hagrid crouched on the ground, digging away.
"I'm not sure either. Maybe planting trees to reforest the Forbidden Forest…" Dumbledore said with a smile.
Then, suddenly, the smile vanished. He stared into the crystal ball, utterly bewildered. "What on earth is that?"
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