Chapter 54 - Summer Holiday

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When Orli stood in front of the old Waters family house with her trunk and owl cage, everything felt like a lifetime ago.

She had only been away for a year, yet her childhood memories - the house-elf Porgy, the discounted food from supermarkets, those cold hungry nights - all seemed to belong to a different life.

The old house was covered in dust, with gnomes scurrying around the yard and doxies flitting behind the curtains.

Orli desperately missed Porgy - with just a snap of his fingers, everything would be back in order. Fortunately, the Waters residence could block the Ministry's magic detection, allowing her to use some of the household spells she had learned at school.

Released from his cage, Dryncorpse immediately took flight. Having been cooped up on the train, he now darted through the chimney flues, emerging as black as an overfed crow.

For a moment, she felt a twinge of sympathy and pulled back the curtains covering the portraits.

The long-silent portraits immediately burst into chatter:

"Orli! You're finally home! You've grown taller, and put on some weight!"

"You went to Hogwarts? Which house were you sorted into?"

"She's in Gryffindor! I saw her in the corridor portraits at Hogwarts!"

"Merlin's beard, shouldn't a Waters be in Ravenclaw?"

"As long as it's not Slytherin - our family can't produce Dark wizards."

"Well, I'd rather have a Dark wizard than a gambling addict like you!"

...

Orli raised her hand and drew the curtains closed again, silencing them all. The dust made her cough.

Time flew by. She spent her days brewing potions and occasionally going out. Thanks to the system, she was now financially comfortable. However, her system tasks were stalled again. Doubting that Snape would be willing to answer her questions during summer break, she abandoned the idea of writing to him for consultation.

After exchanging several letters with Hermione, they met up for a day in London's Muggle shopping district, buying many pretty notebooks meant for Muggle children.

"Has Harry replied to any of your letters? He hasn't answered a single one of mine! I wonder if he's forgotten all about us," Hermione complained as they rested their tired legs in an ice cream parlor.

Orli shook her head. At this time, Harry was probably trapped at the Dursleys', with Dobby intercepting his mail.

"Perhaps we should write to Ron," Hermione said, unwilling to wait. "Can I come to your house? I don't have an owl, and I'd rather not trek to the owl post office in this heat - it always smells terrible there."

"You know, I live in Surrey, not far from Harry's aunt's house. Perhaps we should just go check on him directly," Orli said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin.

Unlike some pure-blood families, the Waters weren't particularly prejudiced against Muggle-borns, with many half-bloods in their lineage. Hermione could enter the old house without fear of harmful magic.

However, Orli preferred the direct approach - why not simply see how Harry was doing?

By the time they finally reached 4 Privet Drive, dusk was approaching. Hermione had worried the whole way about showing up uninvited being rude.

"Don't worry," Orli reassured her. "For Muggles who fear wizards like they do, receiving an owl with a visiting notice might actually be more terrifying."

Hermione was nervously rehearsing what to say, anticipating that Harry's aunt and uncle wouldn't be pleasant to deal with. However, they soon discovered they wouldn't need to knock - Harry was in the garden, spreading manure and dripping with sweat.

The back of his neck was sunburned, and his face was covered in dirt.

"Harry!" Hermione called out excitedly.

Harry's green eyes lit up immediately. He leaped over the fence to hug both girls. As a result, their clothes became dirty and smelly too.