Chapter 112: Oh My Gosh, Your Parents Left You Behind Again?

"Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!"

The moment the engine roared to life, Mrs. Molly shot up from the bench like a spring.

Dylan leaned back slightly, blinking in surprise.

Mrs. Molly, however, spun around and stormed out the door in a huff.

Her face was practically glowing with anger, and Dylan couldn't help but think whoever was outside was in for it.

Dylan slowly got up and followed her toward the door.

As he got closer, Mrs. Molly's usually gentle voice turned sharp, like little pebbles she was hurling with force, piercing straight into Dylan's ears.

"Well, well, well! You've got some nerve now, haven't you? How dare you take the car without permission?"

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? If the Ministry of Magic found out—oh, thank heavens you're back safe and sound."

"Do you even realize how worried I was about you?!"

Mrs. Molly's face was a mask of fury, her words tumbling out one after another with barely a breath in between.

Dylan listened, feeling almost as if he were the one standing in front of her, getting scolded like a helpless little chick—except it was Ron taking the heat.

Dylan glanced ahead. There was Ron, sandwiched between Fred and George, all three of them with their heads bowed, not daring to utter a single word under their mother's wrath.

Just then, Harry slipped quietly out of the open car door, tiptoeing down to the ground.

"Sorry, Mrs. Molly, they came to pick me up—I didn't expect them to do it like this," Harry said, his voice shy and apologetic as he stared down at his shoes. "I'm sorry you were worried. But honestly, I was really happy that Ron and the others came to get me."

Mrs. Molly paused, turning to look at Harry. Her gaze softened.

—She'd obviously heard from Ron just how awful Harry's aunt and uncle were to him.

"Hello, Harry. How was the trip?" she asked, glancing up at the sky.

It was nearly morning now.

—Heaven only knew how anxious she'd been, waiting up all night for these troublemakers!

Still…

Even though the three rascals had managed to bring Harry back safely without incident, she wasn't about to let Ron and the twins off the hook that easily—they needed a proper lesson!

"Even if you wanted to pick up Harry, you could've told me about it beforehand. Instead, you just took the car without permission."

"What if something had happened along the way? If something happened to you, fine, but what if something happened to Harry?!"

"(°°)…" Ron froze, lifting his head in disbelief.

Mommy, what are you saying?

The twins also raised their heads, giving their mother pitiful, pleading looks.

"Aren't we your favorite kids anymore?" they whined.

"No, not after this—you've been replaced by Ginny," Mrs. Molly replied, her face expressionless.

The twins immediately let out dramatic wails. "Oh, noooo—!"

Harry, who'd been a little nervous seeing Mrs. Molly so angry, nearly burst out laughing at the twins' over-the-top howling.

Mrs. Molly herself couldn't help but crack a small smile at their antics, though she quickly forced her face back into a stern frown and continued lecturing Ron and the twins for a good while longer.

It wasn't until she heard Harry's stomach growl loudly that she finally stopped.

She shot a glare at the three boys, then turned to Harry with a gentle tone. "Hungry, dear? Come inside—I'll get you something to eat."

"Oh, and your friend Dylan's here too—he just arrived not long ago."

At the mention of Dylan's name, Ron—who'd been staring at the ground, kicking at the dirt with his toe—snapped his head up, a flash of excitement crossing his face.

"Dylan? Did he come after getting my letter? Where is he?"

Harry, too, looked toward the house with a hint of surprise.

Dylan stepped out from behind the door, revealing himself.

—He'd held back earlier, worried that showing up too soon might interrupt Mrs. Molly's scolding.

"It's really Dylan! Hey! Good evening!"

"No, good morning!" the Weasley twins called out, correcting each other as they waved.

Dylan glanced at the sky, now faintly glowing with the first light of dawn, and waved back.

"Hey, guys."

Ron peeked at his mom, saw she wasn't reacting, and darted over to Dylan's side.

"You could've said something about coming! We could've picked you up on the way!" Ron said.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a chill shot up his spine.

Ron shivered, not daring to look back.

"Come on, let's get inside!" he said quickly, pushing Dylan back into the house.

The twins scurried in after them, crowding around Dylan and chattering away, bombarding him with questions.

Outside, only Mrs. Molly and Harry remained.

"Don't be nervous, come on in. Sorry you had to see that," Mrs. Molly said with a warm smile.

It was Harry's first time visiting Ron's house—and at such an odd hour, no less.

He felt a bit embarrassed, but at Mrs. Molly's kind words, he obediently stepped inside.

Mrs. Molly shut the car doors, followed them in, closed the front door, and headed to the kitchen to whip up breakfast for the kids.

The Burrow wasn't exactly spacious.

Even the sofa Dylan had been sitting on earlier was tiny—and there was only one.

So now, they all gathered around the dining table.

It was a tight squeeze, shoulders pressed together, knees bumping occasionally.

But with the Weasley twins around, and Harry and Ron not having seen Dylan in nearly a month, the reunion was buzzing with energy. The little witches and wizards had plenty to talk about, and the atmosphere was lively.

"Oh my gosh! Your parents ditched you again to go on a trip by themselves?" Ron exclaimed.

Mrs. Molly, who was cracking eggs to fry one for each of the kids, paused at the sound of Ron's voice. She muttered under her breath, "Poor child."

Dylan smiled. "They're usually super busy. This time, they took some time off just to hang out with me. We've already spent a bunch of days together, so I told them to go have fun. Plus, it gave me a chance to come visit you guys."

Ron nodded repeatedly. "That's absolutely right!"

Harry sat stiffly, chatting with Dylan and the others since coming inside, but his eyes kept darting around the room. His fingers fidgeted with the hem of his shirt unconsciously.

Dylan noticed Harry seemed a bit nervous. Even the twins' loud, exaggerated laughter as they rocked back and forth didn't seem to ease his tension.

Dylan paused for a moment, pulled back his chair, and walked over to the pot of hot tea Mrs. Molly had brewed for him earlier. He picked it up and brought it back.

With a flick of his hand, his wand appeared in his palm. He gave it a gentle wave, muttering a quiet incantation under his breath.

A soft glow shimmered from the tip of his wand.

The spell enveloped the teapot, and soon, faint wisps of steam began rising from its spout.

Dylan grabbed a teacup and poured Harry a steaming cup.

"Have some hot tea. No need to be so nervous. Mrs. Molly's really nice—gentle and lovely. Didn't she send you a gift for Christmas?"

Harry blinked, then took the cup, wrapping both hands around it. The warmth seeped through his fingertips, spreading slowly through his body.

His tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and he nodded. "You're right."

Mrs. Molly, who had just finished frying the eggs, came over with a big plate, beaming cheerfully.

"You're such a thoughtful dear. Eat up—you must be hungry too, right?"

She handed out small plates to Dylan and the others. After they each scooped an egg onto their plates, she took the big dish back to the kitchen to fry some sausages and toast.

As she passed Harry, Mrs. Molly reached out and ruffled his hair with one hand.

"Sweetie, none of this is your fault—it's all Ron and the others' doing."

Ron: …

The Weasley twins: ~

"In fact, if you still hadn't replied to Ron's letters, Arthur and I were planning to come pick you up ourselves."

"Don't let these troublemakers convince you that Arthur and I weren't worried about you—so much so that you felt you had to sneak over here in a car."

Mrs. Molly shot a glance at Ron and the twins.

Ron quickly ducked his head, spearing his egg with a fork and shoving it into his mouth.

Harry could clearly feel the kindness radiating from Mrs. Molly, and a small smile tugged at his lips.

"Thank you."

"No need to be so polite! Eat up—it'll get cold soon."

Mrs. Molly patted Harry's head again before heading back to the kitchen.

One egg didn't take long to eat.

In just a couple of bites, it was gone.

After finishing, Harry held his tea with both hands, glancing around the room. He tilted his head slightly and whispered to Dylan beside him.

"Dylan, is your house set up like this? It feels so… wizardly."

Dylan scanned the room too.

The house was small, but it brimmed with a cozy, lived-in vibe.

Photos lined the walls—some magical, some ordinary.

In the magical ones, the people moved. There were younger versions of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, smiling and waving at the new day.

There were also plenty of family photos capturing the Weasleys at different stages of life.

The fireplace looked a bit worn, its mantel cluttered with odd trinkets—a hourglass with swirling golden sand, a few tiny wizard statues.

Next to the fireplace stood a wooden bookshelf packed with magic books. Some covers were so worn that the titles had faded into blurs.

—It was clear they'd been thumbed through countless times.

Dylan shook his head. "My house doesn't have any magical stuff—you know, my parents are Muggles."

Harry blinked, then nodded lightly. "Mine doesn't either."

After a brief pause, he added, "Or maybe it does. I keep thinking something's possessed the Dursleys—making them dumb, clumsy, and mean!"

The Dursleys were Harry's aunt's family.

Hearing this, Dylan pressed his lips together, holding back a laugh.

—It seemed Harry was pretty fed up with how they'd been treating him.

Ron leaned in at that moment. "Dylan, it's breakfast time now, but when you got here, it must've still been the middle of the night, right?"

Dylan turned to him and nodded. "Yeah, I flew over on my broom and saw your mom waiting at the door."

He chuckled softly. "At first, I thought she was there to welcome me."

A voice floated in from the kitchen—"Of course I was!"

Ron tilted his head. "You didn't even write back to let me know! I thought you weren't coming to hang out with us, and then you just sneak over here out of nowhere!"

Dylan sighed. "What can I say? I was so bored at home alone. Honestly, I was prepared to just wander around nearby if you were all asleep."

Ron blinked. "But you flew here? You can… I mean, didn't we sign that pledge before leaving school?"

Dylan grinned. "We did, but that pledge didn't exactly say we couldn't use magic outside—just that we had to be careful. And I was riding a broom."

Ron froze. "What? Little wizards can use magic outside? But Fred and George told me—"

"If we couldn't, the Ministry would've caught you guys the moment you snuck off with the car, right?"

Dylan's words hit Ron like a revelation.

Ron let out a "Huh?" and then glared at the twins.

"You guys lied to me!"

Fred and George exchanged a glance and burst into laughter. "Well, it wasn't exactly a lie, our dear little brother!"

Ron grumbled, looking glum. "I knew it! When we were signing that pledge, you, Hermione, and the others completely ignored me!"

Dylan shrugged. "Maybe Hermione thought little wizards absolutely couldn't use magic outside school. At least at home, you can cast spells."

Ron suddenly remembered the spell Dylan had just used to heat Harry's tea and snapped out of it.

"I haven't used a single spell in a whole month! I'm even starting to forget how to say the incantations!"

By now, Harry had relaxed, no longer as tense.

He set his teacup on the table and patted Ron's shoulder.

"Don't worry, same here."

—He'd listened to Ron's explanation about the notice and had barely used any magic for an entire month either.

That had only made his uncle treat him worse, eventually locking him up and even refusing to feed him.

Dylan looked at Harry and said, "You had it so rough at home—don't tell me you didn't get the gift I sent you?"

Harry's birthday was July 31st.

Dylan had mailed him a present.

If it had been taken or ruined, Dylan was ready to make the Dursleys feel the full wrath of a fool's revenge.

"I got it. Dobby kept trying to stop me from going back to Hogwarts, but he didn't let Dudley steal my birthday gift," Harry said.

He shook his head, lifting his eyes with a grateful look. "Thanks, Dylan. I really loved your gift."

"I never thought you could actually buy a real Golden Snitch. It's so cool as a decoration—I brought it with me to put up in the dorm."

"Good to know," Dylan said with a smile. "I found it while wandering around Diagon Alley, at the Quidditch shop. It's supposed to be a 'limited edition'—but I'm pretty sure it's not."

"Because after I took the 'last' Golden Snitch from the display labeled 'limited edition,' the shopkeeper immediately put another one up."

"Hahaha!"

"That's definitely just a sales trick!"

"I bet it is!"

Ron and the twins couldn't stop laughing.

Dylan nodded. "Hunger marketing. But it wasn't too pricey, and I thought having a Golden Snitch at home would be pretty fun. It seemed like the perfect birthday gift for Harry."

The toast and sausages were ready soon after.

Mrs. Molly brought them to the table and personally spread butter on the bread for Harry and Dylan.

"Hey! Mum, why don't you butter ours too?" the twins protested.

"Maybe because troublemakers don't deserve it?" Mrs. Molly replied, shooting them a look.

Just then, a voice piped up.

"You lot are so loud!"

Dylan turned to see a little girl with red hair, clutching a stuffed toy, stumbling down the stairs in her pajamas while rubbing her eyes.

When she noticed everyone at the table and spotted two unfamiliar faces, her eyes widened. Without a word, she held the toy up to cover her face and bolted back upstairs in a flurry of footsteps.

Dylan and Harry both blinked in confusion.

"Ginny's so rude. She doesn't even say hi to guests," Ron muttered. He slathered butter on his bread, added a sausage, and took a big bite.

Mouth full, he mumbled to Dylan and the others, "That's my little sister, Ginny. I've told you about her."

"You have no idea how much she's been going on about Harry this summer. She's always bugging me to get her a few of Harry's autographs—I don't even know what she wants them for."

Harry's expression went blank, like he hadn't quite processed it.

His autograph?

(End of Chapter)