In the end, Kate slept soundly in the guest room after all.
The price was being ordered around by Katherine for an entire day, right up until the evening of July 31st.
"You said today's your good friend Potter's birthday — so what did you get him?"
After dinner, Katherine, who had enjoyed a full day of being waited on, lounged back against the sofa, full and content, and asked in a lazy tone.
Kate put the freshly washed dishes away in the cupboard, untied her apron, and went over to sit down.
Katherine might have bossed her around all day, but she at least had the decency to protect Kate's eyes — from last night until now, she'd kept herself wrapped up tightly.
As for whether there was anything scandalous underneath that bathrobe — well, that was none of Kate's business.
"I gave him a lighter — that way, when he's sneaking his homework at home by himself, he won't have to hold up a flashlight."
It wasn't that Kate hadn't considered a more expensive gift, but Harry was, after all, living under someone else's roof — the fewer conspicuous presents, the better.
At worst, she could give him something else once they were back at school.
Katherine gave a soft laugh and turned on the television.
She had a television at home too. As a wizard who had grown up in an orphanage, she wasn't particularly averse to Muggle electronics.
Now that was a normal attitude — the complete opposite of a certain psychologically twisted noseless freak.
On the screen, the news about the manhunt for Black was still playing; the announcer was urging citizens to call the police at once if they spotted him, and not to act rashly.
"If you think about it carefully, Black's been on the run for two or three days now. On his own, escaping from Azkaban, he'd have to swim through open water for a good couple of days before reaching shore."
Katherine tapped a fingertip lightly against her temple, watching the news with amused interest. "Even granting that you're right and he really is going after Harry Potter, then from the nearest coast to Privet Drive would take at least a week — assuming he even knows where Harry Potter lives."
Kate looked at her, a little surprised.
With her god's-eye view of things, she knew Katherine hadn't guessed wrong at all.
In the original works, Harry stormed out of the house in a rage over the rudeness of Vernon Dursley's sister, Aunt Marge.
Before boarding the Knight Bus — a mode of transport unique to the wizarding world — he encountered a large black dog, which was in fact Sirius.
After that, Sirius didn't simply follow along with him. Instead he traveled hard all the way to Hogwarts, a journey that took more than a few months.
His purpose was to protect his godson Harry against the traitor Peter Pettigrew, who was lurking nearby, and to take his revenge on Peter.
Kate genuinely admired his patience and his love for Harry — making such a long journey on a body that had been tormented for over a decade, all for the sake of his godson.
And bear in mind, he also had to evade the Dementors hunting him the entire way.
"London's terrain and layout are complicated, so intercepting Black's whereabouts before then would be difficult," Kate analyzed calmly. "The only way is to track Harry in order to find him."
"Oh?"
Katherine arched an eyebrow. "Why are you so keen on finding Black? He's a wanted criminal, you know."
From what she knew of the little one, throwing herself headfirst into trouble wasn't Kate's usual style.
"Because he's out to hurt my friend, of course!" Kate declared, throwing out her chest with righteous conviction.
All right — the truth was that the System had handed her a quest the moment Sirius was declared wanted.
[Main Quest 6: Uncover the Truth of Twelve Years Ago]
[Main Extended Quest: Capture Peter Pettigrew]
Not only did she have to follow the main storyline, she also had to catch Peter. Kate had no idea how the plot was supposed to unfold after she'd actually caught him.
Never mind — finish the quest first and worry later; even if the sky fell, Old Man Dumbledore would be there to hold it up!
"Whether it's my duty as an ordinary wizard or my concern for a friend, I have to stop Black from hurting Harry!"
Listen to that — what a righteous speech.
And look at that — the skeptical expression on Katherine's face.
Kate coughed and wisely chose to drop the subject. "Oh, right, Auntie — I got a letter from Hogwarts yesterday."
She took out the envelope, which had a permission form tucked inside, and pushed it across.
"Third-year students at Hogwarts are allowed to visit Hogsmeade — it needs a parent's or guardian's signature."
Katherine sat up, a little stiffly. "You want me to sign it?"
"Of course," Kate said, as if it were only natural. "You're the only blood relative and guardian I have in this world — if not you, then who?"
Picking up the permission form and flipping through it, Katherine curved her lips. "I remember I once took a form just like this to beg someone for a signature."
"Really?" Kate asked curiously. "So who did you get to sign it in the end?"
Katherine's expression darkened, and she set the form casually aside. "My sister and I were both orphans — where would we have found a guardian? I didn't get to visit Hogsmeade until I was of age."
Ah, well…
It seemed she'd accidentally touched on a sore subject.
A little awkward, Kate asked cautiously, "So this form…"
"I'll sign it depending on how you behave." Katherine yawned. "I'm sleepy. Don't you dare wake me tomorrow."
With that, she took the permission form and went into her room.
Watching helplessly as the door closed, Kate scratched at her hair. It looked like she'd be putting in a few more days of free labor here.
With a glance at the clock on the wall, she got up resignedly and switched off the television and the living room lights.
Never mind. Better to turn in early.
The next day, sure enough, Katherine didn't get up until nearly noon — a sleep so impressively long that Kate, who woke at six-thirty on the dot every morning, felt rather embarrassed for herself.
After lunch, she'd meant to nudge Katherine into going to have a look near Harry's house, only to be refused on the grounds that "it's too hot" and "the sun's too strong."
She dragged it out until dinnertime before Katherine finally agreed to go out with her — mainly to buy groceries, since they were running low on food at home, and then, while they were at it, to wander around the Privet Drive area.
Whatever the excuse, as long as they went, that was fine.
Kate led her on a sweep through the supermarket, stuffing all the bags, big and small, into her own pouch enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, then hurried her along toward the vicinity of Privet Drive.
Before they even reached Harry's front door, they heard a loud, coarse woman's voice bellowing: "Boy, if it weren't for Vernon and Petunia's good hearts, you'd have been packed off to an orphanage long ago!"
This was followed by a string of extremely rude remarks, nearly all of them aimed at Harry.
Out in the yard, Katherine listened with a deepening frown and asked in a low voice, "Is that the boy's aunt? She doesn't sound like much."
"Probably not — I've heard Harry's aunt's voice. This is most likely some other relative of his," Kate explained quietly.
Katherine narrowed her eyes impatiently. "Another one of those types who thinks being a relative gives her the right to boss others around."
Another?
Kate was a bit surprised by her wording and tone. Could it be that Katherine had once run into a relative like that too?
But weren't Katherine and Kate's own mother both orphans? Where would any relatives have come from?
Before she could say anything, Katherine turned away first. "I'm going to set up a few alarm wards. You wait here."
Even her tone had gone noticeably cold.
It seemed that Marge Dursley inside had genuinely angered her. If not for the rule against making the first move against Muggles, Kate guessed she'd probably have quietly given the woman a lesson.
Pressing her ear close to the wall to listen, Kate heard that Harry seemed to have left the table and gone upstairs, so she quickly waved up toward the upstairs window.
Soon she saw Harry come dashing down from upstairs in a fluster, a few lines of Marge's loud scolding mixed in along the way, though he was past caring about any of that now.
Without even getting his shoes on properly, he raced out the door and arrived in front of Kate, delighted. "What are you doing here?"
"Just an after-dinner walk — we happened to pass by," Kate said, not mentioning the verbal abuse he'd been taking inside. "Oh, and — a day late, but happy birthday."
This was the very first "happy birthday" Harry had heard, after spending his thirteenth birthday alone the day before.
He was so happy he moved to hug her, but then something occurred to him, and rubbing his hands together, he settled instead for gripping Kate's shoulders, saying earnestly and sincerely, "Thank you — this wish isn't the least bit late!"
"Kate, I'm done over here." Katherine walked briskly over, and the sight of him gripping Kate's shoulders made her frown.
Harry hastily let go and gave an awkward bow. "P-Professor, hello!"
"Ahem!" Kate coughed lightly. "I came here on a walk with my auntie…"
Before she could finish, that shrill voice from inside the house drew closer: "Where's that boy got to? I'll go and see!"
Alarm crossed Harry's face. "Professor, Kate, you two should leave quickly — my aunt and uncle don't like wizards!"
"Oh?" Katherine calmly pushed up her glasses. "Do I really need to care whether they like it?"
Soon Marge, the Dursleys, and their son Dudley all came out one after another.
"Kate…" Harry pulled a pained face and urged her under his breath to leave, fast.
"There's nothing I can do — I can't exactly control my auntie's decisions." Kate herself felt just as helpless; she'd rather have had nothing to do with this family, but her auntie was too fierce.
Marge was a tall, hulking middle-aged woman, and by now she was more than a little tipsy from drink. Seeing Harry together with two unfamiliar women, she hollered, "Boy! You know these two?"
"Well…" Harry answered haltingly. "They're my professor and my classmate."
The moment the words were out, the Dursleys' faces changed abruptly — they knew exactly what that meant, of course.
But Marge, who had no idea of Harry's real background, roared with laughter. "A school for juvenile delinquents, and it even has professors — how absurd!"
Beforehand, to avoid any trouble, the Dursleys had told Marge that they'd sent Harry off to St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys, a school for young offenders.
Drunkenly she fixed her gaze on the pretty Katherine and asked rudely, "Does your school use a whip to keep this boy in line?"
"No," Katherine said, drawing out her wand. "We use this."
Behind her, the Dursleys turned pale with shock — they knew perfectly well what that little wooden stick was, and moved at once to drag Marge back inside.
Only, between the two of them, they didn't have the strength to budge a woman as large as Marge.
"Enough, boy — take your two… companions and get out of here right now!"
Vernon Dursley — Harry's uncle — went red in the face, tugging at his sister with one hand while urging them off in a threatening tone.
He'd meant to use far nastier words for the two wizards in front of him, but the instant he met Katherine's dangerous stare, he changed his choice of words.
"Don't pull me!" Marge still thought they were just horsing around with her. "Oi, you, that blasted professor — that little stick of yours, how's it meant to discipline anyone? Aren't you going to give us a demonstration?"
Katherine agreed readily. "Very well — since you're so eager to see."
She raised her wand, making as if to do something to Marge.
"Enough!" Mrs. Dursley could bear it no longer and called a halt, threatening sharply, "Leave my house — now, this instant!"
Katherine glanced down at her own feet — she was still two steps from the Dursleys' house threshold.
"Madam," she said, taking a slow step forward, "rather than scolding me here, you'd do better to make your relative mind her own tongue — otherwise…"
She gave a faint smile. "I'll be taking a walk around here every day for a while. And if I catch you bullying my student—"
The Dursleys both shuddered violently at the same moment, fear and revulsion in the way they looked at her.
Ignoring their stares entirely, Katherine turned around in a much-improved mood and said to Kate, "That felt good. Let's head back."
"But they…" Kate's cheek twitched, and she looked hesitantly at the Dursleys, then at Harry.
In her experience, this kind of threat only worked for a while; over time, it would still be Harry who suffered.
"It doesn't matter," Katherine said, casting them a jaded sidelong glance. "When the time comes, a Memory Charm will sort it out."
Ah, well…
That really was a solution once and for all.
It did rather smack of not treating them as people, but weighed against the years of verbal abuse this family had dealt Harry, it somehow became acceptable enough.
As for the credit due them for raising Harry — Kate had always kept merits and faults in separate columns.
Besides, this was none of her business to begin with; she was just a spectator, and as long as there was a way to deal with the aftermath, that was enough — why fuss over the rest?
"Well, Harry, you'd better go back in," she said, turning around. "I imagine that for the short term, at least, they won't treat you too badly."
Harry gave a bitter laugh. The Dursleys might behave, perhaps — but this Aunt Marge still had a whole week to stay in the house, and he wasn't at all sure he could hold his tongue against her vicious remarks.
Watching Harry go back inside with the Dursleys, Kate finally let out a breath and put her hands on her hips helplessly. "Auntie, why do I get the feeling you're even more hot-headed than some hot-blooded youth?"
"Am I?" Katherine countered. "If I were twenty years younger, care to guess whether they'd still be walking back inside on their own two feet right now?"
"…Using magic on Muggles is against the law."
"But I could once trade blows with a troll for ten minutes without giving ground," she said with a wink. "The lot of them together wouldn't be enough of a fight for me."
Kate's cheek twitched. So was it because she was too old now for the stamina to brawl that she'd respecced from berserker to mage?
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