Chapter 61 - Power & Politics
We bid Hagrid goodbye outside our house as evening slowly settled over Privet Drive. Hagrid carefully climbed back onto the Knight Bus after nearly hitting his head on the gate's upper edge.
"Take care now!" he boomed, waving his massive hand. "An' don' forget ter write if yeh need anythin'!"
"We will!" Harry shouted back.
"Bye, Hagrid!" Dudley added loudly.
The Knight Bus disappeared with a bang, leaving the street quiet again.
Mum was already waiting near the front door. The moment she saw us return safely, her shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Thank goodness," she muttered. Then she looked toward where Hagrid had vanished and gave a small wave. "And thank you for guiding them."
I doubted Hagrid heard it, but it still counted.
Soon we were all inside again, and the quiet house immediately turned chaotic.
Harry and Dudley exploded with excitement.
"Look at this!"
"And this!"
"Arthur bought trunks with magical space inside!"
"And my wand did this spark thing!"
"She likes sitting on my shoulder!"
"He has scratched me already!"
The living room became a full showcase of magical supplies. Books covered the sofa. Cauldrons rolled near the fireplace. Robes were unfolded and shown off proudly.
Dad returned from work halfway through the chaos and nearly stepped on Dudley's half-Kneazle.
"What in blazes-"
The brown cat looked up at him with complete judgment.
"That thing looks like it demands taxes," Dad muttered.
Dudley hugged the cat proudly. "His name is Tom!"
I nearly choked trying not to laugh.
Out of all possible names in existence, Dudley had unknowingly named his magical half-Kneazle after one of the darkest wizards alive. In his defence, he had named it after his favourite cartoon TV show character.
Tom the cat merely looked deeply disappointed with life.
Harry meanwhile sat beside Hedwig who was now out of the cage, watching the snowy owl with pure happiness. He had in this reality too, named the owl Hedwig.
Hedwig looked far more graceful and satisfied than the cat. She sat proudly on her perch, occasionally giving soft hoots at Harry.
Later, the house became even noisier once the animals properly noticed each other. Brigid, the Potters' cat, and now the de-facto owner of this house, walked into the living room with the slow dignity of a queen inspecting her kingdom. She stopped in front of Dudley's new half-Kneazle, Tom, and simply stared at him.
Tom stared back. His tail was raised and his fur looked like they were standing.
Then both cats slowly moved forward and sniffed each other carefully.
As Tom tried to puff himself up proudly for a moment, Brigid lightly smacked him on the head with her paw.
She did not hit hard, just enough to establish authority.
Tom immediately lowered his ears and sat down beside her with his tail tucked between legs. He had the expression of someone realising he had been forced to join the army.
Brigid gave one satisfied flick of her tail and walked away toward the kitchen. Tom followed behind her without hesitation like a devoted follower who had already accepted his fate.
Dudley looked horrified, "She stole my cat."
"She recruited him," I corrected.
Meanwhile, near the window, Drein and Hedwig were getting along far better. It was a contrasting scene. My large eagle owl looked enormous beside Harry's snowy white fluffy owl.
Yet the two owls gently nudged their beaks together and hooted softly at each other. Hedwig even fluffed her feathers proudly while Drein lowered his head slightly so she could nuzzle against him.
Harry stared at them happily, "I think they like each other."
"Of course," I said. "Drein has good taste."
Drein immediately gave me a deep look which males usually shared for unspoken things.
Dinner that night was loud and lively at first. The boys talked nonstop about Diagon Alley, Gringotts, magical trunks, and wands.
But after some time, the mood shifted.
I noticed Harry becoming quieter again. Dudley too.
The excitement slowly faded whenever their thoughts drifted back to what Hagrid had told them during lunch.
Mum noticed first.
"What's wrong?" she asked carefully. "You both look worried."
Harry opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Dudley frowned. "It's about… that wizard."
Mum stiffened immediately.
Dad put down his fork slowly. "What wizard?"
Neither Harry nor Dudley explained properly. They were too confused themselves. So eventually I sighed softly and spoke for them.
I explained everything simply.
About Voldemort, the war. How his followers spread fear across magical Britain. How many people disappeared and whole families dying at once.
Then I told them how Harry's parents, James and Lily Potter, had fought against him.
And about that final night.
The room became very quiet. Mum's face slowly lost all colour.
"She… Lily…" she whispered weakly.
When I explained that Lily had stood between Voldemort and Harry, refusing to move even when threatened, Mum suddenly broke down completely.
"Oh God…" she cried, covering her mouth. "Lily…"
Years of bitterness, jealousy, anger, and grief seemed to collapse at once. She cried harder than I had seen in years.
"She was my little sister," Mum whispered through tears. "My stupid, brilliant little sister…"
Harry and Dudley looked stunned. They had rarely seen Mum cry like this.
Dad moved closer to her awkwardly, putting one arm around her shoulders.
His face, however, looked furious and with a cold anger.
"Terrorists," Dad said darkly after a long silence.
I blinked slightly at the word.
Dad continued, voice rough, "That's what they were. Doesn't matter if it's the magical world or ours. Same rubbish everywhere. Some people want power so they spread fear. Killing innocent people."
He shook his head angrily.
"And politicians sit around doing nothing useful while ordinary people suffer for it."
Mum looked up at him weakly while wiping her tears.
Dad snorted bitterly. "It's always the same story. People think these monsters become powerful because nobody can stop them. Nonsense. Half the time it's because governments keep playing politics while the masses die and suffer."
His moustache twitched angrily.
"They argue incessantly, and keep delaying. They protect their positions of authority. Meanwhile, ordinary families get destroyed."
The room stayed silent after that.
Even I was surprised hearing Dad speak so seriously about the magical world.
Dad sighed heavily and rubbed his face.
"I used to think magic itself was the problem," he admitted quietly. "But people are people everywhere, aren't they? Same greed. Same fear. Same stupidity."
For once, nobody argued with him.
Harry stared down at his plate silently, fingers tightening slightly.
Then Mum suddenly reached over and pulled Harry into a tight hug.
Harry froze in complete shock.
"You poor boy," she whispered tearfully. "All this time…"
Harry awkwardly hugged her back after a second.
Dudley quietly leaned closer too, and soon Mum was hugging both boys together while crying again.
Dad cleared his throat loudly and looked away toward the window, pretending not to see.
I sat there quietly, watching them while contemplating.
The magical world was beautiful but it also carried scars. Dad was right that normal muggle world and magical world did not differ much in how politics and power worked. Humans are the same whether they have magic or not.
And it was the true even in my previous life, even in future. All around the globe, same patterns were present, for whoever wanted to notice them.
Also, tonight our family truly understood what happened and how Harry had survived that fateful night.
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End of Chapter 61 - Power & Politics