Meanwhile, at 4 Privet Drive.

"So, that guy found a job for himself?" Uncle Vernon said with his eyes wide open.

"Yeah." Harry said listlessly. He thought it was a good thing that Sirius worked at the Ministry of Magic, because as far as he knew, except for a few months as an assistant teacher in a Muggle school, Sirius had never worked properly since he was a child.

In Harry's imagination, his godfather would be like Mr. Weasley, working at fixed times and with a very regular schedule. But he overlooked one thing. It was different now, completely different. He hadn't seen Sirius for several days in a row.

In the first few days of the holiday, Sirius was happy to sit down with Harry and laugh at how he teased Amelia, the prefect (even though it was not right), and how he had the upper hand in words. It was obvious that Sirius took this as a serious fight, and the two sides went back and forth, like a fight in the boxing ring.

But soon, almost at a visible speed, the time he spent with Harry decreased dramatically.

One day, Harry stayed in Sirius's rented room until eleven o'clock at night, but he didn't see Sirius come back. This made Harry very frightened. Did something go wrong? His heart was tangled, and all kinds of terrible speculations flooded into his mind. Harry could only try his best to convince himself that Sirius was temporarily stuck. It took him a lot of willpower not to act impulsively. Instead, he returned to the Dursleys' bed and tossed all night. When it was dawn, he immediately got up, without even having breakfast, and ran to Sirius's rented room with a full stomach.

There was still no one inside.

Harry was so panicked that he wanted to use Apparition. Go to the Burrow, or Diagon Alley... He even pulled out his wand, and unexpectedly saw a scribbled note on the table. It was actually quite conspicuous. When Harry thought about it later, he thought that he was too concerned, but fortunately he didn't cause more trouble because of his impulse.

The content of the note made Harry feel relieved. Sirius came back very late last night, and he thought he could rest for a while the next day, but he was called away again before dawn. Sirius had no choice but to leave a note for Harry to explain the situation.

After that, Harry wanted Sirius to bring a two-way mirror so that he could contact him at any time. But every time he saw his godfather looking tired, he was too embarrassed to mention it.

In the next week, Harry only saw Sirius twice, and each time he came back very late. Sirius's eyes were swollen and he began to doze off after a few words. When Harry handed him potato chips, he stuffed them into his nostrils.

...

"What does he do now?" Uncle Vernon asked at the dining table.

"Nothing," Harry said in a calm tone, "He is now the assistant to the Minister of Magic."

The Dursleys looked puzzled.

"It's equivalent to the position of secretary to the Muggle Prime Minister." Harry changed his words and was satisfied to see their surprised expressions. He tried not to show his pride too obviously, "It's nothing, his last job was as an assistant teacher in school, Dudley should know it well, right?"

Dudley immediately choked on the dry salad and kept coughing.

"Boy, what have you done!" Uncle Vernon stared at Harry fiercely. Aunt Petunia patted Dudley's back and said in a disgusting way, "Daddy, what's wrong with you? Did you choke on the food?" Dudley's face turned red. He used his fat arms with three layers of flesh to separate Aunt Petunia's thin arms, and his shoulders shrugged.

Although he wanted to watch for a while longer, Uncle Vernon's face had turned the color of liver, as if he was the one choking on the salad. He kept flexing and stretching his fingers, as if he would rush out and strangle Harry's throat in the next second.

"I didn't do anything," Harry said hurriedly, "I guess he just missed the assistant PE teacher who taught him for half a year." He met Uncle Vernon's little eyes and said, "Yes, Sirius' last job was teaching at that Meisting School."

"It's Smelting High School!" Uncle Vernon roared. That was his alma mater, and Dudley was very proud to go to school there.

Dinner became chaotic. Uncle Vernon's reaction to Sirius's appearance at his and Dudley's alma mater was far beyond Harry's expectations. He seemed to think that the wizards (freaks in his words) had finally set their evil intentions on his beloved son. "Are they going to monitor us from all sides?"

Aunt Petunia also shouted and began to criticize Harry non-stop. It was strange why she could wipe her tears and say the vicious words so accurately and clearly.

"This is a complete accident. Sirius went to a Muggle school to gain experience. He will teach at Hogwarts next year." Harry explained, "And he has resigned now."

"That hippie can be a professor?" Vernon said with disdain. At this time, Dudley finally stopped coughing and began to burp intermittently. For a while afterwards, Uncle Vernon grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Look at you guys! There is a school and a government - how many people are there?" He asked, turning on the TV.

"Probably tens of thousands of people." Harry said dryly.

"No wonder." Uncle Vernon shouted, as if all his previous doubts had been proven. He wanted to say something else, but the evening news came from the TV - "People don't need to worry! The slowdown in economic growth and the surge in unemployment are temporary, and it won't be long before things get better..." The man on TV was giving a speech at the top of his lungs.

"Only idiots would believe him!" Uncle Vernon's attention was attracted by the sound of the TV. He stared at the screen and said, "This Prime Minister is terrible..."

Harry also glanced at it, and the next second he was attracted by the man next to the Prime Minister. He was tall, dark-skinned, and wore a dark suit, giving people a very stable feeling. Harry looked at it again, and yes, it was Kingsley Shacklebolt.

What on earth was going on? Harry couldn't believe his eyes. He stared at the TV screen motionlessly, but the picture was always fixed on the Prime Minister's face. For the next ten seconds, he didn't give the person next to him. Harry was so anxious that he scratched his head.

When the Prime Minister finished his long-winded speech, wiped his bald forehead with a handkerchief, and was about to get up and leave, the camera finally recorded the person next to him. Harry held his breath and confirmed again and again, and finally confirmed that he was not mistaken.

"You are still watching the news?" Uncle Vernon said to Harry in an angry voice, "Damn it, how can our news be related to people like you-"

"What a pity," Harry said calmly, pointing at the TV, "I just saw someone I know." In Uncle Vernon's stunned expression, he shrugged, "Yeah, it seems that the connection between wizards and Muggles is much deeper than you think..."

Before Uncle Vernon got angry again, Harry hurried back to his room, he lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze. Sirius should still be working at this time, and he can go over to see him in an hour... But how to kill this time is a big problem. Harry picked up a purple booklet next to the pillow, with eye-catching words printed on the cover:

"Wartime Survival Manual - Published by the Ministry of Magic: Protect Your Home and Family from Dark Magic"

Harry opened the first page, which was like a catalogue -

the wizarding world is currently threatened by an organization calling itself Death Eaters. Following the following simple safety rules will help protect yourself, your family and your home from attack.

1. Do not leave home alone.

2. Be extra careful at night. Try to get back before dark when you go out.

3. Check the security precautions around the house and make sure that the whole family knows some emergency measures, such as using the Shield Charm and the Disillusionment Charm, and underage children in the family need to learn to Apparate. 4.

Agree with relatives and friends on safety codes to detect Death Eaters using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate others (see page 2).

5. If possible, master the anti-dark magic spell, the Bright Fire Charm.

...

At some point, there was a sound of slapping on the glass outside the window.

Harry sat up suddenly from the bed, and didn't even notice that the booklet covering his face had fallen to the ground. He looked at the place where the sound came from. A furry, flattened ginger head was pressed against the window. He was startled and almost fell off the bed.

"Crookshanks?" He shouted in disbelief, and walked to the window in two steps. He opened the window at once, and the ginger cat jumped into the room from the window sill and purred at him.

"Crookshanks, why are you here? Hermione asked you to take a message? But this is too far..." Harry said a little at a loss.

Crookshanks licked his paw and pointed outside.

Harry turned his head mechanically and looked out the window. The next second, his eyes suddenly widened.

Hermione was standing next to the flower bed at No. 4 Privet Drive. She was holding a suitcase in one hand and waving at him desperately with the other hand.

Harry hurried downstairs, followed by Crookshanks, and put the shouts of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia behind him. He rushed out of the door in one breath and ran to Hermione.

"Why, you are here?" Harry said breathlessly.

"I wrote to the professor, asking where I can cast spells without worries--" Hermione stroked her hair and said happily.

"But I-can't-cast-spells-at-will-here--" Harry panted, and he swallowed, "Sirius is not at home during the day."

"I know, the place the professor mentioned is not here." Hermione said.

"Then, uh, are you here to say goodbye to me?" Harry said a little disappointedly, he thought he could have more company.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" Hermione asked him in surprise, "We are leaving together."