Hearing Harry's plea, Edward just chuckled.
"Relax, Harry. I'm not getting punished for this, and they won't be cursed either. Like I said, it's just a reminder."
Harry let out a sigh of relief.
Edward drew his longsword again, though it had shrunk considerably, now no bigger than a dagger.
Uncle Vernon, puffing up his bulky frame, lumbered to block the living room door, raising his fists.
"You're not getting through here! Not unless you step over my dead body! I'm a boxing champion, you little freak! Come on, then!"
"I just hope you can spare a tenth of the love you have for your wife and son for Harry, Mr. Dursley," Edward said coolly.
He didn't even glance at Vernon, instead stopping at the door to the cupboard under the stairs.
Holding the sword like a quill, Edward traced green magical energy across the wooden door, carving glowing marks.
"No mistreating Harry."
The words appeared in jagged green letters, slithering across the door like venomous snakes.
"Hope you'll remember that. Good afternoon." Edward slammed the Dursleys' front door shut with a bang.
"I'm free! I'm finally free!" Harry sang, dragging his trunk down Privet Drive, humming a tune.
It was the best day of his summer so far.
"Potter looks like he just broke out of Azkaban," Draco couldn't resist snarking, his earlier irritation at the Dursleys fading.
"Azkaban? What's that?" Harry asked, turning back curiously.
"Wizard prison, for locking up lawbreakers," Daphne answered. "Your aunt and uncle, Muggle or not, seem like they'd fit right in."
Harry didn't say it out loud, but he was secretly nodding in agreement.
"How do Muggles handle that kind of thing? Oh, and Edward, how'd you know about Muggle laws?" Pansy asked, puzzled.
"Read a bit in some Muggle books," Edward said casually.
Truth was, in his previous life, Edward had studied law while at university in the UK.
Not only did he know the statutes, he could recite a few landmark cases by heart.
"Only you would waste time learning Muggle nonsense," Draco scoffed.
He was kicking himself for not coming up with some way to intimidate the Dursleys earlier. Unfortunately, the Malfoy name and fortune meant nothing to Muggles.
"By the way, Harry, you didn't get any of our letters?" Edward asked suddenly, as if remembering something. "Ron said he invited you to his place at least twelve times, Hermione wrote you a few times too, and I sent you three letters with some sweets."
"Don't even get me started," Harry groaned, kicking a pebble into the grass as he dragged his trunk. "If that little elf hadn't shown up yesterday, I'd still be in the dark."
"An elf? A house-elf?" The others perked up immediately.
"Yeah, I think so. Big eyes, pointy ears, wearing some tattered rag. I nearly throttled it!" Harry said.
"That thing intercepted all my summer letters! And last night, it blew up the pudding the Dursleys were serving to guests!"
"Because of that, I got a letter from the Ministry warning me not to use magic!" Harry ranted. "Can you believe it? They thought I did it! My wand was locked in the cupboard under the stairs!"
Harry unloaded his frustrations like a Bludger on the loose.
But the other young wizards fell into thought.
Unlike Harry, who'd grown up with Muggles, the Slytherins all came from pure-blood families with house-elves of their own.
"If it was a house-elf, it shouldn't have been there on its own," Daphne said. "House-elves are completely loyal to the families they serve."
"Without their master's orders, they can't act against anyone else," she added.
"Made another enemy, Potter?" Draco teased. "Looks like someone sent an elf to teach you a lesson."
"I can't think of anyone who'd do that except you," Harry shot back without missing a beat. "Unless it's Snape? He's the only other one."
"Harry, I doubt Snape would bother," Edward said patiently. "If he wanted to get at you, he'd wait for Potions class at Hogwarts, not send an elf to pull pranks."
"What was the elf's name?" Draco asked, hands behind his head, basking in the sun. "I could ask our elf if they know it. House-elves have some weird way of keeping in touch."
"Er, I think it was… Dobby? Something like that," Harry said after a pause.
"*What?!*" Draco's voice shot up an octave, startling everyone. A few Muggle passersby across the street even glared at them.
"What'd I say? Did I mess up the name or something?" Harry asked, suddenly self-conscious.
Draco's mind was reeling. He was beyond shocked.
Dobby?
Harry had said it twice—there was no way he'd misheard or Harry had misspoken.
But Dobby was his family's house-elf!
Draco definitely hadn't sent Dobby to mess with Potter. So who did? His father? His mother?
Maybe his parents were trying to get back at Potter for him? But his relationship with Potter wasn't like it was at the start of first year anymore. Why would they do this?
Draco couldn't wrap his head around it. One thing was clear: until he figured this out, he couldn't let Potter—or anyone else—know the truth.
Noticing the suspicious looks from the others, Draco quickly spun a lie.
"My mistake. It sounded like the name of an elf from a distant relative, but that one's called Dulby, not Dobby."
"If you didn't hear it clearly, you could've just asked Harry to repeat it instead of yelling in the street," Daphne said, rolling her eyes.
But Edward fixed Draco with a deep, piercing look that made him feel like a bug under a magnifying glass.
Draco scrambled to change the subject.
"So, what's the plan? Potter can't just wander the streets dragging his trunk like a vagabond. Makes us look like beggars."
"Shopping in Diagon Alley?" Pansy and Daphne said in unison.
Even twelve-year-old girls couldn't resist the lure of shopping, especially when they had their own spending money.
"I've got a better idea. It's nearby—follow me," Edward said, a spark of inspiration in his voice.
While sitting on the top deck of the Knight Bus earlier, he'd spotted a great spot near Little Whinging.
Edward strode ahead, occasionally glancing up to check his bearings, while the other four trailed behind, confused.
Daphne, Draco, and Pansy had no clue what was around, just following Edward's lead.
Harry seemed to have an inkling of where they were headed, but he was baffled. Edward grew up in a wizarding family—how did he know about a place like this?
Soon, the five stood at the entrance to a noisy, bustling place.
It looked like a park, with people streaming in and out, shouts and screams filling the air.
"What is this place?" Draco asked skeptically.
"Draco, if you can still read, you'll see it's called an 'amusement park,'" Daphne said, pointing to the sign by the ticket booth.
"It sounds like the Muggles in there are screaming. Are we sure this is somewhere we should go?" Pansy asked, looking unnerved.
"Of course not, Pansy," Edward said, grinning with excitement. "An amusement park, as the name says, is a place for fun—Muggle entertainment at its best."
He gazed at the spinning Ferris wheel, the roller coaster eliciting shrieks, and the twinkling carousel, memories from his past life flooding back.
Since crossing into this world, Edward had always felt that wizarding entertainment was sorely lacking. Compared to Muggles, it was practically stuck in the Middle Ages.
Quidditch was one of the few group activities, and other collective fun was almost nonexistent. Even circuses were rare, and most used smuggled magical creatures.
Wizarding prejudice and fear of Muggles stemmed largely from ignorance and the unknown. That's why Dumbledore introduced Muggle Studies in third year.
Now, these Slytherins were less hostile toward Muggles than before, and with such a perfect opportunity, why not let them learn more?
Edward firmly believed equality came from mutual understanding, and this was a key step in helping the Slytherins see Muggles differently.
After all, who could resist the joy of an amusement park?
"Harry, did the Dursleys ever bring you here?" Edward asked.
"No way. The only place they ever took me was the London Zoo," Harry said, brimming with excitement. "I've always wanted to come here, but I never had any pocket money."
The three Slytherins were baffled by Harry and Edward's enthusiasm.
What was so special about this place?
Was it actually… fun?