Loren led the group along at an unhurried pace, trailing at the back. They were all getting off the train anyway—no need to rush.
The five of them soon reached the exit at the end of the platform and joined the very end of the queue.
A shrivelled old station guard had taken the place of the Ministry official they'd seen last time, directing the crowd as they slipped through the solid wall.
"Harry, Loren, Hermione—you lot have to come visit me this summer, all right?"
Ron first extended the invitation to everyone, then turned his head and said to Neville,
"Thanks, Ron. I'll definitely come and visit."
Neville's reply held a faint catch in his voice, perhaps because he was thinking of his parents.
"Thanks. I'll come if I get the chance, too."
Harry said the words politely enough, but in his head he was already planning how to use those five chances to cast magic outside school to make a visit to Ron happen.
Hearing that, Ron immediately spun round, staring at Loren and Hermione, who were deliberately lagging behind.
"What's that about? How come I don't know anything?"
"George and Fred both know!"
Hermione said, a bit surprised.
But Ron only shrugged off Hermione's answer with the resignation of long habit, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.
He was used to this kind of thing by now. Whenever something happened in the family, he was always the last one to find out.
If it weren't for the distinctive Weasley looks, Ron might have started to wonder whether he was adopted.
Harry, Ron and Neville went through the barrier first. Loren and Hermione followed behind them.
By the time Loren and Hermione stepped out, Mr Angus and Mr Granger were already waiting inside the station.
Something seemed a little off, though. Mr Angus and Mr Granger were standing with a very fat middle-aged man, the three of them deep in conversation and apparently getting on very well.
Loren and Hermione exchanged a glance, then walked over quietly to stand beside Harry and listen to the adults talking.
"Mr Dursley, it's been such fun talking to you. This is my new book—you can have a look when you have time."
As Angus spoke, he reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a book that looked much larger than the bag itself. Mr Dursley's smile froze for a second at the sight, but his hands were still polite and steady as he accepted it.
Mr Granger, seeing Mr Dursley's embarrassment, smoothly snatched the book out of Angus's hands, took out a little pouch, and slipped the book into it before handing the pouch back to Mr Dursley.
That completely did Mr Dursley in. He stood there holding the tiny pouch, completely at a loss.
Seeing his panicked expression, Mr Granger dropped his voice and said quietly,
"You must be like us—what we call a Squib family. But don't be discouraged. Squibs can sometimes regain their magic if they have enough contact with the magical world."
Listening from the side, Loren and Hermione were both a bit speechless. That line had originally been something they'd come up with together as a cover story for the outside world… and now Mr Granger had clearly started to believe it himself.
"Is that true, Mr Granger?"
Petunia was standing next to Mr Dursley, holding tightly onto Dudley with her other hand.
"Of course it is. Our families are the same. As long as your descendants produce a wizard, that means there must be wizarding blood in your family. Those who have wizard blood but can't use magic are what we call Squibs."
Mr Angus spoke up to back him, offering himself as proof and even performing a small bit of magic for Mrs Dursley as a demonstration.
At that, Petunia's eyes practically lit up. Ever since she was small she had envied her younger sister and wanted to be a witch herself; she'd even written to Dumbledore once, but had been mercilessly rejected.
Just then, something occurred to Loren, and he spoke up:
"This isn't really the place for a long chat. Why don't we find a café and talk things over properly?"
Only then did Mr Angus and Mr Granger notice that their children had arrived. After the two families made proper introductions to the Dursleys, they all headed towards a nearby café.
Harry deliberately hung back and asked Loren in a low voice,
"What exactly are you planning to do?"
"I want to check whether your aunt's family are Squibs. If they all are, I might have a way to help them grasp some magic. That should make life a lot easier for you."
Of course, Loren had no intention of revealing his true thoughts, so he tossed out that excuse instead. Even so, Harry was deeply moved and kept thanking him all the way.
Once they reached the café, Mr Dursley requested a private room, and everyone filed inside.
When the waiter had brought the coffee, closed the door and left, Loren spoke first.
"Mr Dursley, I need to correct something my father said. It's not just that having wizard blood automatically makes you a Squib. It's that you have to have wizard blood and then fail to awaken any magic power at all—that's what makes someone a Squib."
(Hey, if you're reading novels, go to Feilu!)
Hearing that, Petunia's face fell at a speed visible to the naked eye, but she still couldn't help looking towards Mr Angus and Mr Granger opposite her, hoping they would contradict Loren.
But Angus and Mr Granger both nodded, admitting that Loren was right and they'd just got the details wrong.
Just as Petunia was about to sink into despair, Loren's next sentence dragged her back up again.
"However, since Harry is a wizard and he's lived with you since he was small, your family must have experienced his accidental magic. That means there's still a pretty good chance you'll awaken some magic of your own, instead of remaining Squibs. I'll have to examine you to be sure, though."
"Loren's the best student in all of Hogwarts, too."
Harry chimed in at just the right moment, doing his bit to boost Loren's credibility.
At Harry's words, Petunia immediately hurried over to Loren's side and indicated that he could examine her however he liked.
Loren didn't waste time talking. He simply raised his hand and began the examination.
That first check revealed a few issues, but nothing he could be completely certain about yet.
So he said he would need to examine Dudley and Mr Dursley as well.
At first, Mr Dursley thought this had nothing to do with him—after all, Harry was related to Petunia's side of the family.
But anyone who knew that magic existed would more or less harbour some longing for it. With an opportunity right in front of him, why shouldn't he take a chance?
After examining the whole Dursley family, Loren found that their situation was quite unusual.
Their bodies carried a thick layer of mysterious power, but their souls hadn't been touched by it at all.
At least now Loren finally understood why, during Voldemort's previous reign of terror, the Dursleys hadn't been killed because of their connection to Harry.
With such a dense aura of "luck" wrapped around them, they were practically invisible in the eyes of the magical world. When it came to anything on the wizarding side, it was as if they weren't even there.
Seeing the hope burning in the Dursleys' eyes, Loren came up with a rather good idea and said,
"I just checked—you all do have wizard blood. Mrs Dursley and Dudley's is noticeably stronger. Mr Dursley's blood is a bit thinner; one of your distant ancestors must have been a wizard, but the line of descent to you is fairly remote."
When the tears and sniffles had finally subsided, Loren took three rings from inside his robes and set them down in front of the Dursleys.
"You do have wizard blood, but it's not enough to activate your magic by itself. However, I've got a special alchemical tool here. If you wear it, it'll stimulate your bloodline and give you a trace of magical power. Over time, it'll increase your chances of awakening as proper wizards."
Dudley and Mr Dursley were delighted at that, but Mrs Dursley still looked uncertain. She'd watched her sister disappear into the wizarding world, and she knew that it was not exactly a gentle place.
Mr Granger noticed her doubt and held out his own hand to show her the identical ring on his finger. Only then did she relax.
As for the ring's real function, it was to draw off a little of Loren's own power and pass it to the wearer. It wasn't much—about on par with Hogwarts's caretaker, Filch—but as a tool, it was more than enough.
Loren was making a test. He wanted to see how the Dursleys' mysterious power would react once they had magic of their own.
At the same time, he'd get to test whether this method of lending magic through an item had any pitfalls—it was important for some of his future plans.
The Dursleys soon had the rings on their fingers, but they didn't feel any different. All three of them turned to Loren with puzzled looks, clearly hoping for an explanation.
Once Loren had taught them how to use the rings properly, he had them take the rings off and try again.
When the three of them removed the rings, the Magic Notebooks in their hands immediately became ordinary paper notebooks with no response at all.
After repeating the test several times, the Dursleys finally felt satisfied, put their rings back on and carefully put their Magic Notebooks away.
At that moment, Mr Angus checked the time and reminded everyone,
"It's already afternoon. We should all head back for now. Mr Dursley, let's add each other as friends on the Magic Notebook. If you have any questions, you can message me there."
Mr Dursley quickly pulled out his Magic Notebook and added both Mr Angus and Mr Granger as friends.
After a bit more small talk, everyone left the café and went their separate ways.
On the way home, Harry realised for the first time in his life that his aunt was actually capable of speaking to him in a gentle tone.
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