"So that's how it is."
"My father was a wizard, and my mother was a witch. Judging from my childhood experiences, I'm most likely a born wizard, too."
"You once wanted to be a witch yourself, but you didn't succeed."
"Wizards must operate in secret; their identities can't be exposed to the public. For example, my parents couldn't use magic openly in Muggle areas, or they'd cause trouble."
"There are special people who deal with these things."
"The government doesn't interfere with wizarding matters — they just help cover up the truth."
"My parents didn't die in a car accident, as you claimed… You suspect they were murdered…"
Harry felt heavy. His thoughts churned.
"Now someone from the magical world has come looking for me, wanting to take me away. You didn't want anything to do with them again, so you ran."
Harry judged that his aunt wasn't lying — but her version of events was clearly biased toward her own point of view. She didn't know the details — like how his parents actually died, or who the real enemy in the magical world might be.
He'd believed the story of the car crash for years. But now that it was being called into question…
"Could it have been a witch hunt?" he muttered. "Is my enemy… the Pope?"
Activating his astonishing wisdom, Harry began theorizing.
Before transmigrating, he knew nothing of wizards in this world — just bits and pieces from books and TV shows. Luckily, the history of Westeros and medieval Europe overlapped in surprising ways. Between the 5th and 9th centuries AD, the Anglo-Saxons had overthrown the Romans and Celts in England, forming their own Seven Kingdoms — eerily similar to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
While studying history in Westeros, Harry had absorbed a lot more about Britain and Europe than he ever had before.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Europe entered the so-called Dark Ages. For nearly a thousand years, Christianity — once seen as a fringe cult — became the only legal religion. All other supernatural forces were declared evil. Natural disasters were blamed on demons; rule-breakers were seen as possessed or witches.
Witches were evil — the embodiment of the devil.
Because, in that worldview, only the Church possessed righteous supernatural power. All other sources were demonic.
This ideology persisted through the Middle Ages, with countless people accused of heresy and witchcraft. Many were executed — burned alive or tortured.
Maybe the stories were exaggerated, but clearly it was the Church that led the charge. Otherwise, why would the Inquisition become so infamous?
Harry didn't know the exact contents of the papal edict that started the witch hunts, but he knew it gave legal permission for people to hunt witches. It was basically a universal warrant, authorizing anyone to judge and punish suspected witches.
Before that, the Inquisition had been capturing witches already. Back in Roman times, those "witches" were probably priests of the old gods — or maybe even suppressing Christian missionaries. But once Christianity took over, those same people were declared heretics.
Religious persecution. Mutual annihilation. Harry, thinking like a king, didn't trust any god.
The more powerful someone became, the less they believed in gods.
Harry often uttered phrases like "By the Seven" — not because he believed, but because the Seven had a lot of followers. They were convenient. Unlike real gods, they were easy to manipulate.
Even in a world with dragons and White Walkers, Harry believed gods were powerful — but not good. The God of Winter wasn't. The Red God wasn't. No god was.
If Harry believed in anything, it was his own fists.
He had even planned a religious reformation — becoming both emperor and high priest. Maybe even a "Son of the Seven," or an "Incarnation of the Seven." Whether he was the Father or the Son… that could be negotiated.
British legends also spoke of druids and Merlin. Merlin, they said, was baptized — so despite being the son of a demon, he wasn't called a devil. Maybe that was because he was powerful. Or charismatic. Or simply good at politics.
Harry was still piecing things together, looking through the fog. But one thing was certain: someone was hunting them.
Harry heard it.
Super hearing — also a kind of power!
They came too fast. Vernon had only just arrived on this island tonight.
Harry quickly knocked Vernon unconscious so he wouldn't make noise, then told Petunia to stay quiet.
He hadn't even had time to ask her about the letters — whether they were threats, warnings, or something else. He'd ask