𝐌𝐀𝐃 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 → 𝒸. 𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓁𝑒𝓎

⤷ 04| MYSTERIOUS TASK

"— yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often," Dumbledore finished the sentence gravely. "Best to say nothing at all, my dear man. Ah, and this must be Petunia."

The kitchen door had opened, and there stood Harry's aunt. Her rather horsy face registered nothing but shock. June had seen pictures of her aunt Lily and she was pleased to see the two sisters didn't seem to have any features in common.

"Albus Dumbledore," Dumbledore said, when Mr Dursley failed to effect an introduction, "and this is my companion and Harry's cousin, Juniper Black."

June gave the woman a slight nod.

"And this must be your son Dudley?" Dumbledore added, glancing at the boy that was peering at them round the living-room door. His large, blond head rising out of the stripy collar of his pajamas looked oddly disembodied, his mouth gaping in astonishment and fear. Dumbledore waited a moment or two, apparently to see whether any of the Dursleys were going to say anything, but as the silence stretched on, he smiled.

"Shall we assume that you have invited us into your sitting room?"

Dudley scrambled out of the way as Dumbledore passed him. Juniper moved after him, glancing Dudley, who was watching her in awe, up and down before standing next to the fireplace. She didn't feel like sitting.

"Aren't — aren't we leaving, sir?" Harry asked anxiously. He had followed them inside.

"Yes, indeed we are, but there is a matter we need to discuss first," Dumbledore said. "And I would prefer not to do so in the open. We shall trespass upon your aunt and uncle's hospitality only a little longer."

"You will, will you?" Vernon questioned them. He had entered the room, Petunia at his shoulder and Dudley skulking behind them both, though he kept glancing at June, making her feel uncomfortable.

"Yes," Dumbledore said simply. "We shall."

He drew his wand so rapidly that June barely saw it; with a casual flick, the sofa zoomed forwards and knocked the knees out from under all three of the Dursleys so that they collapsed upon it in a heap. Another flick of the wand and the sofa zoomed back to its original position.

"We may as well be comfortable," Dumbledore said pleasantly.

As he replaced his wand in his pocket, June das that his hand was blackened and shriveled; it looked as if his flesh had been burned away.

Harry, who had also noticed this, said, "Sir — what happened to your —?"

"Later, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Please sit down."

Harry sat down in the armchair next to June. He gave her a look that told her he was happy to see her and she returned a smile.

"I would assume that you were going to offer us refreshments," Dumbledore said to Vernon, "but the evidence so far suggests that that would be optimistic to the point of foolishness."

A third twitch of the wand and a dusty bottle and six glasses appeared in midair. The bottle tipped and poured a generous measure of honey-colored liquid into each of the glasses, which then floated to each person in the room.

"Madam Rosmerta's finest, oak-matured mead," Dumbledore said, raising his glass to Harry and June, who both caught hold of their own glasses.