Chapter 9

Du Wei looked at the newspaper, his expression very complicated.

"1993."

He stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself in it.

The person in the mirror was so thin, it seemed like a skeleton wearing a Mickey Mouse-colored windbreaker.

Due to long-term malnutrition and lack of sunlight, his skin was as pale as a vampire's, but without any luster. His face was gaunt and looked somewhat terrifying.

He extended his fingers slightly, touching his not-so-smooth skin, and then began to shave.

"Is this what I used to look like?"

Du Wei muttered to himself.

The male owner of the house was not as tall as him.

But when he put on the owner's windbreaker, it hung loosely, like an empty frame.

He had lost his freedom for so long.

At this thought, he bared his teeth and laughed sinisterly.

He turned his head and went to the kitchen.

Du Wei stood barefoot in the kitchen, found honey and sugar, boiled water, and dropped a tea bag into a teacup.

One spoon of honey, two spoons of honey, three spoons of honey, half a cup of honey.

Then he added sugar!

Finally, he poured in the boiling water.

The aroma of black tea filled the air, and Du Wei enjoyed the scent immensely.

"The scent of sweetness."

He looked out the window and saw the rising sun. He then turned on the TV and started making breakfast.

He was currently in Surrey, in the southeast of England, not far from London.

This was a middle-class neighborhood. It was summer vacation, and the owners of the house had taken their children to London for a holiday, leaving the house empty.

He put a simple sandwich, made with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a fried egg, into his mouth. There was no sauce, but he still found it delicious.

"The taste of freedom."

He took a sip of the overly sweet tea, finally feeling alive.

The TV was broadcasting news. Just as Du Wei was about to take a nap after eating and drinking, two side-by-side wanted posters appeared on the screen.

Sirius Black's defiant eyes, messy beard, and hair appeared on the TV.

Next to him was the gaunt, sullen Du Wei.

The host said they were extremely dangerous murderers, armed with guns, and asked residents to call the police if they were spotted.

Du Wei looked at the wanted posters and all his sleepiness vanished.

He thought the call might come from the Ministry of Magic's Aurors.

"Sirius has escaped too? That was quick."

He was not surprised by Sirius's escape.

He knew it was the summer of 1993, and Sirius would escape.

Sirius's escape happened around this time.

After Fudge visited Azkaban, Sirius escaped.

Compared to hitching a ride with Fudge, Sirius had transformed into a large black dog and swam over, which was more difficult.

Their reasons for escaping were different.

Sirius was for his godson's safety, while Du Wei was for his freedom.

Most importantly, Du Wei came out of Azkaban alone, without any Gringotts savings, and now he couldn't even afford to buy clothes.

He had no Galleons, no Knuts, and he was poor but honest.

Sirius, on the other hand, was still the last heir of the Black family and could afford the top-tier broomstick, the Firebolt, in the magical world.

However, their situations were the same.

Pursuers!

It seemed they were both wanted by both the magical world and the Muggles, living in constant danger.

Du Wei sat up and carefully considered his next move.

Escaping was a continuous action.

To remain free, he had to continue to resist the Ministry of Magic and improve his magical abilities. Only when his magic reached a certain level could he ignore the threats from the Ministry.

Currently, he had nowhere to go.

The Death Eaters were not trustworthy, Voldemort was not trustworthy, and the White Lord was even less trustworthy.

The Death Eaters who were still at large were either traitors, spies, or fence-sitters.

They would not help Du Wei.

He could not meet the White Lord or the Dark Lord.

Dumbledore and Voldemort were the two greatest Legilimens of their time.

His thoughts could not escape their eyes unless he mastered Occlumency to a very high level, like Snape.

The issue was that Snape did this because he was a pawn Voldemort had planted in Dumbledore's inner circle. Voldemort knew the old headmaster's strength and allowed his subordinates to do this.

Snape was important to Voldemort, and Voldemort was very tolerant.

Even if Voldemort knew Snape sometimes lied, he did not care.

He needed Snape.

But he did not need Du Wei.

The White Lord was the same. Du Wei did not want anyone stirring in his mind, flipping through his memories like a book.

"Where should I go?"

Du Wei watched the owls flapping by outside, slightly lost in thought. Even now, a fire burned in his heart.

Yesterday, he had slept on the cold floor.

It was uncomfortable, but he still managed to sleep.

It wasn't that he didn't want to sleep in a bed.

He was no longer used to beds.

He had slept on the cold ground for eleven years, and arthritis made it impossible for him to bend his joints.

He curled up on the floor like a baby, having countless nightmares, and sweat drenched his back.

When he woke up, he did not feel empty.

Because he knew what he had to do.

He had to throw the Ministry of Magic's incompetent officials into Azkaban.

Eliminate the Death Eaters' leadership.

If possible, take down the Dark Lord as well.

Revenge was the eternal flame burning in his heart, never to be extinguished.

"I need more cards, more magic."

Du Wei carefully considered his next move.

He needed to strike a balance. He needed to attack wizards without attracting too many to hunt him down.

If he sought out wizards, places like Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, the Ministry of Magic, Hogsmeade, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and Nurmengard were all places with wizards. But he was not Voldemort. If he went to these places, he would be beaten to death or captured by Dementors for a kiss!

So the safest place was actually...

Du Wei stood up and began to tidy himself.

The safest place was Number 4 Privet Drive.

Harry Potter would soon blow up his annoying Aunt Marge and run away.

A few minutes later, two members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad would come to Number 4 Privet Drive to clean up the mess Harry Potter left behind.

"Yes, yes, two Ministry officials. They are not enforcers or Aurors, and they are not good at fighting.

More importantly, they are qualified wizards.

They have two wands and information about their colleagues."

Du Wei quickly finalized his plan. He rummaged through the house, found a pair of ill-fitting leather shoes, and awkwardly put on clothes and pants. He then used Apparition to leave.

"Thank you for your gifts."

Before leaving, he found a piece of paper and wrote on it with a sense of grievance.

"When I succeed, I will repay you. This is an IOU."

Du Wei's Apparition was flawed, indeed a spatial distance flaw.

For some powerful wizards, like Voldemort, they could Apparate over long distances. Du Wei could not. He could not directly Apparate to Privet Drive; he could only Apparate there in small, multiple steps.

"I hope I'm not late."

Du Wei said to himself.

Fortunately, this time he arrived in time. When he got there, the poor Harry Potter had not yet been tormented by his aunt. He was in the attic room, racking his brain to finish his homework.

Du Wei did not get close to Privet Drive; it was a closely monitored area. If he was seen by the Squibs left there, Dumbledore would teach him a lesson.

Du Wei did not think he was a match for Dumbledore now.

As night fell, he took a stone and accurately smashed the streetlights on Privet Drive and the surrounding streets, plunging the area into darkness.

Angry shouts came from the surroundings, but they did not affect Du Wei's actions. He hid in the darkness and wreaked havoc.

After he had smashed all the streetlights and plunged the area into darkness,

"What are you doing here?"

In the darkness, a pair of bright eyes stared at Du Wei.

A large black dog emerged from the bushes and transformed into the tall form of Sirius Black.

Sirius looked at Du Wei, threateningly.