After a few days, Harry stood again in front of the luxurious and magnificent Bryan Manor. The last time he came here, he was with the Dursleys. But this time, the person beside him was Professor Bryan.
"Professor--"
Harry pointed to the large iron gate with a cautious glance and whispered to the two guards, "If we haven't made a reservation in advance, I'm afraid they won't let us in."
"Oh, that's alright, Potter. We'll find a way."
Amastacia, lost in thought, was pulled back to reality by Harry's reminder. He resumed his steps towards the manor, speaking in a casual tone. Harry, following behind, had no idea what method Professor Bryan was talking about, but he thought that using magical power might not be appropriate.
"We are here to visit the owners of the manor, please, could you help us open the door?"
Amastacia stood in front of the guards dressed in black suits with cold, stern faces and made a polite request.
This is Professor Bryan's solution? Harry was stunned and muttered some criticisms in his heart.
The leader of this group of guards was a strong-muscled Muggle who eyed the slightly familiar young man and the child beside him with a suspicious look, feeling that both were familiar.
"Sorry, gentlemen, we haven't received prior notification. There are visitors coming to see Mr. Bryan today. Is it possible that your appointment didn't go through, or perhaps you have the wrong time."
Looking at the fierce-looking guard, Harry was surprised to find that he was a very polite person. Of course, most of the people who came here were from the prestigious upper class, and maybe he was just afraid to offend them.
"It might be that Lawrence forgot to inform you--"
Amastacia smiled and bullshitted, "You can go back and check with him again. You can say that Lady Berina Det's son wants to visit Mr. Bryan, I think he'll let us in."
The estate guards looked at each other, they had all been working here for a while and knew the strict work style of the old butler. Normally, if the two mysterious visitors had actually made a reservation with Lord Lawrence in advance, he should not have forgotten to tell them. But the confident smile on the young man's face with a unique temperament made them hesitate to confirm their speculation.
"Alright, sir, please wait a moment."
After a brief hesitation, the head guard said that and then personally ran towards the manor to seek approval.
"See, Potter--"
While waiting under the shade of a broad, gray-barked tree with fissures in its bark, Amastacia said, "Not everything has to be resolved with magic."
Harry gave a discreet eye roll, made no comment on Professor Bryan's profound statement, and whispered, "Lady Berina Det... who is she, Professor Bryan?"
"As I said, Potter."
Looking over the high buildings of the luxurious estate, gazing at the pure and boundless clouds in the sky, Amastacia moved his lips slightly and spoke with a somewhat unclear voice.
"That is my mother..."
The actual manager of the estate, the loyal butler who had served the Bryan family for two generations, came much faster than expected. Looking at the elderly Lawrence running towards the gate at a speed faster than the young guard leader, Harry was taken aback. In their brief meeting, Harry knew that this old butler was the kind of person that the Dursleys would very much like - very strict and polite, seemingly elegance was ingrained in his bones.
But now, this old butler, who always walks at the same pace on a daily basis, was running at full speed. This scene not only surprised Harry, but also made the calm and undisturbed eyes of Amastacia show a subtle change.
"Where is that gentleman!"
With sweat-drenched cheeks, Lawrence with white hair even didn't leave a chance to take a breath. From more than fifty feet away, he shouted sharply at the bewildered guards.
In the brief moment of eye contact, Lawrence froze suddenly. He looked at the expressionless young man in the mottled shadow of the trees, his greedy gaze sweeping over the handsome, incredibly familiar features. The freckled tip of his nose suddenly felt sore.
"Yes, it is you..."
The old butler took a step at a time, speaking in a murmuring tone.
Harry kept glancing from the excited old butler, whose eyes were red with emotion, to the still incredibly calm Professor Bryan, his emerald eyes wide open!
"You, absolutely right. You are that child, and you look exactly like your father when he was young..."
The old butler seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. He approached Amastacia, completely ignoring Harry, and tremblingly reached out his hand as if he wanted to touch Amastacia's cheek.
"Too similar... I've been searching for you for many years..."
"We hope you don't mind our impromptu visit."
Amastacia took a step back, avoiding the old butler's finger, and spoke in a tone without any fluctuation.
And his overly calm tone was like a bucket of cold water that woke Lawrence up, restoring some of his composure.
"You know all of it, Lord... I mean, what happened back then, your mother has told you?"
Larry, whose eyes never left Amastacia's cheek, showed a bitter expression.
"Lord? What are you talking about, Lawrence?" Amastacia said somewhat helplessly. "If you like, you can just call me Amastacia."
"Amastasia..."
Hearing this, Lawrence's aged body trembled suddenly. "That is the name of Berina Det's father..."
"Let's change to a simpler way of communication."
Amastacia looked worried and said, "To be honest, I don't know how to deal with this old butler. After taking a deep breath, Amastasia looked at Harry, who was staring with wide eyes and also seemed to be in a state of strange excitement, and patted his shoulder before turning to Lawrence and saying,"
"I think you should have an impression of this child. His name is Harry Potter. He visited here with the Dursleys last week, and during a meeting in the reception room, he accidentally found a photograph of the manor's owner when he was young that looked very much like me. So he wrote to me. Oh, by the way, I'm his teacher... umm, taught him some self-defense skills..."
Harry gave a subtle roll of his eyes, maintaining his silence.
"Out of curiosity, I came with him to take a look. Of course, if our impolite behavior bothers you, we can leave now."
"Leave? Oh, that's absolutely impossible!"
Suddenly, Lawrence regained his agility. He grabbed Amastacia's and Harry's arms and said in a trembling voice to Harry,
"You are the nephew of Vernon, aren't you? Oh, child, I'm so grateful to you!"
"Oh, well..." Harry blushed slightly and stuttered, "No need to be so formal, sir. I really didn't do much."
The azure sky, a vast expanse of dark clouds driven by moist winds towards the sun, as the magnificent and elegant manor, bathed in the golden sunlight, gradually receded into the shadows.
Being dragged towards the house by Lawrence, Amastasia looked at the attic room on the top floor, and his calm expression gradually became complicated...
