bacchusnovels Chapter 99 Sir Phillips
Chapter 99 Sir Phillips
It's Professor Sean!
Sean's appearance surprised everyone present.
He held his wand in his left hand, gave a gentlemanly bow with his right, then straightened up and smiled at the Weasley brothers, saying, "Mr. Weasley, would you like to open this lock? It's open now."
"Professor Shawn, you... what are you doing here?" George stammered, his eyes full of confusion and surprise.
He looked at the warm smile on Sean's face and felt a little flustered.
Those who know Sean know that whenever the professor flashes that classic, signature smile, a young wizard will suffer in Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
Just as the two had anticipated, Sean's next words, though spoken in a calm tone, were like bombshells, putting George and Fred under immense pressure.
"Gentlemen Weasley, I haven't asked yet... why were you two in someone else's house so late at night?"
"No, three people." Sean glanced at Ron, who was crouching in the back seat pretending he wasn't there, changed the number, and continued, "Come with me, downstairs."
"Breaking into a Muggle's house at night and damaging their furniture, everyone will lose ten points when they return to Hogwarts."
"Before the start of the semester, everyone submitted an 800-word essay to me, titled 'How a Muggle family prevents a wizard from breaking into their house at night—using the Dursley family as an example.'"
"You should be glad you're in England and not America, otherwise..." Sean paused, then said quietly, "I'd be collecting your corpses..."
Upon hearing Sean's deep and serious tone, the Weasley brothers couldn't help but shiver.
The two men followed Professor Sean down the stairs with no other choice. Under Sean's reprimand, they hung their heads, looking as listless as wilted eggplants.
Because the sound of the car pulling on the fence was too loud.
The Dursleys downstairs had heard the commotion upstairs early on, and they listened to the sounds with a mixture of confusion and fear.
Dudley’s distinctive heavy footsteps, mixed with Mrs. Dursley’s shrill screams, came from the living room, followed by Vernon Dursley’s violent coughing.
"Good heavens, what are they doing?" Mrs. Dursley exclaimed.
Vernon Dursley took out the baseball bat from the corner of the bedroom and stood at the top of the stairs, gripping it tightly.
When the Weasley brothers and Professor Sean reached the bottom of the stairs, Vernon Dursley and his family were already gathered at the bottom.
Vernon's eyes widened as he saw Sean and the two strangely dressed men behind him. He immediately raised his baseball bat and roared, "What are you weirdos doing in my house in the middle of the night?"
"I'm sorry, sir," Sean said politely, pulling a business card from his inside suit pocket and introducing himself, "I'm Sean Phillips, an author... and also Harry Potter's professor at Hogwarts..."
Seeing Sean's smart clothes and polite demeanor, Vernon's anger subsided a little, but... this professor was a bit too young.
He took Sean's business card with some skepticism:
Sean Phillips
Writer, Knight of the Order of the British Empire...
Before he even finished reading, Vernon only saw the word "Jazz" and suddenly looked up. He then noticed a badge hanging on the left breast of the handsome man's suit.
The badge gleamed in the dim light, its intricate patterns and English letters giving it an exceptionally dignified appearance.
Vernon asked with feigned surprise, "You are... Sir Sean Phillips?"
When he said the word "jazz" at the end, he emphasized it so much that he accidentally bit his tongue without realizing it, or rather, without caring at all.
Upon hearing Vernon's use of the word "jazz," Penny and Dudley stared wide-eyed and gaped in disbelief.
Sean nodded, trying to ease the slightly tense atmosphere. He joked in a humorous tone, "If the Queen Elizabeth hadn't mixed up the recipients at the investiture ceremony a few years ago, then I would be the Sir Sean Phillips you're talking about."
This lower-ranking knighthood is genuine.
Although this rank was conferred by the monarch as a knighthood, it is not one of the types of knighthoods.
This honor is generally awarded to individuals who have made contributions to society. In addition, all male judges serving on the High Court of England and Wales are awarded this honor.
A person who has not earned a knighthood cannot be given the title of "Sir". However, if he later becomes a lower-ranking knight, he may add the title of "Sir" to his name.
In fact, this is a fairly common situation; for example, the famous Sir Alex Ferguson received this title.
The story of how Sean earned this honor is long and complicated. First, he is a native-born, true-blue Englishman. Second, he was involved in an incident three years prior...
Upon hearing Sean's affirmation, Vernon suddenly felt somewhat at a loss. He had never imagined in his life that he would one day speak face-to-face with a British knight, let alone on his own doorstep.
He swallowed hard, trying to calm his excited emotions, and looked at Sean in front of him again.
Although Sean appears too young, age does not represent a person's ability or status. Doesn't this indirectly prove Sir Phillips' excellence and Her Majesty's discerning eye?
Moreover, this Sir Phillips has another hidden identity—a wizard. Perhaps this Sir Phillips, who looks to be in his twenties, is actually the same age as me.
Vernon even began to wonder if he had been too rude before.
"Um... Sir Phillips..." Vernon stammered, "I didn't know it was you. If there's anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask."
Sean smiled slightly, shook his head and said, "You don't need to be so polite. To be honest, it was our fault for damaging your fence. I will use magic to fix it before I leave."
"My purpose in coming here was simply to ensure Harry's safety and to invite him to return to Hogwarts to continue his studies. Now that we have found Harry, we are ready to leave."
Hearing Sean say that, Vernon couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
"Well... since you put it that way, I won't try to stop you." Vernon forced a smile, trying to hide his disappointment. "If there's a chance, I hope we can meet again."
Sean nodded in agreement: "Of course, Mr. Vernon. Although Hogwarts and the Muggle world are far apart, that doesn't mean we can't be friends. If you are interested in the wizarding world, or have any questions, please feel free to contact us."
Perhaps only Merlin knew the efforts he made to ensure that Harry would receive better treatment when he returned to the Dursleys.
This stemmed from the fact that Harry's expression was so pitiful when he asked him a question after the final exams that he couldn't bear it. (Revisit Chapter 67, "Harry the Study-Loving")
After saying that, Sean extended his hand to Vernon.
Vernon, somewhat flattered, grasped Sean's hand and said gratefully, "Thank you, Sir Phillips, I will remember your kindness."
Just as they were about to leave, Penny seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly stepped in front of Sean, hesitating to speak: "Harry, he..."
Sean pressed his hand down; he knew what the other person wanted to say.
"Mrs. Dursley, please rest assured," Sean's voice was gentle yet firm, "we will do everything in our power to ensure Harry's safety."