Lucas rose slowly from his chair and began walking towards the Dursleys.
The three of them immediately shrank backwards in terror as though the boy approaching them were some ancient monster crawling out of a nightmare.
Vernon clutched Dudley protectively while Petunia's face turned ghostly white.
Lucas, meanwhile, looked entirely relaxed.
"When magical power inside a young wizard isn't properly guided," he said calmly, "it starts building up over time. Eventually, that unstable magic can form something incredibly dangerous."
He paused dramatically.
"An Obscurus."
The word alone seemed to chill the air.
"A child carrying one is called an Obscurial. Once emotionally pushed too far, the Obscurus erupts from their body and destroys everything nearby."
Harry sat frozen in his chair while listening.
Lucas continued in an even voice.
"An Obscurus doesn't think. It doesn't reason. It only destroys. Every time one appears, people die."
Petunia swallowed hard despite herself.
Lucas slowly turned towards Harry.
"That's why Hogwarts matters. Harry needs to learn how to control his magic. Otherwise, there's a very real chance he could become an Obscurial."
Then his gaze drifted back towards the Dursleys.
"And judging by how you've treated him over the years, I'd say the odds become significantly higher."
Vernon's face twitched.
"One day," Lucas said quietly, "all that suppressed magic could explode outward. Everything around him would be torn apart. You. Your house. Your neighbours. Entire streets."
He leaned slightly closer.
"That's why letting Harry attend Hogwarts isn't just for his sake. It's for yours too."
Naturally, not every young wizard could become an Obscurial.
But Lucas saw absolutely no reason to mention that particular detail.
"You… you're lying!" Petunia suddenly shrieked. "You people are all freaks! Just like my horrible sister!"
Lucas merely looked at her calmly.
"You can insult magic all you want," he said evenly. "Doesn't change the fact that it exists."
Then a thoughtful expression crossed his face.
"Though I suppose words alone may not properly convey how dangerous an Obscurus can be."
He reached into his ring.
A large smoking pipe appeared in his hand.
Harry blinked in confusion.
Lucas had specifically bought the pipe in Diagon Alley for this exact moment.
He casually lit it, took a slow breath, then exhaled a massive cloud of thick grey smoke.
The smoke drifted lazily through the air at first.
Then it began to twist.
The swirling smoke stretched and reshaped itself into moving images floating above the room like a ghostly projection.
The Dursleys stared in horror.
Within the smoke appeared a peaceful suburban street beneath a bright afternoon sky. Cars sat parked neatly beside clean pavements. Children played happily nearby.
Then everything changed.
In the middle of the street stood a ragged young child.
Suddenly, violent black mist exploded from the child's body.
The dark fog surged upwards like a tornado.
The entire street vanished into chaos.
The black mist rampaged through buildings with terrifying force. Houses shattered apart like paper. Cars flipped through the air. People who failed to escape were swallowed instantly by the storm.
Screams echoed everywhere.
Within seconds, the once peaceful neighbourhood had transformed into smoking ruins.
Nothing remained intact.
Then the smoke-image slowly dissolved and faded away into the air.
The hut fell silent.
Harry's face had gone pale.
Petunia was shaking uncontrollably.
Dudley looked moments away from crying.
Even Vernon had lost all colour.
The illusion itself wasn't real, of course. It was merely Transfiguration combined with Lucas's absurdly overpowered imagination and master-level Occlumency control.
But to the Dursleys, it looked horrifyingly real.
Especially the part where several people were ripped apart by the black fog.
Lucas calmly tapped ash from his pipe.
"That," he said quietly, "was an actual Obscurus attack."
Technically not true.
But the Dursleys had absolutely no way of knowing that.
"You don't want Harry becoming like that child."
Petunia's lips trembled. "N-No…"
"Most Obscurials lose themselves completely once the Obscurus forms," Lucas continued. "Though there are extremely rare exceptions."
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"For example… me."
The Dursleys froze.
At the same moment, wisps of black mist slowly began leaking from Lucas's body.
The atmosphere inside the hut instantly turned oppressive and cold.
Vernon's pupils contracted violently.
The black smoke surrounding Lucas looked exactly like the monster from the illusion.
"No…" Petunia whispered weakly.
Lucas's smile widened slightly.
"Would you like a demonstration?"
Before anyone could answer—
BOOM!
The black mist exploded outward.
Lucas instantly transformed into a violent storm of shadow and darkness.
The wooden hut shattered apart around them.
Walls ripped open. Furniture exploded into splinters. The roof vanished into the night sky.
Harry gasped in shock.
Petunia screamed hysterically.
Vernon nearly fainted on the spot.
The memory of the illusion flashed through all their minds simultaneously. They could almost imagine themselves being torn apart exactly like the people in the smoke-image.
Yet despite the destruction raging around them, not a single person inside the centre of the storm was harmed.
Lucas's control was terrifyingly precise.
The black fog circled around Harry and the Dursleys without touching them even once while the rest of the hut was obliterated.
Then, just as suddenly as it began—
Everything stopped.
The dark mist vanished.
Lucas stood calmly in the middle of the ruins with his hands in his pockets as though nothing had happened.
Harry stared at him with complete shock.
The Dursleys, meanwhile, looked utterly broken.
"No! Please!" Vernon cried desperately while scrambling backwards across the ground. "We understand! We understand now!"
"We'll let him go!" Petunia screamed. "We promise! Just stop!"
Lucas tilted his head slightly.
The storm outside had already disappeared.
Dark clouds drifted apart overhead, revealing a beautiful sky overflowing with stars. Earlier, Lucas had casually blown the storm clouds away during his transformation.
Moonlight now poured down across the rocky island.
The remains of the hut creaked softly in the sea breeze.
Lucas looked down at the terrified Dursleys.
"Of course," he said mildly, "if you genuinely loved Harry enough to stabilise his emotions, perhaps things wouldn't become dangerous."
That final sentence completely shattered whatever resistance the Dursleys still had.
Because deep down, they all knew the truth.
They had never treated Harry kindly.
Not once.
And Harry definitely wouldn't believe they loved him.
Vernon finally collapsed heavily onto the ground.
"All right…" he muttered weakly. "Do whatever you want. Take him to Hogwarts."
Lucas smiled pleasantly.
"Excellent choice."
He raised his wand once more.
"Reparo."
The shattered remains of the hut instantly trembled.
Broken walls lifted from the ground. Splintered wood reassembled itself piece bypiece. Torn furniture repaired itself in midair.
Within moments, the entire hut had been completely restored as though nothing had ever happened.
Harry stared in amazement yet again.
Honestly, tonight alone had probably contained more emotional damage than his entire childhood combined.
Lucas casually conjured several fresh chairs and placed them around the table.
"In that case," he said cheerfully, sitting back down beside the fire, "now that we're all being reasonable, let's have a proper conversation."
....
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