Chapter 3: The Favored Manor

The former Mr. Matthew Crawley was a lawyer from Manchester. He had a distant relative, the Earl of Grantham who lived at Tang Dun Abbey. Then, bizarre things happened; the several heirs between them just died one by one, and finally, Matthew Crawley inherited this beautiful manor. And just when the manor's finances encountered a crisis, he inherited a considerable legacy from another distant relative, so this manor was preserved intact.

Today's Sir George Crawley inherited a manor from his father. He also had a distant relative, Mrs. Petunia Dursley who lived on Privet Drive. Then, bizarre things happened again; the several couples between them just disappeared one by one. Finally, George Crawley inherited the boy who lived.

Just as his father inherited a legacy when he needed it most, George actually looked forward to the arrival of a boy. Born in 1921, he was unfortunately injured in the war and lost his fertility, which made the entire manor face the dilemma of having no heir again.

Before this, Sir Crawley had almost given up the idea of finding an heir. Compared to those old-fashioned nobles, he, having participated in World War II, was more interested in red ideology. Originally, he intended to run his law firm well and spend the rest of his life helping those laborers who suffered unfair treatment. However, in 1982, perhaps to alleviate the loneliness of his later years, he adopted a little girl and named her Eve Crawley.

Just as Matthew Crawley once again received a windfall when the estate encountered difficulties, the arrival of Harry, an alternative heir who met the legal requirements, at Tang Dun at this time was undoubtedly a great joy for Sir Crawley. The servants discussed these matters one after another, believing that Tang Dun was a place favored by God.

When Harry got off the car, he was almost stunned. Two rows of neatly dressed male and female servants were standing in front of the manor's gate, looking at him with gentle eyes.

An old gentleman with an upright posture walked slowly toward him. His silver-white hair was combed very neatly. Harry couldn't distinguish his expression, only feeling that he looked like an upright and kind person.

"Harry, you're here." Sir Crawley said, "From now on, you will live with us. I am George Crawley, you can call me Sir Crawley, or you can call me Grandpa."

"And this," he pulled over a little girl, "is my granddaughter Eve Crawley, she is one year younger than you."

"Hello, Sir Crawley. Hello, Eve." Harry was a bit nervous, he greeted the two, and then didn't know what else to say.

"Come in and sit for a while." Sir Crawley said, "Your room has been cleaned up, and a personal valet will be arranged for you later. If you have any questions, you can ask the servants to help you solve them at any time."

"Grandpa is quite busy." Eve whispered, "He doesn't usually manage things in the manor."

"That's right." Sir Crawley took over the conversation, "With tutors and a housekeeper, I'm not worried at all. Harry, you will become an excellent heir, as long as you are willing to study hard."

Sir Crawley led Harry and Eve into the house, and then the servants also entered the house one after another. The cat that had been squatting on the edge of the shrubbery left, and Tang Dun returned to its usual peace and harmony.

"I've checked, Deng Buliduo." McGonagall's tone was much more relaxed, "That manor is full of Muggles, it's impossible for that person to cooperate with Muggles."

"That's good, that's good." Deng Buliduo agreed with his mouth, but his expression was still very solemn.

"What are you still worried about?" McGonagall asked, "There is a girl about the same age as Harry there, she seems to have magical talent, but she is too young, it's impossible for there to be such a young Death Eater."

"I heard that he and Lestrange..." Deng Buliduo stopped mid-sentence, "Sometimes it doesn't require a person to do anything; her existence alone can play a great role."

"It doesn't matter. If she has magical talent, then sooner or later she will have to come to Hogwarts. By comparison, Sir Crawley makes me more worried; he seems to want to cultivate Harry as the heir to that Muggle manor."

"This is a good thing for Harry." Deng Buliduo said.

But it might not be a good thing for the Wizarding World, he thought to himself.

Since moving to Tang Dun, Harry's life had indeed undergone many changes. However, with the help of his personal valet John Bates, he quickly adapted to these changes. Bates was a slightly plump middle-aged man who didn't like to talk much but was very enthusiastic. Harry would earnestly do whatever he requested.

Sir Crawley, just as he said himself, was more concerned about his legal career in London. Harry rarely saw this old man at Tang Dun, and many times there were only him and Eve at the long dining table.

Harry and Eve played quite well, and the two quickly became good friends. Every corner of Tang Dun had left their laughter, even in the study, there were many beautiful memories.

That's right, the thing that gave Harry the most headache in the entire manor was the study. Every day, different tutors would come to teach him and Eve, and the variety of subjects even exceeded the dishes for dinner. Four resident tutors taught them 15 courses every week, and the vast majority of these courses made Harry extremely painful.

Jane Eyre was responsible for grammar, reading, and writing classes. The word usage habits she taught were vastly different from what Harry had learned before, and Harry was always criticized by her for "speaking too directly, even rudely." What gave Harry an even bigger headache was that she was also responsible for teaching French, German, and Latin. Compared to repeatedly bending his straightened tongue and then straightening it again in the next class, Harry would rather suffer a few more beatings.

Clara Oswald was responsible for mathematics, physics, and chemistry. These abstract science courses also made Harry feel extremely tortured. However, Harry liked Miss Clara the most among the four teachers because she would occasionally tell some fantasy stories to Harry. An eight-foot-tall lady and a huge aerial carriage, a palace surrounded by ice sculptures, a beautiful girl singing hymns in the forest... these stories were not very scientific, but Harry's intuition told him that perhaps these were all true.

Nonolies Yuri was responsible for teaching history, philosophy, and sociology. Sometimes he would also talk about psychology, or talk at length about military theory in history class. Harry used to hate history very much because he couldn't remember so many complex dates and events. But Professor Yuri's history class only talked about modern history after 1917, and he explained it in great detail, so Harry could barely remember it. What really gave him a headache was philosophy; all the philosophical theories Harry learned were invented by a person named Marx, and he was both respectful and afraid of Marx.

James Bond was responsible for physical training. He had to take Harry running laps every morning, which at first almost became Harry's nightmare. But as his physical fitness gradually increased, running laps no longer made Harry complain. Most of the time, his courses were very interesting. Harry followed him to learn fighting, reasoning, reconnaissance, and counter-reconnaissance in a superficial way. When he was nine years old, he received a PPK as a birthday gift and began training in pistol shooting from then on.

The vast majority of courses were taken by Eve and Harry together, except for the physical part. When Harry was sweating outdoors, Eve would stay in the manor to learn vocal music and dance with another teacher named Maria. Her eighth birthday gift was a violin.

Although Harry didn't like attending classes very much, with the "help" of private tutors, these pieces of knowledge were eventually poured into his little head. Approaching eleven years old, all four teachers began to get nervous, constantly reviewing what Harry had learned before. They said that Sir Crawley would arrange an assessment for Harry this year, hoping he could achieve decent results.

Sir Crawley almost couldn't come to attend this exam, which symbolized primary school graduation. He suddenly learned that a distant relative in Italy had passed away and left him a large legacy. Although Tang Dun's economic situation was still quite good, Sir Crawley still agreed to go to Italy to handle the inheritance procedures. "British money should return to Britain," he said so.

However, he also agreed with the Italian lawyer to go to handle the procedures after he finished attending the assessment for Harry in June. According to his estimation, this trip would take at least four months, and he didn't want to miss Harry's birthday, so he had been trying his best to delay it.

"The letter for Harry has been sent out, but I'm still a bit worried." McGonagall came to the headmaster's office again; if it weren't for Harry's affairs, she rarely came over.

"What are you worried about?" Deng Buliduo said with a smile, "I have already confirmed that George Crawley is a pure Muggle noble and has nothing to do with the Wizarding World."

"I'm not worried about the people around him, but Harry himself." McGonagall had gone to Tang Dun several times to observe, and she knew how much Harry had changed during this period.

"You know, the knowledge he learned..." McGonagall wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the word that could describe her subtle feeling for a while.

"It's just some Muggle knowledge." Deng Buliduo said dismissively, "When he realizes his identity as a wizard, he will still return to Hogwarts. Moreover, appropriately contacting Muggles can also prevent him from developing prejudices in the future."

"Rest assured." Seeing that McGonagall was still a bit worried, Deng Buliduo added, "I will let Haige explain, there is nothing more convincing than a half-giant visiting in person, on his birthday." ===== CHAPTER 4 =====