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That fight ended about seven-to-three in Weasley's favor.
Mr. Weasley took a punch to the eye.
Lucius, meanwhile, took a punch to each eye and also caught a heavy kick to the waist, courtesy of either George or Fred. No one could really tell which one.
By the end of it, the elegant cane he usually carried at his side ended up serving as a crutch as he limped away with Malfoy.
It was painfully obvious that Lucius, who had spent years living in comfort, was nowhere near a match for Mr. Weasley in a fistfight. Mr. Weasley, after all, still had to do a bit of manual labor from time to time.
And apparently, having lots of children really did help.
After a farce like that, there was no way Lockhart's new book signing could continue.
In the end, it had to be wrapped up in a hurry.
Of course, Lockhart himself was probably very pleased.
Dudley could already imagine tomorrow's newspaper headline.
"Shocking! Two adult wizards exchange blows in public over..."
And then the article would reveal that the reason for the fight had been Lockhart's new book.
If I were Lockhart, I'd make the Daily Prophet print it exactly like that.
It'd be enough to give the new book another push.
"What a wonderful example for the children... brawling in public like that. What must Gilderoy Lockhart think..."
Mrs. Weasley just kept scolding Mr. Weasley.
She was a longtime Lockhart fan.
Besides being the bestselling novelist for many years, he had also built himself a reputation as a favorite among witches.
He really did know how to market himself.
After buying the new books and getting ready to leave with Harry, they received another invitation from Mrs. Weasley.
Dudley thanked her politely and said he would definitely visit them next term.
But before leaving, he traded a brand-new complete set of Lockhart's books for the secondhand textbooks sitting in Ginny's cauldron.
...
For the rest of the holidays, they planned to return to Privet Drive. Hermione also needed to spend some time at home. They had been away for too long already, and no matter what secrets their parents might be hiding from them, it was time to spend a while with family.
Over the next few days, Dudley and Harry stayed quietly at home.
Aside from their daily training, they spent their time reading and researching.
During that period, Vernon surprisingly did not go out fishing or drinking with Mr. Granger. Instead, he actually stayed home with them for once. As an executive, he could take time off too.
Even if, while staying at home, Vernon's usefulness was basically limited to taking out the trash and mowing the lawn, having family around still felt different from not having anyone there at all.
Harry was wolfing down the little sausages Petunia had made.
He had not eaten them in almost a year.
He had missed that taste terribly.
"Slow down, slow down, don't choke."
Petunia set a glass of water in front of him.
"No one's going to take them from you, Harry."
After finally undoing the knot she had carried in her heart, Petunia's attitude toward Harry had changed very noticeably.
Especially after her own son, Dudley, had also entered Hogwarts.
Maybe it was not a full one hundred and eighty degrees, but it was at least one hundred and sixty or one hundred and seventy.
No one's going to take them?
Dudley, sitting across from him, had already finished an entire pan.
If Harry did not eat fast, all he would have left were three miserable little portions.
"I'll make another batch for you tonight."
Seeing her cooking disappear that quickly made Petunia genuinely happy.
A mother's cooking was always the best.
Always irreplaceable.
"Looks like that Hogwarts place must have terrible food."
Vernon had flopped onto the sofa with a huge tub of ice cream in his arms. In summer, he loved doing that. After taking a big spoonful, he muttered under his breath,
"It definitely can't compare to the food at Smeltings. I grew up eating there."
"Honestly, Vernon, couldn't you set a better example for the children? Who eats ice cream first thing in the morning? Do you even know what your body fat percentage is now?"
Hearing that, Vernon pouted miserably and put the spoon back down.
"It's fine, Mum."
It was Dudley who answered after swallowing the last little sausage.
"I've already prepared a weight-loss potion for Dad..."
The moment he heard there was actually a special potion for losing weight, Vernon perked up immediately.
"And does it work?"
"It can make you drop fifteen kilos in an instant."
"Fifteen kilos..."
Vernon looked down at his own stomach, so huge he could not even see his toes anymore, and immediately lost interest.
"Then what good is that supposed to do?"
"If I make you lose a hundred kilos all at once, your body won't be able to handle it."
Losing weight too quickly was never a good thing.
Not even with potions.
No matter how good the effect was, it still had to be done gradually.
Vernon sneaked a glance at Petunia and, seeing that she was not paying attention, reached toward the tub of ice cream he had set aside.
"And starting today, he'll be training with us too."
Before he could even get in a single spoonful, Vernon heard Dudley say that.
His whole body froze as if he had just been struck by lightning.
With a plop, the spoon fell to the floor.
This had to be a joke.
With the amount Dudley trained every morning, Vernon would already be lucky if he could finish a tenth of it in an entire day.
One-finger push-ups?
What a joke.
With that belly of his, he could probably skip the finger altogether.
"No. No, no, no, no."
Just imagining himself training made Vernon start shaking his head like a rattle.
To put it simply... training was completely out of the question.
Even if they killed him, he was not doing it.
That very night, after dinner, there were four people standing outside the Dursleys' yard.
Why four?
Because, in order to make sure Vernon really did train, Petunia had come along too.
...
The happy days passed one after another.
And before long, it was time to say goodbye again.
The start of second year at Hogwarts.
As always, Vernon drove Dudley and Harry to King's Cross Station.
There, they met the Grangers, just as they had arranged beforehand.
"Remember to call home... hm, I mean, send letters."
Vernon muttered.
"I'll send them with Hedwig."
Dudley had started wondering whether he should get his own owl, or some other kind of creature.
He could not keep using Harry's Hedwig forever.
Even though neither Harry nor Hedwig herself minded.
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
At that moment, many young witches and wizards had already entered the hidden platform.
It was the busiest time of all.
Just as the three of them were about to run toward the pillar between the platforms, Dudley felt that same sensation of being watched again.
"Wait..."
He suddenly stopped Harry and Hermione.
"Something's wrong."
He managed to stop the two of them.
But it was rush hour, and the other students only wanted to get in as quickly as possible.
So they ran straight at the pillar.
And one after another, they smashed into it.
"What happened?"
Ron, who had arrived late, saw the scene at that exact moment.
He had stopped to use the toilet earlier and ended up falling behind his three brothers and younger sister.
Dudley walked over to the pillar and tapped it with his fingers.
The dull sound was the sound of an ordinary stone pillar.
"Looks like the entrance has been blocked."
Since the entrance had been sealed, the spells placed on the passage seemed to have lost their effect as well.
That caused many Muggles to notice that something strange was going on there.
Several started throwing odd looks in their direction, and a security guard patrolling the area came walking straight toward them.
"I'll deal with the Muggles first."
It was Mr. Weasley who said it.
He had gone to the toilet with Ron earlier.
Raising his wand, he cast the spell.
In the very next instant, all the surrounding Muggles shuddered and simply turned around and walked away.
Even the security guard did the same.
Before long, only wizards were left in the station.
Or maybe not.
Dudley was still there.
"We're running out of time. If we don't get in soon, we'll miss the train."
The students around them began speaking anxiously.
Especially the first-years.
After all, this was the day they were supposed to arrive at Hogwarts for the very first time.
Mr. Weasley waved his wand at the pillar a few times, but nothing happened.
He stared at it for quite a while, unable to figure out what the problem was.
"Big D, Big D..."
Ron tugged at Dudley's sleeve and whispered,
"My dad has a flying car. What if we..."
"Ron."
Dudley said it while looking him up and down until Ron started feeling uncomfortable.
Only then did he continue.
"Has your dad done something to you lately?"
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