Time, once it gets moving, is like a runaway train; it doesn't stop for anyone. Before they knew it, the school year was over, and the long, hazy days of the summer holiday arrived in late June. This holiday was different. This was the summer before secondary school.
As Vernon had insisted, Dudley was enrolled at his alma mater, Smeltings. Petunia had argued that with Dudley's grades, he could get into a far better school, but Vernon was resolute. As for Harry, the Dursleys had initially planned to send him to the local comprehensive, Stonewall High. It was cheap, and since Harry's grades were decidedly average, they felt a better school would be wasted on him. After much debate, however, they had a change of heart and decided to send him to Smeltings with Dudley.
Hearing he would be attending school with his cousin again, Harry was ecstatic.
To be perfectly honest, the Smeltings uniform was hideous. It consisted of a maroon tailcoat, garish orange knickerbockers, and a flat, hard straw hat called a boater. The entire ensemble was topped off with a gnarled walking stick. It was a comical outfit that Dudley found deeply offensive. Real men, he thought, wear black overalls.
Harry, however, was thrilled. He'd never worn a tailcoat before.
Today, June 23rd, was Dudley's eleventh birthday, but he had no time to deal with the mountain of gifts piled high in the living room.
"Harry, can you start unwrapping some of these for me? I need to head out," Dudley said, hastily packing a small bag. He grabbed a random gift from the pile to take with him. "If Mum or Dad asks, just say I'm off to play ball with friends. I'll be back around noon."
The Dursleys had planned a full day of birthday festivities, but Dudley could only spare the morning. The afternoon was reserved for a family trip to the zoo.
"Brother D, are you going to... that place again?" Harry asked quietly.
"Of course," Dudley replied with a grin. "I'll bring you back a Gandalf action figure." Among all the merchandise for The Lord of the Rings, after the hobbits and the Elf Prince, the figure of Gandalf the White was by far the most popular.
"Okay!" Harry beamed. He knew what Dudley was doing; his cousin never hid these things from him. Harry was in absolute awe of Dudley. Sports, academics, even starting his own company—Dudley excelled at everything he touched. Dudley had even promised that if Harry did well in his studies, he could one day be a supervisor at his company, a prospect Harry clung to with fierce determination.
At the dining table, Harry was wrestling with a thick slice of smoked bacon, a rare treat he savored with relish. For Dudley, however, it couldn't compare to a simple pan-fried chicken breast dusted with chili powder.
"Eat less smoked food," Dudley said, ruffling Harry's perpetually messy hair. "The flavor's too strong. It's not good for a growing boy. You should drink more milk." He paused, looking at the unruly black mop. "You need another haircut."
Harry's hair grew at an astonishing rate. Strange things had always happened around him, and as he got older, they became more frequent. Any electronic device he touched seemed to short-circuit or malfunction for no reason. After the third television blew out, the Dursleys had forbidden him from touching any electronics whatsoever. Dudley knew it was just Harry's untamed magic acting up, but he couldn't explain that to his parents.
"I'm heading out," Dudley said. "See you at noon."
"See you at noon, Brother D." Harry watched him go, a familiar pang of envy in his chest. He didn't know that while he envied Dudley's seemingly limitless abilities, Dudley envied his innate magical talent just as fiercely.
The moment Dudley stepped out the door, his features had already begun to shift. His "disguise" skills were becoming more refined. He slipped into the back of a small, waiting car. If he weren't technically a child, he would have been driving himself.
"Let's see what we have here," he murmured, picking up the gift he'd grabbed. A large, elegantly calligraphed letter "H" was written on the tag. He tore open the wrapping to find a soft, knitted scarf. Without a word, he wrapped it around his neck.
After navigating the twisting streets of London, the car pulled up in front of a nondescript residential building. Dudley wasn't going to his company; it was already a well-oiled machine managed by professionals. He just had to count the money. The real value was in the brand, the IP, and that couldn't be stolen.
"Same time, same place for pickup, sir?" the driver asked.
Dudley nodded, grabbed a small briefcase from the passenger seat, and got out. He settled a brown top hat on his head, glanced around, and then disappeared into a narrow alley. He was here to make a deal.
As his research into potions had deepened, he'd grown frustrated with the limitations of the Muggle world. Many ingredients were simply unobtainable. So, he had turned to... special means. This inevitably meant dealing with unconventional people. As long as you had money, many doors opened.
He walked to the end of the alley and knocked on a reinforced door. A small peephole slid open, revealing a pair of wary eyes.
"Who?" a muffled voice growled.
"Shadow," Dudley replied, his voice cold and flat.
The password confirmed, the door creaked open, releasing a wave of strange, cloying odors. Dudley frowned, pulling his hat down and burying his nose in the new scarf before stepping inside.
The room was the size of a billiard hall and was filled with a motley crew of men and women in bizarre, mismatched outfits. The air was thick and stagnant, lit only by a few sputtering candles. Garbage was strewn across the floor, a testament to the grimy chaos of the place. It felt like a den for addicts.
As he entered, all eyes turned to him, their gazes a mixture of greed and malice. But when they recognized the figure in the top hat, they quickly averted their eyes, shrinking back into the shadows.
A man in what looked like a medieval servant's costume scurried over, rubbing his hands together with a fawning, greasy smile.
"Respected Mr. Gargamel," he said, bowing low. "Please, follow me."
***
(End of Chapter)
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