Chapter 10: He Still Has to Thank Me

Uncle Vernon was very trustworthy—or perhaps he was just afraid that breaking his promise might lead the neighbors to discover that they had a freak living in their house. So, the 500 pounds were delivered to Harry's room that very night.

"Boy, you'd better keep your word!" Uncle Vernon said, his face full of displeasure.

"Rest assured," Harry replied with a sincere smile.

Keeping promises.

For 500 pounds, Harry was willing to play along.

Lying in bed, Harry felt a sense of unreality.

Just yesterday, he had been at Hogwarts, chatting with Sebastian about his sister’s illness.

He remembered that Veratia had said they’d found some leads.

Harry wondered how Anne’s condition was now. He thought to himself that he should find an opportunity to visit the Sallow family.

Wizards were long-lived, and it had only been over a hundred years. If nothing unexpected happened, the Sallow siblings should still be alive.

Harry trusted Sebastian, one of his best friends. After all, he was the man who trusted him enough to teach him the three Unforgivable Curses.

But for now, Harry thought it best to keep a low profile before the school term started.

As Harry was deep in thought, the door suddenly opened.

Without looking up, he could tell it was Dudley who had entered.

Knowing it was Dudley, Harry didn’t bother to open his eyes. He continued resting, curious to see what Dudley wanted.

Unexpectedly, Dudley just sat on the floor beside him with a thud.

After a while, Harry heard the sound of muffled sobbing.

Picking up his wand, Harry lit the tip, illuminating Dudley’s rather large, tear-streaked face.

“What’s wrong?” Harry’s heart softened, and he asked gently.

The response was louder sobbing, though Dudley tried to suppress the sound—Harry knew all too well that if Dudley cried openly, it would be as deafening as a Mandrake.

“Stop crying. If Uncle Vernon comes over, he’ll accuse me of using magic to bully you again,” Harry said helplessly.

“But… but this is my room…” Dudley said through his tears.

“Didn’t Uncle Vernon buy it for 250 pounds?” Harry countered.

Hearing this, Dudley choked up, unable to respond.

Shaking his head, Harry suddenly had an idea.

He pulled out a box of Chocolate Frogs from the cabinet and handed it to Dudley.

“Here, it’s a magical snack. I bet you’ve never had one.”

“What’s this?” Dudley’s interest was piqued at the mention of food. His tears stopped, and he forgot all about the room.

“Chocolate Frogs. Inside, there are collectible cards that are popular among young wizards,” Harry explained. “The cards feature famous wizards.”

“Wizards?” Dudley opened the box and saw what looked like a real frog, leaving him stunned. “This… this isn’t a real frog, is it?”

“Of course not. It’s made of chocolate and enchanted,” Harry replied with a smile, not mentioning that the Chocolate Frog could jump.

To Harry’s surprise, as soon as the Chocolate Frog jumped, Dudley caught it with lightning speed and stuffed it into his mouth.

When it came to food, Dudley always displayed extraordinary agility.

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“Hmm, delicious!” Dudley said with a big grin, savoring the treat while pulling out the card inside.

It featured an elderly man with a kind smile.

“The back has information,” Harry prompted.

The name on the card was Paracelsus.

Following Harry’s suggestion, Dudley turned the card over and read the description aloud:

“Paracelsus (1493–1541), a wizard of the same era as Copernicus and Leonardo da Vinci, was a medical genius. His bold theories challenged medieval thinking and led to the discovery of Parseltongue… Wow.”

After reading, Dudley flipped the card back over.

“He’s gone!” Dudley exclaimed.

“You can’t expect him to stay there all the time. He’ll come back later,” Harry explained. “Would you like some other magical snacks? I have plenty more.”

“Of course!”

Dudley nodded enthusiastically, his chubby cheeks jiggling.

As for the moving card, Dudley didn’t dwell on it. In fact, he didn’t care. He was more interested in eating a few more Chocolate Frogs.

“Here’s the deal: I’ll give you snacks, but you have to help me with something.”

Harry picked up a stack of Chocolate Frogs, and Dudley’s gaze remained glued to them.

“Just tell me what to do,” Dudley said, still fixated on the Chocolate Frogs.

Then, he belatedly took out 250 pounds from his pocket and placed it on Harry’s desk.

After some thought, he withdrew four 50-pound notes.

“Here, this should be enough to buy your snacks. You’ll probably need some pocket money for school, right? This is all yours.”

Even fifty pounds was a substantial amount.

Harry knew that Gringotts exchanged pounds for Galleons at a five-to-one ratio. These pounds were enough to exchange for ten Galleons, which could buy not just the snacks but twice as much again.

Though this wasn’t the gold standard era of Victorian times, the purchasing power of pounds was still impressive.

“These are magical snacks, Dudley,” Harry said with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t think fifty pounds is enough to buy these, do you?”

Dudley nodded earnestly, convinced by Harry’s words.

After all, moving Chocolate Frogs were a rarity. His remote-controlled car, which could move, had cost 49.99 pounds. A Chocolate Frog that could move and be eaten was clearly worth more.

Dudley cheerfully handed over the 200 pounds to Harry and said, “Take it all. If it’s not enough—”

“No need, just take them all,” Harry said indifferently, pocketing the 250 pounds.

Dudley cheered and thanked Harry, saying, “Thanks, Harry, you’re such a good person.”

Harry shrugged.

See? He’s even thanking me.

“I thought you’d hold a grudge against me for bullying you before and try to get revenge,” Dudley said while stuffing the Chocolate Frogs into his pockets.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot about that,” Harry said, grabbing a pillow.

Noticing Harry’s movement, Dudley instinctively gulped.

“What are you going to do?!”

Harry’s answer was a pillow attack right to Dudley’s face.

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