novelraw Chapter 2: News of Enrollment, delivered by an owl messenger!
Chapter 2: News of Enrollment, delivered by an owl messenger!
"According to the books that your ardent fan, that not-so-bright wizard named Deegg, sent me, children born in Britain and Ireland with magical talent go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the age of eleven."
And the headmaster of this school, Albus Dumbledore, was the one who sent you here and left a letter explaining things about ten years ago.
Dudley explained things to his cousin logically and reasonably, and finally reassured him, "Don't worry, Harry!"
Even if no one tells you to go to the wizarding world to learn magic, I wouldn't let you study at a chaotic place like Stonewall Academy with such low teaching quality.
"Cousin, I understand, thank you!"
Harry felt a warmth in his heart, and all his worries and gloom about the future completely disappeared.
Cousin Dali was intelligent and loved reading from a young age. He was strong, refined, and easy-going. He grew up with Dali and treated him even better than his own brothers.
Even when his magic went out of control and he unintentionally caused some accidents that were unimaginable to ordinary people, making everyone around him regard him as a monster, his cousin Dali did not look at him differently because of this. On the contrary, he cared about him even more and actively guided him to become familiar with this magical power.
If we ignore the slight distance and dislike that Aunt Penny and Uncle Vernon had always held for him, then his childhood might probably be considered perfect!
Harry shook his head, trying to shake off all the unpleasant thoughts, just as his cousin had taught him.
Then she cheerfully followed her cousin's steps, asking a barrage of questions out of curiosity, including details that he had already asked or hadn't asked before, seemingly enjoying herself immensely:
"Cousin! Is the Mr. Digo you're talking about the strange guy who tipped his hat and bowed to me in the store back then?"
"Yes, it was him! After he bowed to you that day, I followed him and asked him why. He told me that you were the savior, the boy who survived the great calamity, and the star of the wizarding world. He had the utmost respect for you."
Later, I made a deal with him: I traded some notebooks with your signature for a lot of basic books on wizards and magic. He was very happy and even gave me some magic coins called Galon.
Dudley Dursley ate his beef jerky while patiently answering Harry's questions.
The composure and calmness he exuded in his every move were completely unlike that of an eleven-year-old child; he seemed more like an elder who had seen through the ways of the world yet still retained passion.
But his cousin Harry Potter and his parents, the Dursleys, never realized this.
Because in their eyes, Dudley had always been like this, so exceptionally talented, so otherworldly.
"Cousin, cousin! Does that Headmaster Dumbledore you mentioned ride a motorcycle? A flying motorcycle! I keep dreaming that I'm on a flying motorcycle, flying for a very, very long time!"
“Oh, Harry! I don’t think you should associate a man who’s over a hundred years old with this kind of extreme sport. Even if the books say he’s the greatest wizard of the 20th century, the 20th century will be over in nine years, and he’ll be old, won’t he?”
Was that flying motorcycle just a dream of mine?
"No, maybe someone else brought you here on a flying motorcycle. Dumbledore is a headmaster, so he must have some followers, right? Just like me and my Dudley Gang, he might have some kind of Dumbledore Army or something."
"Does Dumbledore also know boxing? Like you, cousin..."
The journey wasn't long to begin with, and Dudley and Harry chatted as they quickly arrived at their destination.
That is, their home, which they lived together for nearly ten years, is a spacious two-story building located at No. 4, Privet Road.
It was around 8 or 9 a.m., still considered morning.
A greyish-brown owl flew in from the horizon, clutching a yellowed letter, and dropped it with great precision into the mailbox by the front door.
"Harry, I think your acceptance letter has arrived!"
Dudley looked at the figure of the round-faced, chubby Scottish chicken, his eyes flashing with excitement, which then disappeared, replaced by a gentle and friendly gaze.
"Suckling..."
Dudley's call attracted the attention of a messenger owl that was trying to fly away nearby.
The owl didn't want to bother with the Muggles; it was planning to get back to the Owl Post Office at Hogwarts as soon as possible and eat a couple of field mice!
But its sharp eyes spotted the delicious beef jerky that Dali was holding high in his hand, and Dali still had more than half a bag of it in his arms.
"Cuckoo..."
Unable to resist the temptation of the delicious food, the owl changed its flight path, took a detour, and headed straight for the beef jerky that Dudley was holding.
Seeing this, Dudley's eyes crinkled into a smile. He held up Smetine's cane in one hand to provide a place for the owl to land, and with the other hand, he generously took out beef jerky from a bag tucked under his arm and fed it to the owl.
The owl was being pampered and its wariness gradually dissipated. It kept swallowing the beef jerky with its sharp beak.
Even when Dudley touched its wings and back feathers, it did not resist.
"Squeak, squeak—"
As the saying goes, "Be careful and you'll have a safe journey; if you're not careful, the boat will capsize."
However, the British wizarding world's owl messenger clearly hadn't heard of the principles of the mysterious Eastern country, and easily fell into Dudley's hands, capsizing in a ditch.
At this moment, Dali threw down Smetin's cane and the bag of beef jerky, and with both hands exerted force, firmly grasped the owl in his hands.
The poor messenger, driven mad by fear, struggled desperately in Dudley's grasp.
“Harry!” Dudley called softly.
"Yes, cousin!"
Harry, standing next to him, immediately understood what his cousin meant. He stretched out his hands and aimed them at the owl's wobbling body, focusing intently and consciously mobilizing the magical power within him.
"Calm down... be quiet... relax... we mean no harm..."
As Harry muttered to himself, an invisible magic emanated from his hand, enveloping the frenzied owl messenger.
The poor owl actually calmed down slowly, stopped struggling and moving, and let Dudley hold it.
"Good boy! Good bird!"
Dali smiled.
He laughed and said to Harry, "Go get your letter and take a look! Don't go inside, just stay here, we'll read it first and then go in."
Harry was taken aback, but then he understood his cousin's intention.
This was to prevent his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, who hated magic, from stopping him from reading the letter.
Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon always doted on Cousin Dudley and spoiled him rotten, except when it came to anything related to wizards and magic.
Harry hurried to the mailbox and found the letter made of yellowed parchment that the owl messenger had delivered earlier among several letters and bills.
Unveiling the wax seal bearing the markings of four animals—a lion, a badger, an eagle, and a snake—along with other letters and decorative patterns, Harry Potter effortlessly received his first Hogwarts acceptance letter.
“Cousin! It really is a letter from Hogwarts! They want me to enroll on September 1st, and they also want me to buy a wand, teaching aids, a pet, and first-year textbooks... I need to reply by July 31st!”
How am I supposed to reply to the wizards at Hogwarts? Oh, right! Cousin, you've already caught the messenger!
Harry lowered his voice and excitedly told Dudley what he had seen in the letter, his joy overflowing.
But after the initial joy, Harry suddenly remembered something, and his mood inevitably turned somber again.
"Cousin... I'm going to Hogwarts, so I won't be able to go to school with you anymore."