"You have to believe me, I really saw a magical mirror. I saw many people in it—Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, Big D, and a woman who was strange yet familiar. That must have been my mother; her eyes looked just like mine."
"Correction—your eyes look just like hers," Hermione said, rubbing her forehead. She felt Harry's logic was a bit muddled at the moment.
Harry didn't want to get caught up in these details. "That mirror had a name too, something like Erised... Erised..." No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't remember exactly what it was called.
"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Harry nodded eagerly, then looked at Dudley with delight. "Big D, do you know what that is?"
Sure enough, there was nothing in this world that Big D didn't know. When in doubt, ask Big D.
"You can call it the Mirror of Erised. It's a magical mirror that shows the deepest, most desperate desire of your heart," Dudley said with slight frustration.
He hadn't seen anything when he looked in the mirror. Did that mean he had no desires? How was that possible? He really wanted to know what his heart yearned for—people can only grow by facing their desires honestly.
"So... it's not real?" Harry's body stiffened slightly. When he saw the scene in the mirror, he thought his mother hadn't actually died.
"That's right." Dudley gently set down his dumbbell and said to Harry, "The scenes shown in that mirror are all false. The future is something we must create ourselves."
Harry nodded with half-understanding, but at least he never went looking for that mirror again.
...
The pleasant holiday ended quickly. Neville and Malfoy rejoined the training after returning. Neville was fine—he hadn't slacked off during the break. Malfoy had been somewhat lazy during the holidays; Lucius seemed to scoff at this kind of physical training.
When Ron heard during their jog that they'd have to attend extra classes with professors every weekend, he let out a pained wail. "I thought things would be easier after term started."
"Ronalda, you could always lie in a soft, fluffy bed instead," Malfoy taunted as he overtook him.
"Say that again—my name is Ron. Want to fight, Little Dragon?"
Draco's name contained the meaning of the constellation Draco, so Malfoy was sometimes called "Little Dragon."
"Bring it on! I'll teach you a lesson first, then beat up Potter."
Dudley never stopped them. Whoever didn't like whoever, whoever was annoyed with whoever, could have a fight anytime. Appropriate fighting could actually strengthen their bonds. In Dudley's view, Malfoy and Ron's relationship was quite good.
Ron was really just complaining for a sentence or two. With all his friends working hard at their studies, he couldn't possibly slack off.
Days passed one by one, and the morning training squad members' physical fitness began improving at a visible rate. Even Malfoy, originally the skinniest, had gained a layer of muscle on his arms. Of course, the most obvious change was in Neville. He had the largest frame after Dudley, so naturally the effects were most apparent. He had transformed from a chubby boy into a strong, stocky young man.
...
Every so often, Dudley would organize trips to the Forbidden Forest. Unlike when he went alone, with Harry and the others along, they stayed mostly in the outer areas. Even just the forest's edge was quite thrilling.
Spellcasters cannot remain narrow-minded; they need to broaden their horizons appropriately. This was what his system told Dudley, so he passed this wisdom on to the morning squad members. Everyone found it very reasonable.
After spending an afternoon gathering herbs and encountering some small magical creatures, they emerged from the forest and stopped by Hagrid's hut to rest.
Malfoy initially refused, thoroughly disgusted by Hagrid's crude dwelling and muttering complaints, but when Dudley walked in, he followed. Dudley picked up a rock cake as usual and began chomping away, while Hermione and the others kept their distance from the things.
Malfoy curiously took one to try, then nearly broke his teeth. This thing is definitely a weapon, he thought, quietly pocketing one.
...
"Harry, don't you think Hagrid's acting a bit strange?" Ron whispered.
Hagrid seemed odd today—not only lacking his usual enthusiasm but also constantly hovering by the fireplace, trying to hide something. His movements were so exaggerated that the more he tried to conceal it, the more obvious it became. Most importantly, the temperature inside was frighteningly hot, especially for this weather. It was ridiculous, and he wouldn't even open the windows.
According to Murphy's Law, the more you worry about something, the more likely it is to happen. Hagrid tried to block Harry and the others' view but forgot about Neville—there were simply too many visitors today.
"Is that... an egg?" Neville pointed at something above the fire—a large, blackish egg. He moved closer to examine it, then said in surprise, "What kind of creature is this... wait, this looks like a dragon egg."
Magical plants and creatures were Neville's current focus, and he truly had talent in this area.
"Did I hear you say 'dragon'?!" Malfoy, who had been sitting beside Dudley, perked up his ears at the word 'dragon' and immediately rushed over.
Seeing that everyone had already discovered it, Hagrid stopped trying to hide it and simply stepped aside. Actually, Hagrid mainly didn't want Malfoy to see it—Lucius's reputation among wizards wasn't very good.
...
"It really is a dragon egg..." Malfoy's eyes never left the dragon egg once he saw it, staring obsessively at the large, blackish egg. His eyes were full of envy. "Even my father never got me one of these."
He'd always had a dream of raising a dragon, but dragons were extremely dangerous magical creatures that had never been truly tamed by wizards. This overly dangerous idea had been ruthlessly crushed by Lucius the moment it arose.
"Hagrid, where did you get this? Must have cost quite a bit!" Ron also kept staring at the dragon egg, his gaze never wavering. After all, what young wizard could resist a dragon egg?
"Won it," Hagrid said proudly. "Last night I was drinking in the village, playing cards with a stranger. Honestly, the fellow was probably dying to get rid of it."
"You know, in the wizarding world it's forbidden to keep dragons privately—dragon eggs too. Trading dragon eggs is also illegal."
As soon as he said this, the hut fell silent. All the young wizards looked at him with incredulous expressions.
Dudley looked at him with a strange expression. "Hagrid, you know it's illegal?"
[Chapter Complete]
***
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