Dudley was feeling a bit down in the dumps lately. His worries had come true; in just a single week, he'd grown another two inches. At this rate, he wasn't going to stop until he was at least six and a half feet tall.
Being too big isn't always a good thing, you know.
Especially when he stood next to Harry and his friends, it looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. Yep, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," except he was the jolly giant.
He sighed, pushing aside a boulder nearly half his height. Underneath, he grabbed a large, sleeping Acromantula from its burrow.
Acromantulas are easiest to catch in the winter. They find a cozy cave to hibernate in for the cold season. As long as their body temperature remains low, they stay sound asleep and completely harmless.
This makes it the perfect time to collect from them.
Because they're still alive, you see.
Dudley pulled out a vial, pried open the giant spider's fangs, and pressed down. It was like opening a small dam, and in no time, the vial was full.
He carefully put the vial away and squeezed out every last drop of venom before moving on to find another spider.
It didn't take long for Dudley to collect a whole pile of Acromantula venom.
After a quick wave to Hagrid, Dudley headed back toward the castle. It was his weekly day for collecting potion ingredients.
"That Dudley lad, always so disobedient."
Hagrid watched Dudley's retreating back, scratching his head in a huff. "Didn't I tell him the Forbidden Forest is a dangerous place?"
The only person who could call a six-foot-four-inch Dudley a "lad" was the half-giant himself, who stood at nearly ten feet tall.
Hagrid muttered under his breath, "The centaurs told me some big, unknown fella has been prowling around lately. He's got a nasty habit of collecting all sorts of magical creature bits—hair, saliva, and such. He's driven the unicorn family all the way to the deep parts of the forest, poor things. The last time I saw one, its mane was nearly bald."
Just before Christmas, Dudley received a letter from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.
It said they wouldn't be coming to pick up him and Harry for the holiday. They were going on a trip abroad.
A trip?
Leaving him and Harry behind to go on a trip? It made him wonder...
"Am I really their son?"
Hermione, standing beside him, said the words Dudley was thinking.
She had received a letter from the Grangers at the very same moment.
The contents were identical to the Dursleys' letter.
"They've probably all gone on vacation together."
It wasn't a "probably" situation; it was a certainty. There was no other explanation for such a coincidence.
"Harry," Dudley said, holding the letter. "Maybe we'll have a little brother or sister after the holiday."
Harry's eyes lit up, and he was instantly excited. "Really? Then I want a sister. Ron told me his sister Ginny is really nice."
Is this something you can just wish for?
You'd have to ask Vernon. The chromosomes are all on his side.
There weren't many students left at Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday. In Slytherin, only Dudley had stayed behind. The other houses had only a handful of students each, not even enough to form a proper Quidditch team.
"Neville and Malfoy might be gone, but that doesn't mean you can stop training."
Dudley made a short statement, then pulled out the personalized study plans he'd made for his friends.
Each one was a full twenty inches long.
The plans were sure to make their holiday extremely productive. As for Dudley's own plan, it was measured in feet, not inches.
Harry and Hermione took their parchments from Dudley and started studying them immediately. Only Ron looked like he was about to cry. To be honest, he really wanted a relaxing holiday, but with everyone else working so hard, he couldn't bring himself to be a complete slacker.
In a fit of indignant misery, Ron devoured three big bowls of potatoes and ten chicken legs, stuffing himself until his stomach was as round as a Quaffle.
The next morning, Dudley finished his morning exercises and returned to his room. His eyes swept over the corner, where a mountain of gifts had been delivered by owls.
They were stacked high like a small hill.
How did I get more gifts than when I was at St. George's Primary School?
He casually went through them. At the very bottom were neat, square packages from the other Slytherin students. Every single one of them had sent a gift, no one was left out.
When did I get so popular in Slytherin?
But the uniform green colour was a bit of a shock. The packaging was nice, but he hoped they wouldn't use it again.
Slytherin's colours were silver and green, but it seemed like this lot only had eyes for the green.
Dudley didn't bother looking closely at these "lush green" gifts, turning his attention to the others instead.
First was Hermione's gift. It was a small, handmade pouch. What surprised Dudley was that it wasn't an ordinary bag at all. She'd cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on the inside. Unfortunately, Hermione's skill level was limited, so the space inside wasn't very big, but Dudley loved it and tucked it away.
Harry gave him a set of wizard-made fitness equipment. While not many wizards bothered to exercise, a few did, and this set was quite functional.
Neville's gift was a complete set of Herbology books. Every wizard who was good at Potions was also strong in Herbology.
Snape gave Dudley a set of incredibly advanced Potions books. A faint dark aura emanated from the books, a clear sign that they were unpurchasable, non-market items.
Ron gave him a Wizarding chess set. Dudley had mentioned wanting to learn more about wizarding pastimes.
And Malfoy gave him... a gentleman's walking cane?
Dudley stared at the thick-at-the-top, thin-at-the-bottom stick. Was the huge round knob meant for knocking people on the head? If it had some spikes, it would be a small morningstar.
Dudley took a few practice swings. It felt surprisingly good in his hand, so he kept it.
As he walked out of his common room, Dudley saw an excited Harry waiting for him. Since the entire Slytherin common room was empty, Dudley had invited Harry and his friends to study there. There were more than enough rooms to go around, after all.
"D-bro, look! It's an Invisibility Cloak!"
Harry proudly handed Dudley a piece of transparent fabric.
An Invisibility Cloak, a magical item that could make a person's body disappear from view. According to wizarding history, the first Invisibility Cloak was one of the Deathly Hallows, a treasure the youngest brother received from Death himself.
Legend said it had the power to evade Death's pursuit.
Whether that was true or not was anyone's guess.
Either way, the Invisibility Cloaks sold in Diagon Alley were made from the pelts of Demiguises.
Dudley was sure Harry's cloak wasn't made from a Demiguise's pelt. The material was far more unique.
"Harry, do you know who gave this to you?"