"Hmph, that kid got off easy," Uncle Vernon grumbled.
Perhaps it was due to eating well recently, or maybe he was hitting a growth spurt, but Harry was indeed growing much faster. That cupboard under the stairs probably wouldn't be big enough for him for much longer.
They had considered letting Harry move upstairs, but that room had always been Dudley's toy room, and they were afraid Dudley wouldn't agree if they brought it up.
Now that Dudley had brought it up himself, they no longer objected.
They didn't even think too deeply about it.
Dudley didn't say anything, picking up the sandwich on the table and eating it.
His abilities as a lawyer and Arbitrator allowed him to keenly spot details and loopholes others missed, and at the same time, subtly achieve his goals through his own authority.
Giving Harry a new bedroom was just going with the flow.
"Boy, hurry up and bring the mail over."
Seeing that Harry hadn't returned for a while, Uncle Vernon yelled from the kitchen.
"What are you doing? Checking if there are bombs in the mail?"
He made a joke, then laughed to himself.
Dudley offered a polite smile and continued eating his sandwich.
To be fair, British food was truly unappetizing. He somewhat missed the food from that other world; at least in some aspects, it was much tastier than the sandwich he was currently eating.
Harry slowly returned to the kitchen, holding four envelopes in his hand. He handed the bills and postcards to Uncle Vernon, then placed a thick parchment envelope on the table in front of Dudley, while he himself took another parchment envelope and sat down to the side.
"Hmm? A letter for me?"
Dudley was a bit puzzled.
Who would write to him?
He glanced at it; the envelope was made of thick parchment, looking very exquisite, and the address was written in emerald green ink.
Strangely, there was no stamp.
Surrey
Little Whinging
Privet Drive, Number 4
Second Floor Bedroom
Mr. Dudley Dursley
Dudley glanced at Harry and saw that the letter Harry was holding was almost identical to his own.
"Could it be from the school?"
Dudley thought to himself.
Sending letters to both of them at the same time, the only possibility was the school. After all, they had already graduated and were about to go to secondary school, so this might be from the new school.
Thinking this, Dudley wasn't in a hurry to open his letter, planning to finish the sandwich in his hand first.
Uncle Vernon tore open a bill, snorted in disgust, and then flipped over a postcard.
"Marge is sick, ate some bad whelks…"
Saying this, Uncle Vernon waved the postcard in his hand, intending to show it to Aunt Petunia.
But as he turned, he suddenly noticed that Harry also had a letter, and he reached out and snatched it directly.
"That's my letter!"
Harry shouted loudly, trying to snatch the letter back.
He had never received a letter since he was little. This was the first time he had received a letter from someone else, and he was overjoyed, but unfortunately, before he could open it, Uncle Vernon snatched it away.
"Hmph, who would write to you? Behave yourself, boy, or you'll stay in the cupboard under the stairs."
Uncle Vernon snorted and said, tearing open the letter casually and looking at it.
Dudley frowned from the side but didn't think much of it.
Uncle Vernon would most likely return it to Harry after reading it.
But the next moment, he noticed that his father's face had changed, and the change was very obvious; it was even evident on his face without needing to use extraordinary abilities to observe it.
A few seconds later.
"Pe—Petunia!"
He yelled, breathless.
Petunia hurried over, picked up the letter, and after just one glance, she almost fainted.
"Dursley! Oh, my goodness, what are we going to do—"
Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at each other, seemingly completely forgetting that there were other people in the kitchen.
"What's going on?"
Harry keenly sensed that this letter seemed unusual, at least certainly not what he had guessed—a letter from secondary school.
Then who could it be from?
"That's my letter! Give it back to me!"
Harry didn't care about anything else now. He jumped up, wanting to snatch the letter, but he wasn't tall enough and couldn't reach it at all.
"Both of you, get out!"
"Out!"
Uncle Vernon roared.
His face was extremely grim, and he completely disregarded everything else, yelling at both Dudley and Harry simultaneously.
"Give me back my letter!"
"Give it back to me!"
Harry was eager to see the contents of the letter. This was the first time he had received a letter from someone else.
"Go!"
Seeing this, Dudley didn't say another word, directly pulling Harry and rushing out of the kitchen.
Bang!
The kitchen door slammed shut behind them, isolating the two in the hallway outside.
"What are you doing? That's my letter, my letter!"
Harry said excitedly.
"Don't worry, I have a similar one here. Let's read it first."
Dudley shook the parchment letter in his hand.
"Oh, right!"
Harry suddenly remembered that Dudley had also received a letter just like his.
He had thought it was from secondary school, but now, judging by the attitudes of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, it clearly wasn't.
"Come here."
Without another word, Harry pulled Dudley directly into the cramped cupboard under the stairs, to prevent Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia from rushing out and snatching this letter too.
Squeezed into the small space, both of them were breathing a little heavily.
"Hurry up and open it."
Harry urged.
Dudley didn't waste any time. He flipped over the envelope and saw the wax seal on the back: a shield crest with a capital "H" surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake.
"What a peculiar crest," Dudley said, then tore open the wax seal and took out the letter inside. Both of them eagerly began to read.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Principal: Albus Dumbledore (President of the International Confederation of Wizards, First Class Grand Sorcerer of Merlin, Chief Arbitrator of the Wizengamot)
Dear Mr. Dursley:
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by July 31.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Principal
Looking at the contents of the letter, Harry was completely stunned.
And Dudley, too, showed a shocked expression.
This world actually had Wizards, and even a dedicated Wizard school.
Even more miraculously, he had actually received an admission letter from a magic school.
Wait, Harry received the same letter, which meant Harry also received an admission letter from this school.
Dudley glanced at Harry, who was beside him, looking dazed and not yet having recovered, and at that moment, some things in his mind that he couldn't figure out before suddenly made perfect sense.
This world was not an ordinary world.
This was a Black Magic World!