Uncle Vernon was a man of his word — or perhaps he was simply afraid that breaking his promise would lead the neighbors to discover that there was a "freak" living under his roof. Either way, the five hundred pounds were delivered to Harry's room that very night.
"Boy, I hope you keep your promise," Uncle Vernon said, clearly displeased.
"Don't worry," Harry replied with a sincere smile.
For the sake of five hundred pounds, Harry was more than willing to keep his word.
Lying on the bed, Harry felt a strange sense of unreality.
Just yesterday, he had been at Hogwarts, talking with Sebastian about his sister's illness.
He remembered Veratia saying they had found some clues.
He wondered how Anne was doing now and thought he should find an opportunity to visit the Saru family.
Wizards lived long lives, and only a little over a hundred years had passed; if nothing unexpected had happened, the Saru siblings should still be alive.
He still trusted Sebastian completely — one of his closest friends.
After all, Sebastian was the one who had trusted him without reservation and taught him the three Unforgivable Curses.
Of course, for now, it was better to keep a low profile. The school term had not even begun yet.
Just as Harry was lost in thought, the door suddenly opened.
He did not need to look up to know who it was.
Recognizing Dudley by the heavy sound of his footsteps, Harry kept his eyes closed, pretending to rest, curious to see what he wanted.
To his surprise, Dudley simply walked in and sat down on the floor beside the bed.
After a few moments, Harry heard a sob.
Harry raised his wand, and a soft light shone from its tip, illuminating Dudley's large, round face.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked quietly, his heart softening.
The answer was an even louder sob, though Dudley was clearly trying to suppress it. Harry knew that if Dudley truly started crying, the noise would be deafening — like a mandrake.
"Don't cry," Harry said helplessly. "If Uncle Vernon comes in, he'll think I'm using magic to intimidate you again."
"This… this was my room…" Dudley sobbed.
"Didn't Uncle Vernon buy it for two hundred and fifty pounds?" Harry replied, raising an eyebrow.
Dudley froze, visibly stunned.
Harry shook his head, resigned. Then, suddenly, an idea occurred to him.
He opened the cupboard, took out a box of Chocolate Frogs, and handed it to Dudley.
"Here. It's a magical treat — you've definitely never had one before."
"What's this?" At the mention of food, Dudley's interest was instantly piqued. He stopped crying almost immediately.
"Chocolate Frogs, with cards inside. Young witches and wizards collect them," Harry explained. "The cards feature famous wizards."
"Wizards?" Dudley opened the wrapper and stared at the chocolate, which looked exactly like a real frog. "Th-this… this isn't a real frog, is it?"
"Of course not. It's chocolate — chocolate with magic," Harry said with a smile, neglecting to mention that the frog could jump once.
The next instant, the Chocolate Frog leaped.
To Harry's surprise, Dudley reacted with astonishing speed, snatching it out of the air and stuffing it into his mouth.
When it came to food, Dudley always displayed extraordinary agility.
"Mmm… delicious!" Dudley said happily, pulling out the card from inside the wrapper.
The image showed an elderly man with a white beard, smiling gently.
The name beneath it read: Paracelsus.
"There's a description on the back," Harry said, seizing the opportunity.
Dudley turned the card over and read aloud:
"Paracelsus (1493–1541), a wizard contemporary with Copernicus and Leonardo da Vinci. A medical genius whose bold theories challenged medieval thinking and who discovered the magical properties of parsley… Wow!"
Then he flipped the card back.
"He's gone!" Dudley exclaimed.
"You can't expect him to stay there all the time," Harry explained patiently. "He'll be back later. Portraits in the wizarding world work a bit differently… want more? I've got plenty of sweets."
"Yes!" Dudley nodded eagerly, his cheeks wobbling.
He had no interest in the card at all — he just wanted more Chocolate Frogs.
"All right," Harry said. "I can give you more, but you'll have to do a few things for me."
Harry placed a stack of Chocolate Frogs on the table. Dudley's eyes were fixed on them.
"Just tell me what you want," Dudley said, staring intently.
After a moment, Dudley pulled two hundred and fifty pounds from his pocket and placed it on Harry's table. Then he hesitated, took out four fifty-pound notes, and added them.
"Here. This should be enough for the sweets. You'll need money for school, right? This is all yours."
Even fifty pounds was a considerable sum.
Harry knew that the exchange rate at Gringotts was five pounds to one Galleon. That meant ten Galleons — more than enough to buy these sweets and plenty more.
Although the pound was no longer on the gold standard as it had been in the Victorian era, its purchasing power was still strong.
"These sweets are magical, Dudley," Harry said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you really think you can buy all of this with just fifty pounds?"
Surprisingly, Dudley nodded, clearly convinced.
A Chocolate Frog that moved! That had to be incredibly valuable.
His remote-controlled car alone had cost £49.99. Surely a moving, edible magical frog was worth far more.
So Dudley promptly pushed the remaining money toward Harry.
"Here, take all of it. If it's not enough—"
"No problem," Harry said indifferently, casually pocketing the two hundred and fifty pounds.
Dudley beamed.
"Thank you, Harry. You're such a good person."
Harry shrugged.
See? He's the one who has to thank me.
"I thought you'd hold a grudge for bullying me earlier and get revenge…" Dudley said, stuffing another Chocolate Frog into his pocket.
"Oh, right," Harry said thoughtfully. "I'd almost forgotten about that."
He reached out and grabbed his pillow.
Dudley swallowed hard.
"What are you doing?!"
The answer came in the form of a barrage of pillows thrown by Harry.
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