Support me and be 20 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
******
If one were to claim that Diagon Alley had no appeal, it would be a harsh judgment. After purchasing all the necessary textbooks, Harry mischievously led Dudley to Gringotts. The goblin-operated rollercoaster ride remained unchanged from the previous year. Dudley, gripping the handrails tightly throughout, staggered off the ride with weak legs once it ended.
"So, how was that? Pretty thrilling, right?" Harry teased.
"Don't talk to me, you little brat!" Dudley replied, his face pale. Although he seemed less shaken than last year, thanks to Hagrid's calming presence, he still had a deep psychological aversion to the 'ride.' There were no seatbelts or safety measures, which only amplified his discomfort.
"I'm never coming back to this hellhole! I, Dudley Dursley, would rather die at home than step foot in this cursed place again!"
"Oh, look! We're at Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlor. They've got a new treat – the Floaty Ghost Ice Cream Cone. It makes you float a few inches in the air. Want to try it?"
"Huh? They have something like that?" Dudley perked up immediately. He noticed a young girl taking a small lick of her ice cream cone, and then, to his amazement, she floated a few inches off the ground. After a brief flurry of excitement, her father gently led her away, as if holding a balloon.
"Yes, yes! I have to try that!" Dudley exclaimed.
"Then go ahead and get in line," Harry replied, handing Dudley a pouch filled with gold Galleons. He had already explained the wizarding currency exchange rates to Dudley, though he was skeptical that Dudley could quickly do the math. After all, Dudley had always struggled with math, and the magical currency system might overload his brain.
Harry continued walking, stopping at other shops to buy an assortment of quirky magical snacks—Pepper Imps, Skiving Snackboxes, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Cockroach Clusters. Harry packed them all away, figuring Dudley needed something to lift his spirits after the scare earlier. Just look at that pale face; he must be feeling miserable.
"Hey, Harry! Look, I'm floating!" Dudley, now holding four ice cream cones in both hands, was absolutely thrilled. The floating height was only a few inches, and he couldn't move around, but to him, the sensation of floating was incredible!
"Don't just eat ice cream; you'll get a stomach ache. Here, you need some proper sugar. How about some chocolate?" Harry offered.
"Yeah, sure," Dudley replied eagerly. Still caught up in the excitement, he didn't notice Harry pulling out a glass jar filled with something a bit unsettling. The jar was packed with lively little cockroaches, but they were made of chocolate and enchanted to behave like real cockroaches—moving around frantically when popped into your mouth.
"Open up," Harry said, his face breaking into a mischievous grin.
At that moment, Dudley, unable to free a hand from his ice cream cones, obediently opened his mouth. Without hesitation, Harry shoved a "chocolate cockroach" into Dudley's mouth.
Instantly, the chocolate cockroach began to squirm wildly, its tiny legs scraping against Dudley's soft tongue and the inside of his mouth. The ecstatic Dudley, who had been gleefully floating moments before, now turned green in the face.
Dudley stood there, stunned, not knowing how to react, but his considerate cousin Harry gave him just a little help when he needed it most.
Harry gently tilted Dudley's chin up, helping him close his mouth.
The moment Dudley's teeth clamped down on the chocolate, a slight "crunch" echoed from the candy, like the sound of a shell being crushed. His eyes widened in terror, as if they were larger than the bells on a cow. His face was written with the unmistakable message of "I will kill you for this, you little jerk." Before he could react, he saw Harry shaking an almost empty jar in front of him.
"Not bad, huh?" Harry asked with a grin.
"Ugh~" Dudley, who had somehow managed to avoid vomiting on the Gringotts rollercoaster, now lost all control at the sight of the cockroach clusters. He particularly couldn't handle watching his own regurgitated cockroaches—still wriggling—crawl out of his mouth.
"You don't like them?" Harry teased.
Dudley looked up just in time to see Harry casually popping one of the chocolate cockroaches into his mouth, chewing it with a loud crunch.
Dudley's trembling fingers hovered in the air, frozen, as his overloaded brain went completely blank. He had no idea what to do, what to say, or even what to think.
He thought, Shouldn't Harry at least be joking about feeding me cockroaches? But Harry was eating them like they were candy.
"This crispy chocolate is really good, isn't it? Why'd you spit it out?" Harry continued, sounding completely nonchalant.
"What? What is this thing?" Dudley stammered, still in disbelief.
"Choco-late," Harry said seriously, teaching Dudley the word with perfect enunciation. "It's just the kind that moves. Look, these little guys are so lively and realistic."
Dudley stared in horror at the cockroach Harry was holding between his fingers, watching it wriggle energetically. His mind, under severe distress, spun as he suddenly dropped the ice cream cone he'd been holding.
"Hey, don't waste food."
With a quick flick of his wrist, Harry caught the falling cone in midair. "Well, what do you think? Some of the wizarding world's snacks sure give you a little shock, huh?"
"Honestly, this is my first time eating cockroach clusters too, but surprisingly, they taste pretty good," Harry added.
After watching Harry happily pop another chocolate cockroach into his mouth, Dudley's face showed a mix of pity and disbelief.
"What happened to you, Harry? You were a normal person, and now you're eating… this?" he said with a resigned sigh.
Dudley, still tasting the sweet chocolate lingering in his mouth, was sure Harry wasn't kidding, but it only reinforced his concern.
"Harry..." Dudley started seriously, finally adopting a somewhat elder-brother tone. "Maybe you shouldn't stay in this magical world. If you keep going like this, I think these crazy people will turn you into one of them."
"Hahaha!" Harry laughed heartily, casually tossing the cockroach cluster jar into a corner of Diagon Alley before slapping Dudley on the shoulder.
"Who in their right mind would eat that stuff? Cockroach clusters are basically a novelty candy for those with weird tastes. If you want, you can use it as a prank, like a 'tough guy challenge'—you eat the chocolate cockroach and trick some poor sucker into eating a real one."
"That could work?" Dudley asked, his curiosity piqued.
For some reason, Dudley found himself smiling wickedly. "You know, what if I tell Dad that I'll eat this stuff if he doesn't give me more pocket money? Think he'll agree?"
With a mischievous gleam in his eyes, Dudley had already figured out his new strategy for getting more money. At Smelting's, he had a girlfriend, and with the strict boarding school system, he only got to go home during holidays. At his age, having a girlfriend wasn't a big deal, but his previously ample pocket money was starting to feel tight.
"That's a great idea! Very creative!" Harry laughed, giving Dudley a playful shoulder bump.
The two quickly slipped back into their close-brother routine. As Harry pulled out a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and ate them while walking, the two of them made faces and joked around as they tasted the bizarre flavors. By the time they arrived home, they'd barely had any beans that tasted normal, but their smiles hadn't faded for a moment.
(End of Chapter)