Chapter -70.
Dudley has a clever plan to sell some experimental equipment to get his hands on some gold galleons. By the time school rolls around, he's nearly spent all the galleons he got from buying back his wand, which was partly paid for and partly a gift. After all, who wouldn't want more galleons?
As the saying goes, money opens doors, and without it, you can barely move! Dudley, being a big spender, goes through potion materials like there's no tomorrow, especially since he's been brewing potions for a while now.
Weekends are a breeze because Snape covers the material costs. But from Monday to Friday, Dudley has to dig into his own pockets for potion supplies. Sure, the Forbidden Forest is full of potion ingredients, but Dudley doesn't have the time to hunt for each one on his list. Most of the time, he just grabs whatever he can find, which can be a bit hit or miss.
For instance, if he's looking for ingredient A, he might end up with a bunch of B, C, D, and E instead, and it could take him days to finally find what he needs! So, Dudley often opts to buy what he needs directly, which saves him a ton of time.
This habit of buying things has led to him spending money like it's water. Even though Dudley is pretty well-off in the Muggle world, he can't just trade that money for galleons easily. If he tried to exchange gold for galleons, he'd probably end up with nothing after dealing with the greedy goblins at Gringotts.
Selling potions for cash? No way! Each potion is essential for his survival, so that's not an option. But Dudley knows he can earn galleons easily. He just needs to make the most of his Muggle money to convert it into galleons here.
His first bright idea is to resell the experimental equipment. To get the word out, he knows he needs to advertise. So, he sends Ron and Malfoy to help build his reputation. And guess what? On the very same day, Dudley gets at least eighty orders from Malfoy, all from Slytherin!
After a couple of months of getting to know each other, the Slytherin students have figured out that Dudley is pretty easy to get along with, as long as they don't push his buttons. Plus, Dudley has racked up a lot of points for Slytherin, putting them way ahead of the other houses. Even the older students have started treating him differently, showing him kindness in both obvious and subtle ways.
The younger Slytherin students have also changed their tune about Dudley. In Slytherin, if you have skills, you're bound to get noticed. If you're really exceptional, you'll get even more recognition.
As for Dudley being a Muggle wizard? Well, since he's Harry's cousin and his aunt Lily is a real witch, some folks think he doesn't really count as a Muggle wizard.
But let's be real—if you're not bringing in the galleons, don't expect everyone to be your biggest fan. The next day, Dudley's orders triple, with many upperclassmen from Slytherin and even some young wizards from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff placing orders. Nobody wants to face Snape's wrath directly!
By the third day, the orders double again, and Dudley is raking in a nice pile of galleons.
"Are you really giving me this much?" Ron asked Harry, his eyes wide as he stared at the bag in his hands.
"Dudley said this is your share; he calls it a dividend," Harry replied with a grin as he handed the bag to Ron.
Dudley is definitely generous, especially when someone does him a favor. That's why he can get his own team of helpers to work for him. He pays them fairly and is super straightforward about it.
Not just Ron, but Hermione, Harry, and Malfoy all got a piece of the pie too.
Ron was practically shaking as he took the bag of gold coins from Harry, feeling like he was in a dream. The weight of it in his hands brought him back to reality—at least a hundred galleons!
Wow, Ron had never seen that much money before, let alone owned it! Even a sickle could last him a long time.
"Mr. Dursley is really something else," Ron said, genuinely impressed.
"Of course! I've never seen anything Dudley can't do or achieve," Harry said, beaming like he just had the best dessert ever, praising Dudley even more.
He was just shy of saying, "My dude is unbeatable!"
"What a brother, truly enviable," Ron thought, feeling a bit wistful.
"Unlike my brothers, who only know how to pick on me."
Ron couldn't help but think of his brothers. The older Weasley kids had already graduated and started working, while the younger ones still had a year to go before they started school. He thought of his closest brothers, George and Fred.
Those two had been nothing but trouble for him since they were little. He still remembered when he was very young, clutching the only doll his mom had made for him by hand. He loved that doll and never wanted to let it go.
George and Fred tried to snatch it away to play with, but Ron wouldn't budge. So, they secretly used their dad's wand to turn the doll into a giant spider! Can you imagine? The doll you love suddenly morphing into a huge arachnid with eight legs and eight eyes staring at you? Ron could still feel the shivers from that moment.
He remembered freezing in fear, his hair standing on end, and his mind going blank. He almost lost it! After that, he never touched that doll again and gave it to his little sister Ginny.
Later, George and Fred said it was just a prank, a joke; they loved to mess around. Ron forgave them because they were family, but that spider became his biggest fear, a shadow that haunted him.
"You know, I don't really need this," Malfoy said, pushing back the bag of galleons that Dudley handed him.
The Malfoy family is wealthy, but that doesn't mean Malfoy himself is rolling in it; his dad gives him a small allowance each month.
This bag of coins was a big deal for him. "But this is what you deserve," Dudley insisted, placing it right back in Malfoy's hands.
Malfoy stared at the bag, biting his lip, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Just as Dudley was about to leave, Malfoy blurted out, "Uh, can I call you D-bro like Potter does? I know that's a title only your friends can use."
"Of course! We're friends, aren't we?" Dudley winked at him, and in that moment, Malfoy realized that the face that once scared him wasn't so intimidating after all.
From the heart, he said, "Alright, D-bro." Ron had his shining moments, and Malfoy was a lot like him, having had no friends growing up.
Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.
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