[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]

  ---------------------------------------

  Harry sat cross-legged o, now ihe ste cupboard uhe stairs.

  Although he had beeant to enter, how could a seven-year-old child resist two adults and a fat boy who weighed more than some grown men?

  “But I 't let this be. There are less than two weeks until September, when I start sed grade. If my cssmates e over to py or if the teacher visits, should I tell them I live in a cupboard?" thought Harry

  Seven-year-old Harry didn't realize that if his cssmates or teachers at school found out he lived in a cupboard, his aunt and uncle, who stantly bullied him, would be in trouble.

  He wasn't aware of that, he was only w how he could vince Auunia and Uncle Vernon to let him move bato the small room he hadn't even liked that much before.

  Harry was very smart, but his intelligence was still within the range of ordinary people. In the end, he was just a very clever seven-year-old.

  That’s why the solution he came up with embarrassed him so much that, years ter, he wao scratch the walls every time he thought about it. Yet, Harry was grateful for his choice because, in the end, things turned out well.

  ————————————

  "Dudley, I have something to discuss with you!" Harry approached Dudley with a shy expression and a smile. He would never have dohis before, Dudley and his friends usually treated him like a pung bag. Harry always stayed as far away from Dudley as possible.

  This move obviously made Dudley a little unfortable. The chubby boy stared at Harry bnkly and asked, almost instinctively, "What do you want to talk about?"

  "It’s w!"

  Harry was thrilled. Of course, he had prepared before daring to approach Dudley.

  This was a small form of mental magic called mind trol, which could influehe emotions of people with weak wills. Harry had tested it before, his mental power (a cept from the Aegean world) was still too weak, meaning he couldn’t affect strong-minded individuals. Normal adults, like Auunia and Uncle Vernon, were pletely immuo his influence.

  So, the only ones he could affect were children or small animals?

  Harry had tested it, and Mrs. Figg’s cats proved it worked, at least on small creatures. So, he decided to try it on Dudley.

  The defenseless Dudley froze for a moment as Harry approached, and that was all the opportunity Harry’s mental magieeded to slip in.

  "Dudley, you know there’s going to be a test at the start of the school year, right? Are you ready?" Harry felt like the Big Bad Wolf trig the little pigs.

  Dudley’s expression instantly twisted in disfort. Elementary school subjects were incredibly simple, at least, that’s what Harry thought. But all the energy Dudley got from food was used to fuel his physical growth, especially horizontally. That had affected his brain fun to some degree.

  He wasly stupid, but he certainly wasn’t bright. On top of that, he hated studying, so his grades were terrible.

  Every test was almost a nightmare for Dudley because the results were sent home by letter.

  These were the only times that Uncle Vernon or Auunia ever argued with Dudley, although occasionally, they did it together. For example, ihird monthly exam of the previous school year, Dudley had scored a zero in math.

  "You have a solution?" Dudley asked hesitantly. He was fused about why he was suddenly willing to listen to this cousin he didn’t even like. A, something about what the other boy was saying made sense.

  Seeing Dudley’s expression, Harry knew he had taken the bait. Smiling, he said, "I have a special study method that help you quickly master the material you need for the exam. But I have to get bay old room."

  Dudley eyed him suspiciously before finally raising his fist. "If you dare lie to me, I’ll use you as a pung bag to test out my new boxing gloves."

  "No problem!" Harry replied proudly.

  That night, Dudley cried and screamed for Harry to return to his inal room, which made Uncle Vernon furious. Even though Harry's bed was foldable and easy to move, carrying it up and dowairs was still a difficult task, especially for someone of Uncle Vernon’s size.

  However, except during exam season, Dudley was the absolute favorite in the household. So, in the end, Harry got his small room back, though half of the space was still taken up by Dudley’s miseous junk.

  Harry was more than satisfied. As for what to do with Dudley , he already had a pn.

  A Special Study Method?

  Of course, Harry had no iion of actually teag Dudley anything!

  But he did have a bit of magical shorthand. This spell allowed people to retain a rge amount of information in a short period of time. Its inal purpose was to help wizards memorize highly plex magical arrays.

  After all, drawing a magic circle had to be pleted within a limited timeframe. The sequences involved were often so intricate that even experienced wizards struggled to memorize them all. So, when necessary, they would sult books or notes, use the shorthand spell to it the circle to memory, and then transcribe it.

  The only drawback? The spell’s effects sted for just seven days, and since school started iember, with the first exams happening around that time, it erfect timing.

  Harry was thrilled. It was the first time he had truly used magid both the process and the results felt amazing.

  Of course, dealing with Dudley alone wasn’t enough. If he truly wao live fortably in this house, he had to get along with his aunt and uncle as well. But that was easier said than done, Auunia and Uncle Vernon seemed to despise him from the depths of their souls.

  Still, Harry now had leverage.

  All he needed was time.

  ————————————

  Four Years Later

  The Dursleys, who lived at 4 Privet Drive, had bee the most admired and envied family iire neighborhood.

  It wasn’t just because they were now the richest household on the bloo, what truly set them apart was the fact that both of their children had outstanding academic records.

  It was unbelievable.

  That chubby boy, who usually looked like a plete fool, somehow aced every test.

  At one point, his teacher even suspected him of cheating. But after multiple observations, it was firmed that he definitely wasn’t. In the end, the teacher cluded that Dudley was simply an exam-focused student, not particurly remarkable in css, but exceptionally skilled when it came to takis.

  Of course, if that were the only thing, the neighbors would have felt jealous, but not in awe.

  What truly amazed people was how kind the Dursleys were to their nepheas staying with them, just as kind as they were to their own son. It was wonderful that Mrs. Dursley treated her te sister’s child so warmly, but what was even more rare and admirable was that Mr. Dursley did the same.

  It was true that, over the years, Vernon aunia had been very good to Harry.

  But to say their kindness was genuine?

  ly.

  The real reasoreated Harry well urely motivated by profit.

  For Auunia, it was simple: she was extremely pleased with Dudley’s sistently high test scores ever since he started spending time with Harry. But even more than that, what truly delighted her was that Dudley never got siymore.

  Harry himself had never been sick since childhood. The only exception was a high fever when he was seven years old, but apart from that, he had never even caught a cold.

  Dudley, despite being chubby and strong, used to fall ill at least two or three times a year, which was normal for a child.

  However, ever since he started spending time with Harry, he hasn't gotten sick even once.

  That alone saved the family a fortune in medical expenses, even though their ine had signifitly increased over the past few years.

  And speaking of increased ine.

  That was exactly why Uncle Vernon’s attitude toward Harry had ged.

  It all started three years ago, when Vernon’s pany, Grunnings, was peting for a major iional tract. At the time, the pany had several strong petitors, and no clear advantage over them.

  For weeks, Vernon had been in a foul mood, snapping at everyone, even Dudley wasn’t spared.

  The turning point came on the final day of a crucial multi-party meeting, where eapany had to present and defend their proposal. As a supervisor, Vernon was in charge of presenting on behalf of Grunnings, and he was extremely nervous about it.

  That m, Harry handed him a tiny paper star, saying it would bring him good luck.

  The Dursleys hated anythiely uific, so Vernon angrily rejected it. But Dudley, being Dudley, made a huge fuss and stuffed the star into Vernon’s briefcase.

  Vernon, not wanting to waste energy arguing with his so slide. He po deal with Harry ter, maybe even scold Dudley a little while he was at it, to remind everyone who was in charge.

  But then, something incredible happened.

  That day, Vernon’s luck was unbelievable.

  He had a smooth drive to work, avoiding traffid narrowly missing a group of troublemakers oreet.

  During the presentation, he spoke with fidence, debated skillfully with the academiel, and impressed everyone in the room. His performance even brought honor to the entire pany.

  The deal was secured.

  When Vernouro his offid began s through his briefcase, his eyes fell oiny paper star at the bottom.

  Had this been a oime ce, he wouldn’t have thought much of it.

  But it kept happening. Again and again, for the hree years, every time Vernon had a major business opportunity, things would mysteriously go his way.

  Until earlier this year, when Vernon secured a massive deal that earned him a promotion to General Manager of the entire Northern Region.

  At that point, he had no choice but to believe it.

  Maybe, just maybe, the boy he had despised all these years really did have some kind of strange gift.

  "After all... his parents…"

  Vernon violently shook his head, pushing away thoughts that had no business being in his mind. He refused, absolutely refused, to think about anythied to magic.

  "Luck! Luck is enough!"

  That was the most absurd cept Vernon was willing to accept.

  If Vernon had a more vivid imagination, perhaps he would have thought of an ostrich at that moment, because his mentality was exactly like one.

  Burying his head in the sand.

  As if that would protect him from the dangerous reality lurking just outside his field of vision.

  Of course, Harry wasn’t actually making people luckier. Fairy tales might talk about wizards who could brew liquid luck, but Harry didn’t have that ability.

  What he had used on Vernon was a small mental spell called Renewal.

  For years, Harry had been experimenting with magi the Aegean world, but elemental magic didn’t seem to work well oh. It wasn’t pletely useless, but the effects were severely weakened.

  However, mental magic was a different story.

  This particur spell, Renewal, could temporarily enhance a person’s mental state, making them more alert, eid quick-thinking.

  The effects included:

  -Faster reasoning-Sharper memory-Increased energy levels

  The side effect?

  A deep exhaustion that would st a day or two afterward.

  That day, during the presentation, Uncle Vernon had been at his absolute peak, sharp, persuasive, and brimming with fidence.

  Naturally, things had gone perfectly.

  And as for the fatigue afterward?

  Well, it was only natural to feel exhausted after an intense work period, wasn’t it?

  At least, Uncle Vernon had never questio. He was too busy believing it was just luck.

  A very stubborn ostrideed.

  ******

  Support me and be 20 chapters ahead of webnovel:

  patreon./DynBriak