I am Harry Potter's Cousin, Big D

Everyone else was surprised, but Harry felt it was only natural. He had never seen a cat that Dudley couldn't handle. Dudley had one hundred percent 'true damage' against cats. Whether it was his technique for petting them or his innate affinity, it was infinitely high. As long as it was a cat, it would definitely prostrate itself at Dudley's feet and expose its belly to him. As for Dudley talking to the cat, Harry thought it was perfectly normal. He could talk to snakes, so there was nothing strange about Dudley talking to cats.

Dudley could talk to Mrs. Norris not because he was some kind of cat whisperer, but because of his knowledge of magical creatures. Mrs. Norris wasn't an ordinary cat; ordinary cats didn't live as long as she did. This creature had been with Filch for twenty years and showed no signs of aging. She had the bloodline of some magical creature, and this bloodline accounted for a significant proportion of her being. At least, Dudley could easily understand what she was saying.

After petting Mrs. Norris for a while, Dudley reached into the small pouch at his waist and pulled out a small bottle. At that moment, Mrs. Norris sprang up from the ground, her eyes fixed intently on the small bottle in Dudley's hand. It was filled with dried fish.

Delicious Dried Fish (Perfect), the Data Eye displayed truthfully.

Dudley had made these himself after brewing potions, when he had nothing else to do. The fish were caught from the Black Lake on his way back from exercising. He didn't know if it was because it was near the Forbidden Forest, but the fish in the Black Lake were exceptionally delicious. Since there weren't many cats in the castle, and most of them were kept by the young witches in Ravenclaw, Dudley, who was used to petting cats, felt very uncomfortable until he met Mrs. Norris on his way back to the dormitory after exercising in the evening. Most of the dried fish he made ended up in Mrs. Norris's stomach.

Normally, when she was with Filch, Mrs. Norris maintained her aloof demeanor, but if Filch wasn't around... Mrs. Norris would be just as she was now. This description feels a bit off, somehow.

"These dried fish are all yours," Dudley said, vigorously rubbing Mrs. Norris's little head, while Mrs. Norris concentrated on savoring the delicious dried fish, finishing them off in no time. Having eaten her fill, Mrs. Norris licked the tiny bits of residue left between her paws with satisfaction, then shook her body and meowed at Dudley a few times.

"Let's go," Dudley announced. "Mrs. Norris says she'll take us back, and we definitely won't be discovered." With Mrs. Norris, this little traitor, leading the way, they would definitely be able to avoid Filch.

The young wizards behind them exchanged glances. Was this a defection?

Dudley raised an eyebrow at that moment, looking around with a challenging air. He wanted to see who had arranged this, why they had to go to the fourth floor, and if there was anything else arranged on the way back. Even if you really wanted Filch to come out, Dudley was confident that he could hit him with a 'Stupefy' before the other party could react. Yes, the physical kind.

With Mrs. Norris leading the way, the rest of the journey went very smoothly, with no incidents. The group quickly reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Filch, Peeves, and even Professor McGonagall, whom Dudley had half-expected, did not appear. It was as if the sudden change in the stairs, the sudden disappearance of the path below, and the sudden appearance of Mrs. Norris were truly just coincidences. But Dudley didn't believe it. A series of coincidences happening together was no longer a coincidence.

After seeing Hermione and the others enter the common room, Dudley quickly returned to the Slytherin common room with Malfoy. Similarly, nothing happened on the way back, and it was even faster than their return to Gryffindor. Dudley nodded thoughtfully, seemingly understanding something.

Early the next morning, Dudley got up as usual. After completing fifty sets of push-ups, thirty sets of barbell rows, twenty sets of squats, and fifteen sets of dumbbell flyes, Harry and Malfoy arrived as scheduled, followed closely by Hermione. Even Ron followed along.

"It's still early. Let's do a warm-up set first." Dudley's warm-up was high-intensity training for most people. Malfoy finished the fastest, followed by Harry, and finally Hermione. As for Ron? Little Ron gave up before even finishing the first set.

"The rules of the match are one-on-one. You can use any method to knock out your opponent until they give up or I declare the winner."

"Any objections?"

Harry and Malfoy nodded, pulled out their wands, and stared intently at each other.

"Are you really going to fight? Won't this be bad?" Hermione said softly. She wanted to mediate but didn't know how.

"Boys fight," Dudley said, shaking his head. "If you don't like someone, you fight them. Any problems get resolved that way." The friendship between men, he believed, was often forged through physical combat. Fists were proof of friendship. "Don't worry, Hermione. There are plenty of potions."

Hermione: Boys are so strange.

What spells do first-year Hogwarts students learn? So far, Professor Flitwick had only taught three spells. Lumos, the Unlocking Charm (Alohomora), and...

"Aguamenti!"

Malfoy took the lead, being the first to wave his wand at Harry. His wand tip first sparked a tiny flame, then dripped a few drops of murky liquid like a leaky faucet. It felt more like an irritating dribble than a proper spell. At this stage, it was still a bit difficult for young wizards to successfully cast spells. Again, not everyone was Hermione Granger.

Seeing Malfoy cast a useless spell, Harry naturally wouldn't miss this excellent opportunity, so he also drew his wand and aimed it at Malfoy.

"Aguamenti!"

Harry's spell was slightly better than Malfoy's, but only marginally. A thin stream of water shot out from the tip of his wand, arcing gracefully through the air and hitting Malfoy squarely in the face.

Malfoy was not to be outdone. He put all his strength into waving his wand again, and this time he finally managed to spray water. He also sprayed Harry in the face. Their mastery of spells was about equal. Malfoy, who had grown up in the wizarding world, didn't know many more spells than Harry. Lumos and the Unlocking Charm were clearly not offensive spells, so the only one they could use was Aguamenti.

They went back and forth, one after the other, each time waving their wands with great effort, fighting with gusto. However, their spell battle looked like something else in Dudley's eyes. It felt like... a squirt gun fight.

Soon, both of them realized that this foolish method wouldn't hurt the other, so they both gave up their wands and rushed at each other, switching to hand-to-hand combat. This was where the advantage of training became apparent. Although Harry had grown up with Dudley, he only watched and never actively trained. Although Malfoy had spent less time with Dudley, he had still trained for a while.

So, after a round of wild punches, Malfoy won by a narrow margin.

And from that day on, Harry also joined Dudley's training group.

[Chapter Complete]

***

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