"Be careful of Dudley?"
Harry was confused. Why would the python warn him about his own cousin? Did it somehow know how badly Dudley bullied him? He couldn't quite figure it out, but he decided the python's advice was sound. He definitely needed to be careful.
Dudley watched the snake flee, its escape causing a wave of screams to erupt through the reptile house. Then, he turned back to Harry and extended his right hand.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah… No… I mean, I'm fine." Harry stared at Dudley's outstretched hand, so surprised he could barely form a coherent sentence.
Dudley was offering to help him up? Was this really the same cousin who made his life a living hell every single day? The entire situation felt deeply unreal.
Is this another prank? The thought flashed through his mind, sharp and automatic. He hesitated, but the thought of refusing and making things even worse spurred him to accept. He tentatively took Dudley's hand.
Is he going to pull me up just to throw me down again?
Before the thought could even fully form, a firm but gentle force pulled him effortlessly to his feet.
"Help! HELP ME! AHHH!"
Terrified screams echoed from nearby. Harry and Dudley both turned toward the sound.
Piers was frantically banging on the glass of the python enclosure. The pane that had mysteriously vanished had just as mysteriously reappeared, trapping him inside.
"PIERS! Son, what's happening? How did you get in there?" Piers's mother shrieked, rushing over. "Is the snake in there?! Oh my god!" Seeing her son sealed inside the enclosure, she looked ready to faint.
At the same time, Petunia and Vernon ran over, drawn by the commotion. They were relieved to see Dudley was unharmed but utterly baffled as to how Piers had ended up on the wrong side of the glass.
An hour later, they finally left the zoo. Piers was severely shaken and couldn't explain what had happened, his entire demeanor dazed and distant. Dudley, for his part, insisted that neither he nor Harry had seen anything.
Vernon and Petunia didn't press the matter. As long as Dudley was safe, that's all that mattered. They both suspected Harry was somehow involved with the disappearing glass, but they couldn't prove it. They resolved to give the boy a good, long talking-to when they got home.
But once they returned, Harry was on his best behavior. And since it was still Dudley's birthday, Vernon decided not to waste his energy. Without a clear reason to punish him, he let it slide, for now. There would be plenty of other opportunities later.
Night fell. The Dursley household was quiet, everyone asleep.
Everyone except Harry. In his cramped cupboard under the stairs, he tossed and turned, his mind replaying the day's bizarre events.
And upstairs, in his spacious bedroom, Dudley was also wide awake.
The fortune-teller, the disappearing glass… Is this really a normal world?
So many strange things had happened that he couldn't help but doubt his reality. He was terrified it was all just an elaborate illusion, a cruel prank by some cosmic entity, and that he would wake up back in that world of horror and madness.
He took out Trunsoest's Brass Book. The powerful Sealed Artifact looked like a harmless antique. He had even flipped through it earlier without any ill effect. But he knew that was just its dormant state. If the Book of Rules were ever truly awakened, the disaster it could unleash would be apocalyptic.
"I wonder why it traveled back with me," he mused, his fingers lightly tracing the intricate, uneven patterns on the bronze cover. He had some theories. He could probably use the book's power over rules to his advantage, but the risk was immense. He didn't dare try it yet. Still, if he ever found himself in true danger, perhaps the book could be his salvation. After all, this world was proving to be anything but normal.
"I hope I never have to use you," he whispered, carefully putting the book away.
Still unable to sleep, he quietly opened his door and tiptoed downstairs for a glass of water. As he passed the cupboard, he could sense Harry's presence inside but wasn't sure if he was asleep.
Without turning on the lights, Dudley navigated the dark kitchen with the ease of his heightened senses. He poured a glass of water and sat on the sofa, sipping it slowly in the quiet darkness.
Click.
The cupboard door creaked open, and Harry emerged, looking tired and annoyed. He couldn't sleep either and had decided to get some water. He didn't have a watch and had no idea what time it was. He moved through the darkness by memory, heading for the kitchen sink.
Suddenly, he froze. He sensed a dark shape on the sofa, a presence watching him.
A cold sweat broke out on his skin. A burglar? A ghost?
"Good evening, Harry."
Dudley's familiar voice cut through the silence, making Harry's heart leap into his throat.
"You… you… what are you doing here?" he stammered.
"Getting a glass of water," Dudley said calmly.
"Oh… I… I was going to get some water, too." What in the world is he doing sitting in the dark in the middle of the night? Harry complained internally. He had been genuinely terrified.
"Since you're awake," Dudley said, his voice still calm but now carrying that strange, undeniable authority, "how about we have a chat?"
Harry felt an inexplicable urge to agree. "Alright. What do you want to talk about?" He had no idea what Dudley was planning, but he felt he had no choice but to go along with it.
"The disappearing glass at the zoo today," Dudley said, his voice dropping to a near whisper in the dark room. "That was you, wasn't it?"
"Me? How could it be? I don't know what happened," Harry denied quickly, his voice shaking.
"Heh heh." Dudley chuckled softly. "How about a deal? You tell me the truth, and I'll stop bullying you. Forever."
The words hung in the air, laced with a tempting, persuasive power. "It's a good deal, isn't it?"
Harry found himself wanting, more than anything, to say yes.
***********
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