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The Hogwarts Express arrived smoothly at the station, and the students got off the train one after another.
Ron, Malfoy, Neville, and the others said goodbye to Dudley and the other two in turn.
Dudley and the others carried their luggage out of the station.
This time, the Grangers and Vernon were not late. The three of them had been waiting early outside King's Cross.
Hermione got into Mr. Granger's car, while Dudley and Harry got into Vernon's car.
Dudley and Hermione agreed to meet again in two weeks.
Apart from the color, the two cars were basically identical. They had clearly bought the same model together. Incidentally, the boot was full of fishing equipment. One look was enough to tell that Vernon had often gone fishing with Mr. Granger.
Also incidentally, Vernon's belly had shrunk quite a lot.
"Why didn't Mum come?" Dudley asked as soon as he got into the car.
By all logic, Petunia would not have let Vernon come alone. She would definitely have come with him. Since she was not here, something must have happened.
"You'll know in a while," Vernon said mysteriously. "It's a surprise."
After that, no matter how Dudley and Harry asked, he refused to reveal another word.
However, the smile on his face, which he could not stop no matter what, betrayed him. It seemed to be something good.
Before long, Dudley and the others returned to that familiar old place.
Number Four, Privet Drive.
They carried the luggage into the house one by one. Because of the Undetectable Extension Charm, the luggage they brought did not look like much.
This time, when Dudley came back, he sensed something slightly off. There seemed to be many different things in the house.
Petunia was not in the kitchen.
Petunia was not in the sitting room.
Petunia was still not upstairs.
Just as Dudley was about to ask Vernon, Petunia slowly walked out of the downstairs bedroom.
Dudley froze on the spot.
Petunia's originally flat stomach was now swollen into a large round curve, as if several balls had been placed inside.
"This is..."
Dudley looked at Petunia in a daze. Harry was also stunned by the scene before him.
He truly had not expected this.
"Pregnant?"
If he could not understand even this, then he would be genuinely foolish. It could not be that Petunia had grown a tumor in her stomach.
"Congratulations, Dudley, Harry. You are going to be big brothers."
Petunia gently stroked her belly and spoke softly.
Needless to say, this was definitely Vernon's doing.
"When is the due date?"
Dudley and Harry hurriedly helped Petunia to a seat, afraid she might be hurt in the slightest.
"About two weeks from now."
Two weeks until the end of a ten-month pregnancy. That meant not long after he and Harry went to Hogwarts...
It was all Vernon's fault!
"Heh heh. I told you it was a surprise, didn't I? Well, boys? How is this surprise?"
Vernon had finished parking the car and came in from outside.
It truly was a very large surprise.
'I'm going to be a big brother again.'
Dudley was actually very happy. Then he began thinking about whether he should change houses for Vernon and Petunia.
The environment on Privet Drive was quite good, but it was still somewhat far from the city. Going to the hospital was not very convenient.
"Hey, boys, you're hungry, aren't you? I'll cook today."
Vernon tied an apron around his waist and picked up the spatula Petunia usually used.
"Taste my cooking. I've learned a lot lately."
This was the first time they had seen Vernon cook. Usually, Vernon was too lazy even to heat bacon.
Now he said he was going to cook. Could it be eaten?
Perhaps sensing their doubtful gazes, Vernon grumbled with great dissatisfaction, "Don't underestimate me. Who do you think was responsible for cooking before Petunia and I got married?"
"Today, I'll show you what I can do."
"A feast for dinner."
Then came the question. Why had that stopped after marriage?
Dudley and Harry soon learned the answer.
Vernon drove everyone out of the kitchen and spent a long while banging around inside by himself before carrying today's dinner out.
Slightly burned fried eggs, a large basin of sauerkraut and sausages stewed into mush, a lump of black unidentified matter, and a tin of smoked fish. That was the entire meal.
"..."
Dudley and Harry looked silently at the food on the table, whose appearance was truly miserable. For a moment, they did not know where to begin.
Harry looked at Dudley. Dudley looked at Petunia. Petunia shook her head, indicating that she was not hungry.
Helplessly, Dudley used his fork to take a tiny bit of sauerkraut and put it into his mouth.
Then Dudley fell silent.
At that moment, it was as if he had tasted sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy, countless flavors blooming across his tongue. Only one key seasoning was missing.
Salt.
Harry saw Dudley take a bite, so he also picked up his fork. First, he absolutely did not touch the black lump. He also did not touch the sauerkraut and sausages Dudley had just eaten, nor did he touch the tin of smoked fish. Instead, he aimed at the fried egg.
Something like a fried egg, no matter how badly made, should not be inedible, right?
The moment the fried egg entered his mouth, he knew he was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
The fried egg had sugar in it. A lot of sugar. It was cloyingly sweet.
"My cooking is good, isn't it?" Vernon saw the two brothers stop speaking after eating and thought they had been stunned by his skill. Shamelessly, he said this with pride.
They had indeed been stunned. They had not expected it to be that bad.
Although Vernon's attitude in voluntarily taking on housework was good, unfortunately, he had no talent for it.
Dudley silently stood up and walked into the kitchen.
No wonder Petunia had stopped letting him cook. If they ate this every day, sooner or later someone would end up with a ruined stomach.
Before long, Dudley came out carrying several plates of fragrant dishes.
Petunia and Harry both understood the situation very sensibly. Each picked up their cutlery and began enjoying the food.
Only Vernon kept grumbling with great dissatisfaction.
Until he took a bite of what he had made, then took a bite of what Dudley had made.
After that, he stopped talking and lowered his head to eat.
As the saying went, comparison was the quickest way to humiliation.
Dudley secretly decided that until Petunia gave birth, he would be responsible for the meals.
Otherwise, it would not be good for the baby's development.
Follow Vernon around, and you would miss nine meals in three days.
After resting for a while after dinner, Dudley, Harry, and Vernon went into the garden.
It was time to begin the nightly routine workout again.
"Don't think your father only knows how to eat. I have been exercising every day." To make himself more convincing, Vernon deliberately removed his shirt and forcefully waved his thick arm.
Regardless of how intense Vernon's training was, the fact that he had been exercising was true. His muscle density had increased, and his body fat had dropped by quite a bit.
Although he still looked fat, he should actually be considered strong.
Vernon was still standing there, smug with himself, until he saw Harry remove his shirt to train.
Harry looked thin and small, but beneath his clothes, he was full of muscle. After all, he had followed Dudley in training for two years. If he had not built at least that much muscle, it would have been embarrassing.
Then Dudley removed his shirt.
Vernon was silent for a while.
Then he quietly put his shirt back on.
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