NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 3: Chapter 3 - Letter.
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[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
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Harry was surprised to discover that he could talk to snakes.
This wasn't like speaking to dogs or cats, where you could use simple commands to make them perform actions or respond in limited ways. With snakes, he could actually communicate. The snake could understand what he said, and he could understand what the snake said in return. It was truly magical.
He had almost managed to separate the memories and fragments of knowledge that belonged to Neil from the Aegean world. There was a lot of chaos among them, most of the information was fragmented and couldn't form a coherent system.
This was probably because Neil's soul had been severely damaged. Harry had already come to terms with the fact that someone from another world had somehow ended up inside his mind, once even trying to fight him for control of his body, but ultimately failing.
Although most of Neil's knowledge was scattered and disorganized, making it largely unusable, there were still many valuable bits. Harry had used them to significantly improve his family's financial status. And, of course, he had no intention of letting anyone know that he had mastered magic.
First, because his aunt and uncle despised anything related to magic, and Harry had no desire to get into unnecessary conflict with them, especially now that his life was relatively stable.
Second, because he had watched plenty of TV shows and movies where people with special abilities were eventually captured by secret government agencies, taken to labs, and experimented on. The last thing he wanted was to end up strapped to an operating table under blinding lights while some scientist in a white coat dissected him to see if he was different from an ordinary person.
Even though he had mastered several strange little spells, Harry was certain that none of them would allow him to understand what other animals were saying.
Then, earlier today, something unexpected happened.
It was the day before summer vacation, the last day of elementary school. In just a few months, both Harry and Dudley would be starting middle school.
Since it was Dudley's birthday, the Dursleys had taken him, Harry, and one of Dudley's best friends to the zoo. Near the end of their visit, they arrived at the reptile house, where Harry and Dudley became fascinated by a massive Brazilian python.
As Dudley tried to provoke the lazy, unbothered snake, Harry suddenly realized that he could understand what it was saying. More than that, the python could understand him, too.
The snake kept repeating, "I want to get out. I want to get out."
Harry stared at the thick, reinforced glass. He knew at least a dozen ways to break it silently, ensuring that no one would ever suspect he was involved. Although the magic he had accumulated over the years wasn't yet powerful enough to perform the spells he truly wanted, he had still mastered a few useful tricks.
But why would he help a giant python escape?
What if it decided to eat him?
Harry wasn't exactly large, his small body would make for an easy meal. In comparison, Dudley was much safer. With his size, even the massive python in front of them would have trouble swallowing him in one bite.
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When Harry got home, he was still thinking about the enormous snake from the zoo. It occupied his mind so much that when Dudley asked him to play one last game on the Nintendo, he refused. Normally, he would have joined happily, thoroughly beaten his older cousin, and then laughed at Dudley's frustrated, unwilling expression.
Even though Dudley was overweight, he was surprisingly athletic. Apart from running and football, where a lighter body had an advantage, Harry wasn't a match for Dudley in most sports. What frustrated Harry the most was that he couldn't even beat him in basketball.
"A big, nimble guy under the basket" that was a perfect description of Dudley!
But when it came to video games, Harry could completely crush Dudley, no matter what kind of game they played.
Although Dudley's arms and legs were quite strong, his fingers didn't seem flexible enough, at least not when using the controller. Harry, on the other hand, had quick, nimble fingers, capable of playing the piano. In fact, he had practiced piano for a while, but since he didn't progress much, he eventually gave up.
Lying in bed, Harry was lost in thought about the Brazilian python when Aunt Petunia's voice suddenly interrupted him, calling him down for dinner. He got up, ran his fingers through his slightly messy hair, and tied it back.
Yes, Harry had long hair, down to his waist.
It was one of his little quirks, something he used to mislead people.
Before the age of six, Harry had been an adorable little boy, just cute, nothing more. But after turning six, everything changed drastically.
His facial features became softer, his eyes grew larger, his chin became more pointed, his nose slightly upturned, his lips smaller, and his skin noticeably paler. But the most remarkable change was his eyes. Once a bright emerald green, they gradually shifted to a light brown.
All of these changes happened in just one year, between the ages of six and seven. If you compared a photo of Harry before six to one taken after seven, almost no one would believe it was the same person.
The transformation was so strange that Harry sometimes wondered if it had something to do with the magic he had learned from Neil.
Then, one day, Aunt Petunia accidentally remarked, "Harry, you look so much like your mother when she was a child, except for the eyes."
That was when it hit him, he really did resemble his mother as a child.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a single photo of his mother or father anywhere in Aunt Petunia's house, so he had no way to see for himself just how much he looked like her.
And this is where things got interesting.
Although Harry had a boy's body and was completely normal in every way, his face looked remarkably like that of a girl, a very pretty girl.
In the UK, students often changed schools or transferred frequently, with more than half of the classmates being replaced every couple of months. Because of this, many new students were confused about Harry's gender.
Many girls assumed he was one of them and would invite him to play.
Many boys also approached him, thinking the same thing.
However, while his face resembled a girl's, his voice was unmistakably that of a boy. To make things even funnier, his voice had started changing early, becoming rough and deep. Whenever he spoke, he would often startle new classmates. Harry found this incredibly amusing, so he simply decided to keep growing his hair out.
His hair was in excellent condition, even better than that of most girls, cascading down his back like a waterfall. And since his body was still small and hadn't changed much yet, people continued mistaking him for a girl, only to be shocked when he spoke.
Harry thought the whole situation was hilarious. And it wasn't just him, Dudley and the others found it amusing too.
Even the students who had been tricked ended up enjoying the joke. In fact, many of them eagerly watched to see others fall into the same misunderstanding. Of course, how much of their amusement came from wanting others to be fooled so they wouldn't feel as stupid themselves was another question entirely.
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia weren't exactly pleased with Harry growing his hair out, but in the end, they allowed it. And in doing so, Harry's status in the family became clear.
He casually smoothed his hair, put on his glasses, he had been slightly nearsighted for a while now, though not severely. It was probably due to all the time he spent reading comic books and playing video games.
During dinner, Aunt Petunia announced that both Harry and Dudley would be attending her and Uncle Vernon's old school, Smeltings Academy. It was a prestigious institution with strict admission requirements. If Dudley had tried to get in without Harry's help, Uncle Vernon would likely have had to pay thousands of pounds in tuition and scholarships.
But with Harry's assistance, Dudley passed all the entrance exams effortlessly. Getting accepted was easy, and for Harry, it was no challenge at all. Even without using magic, his memory was sharp enough to handle almost any test.
Smeltings Academy uniforms were elegant and of excellent quality, but they were also quite expensive. Students could either order them directly from the school or purchase them independently. The former was costly, but the latter could be significantly cheaper if they found the right supplier.
During dinner, Aunt Petunia discussed where to get tailored uniforms. She was clearly reluctant to let the school make extra money off her, especially after they had already profited from her once.
Uncle Vernon, however, saw no need to rush. Both Harry and Dudley were growing fast, and if they bought the uniforms now, they might not fit properly by the time school started in two months.
Aunt Petunia admitted that his reasoning made sense, but Dudley insisted that, for now, they at least get him a Smeltings stick. His parents didn't object. In fact, ever since Dudley's academic performance had drastically improved with Harry's help, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon rarely denied him anything.
So, in the third week of summer vacation, on the first day of July, Dudley got his cane.
Harry wasn't particularly interested, it wasn't a necessity. And since he never brought it up, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon simply pretended it wasn't an issue, saving themselves a considerable amount of money.
Harry didn't mind in the slightest. He and Dudley had a great relationship. At first, it was because Harry had helped Dudley improve his grades before the entrance exams, but over time, they had simply become close cousins who had grown up together.
And, if Harry ever wanted to mess around with it, Dudley's cane could easily end up in his hands.
As it turned out, Dudley was only interested in his cane for about a morning. By the afternoon, he had already tossed it into some corner of the house.
Instead, he eagerly dragged Harry back to play video games. Though the outcome was predictable, a crushing defeat, he refused to give up, swearing that next time, he would beat Harry.
The two of them played until late at night, and as a result, they stumbled downstairs for breakfast the next morning, yawning and half-asleep.
Harry went to the front door to collect the newspaper and check for any mail.
Ever since Uncle Vernon's promotion, the amount of mail arriving at the house had increased significantly. Many were letters from his business colleagues or partners wanting to stay in touch. There were also several bills, mostly from Aunt Petunia's credit card purchases, which had noticeably increased since Uncle Vernon became a regional manager.
Sure enough, when Harry picked up the newspaper, he found four or five envelopes along with it.
Three were from the bank, addressed to Aunt Petunia, and one was for Uncle Vernon. But the last one.
The last letter was addressed to him.
This wasn't the first time Harry had received a letter.
He often got notes from his classmates, both boys and girls, though mostly from girls.
Harry was, undeniably, very handsome. Though he had grown older and no longer looked like a girl as he had in previous years, he was still strikingly attractive. Because of this, many girls wanted to spend time with him. But Harry, having no particular interest in girls yet, never really saw the appeal.
Even though receiving letters wasn't unusual, this one made him instantly more alert, shaking off his drowsiness.
Because the address on the envelope was unusually precise:
Surrey, Little Whinging, 4 Privet Drive, 2nd Floor, Second Room on the Left – For Mr. Harry Potter.
This was the first time Harry had ever seen a letter addressed so specifically to his exact bedroom.
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