After a quick visit to Ollivanders, the group crossed the street to a pet shop. Dudley suddenly slapped his forehead. "Harry, I almost forgot! I never got you a birthday present the other day."
"Harry's birthday?" Hermione asked. "When was it?"
"Just the day before yesterday," Dudley replied.
Hermione nodded, then suddenly suggested, "What if Dudley and I get you a pet together?" She had only just met Harry, and if not for Dudley, they wouldn't know each other at all. But Harry was Dudley's cousin, and that was all that mattered.
A pet! The word instantly piqued Harry's interest. Aside from the spiders he'd been forced to live with, he'd never had a pet.
"The day's come and gone, you really don't have to..." Harry felt a little awkward. It was one thing to get a gift from Dudley, his cousin, but from Hermione, who he had just met? It didn't feel right.
"It's never been a problem before, and it won't be now," Dudley said. "Besides, Hermione's birthday is in two months. Just make sure to get her a good gift. You're the rich one among us, after all." He clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go see what they have inside." Dudley threw his arm around Harry's neck and steered him toward the pet shop.
When she heard her birthday mentioned, a slight blush appeared on Hermione's face. She smoothed her hair and followed them inside.
At the entrance to the shop, a few samba-dancing, erm, mice were attracting the attention of many young witches and wizards, but their parents were clearly not going to buy them.
"The school letter says we can have an owl, a cat, or a toad as a pet," Dudley stated, instinctively ignoring the toads. He, Harry, and even Hermione—a proper girl—all disliked them.
The pet shop was full of all sorts of creatures, but the selection wasn't very diverse, mostly consisting of rats, toads, owls, and cats. Dudley also spotted a few small lizards and a parrot that spit a puff of flame. Of course, these were just normal animals, albeit perhaps a little smarter than average. Even if they had some magical blood, they were still just regular creatures. At the very least, Dudley couldn't communicate with them using the language of magical beasts. He would have loved to get his hands on a proper magical creature, but this pet shop didn't have any.
After visiting several other pet shops on the street, Harry finally found a pet he liked: a snowy owl with black speckles.
"Why don't you get a cat?" Hermione asked. She liked cats more than owls. "Don't you like them?"
"Dudley likes cats more," Harry explained, shaking his head. "Aunt Petunia is allergic to cat hair, so Dudley doesn't have one." Harry wasn't very fond of cats either; at Mrs. Figg's house, it was Dudley who spent more time with the cats. Harry actually disliked their smell.
"Oh, that's too bad..." Hermione looked a little disappointed. She wanted a cat, but none of the ones in the shops caught her eye. Finding a cat was like finding a friend—it all came down to a feeling.
Hearing their conversation, Dudley had an idea. He turned to Hermione and asked, "If I get a cat someday, could I leave it at your house during the holidays?" Petunia wasn't fond of furry things, so he'd have to keep it at the house he'd bought himself.
"I… I suppose so," Hermione said softly. It seemed that having a male friend was new to her.
The buying power of a Galleon was quite impressive in the wizarding world. Even after a day of shopping, purchasing many items, and getting an owl, they still had plenty of money left. Of course, this was mainly because Dudley hadn't bought any rare potion ingredients. If he had, the money would have vanished instantly.
He saw some dragon liver for sale and was intrigued, but his funds were too limited. One hundred Galleons a year was plenty for school, but not enough for luxuries. Brewing potions was an expensive hobby, especially rare ones, where the ingredients alone cost a small fortune. Dragon liver, for example, cost seventeen Sickles an ounce—about twenty-eight grams. A Galleon was equal to seventeen Sickles. This was one of the main reasons there were so few Potions Masters—it was simply too expensive. Dudley not only wanted to brew these things but also wanted to taste them... dragon liver, phoenix feather, and all the rest. Dudley figured he needed to find a way to make some more Galleons before starting his culinary experiments. No matter what world you were in, as long as there was commerce, money was a necessity.
When the trio arrived at the agreed-upon meeting spot, they found only McGonagall, Petunia, and Mrs. Granger sitting in a small shop. Vernon and Mr. Granger had gone off for a drink at the Leaky Cauldron.
The Dursleys only bought the textbooks required by Hogwarts. They knew their son was independent and had given all the Galleons to Dudley to manage. The Grangers, on the other hand, had bought many extra books, knowing how much their daughter loved to read.
"Classes don't start for another month," Dudley said to Hermione. "Could I come to your house and read some of your books?" He had read some magical books at Mrs. Figg's, but as a Squib, her collection wasn't very comprehensive. Besides, no one could have too much knowledge. With a month to go before heading to a magical new world, a little extra knowledge, especially common sense, was even more important. Dudley's eyes lit up as he looked at the massive pile of books.
He admitted he was a little envious. It must have cost a fortune in Galleons.
"Of course," Hermione said, her cheeks reddening slightly at Dudley's simple request. It seemed that no boy besides Dudley had ever been to her house.
Dudley swore he only wanted to learn. He would buy the books himself, but why spend money when you could get them for free? Even if he had a small fortune in the Muggle world, he was starting over from scratch in the wizarding world. Making the most of his existing resources was crucial. He still had over a hundred Galleons left, including the hundred Galleons that Harry was entitled to, which he had legally and rightly pocketed. There was no reason to waste it.
Petunia drove the car home, as Vernon and Mr. Granger had had a bit too much to drink. According to them, the beer in the wizarding world had a unique flavour.
The next day, after his morning workout, the family was enjoying a meal at the dining table.
"Harry and I are scheduled to leave for Hogwarts on September 1st," Dudley said, clearing his throat after swallowing a sausage. "Before that, there's something I need to confess. I was originally going to wait until I was an adult to tell you."
His expression turned serious. Seeing this, Vernon and Petunia straightened up in their chairs. Harry had a pretty good idea what Dudley was about to say.
"The truth is... I started a company."