"Did you guys see that? The way Lockhart got his wand snatched was absolutely hilarious!"
Not far from the classroom, Ron started mimicking Lockhart with exaggerated flair. He only managed to crack Harry up, though. Hermione thought he was being childish, and Malfoy reckoned Ron didn't quite capture the essence of it—not like he could have.
"By the way, D, what're you doing with those things?" Ron asked, pointing at the cage in Dudley's hands.
The Cornish pixies, stuffed back into their cage, were still chattering away noisily. A few of them even stuck their tongues out at Ron when they noticed him talking about them.
Clearly, they could understand human speech.
Unlike Fwoopers, which were basically the cockroaches of magical creatures—impossible to communicate with.
"I'm gonna use them for a little experiment," Dudley said. "Oh, and Ron, they're insulting you."
"Insulting me? What're they saying?" Ron blinked, then his eyes widened. "D, you can understand them?"
"I know a bit of pixie language," Dudley explained as they walked. "They're saying you're loud like a duck. Oh, wait, now they're calling you a red-haired duck."
"Cool!" Ron exclaimed, not about being called a red-haired duck, of course.
Nobody would stoop to arguing with a bunch of pixies.
"Just a little skill," Dudley said, feigning modesty.
'He even speaks pixie? That's D for you,' Harry and Malfoy thought at the same time.
'How does Dudley know everything? I've got to get him to teach me,' Hermione thought to herself.
---
At midnight, with the moon high in the sky, the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts were fast asleep, and the castle had fallen quiet.
After finishing his workout, Dudley returned to his dorm—the same one from his first year, still blissfully single-occupancy. Malfoy had once suggested moving in, but Dudley shut that down quick. Why share a room when you could have it all to yourself?
Especially with another bloke?
Unfortunately, Hogwarts still didn't allow co-ed dorms.
Dudley set the cage of Cornish pixies on a table. The little troublemakers, locked up all day, were still buzzing with energy.
With a flick of his finger, a faint glow shimmered from his transfiguration array, and a wooden hand reached into the cage, grabbing one of the pixies.
Cornish pixies weren't exactly cute. Their blue skin, though, reminded Dudley of a creature from a Muggle fairy tale.
Smurfs.
He'd once jokingly called himself Gargamel, hadn't he?
Of course, Smurfs were way cuter than these pests.
Dudley wanted to try his Magical Creature Taming skill.
It was a rare ability, like speaking the language of magical creatures, designed specifically for them.
The pixie he'd grabbed looked scared, or maybe it sensed something, struggling wildly against the wooden hand. But it was no use.
Dudley noticed a faint "Tameable" label hovering above its head. He activated his Magical Creature Taming skill.
The moment he did, the pixie froze as if hit by a Petrificus Totalus. A soft blue glow radiated from its head.
Dudley felt like something had been drained from him, but according to his system panel, everything was normal—no change in his magic levels. It must've been his imagination. Before he could dwell on it, he felt a new connection in his mind.
A bond had formed with the pixie.
To test it, Dudley waved his hand, and the wooden grip released the creature.
It didn't flee, attack, or pull any pranks. Instead of its usual mischief, the pixie looked at him timidly.
On a whim, Dudley pulled out some homemade magical creature feed (pixie-specific) and tossed a piece to it.
The pixie grabbed the food and started munching happily.
So, it was hungry.
The pixie polished off the first piece quickly, so Dudley handed it another.
He could sense what the pixie was feeling—not perfectly, but it was a start. With practice, he'd get better at it.
And the pixie seemed to understand his thoughts, too.
With a single thought from Dudley, the pixie fluttered up, grabbed a book from the table, and brought it to him.
Just like a familiar in the wizarding world.
Maybe even better than a familiar.
Then Dudley noticed something on his system panel. The "Tameable" label had changed to "With proper training, can evolve."
Evolve?
Evolution?
Wait, that sounded... odd.
A weird thought popped into Dudley's head.
Am I training Pokémon here? Or maybe a Digimon Tamer?
Dudley rubbed his smooth chin. So, where's my grand plan?
Maybe he could cosplay as a Druid.
Curious about what "evolution" meant—hoping it was what he thought—Dudley selected the option.
In an instant, a dazzling but gentle light enveloped the pixie. Its body began to shift, stretching and shrinking, growing taller, then shorter.
Ten seconds later, the light faded, revealing a brand-new Cornish pixie.
As the transformation completed, Dudley swore he saw tiny stars sparkling around it.
It still looked like a Cornish pixie, but it was over twice as big. Its scrawny frame had filled out, and the two antennae on its head had morphed into sharp, pointed horns.
You're telling me this isn't a Pokémon?
Dudley stared at the transformed pixie, a stray thought crossing his mind.
I'm not getting a cease-and-desist letter, am I?
The system now displayed "Cornish Pixie LV2" above its head.
"You're Pixie from now on," Dudley declared, not caring if it agreed.
Pixies were fairies in European folklore, and Cornish pixies were a type of pixie, which were also fairies, so it fit. Sort of.
And no, it was Pixie, not Pikachu. Dudley wasn't about to deal with any legal letters. If it came to that, he'd just buy out Game Freak—after all, it was only 1992.
The evolved pixie wasn't just bigger. It was stronger, faster, and seemed to have gained a special ability.
Snap. Pixie clicked its fingers, and blue powder trailed from its fingertips. A book floated into the air.
"Your power?" Dudley asked.
Pixie nodded.
Well, now Dudley was intrigued. He glanced at the cage full of Cornish pixies.
I'm barely hanging on, but I pushed out another update! Vote, people!
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