Chapter 23 Father's Essence, Mother's Blood, Not to Be Abandoned!
Dudley had not expected Hagrid to sneak attack him. By the time he reacted and tried to dodge, he was already a step too late.
He avoided, but not completely. The red light still struck him, to be exact, landing squarely on his firm, muscular backside.
Stereotypes kill. In any situation, one should never judge a person's behavior solely from stories, because reality may turn out very different from what the tales describe.
Take Rubeus Hagrid, for example.
In Dudley's impression, Hagrid was a kind and gullible man, easy to bully. So after he had openly blasted Hagrid's wand away, he had not taken further action.
But elephants, you know them? On screen they appear gentle and intelligent. In truth, when they go into heat and lose control, they become terrifying, attacking without warning. Rhinos, buffalo, all are trampled to death. Every year, many humans die from such sudden rampages. They are lifted with the trunk, smashed on the ground, and crushed underfoot.
So never say, "If you don't provoke it, why would it attack you?" Nor, "Just avoid it during mating season." Such words are as empty as saying bullying needs two hands to clap, for ordinary people cannot tell when an elephant is in heat.
Perhaps the comparison was not exact, but Hagrid was simple-minded—so simple that he might unconsciously act in ways you never expected.
This was reality giving Dudley his first lesson.
Humans are complex creatures. In certain times and places, they might do the most unexpected things. One must never judge another's threat by impression alone.
Suddenly Dudley's pants tore apart. At the base of his spine, a tail sprouted rapidly—a curled, thin pig's tail that wagged left and right. The sight was ridiculous.
Without question, it was a Transfiguration Curse. Thankfully it was incomplete and imperfect, or else instead of growing a tail, he would have turned into a pig outright.
"Oh my God!"
Petunia and Vernon both cried out. Harry felt his aunt sway as if she were about to faint, and hurried to support her.
'No sense of honor?'
The moment Dudley saw the tail, his pupils shrank sharply, his cheeks flushed red, his heartbeat quickened, and every muscle in his body tensed. A fire seemed to burn in his chest, energy flooding through him, anger filling him so completely he could hardly control himself.
It was not only anger but fear. Anger at the sneak attack, and fear that he had almost become a pig.
Dudley, who had read many magic books, knew Transfiguration was an extremely dangerous discipline. It could even cause irreversible harm to the caster. Some wizards were crushed by cows they themselves had conjured. Some, failing at the spell, turned into animals and could never change back.
To hold reverence for every spell—this was something every spellcaster must learn.
He did not know how to brew a potion to reverse Transfiguration. Nor would he beg his opponent to undo the curse. He wanted to etch this lesson into his body, to warn himself forever.
This was no fairy tale children's story, no world where everything turned out well. This was reality—the world where "when a man is killed, he dies."
So Dudley did something that stunned everyone present.
With a roar, he grabbed the tail that still wagged behind him. With grim resolve in his heart, he pulled with all his strength. Blood instantly gushed from his backside, streaming down his thighs and staining his pants deep red.
The tail, together with a piece of flesh, was ripped free. Dudley stuffed both the bloody flesh and the tail into his mouth and swallowed them in a single gulp.
The Dursleys and Harry were stunned, and even Hagrid was shocked. None of them expected Dudley to react so violently.
For a moment the room fell into terrifying silence. Only the dim firelight flickered in the hearth, illuminating Dudley's face. His once chubby features sharpened into hard angles, veins bulging like coiled dragons. His round eyes glowed faintly like a cat's, and when he parted his mouth, two rows of blood-stained white teeth gleamed. A misty breath hissed through his teeth, chilling to the bone.
The house was silent but for the crackle of firewood and the heavy rasp of Dudley's breathing, like countless mice scurrying within the walls. The sight was dreadful, like a demon crawling out of the depths of the Netherworld.
Harry shuddered. He had seen this side of Dudley once before—the night Dudley saved him from human traffickers. That Dudley had returned.
The one feared by street thugs, the nightmare that haunted every trafficker in Surrey.
Ghostly Dudley.
Harry knew Dudley was truly enraged.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" Hagrid cried, waving his hands in panic, ignoring the wound in his shoulder.
He himself did not know why he had attacked Dudley without thinking. He only wanted to teach the boy a small lesson, to stop him from preventing Harry's departure and allow him to fulfill Dumbledore's mission. Hurting him was never his intention.
Perhaps it was only a subconscious act, but it no longer mattered.
Dudley's throat tightened, and in the next instant he moved. His speed was terrifying—so fast Vernon and Petunia felt only a gust of wind before he was already before Hagrid.
He drove a straight punch into Hagrid's chest. LV3 Boxing!
Unprepared, Hagrid took the blow full on, toppling like a collapsing mountain. The shabby house trembled with the impact.
Dudley struck and immediately retreated. Even so, he could feel his knuckles ache as if he had punched steel. The defense of a half-giant was absurd. Even with a skill-boosted full-force strike, all he managed was to knock Hagrid down. Against an ordinary man, he would have killed in one blow.
But Dudley was far from finished.
As Hagrid struggled back up, Dudley's chilling voice sounded behind him.
"Are you ready? I'm coming!"
The murderous tone made Hagrid freeze. A sharp pain shot through his right hand, and he dropped the red umbrella instantly.
This time it was not merely knocked loose, but seized and flung far away by Dudley.
First, cripple the wand. Without the nuisance of magic, the fight could continue properly.
In Dudley's eerie blue-glowing eyes, excitement flickered like fire.
"Brothers and sisters—let's just fight!"
(End of this chapter)
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