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"W-What... what do you want from me?"
Faced with Dudley, Malfoy unconsciously grew more respectful.
The moment he realized Dudley wasn't someone he could provoke, he gave up any thought of resisting.
Dudley had seen plenty like him before.
There were quite a few at St. George's School.
Just spoiled brats raised by their families.
Give them an inch, and they'd take a mile without hesitation.
The best way to deal with people like that was to put them in their place—once and for all.
Dudley's fearsome reputation at St. George's hadn't come from brute force alone.
"Why don't you try guessing?"
Dudley's hand rested lightly on Malfoy's shoulder, as if brushing off dust.
Two fingers pressed against the joint between shoulder and arm.
Crack.
A faint, almost imperceptible sound of bone reached Dudley's ears.
Malfoy froze in horror.
His right arm suddenly went limp, dangling uselessly like rubber.
No matter how hard he tried to move it, nothing responded.
A sharp, stabbing pain exploded through his arm.
Malfoy, who had always lived a pampered life, had never experienced anything like this.
Tears and snot burst out instantly.
He was about to scream—
But then he felt Dudley's hand move to his neck.
The sound died in his throat.
He didn't even dare breathe too loudly.
He was terrified his neck would end up just like his arm.
No matter how poor he was academically, Malfoy understood what this meant.
That hand—without even using a wand—
Was holding his life.
Then Dudley's hand stopped just above his forehead.
Less than two centimeters away.
For the first time, Dudley made no effort to hide his malice.
At that moment, he looked like something crawling out of the deepest hell.
And for the first time in his life, Malfoy felt death so close.
He had no doubt—
If he made even the slightest wrong move, Dudley would tear him apart... and devour him piece by piece.
It was a shock that struck straight at the soul.
Malfoy felt like he couldn't breathe.
No...
It wasn't just a feeling.
He really couldn't breathe.
"P-please..."
His pale face flushed red from lack of air.
'Dark magic. He used dark magic on me. I'm going to die.'
Malfoy screamed inside his own mind.
At that moment, he remembered what his father had once told him, with unusual seriousness:
Avoid provoking Harry Potter at all costs—unless you're absolutely certain he and the people around him are ordinary.
Among pure-blood circles, the idea that Harry was a dark wizard—or that a powerful dark wizard stood behind him—was widely believed.
Some didn't necessarily think Harry himself was one.
But they were convinced someone close to him was.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain the Dark Lord's defeat.
In their eyes, only a stronger dark wizard could defeat another.
Malfoy had never imagined that Harry's cousin, Dudley Dursley, was that person.
His arm had gone limp.
He could barely breathe.
And worst of all—
He hadn't even seen Dudley use a wand.
Nor had he heard him cast a spell.
This had to be wandless, non-verbal magic.
He had once heard his father mention it in passing.
A sign of extremely advanced magical mastery.
Dursley wasn't just a dark wizard.
He was a terrifyingly powerful one.
In reality, Dudley had only released a faint but suffocating pressure.
And the breathing issue was entirely Malfoy's own problem.
When a person is overwhelmed by intense emotions like fear and tension, the body can react with muscle stiffness, spasms, and shortness of breath.
This is known as an emotional spasm.
Or a stress response.
In other words—
Malfoy was simply too tense.
His body had gone into spasm on its own.
A perfectly normal physiological reaction.
As for his arm—
Dudley had simply dislocated the joint.
For him, it was trivial.
The problem was, Malfoy didn't understand any of this.
For wizards, any unusual phenomenon was immediately attributed to magic.
That was the price of ignorance.
"I like useful people. You understand that, right? Useful people are always appreciated."
"From now on, you're my follower."
"Any objections?"
At that moment, how could Malfoy possibly refuse?
He nodded frantically.
"Y-Yes..."
Hearing that, Dudley slightly withdrew his presence.
Malfoy's stress response eased, and his breathing became smoother.
Then, unhurriedly, Dudley grabbed his right arm and lifted it slightly.
With a meaning that couldn't be ignored, he spoke in a low voice:
"Good. Then we understand each other."
"From now on, we'll get along just fine."
"Remember—there won't be a fourth time."
In the next instant, all that oppressive presence vanished.
Malfoy went completely limp.
The suffocating sensation disappeared along with it.
Even his arm returned to normal, no longer hanging uselessly.
At that moment, it felt like he had been pulled back from the brink of death.
Emotional spasms are usually temporary.
Once the emotional trigger fades, the body returns to normal.
So his current state was completely natural.
'It really was dark magic!'
'He really is a powerful dark wizard!'
Malfoy screamed inside his head.
Unfortunately, Dudley couldn't read minds.
Otherwise, he would've told him he was overthinking it.
Although fear dominated his emotions...
There was also a faint trace of something else beneath it.
Excitement.
After being completely crushed by Dudley, Malfoy didn't just feel fear.
He also developed a hint of admiration.
Simply put—
He admired strength.
Many people claimed that was a Slytherin trait.
But in reality, which house didn't admire strength?
Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff—
It wasn't about houses.
It was human nature.
"By the way, Professor Snape said your physique is too weak. I agree."
"So I've decided to include you in my training from now on."
Dudley's tone left no room for discussion.
He wasn't negotiating.
He was simply stating a fact.
"Monday to Friday. Every morning at seven."
"I don't want to see you late."
Dudley's actual training started even earlier.
Seven o'clock was the time he had set specifically for Malfoy.
The part about his weak physique wasn't something Dudley made up.
Snape had indeed said something along those lines.
Of course, he had only been praising Dudley's physical strength and casually used Malfoy as a comparison.
But at this moment, Malfoy didn't dare refuse anything.
Whatever Dudley said—
He would obey.
"To fix that unbearable personality of yours, memorize what's written here."
"Run while shouting it out loud."
Dudley handed him a piece of paper.
There were only a few short lines written on it.
After that, Dudley simply ignored him, stood up, and walked toward the door.
He still had plans that afternoon to visit Hagrid's hut with Harry and the others.
After today, Malfoy would never dare cause trouble for him again.
And more importantly—
He would be obedient.
To be fair, Malfoy's nature wasn't entirely bad.
Aside from being annoying, unpleasant, and insufferable.
Maybe—
He could become the starting point for reshaping Slytherin.
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