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St. George's Primary School
Once again, the familiar school.
Once again, the familiar lunch break.
Dudley lay sprawled lazily across his desk by the window, second row from the back, soaking up the sunlight. As usual, Harry had gone out to buy bread for him—after all, baguettes were Dudley's favorite snack to "keep his teeth busy."
From his pocket, Dudley pulled out a small bottle filled with a pale blue liquid.
It was the potion he had brewed the night before.
Minor Magical Enhancement Potion—the most basic version of magical enhancement potions. It was said that long-term consumption could increase magical power by an almost imperceptible amount.
Despite being a "basic" potion, the difficulty was anything but low. Dudley had spent several nights barely sleeping just to brew it successfully.
He downed it in one gulp and clicked his tongue.
The taste was strange.
Bitter.
Unpleasant.
This was one of the very few potions Dudley could currently make. Without real access to the magical world, many ingredients were simply unavailable.
Not all potion ingredients existed only in the magical world. For example, the recipe for Shimmering Potion included:
chopped daisy roots, peeled shriveled figs, finely sliced caterpillars, a drop of rat bile, and a bit of leech juice.
All of these could be obtained even by Muggles.
The problem was that without the correct procedures and extraction methods, a Muggle could never brew the potion successfully.
The Minor Magical Enhancement Potion was also a rare case—one of the few potions that didn't require magical plants or creatures. Its primary ingredient was a plant called Houttuynia, crushed into juice.
It was worth noting that despite their similar names, Minor Magical Enhancement Potion and Magical Enhancement Potion were completely different things. They should never be confused.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, Dudley grabbed his water bottle and took several large gulps.
As he drank, he silently swore to himself:
One day, I'm fixing the taste of potions.
Each ingredient by itself was tolerable.
Mixed together, though… they created something truly horrific.
Not long after drinking the potion, Dudley began to feel drowsy.
That was one of its side effects.
"I heard there's going to be an exchange student joining our class this week."
Half-asleep, Dudley heard someone say this.
It was a freckled boy sitting not far away.
"An exchange student? Here? In our class?"
A girl with two braids replied, clearly surprised.
Exchange students usually only appeared at private schools—and even then, only in special cases involving exceptionally talented students.
St. George's Primary School was a standard public school. Not bad, not great.
Its reputation had only improved in recent years… thanks to a certain someone who kept winning awards.
Even so, no exchange student would choose this school without a very specific reason.
"Which school are they from?" the braided girl asked.
"I heard it's Oxford Dragon Primary School."
As he said the name, the freckled boy instinctively lowered his voice and shot a quick glance toward Dudley. Seeing him still asleep on his desk, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Little did they know that all of this was happening right under Dudley's nose.
He was just too sleepy to care.
Otherwise, given his reputation at school, that boy might have been too scared to show up the next day.
Dudley had once been an exchange student at Oxford Dragon.
So this exchange student… was probably here because of him.
The bell rang, ending lunch break.
The teacher entered the classroom with a girl who had thick, curly brown hair.
"This is the exchange student from Oxford Dragon Primary School who will be with us for the next week—"
Dudley was barely conscious.
Between the potion's effects and several sleepless nights brewing potions, he didn't even have the energy to eat the snacks Harry had bought for him.
He only vaguely remembered the teacher introducing her.
Once I get more magical ingredients, I'm definitely making a stamina potion.
Amid scattered applause, Dudley fell into a deep sleep.
Even the teacher hesitated to wake him—and actually lowered her voice during the lecture.
Damn honor student privileges.
This continued until the end of the school day.
Dudley was still slumped over his desk, practically playing dead.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Someone knocked on his desk.
There wasn't a single person in the school who dared wake Dudley while he was sleeping.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a mass of fluffy, wavy hair.
A girl in the light-blue Oxford Dragon uniform stood there, hands on her hips, brows furrowed, staring at him with dark brown eyes full of dissatisfaction.
She looks familiar… but who is she?
Dudley's mind was a complete mess.
Next time, no more all-nighters.
"You broke your promise," the girl said, not giving him a chance to ask anything.
Her voice sounded oddly familiar.
Dudley blinked.
"…?"
"You broke your promise!"
Seeing that he was still confused, she raised her voice several notches.
"You said you'd participate in the Junior Mathematics Olympiad!"
Junior Mathematics Olympiad…
"Oh."
At that, his memories finally clicked into place.
Back when he attended Oxford Dragon, Dudley had completely dominated the school—academically and physically.
For the top students there, every day during that period felt like Black Friday, with a constant shadow looming overhead.
Only after Dudley left did they dare talk about "challenging" him.
Of course, not physically.
If it were physical, even the entire school together wouldn't stand a chance.
The challenge was academic.
They claimed they would defeat Dudley at the Junior Mathematics Olympiad.
"How's your preparation?" Dudley asked.
"I've been working on something very important lately. I didn't have time."
How could a simple math competition compare to researching magical potions?
"What could possibly be more important than the Olympiad?" the girl shot back.
"There are still three days left. I'll go over the key revision points the teachers gave us."
Without waiting for a reply, she pulled out textbooks and notes from her bag, clearly ready to tutor him right there.
"It's already late," Dudley said, yawning as he raised a hand to stop her.
"If I remember correctly, you need to take at least two buses to get home."
"Going back alone this late is dangerous. London's security has never been great."
Especially in the '90s.
Their first meeting had been a strange coincidence.
They both loved reading.
They both spent hours in the library.
They were almost always the last to leave.
Over time, they became familiar with each other.
And then Dudley took over the entire school.
She dropped from first place to second in the grade rankings.
Because of that, she once cried in secret.
And Dudley happened to see it.
From then on… he started paying attention to her.
She challenged him in multiple subjects.
Lost every single time.
"If you want to beat me that badly," Dudley said, "isn't this the perfect opportunity?"
Unlike the others who only complained behind his back, she was the only one who challenged him directly.
Out of respect—and admiration for her straightforwardness—Dudley agreed to participate in the Olympiad.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered.
He already had too many wins.
It was only fair to leave some for others.
"I'll defeat you fair and square!" she declared, lifting her chin like a proud little hen.
"Come on, we don't have time!"
She placed her notebook on the desk and grabbed Dudley's sleeve—
At the exact moment he was standing up.
Exhausted from several sleepless nights, Dudley lost his balance.
His left foot caught on his right.
His body tilted forward, colliding with her shoulder.
With the impact of his large frame, she couldn't stop herself and fell backward.
Fortunately, Dudley reacted fast.
His right hand cushioned the back of her head.
His left supported his own weight, preventing him from crushing her.
Thud.
The sound echoed through the empty classroom.
They froze in that awkward position, staring at each other.
Total silence.
Only the sound of breathing and racing heartbeats remained.
What is this… did I walk into a cliché romance scene?
"Dudley, we should—"
Footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Harry appeared at the classroom door, took one look at the scene, and immediately turned around.
"Sorry. I didn't see anything."
Ten seconds after he left…
The girl's face turned bright red.
"Ah!"
She jumped up like a startled rabbit and bolted out of the classroom.
Before leaving, she tossed back one final sentence:
"The revision materials are right there. And my dad said you should visit the clinic when you can—he said your teeth are the best he's ever seen."
Her father was a well-known dentist.
Dentists made very good money.
And using rock-hard baguettes as chew toys certainly helped.
"Hey."
At the back of the classroom, the girl popped her head back in, her wavy hair bouncing.
"My name isn't 'hey.'"
"My name is Hermione."
"Hermione Jean Granger."
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