Chapter 5: Professor Jerry from "The Lord of the Rings"

4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

The sun rose over the neat garden in front of the house, casting its light on the number four bronze plaque on the Dursley family's front door. Sunlight quietly crept into their living room, illuminating Mr. Dursley's naturally round and large buttocks. Mrs. Dursley hummed an out-of-date tune in the kitchen, carefully preparing breakfast.

On the mantelpiece, many photos displayed scenes of their family members: the big-headed boy riding his first bicycle, enjoying a carousel at a fair, playing computer games with his father, and being kissed by his mother, depicting the image of a happy family of three.

Yet, in the corner of the mantelpiece, there was another photo, indicating that their family had more than three members. The tall big-headed boy was tightly embracing another boy, dressed in the same style of clothing, both smiling sweetly.

"One, two, three, four, two, two, three, four, three, two, three, four, one more time."

Dudley was using his thumb to support his entire body, constantly undulating on his own lawn. Large drops of sweat fell onto the emerald-green grass, soaking his entire back.

Underneath Dudley were small, deformed blades of grass trampled by him.

Harry sat on the steps of the house, hands supporting his head, quietly watching Dudley exercise, silently counting for him.

'105, 106, 200...'

Although Harry seemed afraid of his cousin, he actually liked being around Dudley because it made him feel secure, and he wouldn't be treated as if he were invisible.

When Harry silently counted to three hundred, Dudley finally stopped, fart as he sat down on the lawn.

"Comfortable."

Wiping the sweat from his face, Dudley's rosy and plump face displayed a contented expression.

Picking up two dumbbells placed aside, he continued exercising his biceps.

Each 30kg weight in Dudley's hands seemed like a plastic toy.

Whether or not one could learn magic, having a healthy and strong body was essential.

The story of the great white-robed wizard Gandalf tells us that to become an excellent wizard, one must first be able to wield a sword, cut down fierce orcs, and then learn the spell of illumination.

"Harry, you should exercise too. You're too thin and short, looks like a malnourished skinny monkey."

Dudley, while exercising, didn't forget to remind his little cousin, "Let me tell you secretly, those blond girls with big boobs love guys with muscles like me the most."

Strictly speaking, Harry was fine in all aspects except for being a bit thin. Dudley said this because he was comparing himself.

"Sure, Brother D."

Harry awkwardly replied, not knowing if he genuinely didn't understand or pretended not to.

Bright green eyes remained dull as they stared at Dudley, and no one knew what was going on in his mind.

'Feels like the Harry in the movies isn't this dull, quite smart.'

My little cousin seems a bit silly. What to do? Waiting online, urgent.

How can I deal with that noseless guy in the future?

"Dudley Dursley, there's a letter for you."

The mailman's shout interrupted Dudley's thoughts.

Handing a thick letter to Dudley, the mailman looked at Dudley's already outlined muscle-contoured abdomen with envy.

Actually, Dudley hadn't finished his sentence just now. Besides attracting blonde bombshells, muscles also attracted significant attention from the same sex.

Our great guy Xun (a Chinese author who wrote books for primary schools) once said: 'Exercising attracts the opposite sex, excessive exercising attracts the same sex.'

Dudley glanced at the sealed envelope. It was a letter from Bloomsbury Publishing.

Opening the envelope revealed a letter filled with text and a check worth £10,000.

Dudley looked around and found that besides Harry, no one was paying attention to him. He carefully tucked the check into his pocket and then opened the letter.

"Dear Professor Jerry," the opening was a complex and lengthy praise, a very official and polite language.

Jerry, Dudley's pen name.

Upon arriving in this world, the first thing Dudley wanted to do was make money.

"The world is your oyster if you have money; you can travel all over the world, without it, it's hard to move forwar, you can't even take a step." This saying held true in any world, and being a wizard was an expensive profession. Considering the Dursleys' financial struggles, Dudley, with barely any cash in his pocket, felt desperate. Thus, he chose an unconventional path: submitting novels.

Although Dudley was well aware of the classic school saying, "Master math and science, and you can go anywhere in the world," this classic saying made his ears tingle when he was in school, he wanted to explore other avenues. The problem was that Dudley's previous self didn't excel in math and science, and he found it troublesome. Writing novels seemed to be the easiest and least risky way to make money.

"Payment for your manuscript of 'The Lord of the Rings' first volume has been deposited in the envelope. We hope to see you this Saturday at 10 o'clock to discuss the publication details of 'The Lord of the Rings' second volume. Regards, Shenny of Bloomsbury Publishing."

The author of the most popular fantasy novel of the year, "The Lord of the Rings," was none other than Dudley himself, using the pen name Jerry.

This world was somewhat different from the one Dudley was familiar with. Perhaps due to the presence of wizards, there was a scarcity of Western fantasy-themed works. Dudley couldn't recall any major Western fantasy works from his memory.

At least, "The Lord of the Rings" series didn't exist in this world. So, Dudley simply adopted the principle of 'taking inspiration' and made a small copy of it.

Of course, it wasn't an exact copy. He added many elements from online literature, such as not mocking the Hobbits for their height and Thirty years in Hedong and 30 years in Hexi, don't bully the young for being poor, making the novel suitable for readers of all ages.

As a result, "The Lord of the Rings" sold even better than in the original world.

With a manuscript fee of £10,000, in 1980s England, this was already a considerable sum. Considering the current popularity of "The Lord of the Rings," Dudley should have received more, but as a newcomer, he was already content with this amount.

Moreover, this was only the first volume.

There was no need to focus only on immediate benefits; a steady flow of income was the key. Besides, the long-term strategy is the way to go. what he sent out wasn't the content of one part of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy; accurately speaking, it was only about half of one part.

Didn't that noseless guy say that seven was a magical number? So, Dudley planned to split "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy into seven parts.

Now, the publishing house had already taken the initiative to contact him.

Dudley was now a golden brand. Even if the next book was titled 'Based on Defense Against the Dark Arts,' it would still sell millions on release.

The so-called discussion was, in essence, about increasing Dudley's income and manuscript fees. The specific details would depend on how the meeting went on Saturday.

In any case, he had already accumulated a certain amount of fame.

If your publishing house couldn't offer a satisfactory price, Dudley believed that other publishing houses would be willing to pay a high price.

The name Jerry now represented money.

Dudley had it all planned out. After completing the seven-part trilogy, he would start a spin-off about the Hobbits, rake in another sum, and then sell the film rights.

WOW~ With this money, he could live a non-luxurious life for the rest of his life.

One step toward financial freedom.

The only question was whether being a wizard in the future would be enough. If not, he could write a few more volumes of 'Dragon Spear Chronicles,' which didn't sound like a bad idea.

Dudley, in high spirits after receiving £10,000, patted Harry's messy chicken coop-like hair, "Harry, come with your big cousin, I'll treat you to ice cream."

"Sure, Brother D."

Before they could leave the garden, they heard Mrs. Dursley calling from the window.

"Oh, my dear Dudley, where are you going? Come over and have breakfast first."

(End of this chapter)