Chapter -7 Mrs. Figg Next Door

Chapter -7.

"Mom, I think we can handle things ourselves," Dudley said with a frown, looking at his parents.

Lately, things have been looking up for Vernon at work. Grunnings has sent him on a business trip to Germany to negotiate a big order. If he pulls it off, he'll get a promotion to sales manager! But the trip is going to last about three months.

Logically, it makes sense for Vernon to go alone, and Petunia could stay home to look after Dudley and the others. But Petunia knows that if Vernon comes home and doesn't see her, he'll be in a terrible mood the next day, and his work will suffer.

So, Petunia has to go with him, and luckily, the company will cover the expenses.

"Sweetheart, you're still just a kid," Petunia said firmly.

Dudley rolled his eyes at that. 

Have you ever seen a ten-year-old who just won a middle school boxing championship? 

That's right! Dudley recently won a championship, and this time it was in the high school category, not the middle school level like last year.

'Harry and I are already ten; in other places, we'd be getting our first Pokémon and setting off on adventures,' Dudley thought to himself.

"I can cook and do laundry! We can totally take care of ourselves," Dudley insisted.

"Dudley, we're not just going away for a day or two; it's a whole three months. I can't leave my child home alone," Petunia said, maybe a little too pointedly ignoring Harry again.

"And I'm not letting you stay alone with that freak," Vernon added, referring to Harry as 'freak' in front of Petunia. "Who knows what that freak might do to you?"

'Oh, how I wish I could be a wizard; I dream about it all the time,' Dudley thought.

"I'm not going to Aunt Marge's, no way!" Dudley declared, emphasizing the first word he learned: 'no way!'

Aunt Marge is Vernon's sister and Dudley's aunt. The Dursleys owe a lot to her, and Dudley appreciates her, but there's no way he could live with her for three months.

It's not that Aunt Marge doesn't like Dudley; she actually adores him and always pinches his chubby cheeks hard whenever they meet.

The problem is their living habits are just too different.

Aunt Marge has twelve bulldogs, and while that's not the main issue, she treats those dogs like royalty, even more than people!

So, living with her means dealing with those twelve bulldogs, and who knows when you might find dog slobber in your food?

Dudley likes dogs, but he definitely doesn't want to eat dog slobber.

Seeing Dudley's stubbornness, Vernon and Petunia exchanged glances.

They knew that sending Dudley to live with Marge would lead to trouble.

'What if we took Dudley with us to Germany?' 

'But what about the costs and Dudley's school?' 

They communicated silently.

Noticing his parents softening a bit, Dudley quickly suggested, "I can just hang out with Harry at Mrs. Figg's next door!"

Going to Germany wasn't an option; the language barrier would be a hassle, and he'd rather stay with Harry and enjoy some perks.

Mrs. Figg, whose full name is Arabella Figg, is a sweet, elderly lady who loves her knitted hats. She lives just a couple of streets away from the Dursleys, which is practically next door.

Whenever the Dursleys go out or take a vacation, they always ask her to look after Harry.

Since she often helps out without charging, the Dursleys have a pretty good relationship with Mrs. Figg.

"Dudley, we'll be gone for three whole months; we won't be able to come back during that time," Petunia tried to reason with him, but Dudley was firm.

If he couldn't go to Mrs. Figg's and wasn't allowed to stay home alone, then Aunt Marge was his only option.

How could Dudley survive that?

He would never compromise on his food situation.

After a bit of back-and-forth, and seeing that Dudley wouldn't change his mind, Vernon and Petunia reluctantly agreed to ask Mrs. Figg to take care of them.

Harry, who was a bit bummed about not being able to stay in his little room for three months, felt much better knowing he could be with Dudley.

Noticing Harry's happier mood, Vernon bent down with a grunt and pointed at Harry, saying, "Listen here, kid. Even if we're not around, don't even think about hurting Dudley or messing with my family. Just so you know, the consequences won't be pretty."

As he said this, he raised his arm, which was thicker than Harry's waist.

Harry didn't quite get it but nodded obediently.

Maybe Harry couldn't remember that when he was really little, something magical happened that caused some strange things to occur. Back then, Dudley wasn't as strong as he is now, and he ended up getting a little hurt.

Vernon might not be the best uncle, but he sure is a good husband and father.

Mrs. Figg's house was quite old-fashioned. It wasn't much bigger than the Dursleys', but the style was completely different. The place felt a bit dim, and the furniture was very simple. In the living room, besides the cozy fireplace, there was just a worn-out sofa, a table, and a few chairs.

There were no gadgets or even a radio that older folks usually enjoy.

An antique, as the Dursleys would say.

There was a faint but strong smell of cats in the air, which could be off-putting to some, but Dudley didn't mind it at all.

Vernon, on the other hand, couldn't stand the smell, so he stayed outside while Petunia and Mrs. Figg handled everything.

Mrs. Figg happily agreed to look after Dudley and Harry.

Before they left, Petunia slipped some money to Mrs. Figg.

If it were just Harry, he could probably get away with asking Mrs. Figg to take care of him for free since he didn't eat much. But with Dudley in the mix, that wouldn't work; Dudley probably ate more in a day than Mrs. Figg would in a week!

Three months? Even the Dursleys couldn't pull that off.

Plus, they had a pretty good reputation on their street, at least among the regular families.

Once Petunia and Vernon left, Dudley started exploring Mrs. Figg's house, and suddenly his eyes lit up as he spotted a passing kitten.

With a big grin, Dudley scooped up the little furball and buried his face in its soft belly, taking a few deep breaths.

With a look of pure bliss, he let out a happy sigh. 

"Ah~~~ Snowball smells so good."

It was clear this wasn't Dudley's first time doing this.

This was exactly why Dudley wanted to stay at Mrs. Figg's with Harry—because she had so many furry friends!

Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.