Chapter 504: Eat Well and Eat Good (Edited)

The cold, clear light of dawn penetrated the room along with the birdsong, illuminating the bedroom and rousing Harry, curled up in bed, from his slumber.

Summer vacation had begun, but for Harry, these holidays felt more like a month of confinement: restrictions on his behavior, limited entertainment, and even food restrictions. As a child under the age of fifteen, Harry found it hard to understand why he had to go through these challenging days every year.

More than once, he thought about how nice it would be if he could stay at Hogwarts during the summer holidays, or even live at his godfather's house. He was really good at cleaning! Although the Dursleys' house was very clean and lacked those strange magical creatures, Harry would prefer to live at Sirius's house. A little dirt, disorder, and some small animals didn't bother him at all, maybe only if Sirius decided to host some Dementors there, then he would reconsider living there. Harry felt like he could leave that house perfectly clean during his holidays.

Sounds were coming from the next-door room of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. This couple always maintained a very healthy routine, sleeping and waking up early, and they were in excellent physical shape.

Harry lay in bed, rubbed his face, and got up quietly, but still managed to wake up Hedwig, who was sleeping. In recent days, this owl had been flying all over the UK, constantly delivering things to Harry, so she had really earned his acknowledgment.

Seeing her owner getting up, Hedwig closed her eyes again.

Harry walked to the wardrobe, stretched, and fixed his hair in front of the mirror. He grabbed two random garments, got dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast.

When he reached the kitchen, the Dursley family was already seated around the table. Uncle Vernon was engrossed in reading the Daily Mail, while Aunt Petunia sliced cherry tomatoes into wedges and placed them on a plate.

From the moment Harry entered until he sat down, no one bothered to look up at him. The Dursleys were practicing the skill of ignoring Harry, as if he didn't exist in the house. Strangely, that was exactly what Harry hoped for. He thought it would be better if they ignored him, and they could live peacefully for a month until he moved to the Weasley's house.

Dudley sat across from Uncle Vernon, occupying an entire corner of the table. Apparently, the days of fasting weren't yielding many results, as his occupation of space seemed even larger than usual. When Aunt Petunia placed a small plate of tomatoes in front of him, he looked like a video game character about to unleash his special power after accumulating enough rage.

This was the inhumane and cyclical ritual of the teenager's family: dieting. Only exam results could compare to this activity.

Looking at the tomato sashimi in front of him, Uncle Vernon let out a disgusted grunt. His dissatisfaction had reached its limit.

"Couldn't it be a normal breakfast?" he asked angrily.

At that moment, Aunt Petunia was about to assert her authority. She looked at Uncle Vernon with seriousness and nodded toward the refrigerator, making it clear that everything was according to the menu plan and that she had nothing to do with it.

Uncle Vernon sighed, almost letting his soul escape. He took a spoonful of tomato, and as he chewed, his large mustache trembled.

Dudley and Harry wasted no time with words and began eating as soon as the tomatoes were on the table. Dudley was hungry, and Harry knew that if he ate too slowly, his portion would end up on Dudley's plate. It was a double torture he didn't want to experience.

"At least a cup of coffee!" Uncle Vernon exclaimed after finishing his tomato, still unsatisfied. He wiped his mouth and wished for something to drink.

Of course, there was coffee, but it was just plain black coffee with no sugar or milk, which made Uncle Vernon question his life.

"It's like a potion." He grimaced.

Not even half an hour passed after breakfast, and the tomatoes in everyone's stomachs had already been digested.

Uncle Vernon sat in the living room, absentmindedly flipping through his newspaper. There was still some time before his favorite TV program started, so he had to spend the boring moment reading the newspaper.

Ring, ring, ring!

The phone suddenly rang, and Uncle Vernon walked over to it and answered the call. After exchanging a few words with the person on the other end of the line, he hung up the phone.

After releasing the phone, Uncle Vernon thought silently for a moment and then roared in anger.

"Damn fools! How dare they make me go to the office now? Outrageous! Didn't their parents teach them not to bother during the holidays?" He complained about his colleague while quickly changing his clothes. He gave some instructions to Aunt Petunia and left the house.

The sound of the car engine could be heard outside as Uncle Vernon drove his car away quickly.

"I'm going to play in my room!" Dudley also left the kitchen with heavy steps.

Taking advantage of the confusion of everyone, Harry sneaked out of the kitchen and returned to his room. He opened the loose floorboard and pulled out a Swiss cream cake roll that Mrs. Weasley had sent him along with a large pile of meat pies. The Weasley family's old owl had almost exhausted itself carrying all that food.

Since summer had already arrived, and the space under the floor was not a good storage place, Harry naturally decided to prioritize getting rid of those things that couldn't be stored. After eating to his heart's content, he took out a can of Coca-Cola and began to drink. Although it wasn't cold, it was refreshing enough.

Harry was leading a rather comfortable life.

Lunchtime came, but Uncle Vernon couldn't resolve the company matters, so he had to let Aunt Petunia, Dudley, and Harry eat first.

In front of vegetable sticks, boiled chicken breast, and low-fat spicy garlic sauce, both Dudley and Harry showed uncomfortable expressions. However, driven by hunger, Dudley devoured the entire lunch. Harry's portion was much smaller than Dudley's, so it wasn't difficult for him to finish it.

After lunch, it was naptime. The British were not accustomed to taking naps, but the Dursley family, due to their healthy diet, easily succumbed to hunger, so sleeping was a good option. So, driven by hunger, everyone in the family developed the habit of taking naps.

Harry tossed and turned on his bed, unable to fall asleep. As the saying goes, "being full and warm, one desires even more fullness and warmth." People's desires are endless. After solving the basic problem of "being full," Harry had to tackle the problem of "eating well."

He got up and sat on the bed, staring ahead.