Chapter 129: Ron Becomes a High - Achiever, Dudley Sets a Contract!

It was dawn on Friday in the first week of the new semester.

Dudley and Harry returned to the first - year boys' dormitory in the Gryffindor common room.

That night, Dudley finished modifying Ron's wand, and Harry mastered the rudimentary form of Occlumency. With a little more practice, he would be able to block Eris' silent probing.

The two of them entered the dormitory and were about to go to their respective beds and use the Calm Mind Spell to catch up on sleep.

Unexpectedly, Ron, with a pair of panda eyes, crawled out of his bed and ran in front of Dudley.

Dudley was startled because he noticed that although Ron's eyelids and eye bags were bruised and black, his eyes were bright and wide - open.

"Dudley, no, Teaching Assistant Dursley, help me get stronger! I want to be the president of the student council, and I also want to be the captain of the Quidditch school team! I want to earn a lot of Galleons! I want my family to be proud of me! I want everyone to look at me with admiration!"

Ron stared with eyes that had a few bloodshot streaks, full of expectation on his face. He firmly grasped Dudley's hand and shook it back and forth, looking like a madman.

"Calm Mind!" x2

Dudley and Harry very tacitly cast the Calm Mind Spell on Ron. The way Ron looked was definitely not normal!

After being hit by two Calm Mind Spells, Ron's expression became a bit calmer.

Dudley immediately asked:

"Ron, are you possessed? Or have you been cursed? Weren't you out on a night patrol with Hermione last night? Didn't you run into something evil?"

"No! Dudley! It wasn't something evil! It was a good thing! That mirror showed me the goal that I've never been able to clearly see! From now on, I'll also work as hard as you, Hermione, and Harry to get stronger!"

After Ron came back from the night patrol last night, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night and just waited for Dudley and Harry to come back.

Now, even though his emotions and state of mind had been calmed by magic, his thoughts remained unchanged. He was still as energetic as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

"A good thing? A mirror? Could it be The Mirror of Erised? Dumbledore really doesn't handle things well! He doesn't even set up the situation properly and doesn't know how to put things away! However... this thing could really be useful!"

Based on his knowledge of the original story, Dudley analyzed part of the truth from the information in Ron's words.

The Mirror of Erised doesn't show a person's appearance but what they desire in their heart.

People with weak willpower will be indulged in the illusions created by the mirror and can't extricate themselves. They'll want to look at the mirror again and again, night after night, until they go crazy.

But judging from Ron's performance, it didn't seem to be this case.

Instead, he seemed to have been stimulated by the illusion in the mirror and his fighting spirit had been ignited.

This could be a good thing.

"Do you really want to get stronger? You're not just talking big and going to forget about it in a few days, are you?"

Dudley sized up Ron at this moment and still couldn't fully believe that someone as lazy as Ron could have a Transformation overnight after looking at the mirror and become as motivated as a carp attempting to leap over the dragon gate.

Ron looked offended. His expression was full of stubbornness and refusal to accept defeat: "Dudley, trust me! I'll go to the library with you this afternoon. This time, I promise I'll read attentively!"

Hearing what Ron said, after a moment's thought, considering Ron's regret event, Dudley made a decision:

"Alright! I trust you! Let's make a magical contract!

From now on, I'll help you become stronger, pay you a salary, and even help your family get rich. But in return, you have to work for me.

When I ask you to do a job, you can't act like a coward or complain about being tired. When I ask you to study and train, you can't be lazy or play tricks. When it's time to fight, you have to charge forward bravely.

If you break the contract, you'll break out in sores and pus, lose your appetite, and puke up a hundred slugs!"

As Dudley spoke, he stretched out his finger and traced a series of bright red words in the air, writing out a 'magical contract' in a proper and serious way. It looked both dangerous and alluring.

High-spirited Ron looked delighted when he read the first part of the contract and thought to himself that Dudley was a kind-hearted and honest guy. But when he saw the consequences of breaking the contract, he couldn't help swallowing hard and felt a bit scared.

"Um, Dudley, aren't these consequences a bit..."

"If you're not willing, forget it. I don't want to waste my time either. My time is extremely precious. You don't seem to have much inborn endowment or perseverance. I'll probably lose my investment in you. You can just go and do whatever you want!"

Dudley showed a contemptuous look as if he'd expected this. He glanced at Ron twice and then turned around to go back to bed for a nap.

"Don't go! Please don't! I'll sign! I'll sign this magical contract!"

Stimulated by Dudley's words, and still feeling the boost in morale from the magic mirror and Hermione last night, Ron got carried away. He gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and made a decision.

"This is your own decision. No one is forcing you! Don't blame me for not warning you in advance. It won't help if you regret it later. The contract can't be broken!"

Dudley gave Ron a couple more scares.

Finally, the expression on Ron's face made Dudley feel a bit more at home. He knew how mind-blowing it was for him to see Ron turn into a super-motivated hard-worker so early in the morning.

Looking at Ron's conflicted expression, Dudley felt a malicious sense of satisfaction as if his prank had succeeded.

Great! It felt so great!

"I've made up my mind, Dudley! I won't regret it! How do I sign this contract?"

At this moment, Ron's eyes were as determined as a person about to take a bite of a roasted chicken leg.

Dudley could tell that Ron was serious this time. He straightened his expression a bit and prompted, "Just put your hand on it!"

Ron solemnly stretched out his hand and placed it on the red characters floating in the air that Dudley had written.

With a thought, Dudley made the marking magic he'd just cast disappear quickly.

To Ron, as soon as he put his hand on it, the contract turned into red light dots and took effect.

In fact, this so-called magical contract was just a marking magic that Dudley had come up with to scare Ron. It had no real effect at all, just a special effect.

But Ron believed it whole-heartedly and eagerly asked, "Dudley, how are you going to train me? How can you make me stronger? What should we do now?"

Dudley waved Harry off to go to sleep first. Then he looked at Ron, who was full of excitement, and showed a smile that seemed to foretell an uncertain future.

"What should we do now?"

Of course, it's... Stupefy!"

Dudley raised his hand and cast Stupefy, forcing Ron into a slumber.

With those big dark circles under his eyes, still thinking about getting stronger? If he doesn't catch up on sleep, he'll have to figure out how to get through the two consecutive potion - making studies classes this morning first!

Dudley reached out, grabbed Ron's body, used a clever technique, and tossed Ron onto his own bed to lie down properly.

Then he took out Ron's old wand, which he had modified last night and now looked as good as new, and placed it beside Ron's bed.

After that, Dudley cast Safe and Sound Guard on the dormitory, then turned around and left the Gryffindor common room.

Ten minutes later, guided by the general consciousness of Hogwarts, he reached the fifth floor of the Castle and entered the abandoned classroom where Hermione and Ron had been last night.

There, he saw The Mirror of Erised propped against the wall.