I am Harry Potter's Cousin, Big D

The sky was just beginning to whiten, a thin veil of light slowly being pulled back to illuminate the dark outlines of the land. A thin mist permeated the air, a light gauze covering the earth in a fresh, damp coolness. A slight breeze swept through, bringing with it the first chill of morning.

Despite his utmost reluctance, Draco Malfoy arrived punctually at the gates of Hogwarts at precisely seven o'clock. It was quiet all around, the only sound the rustling of fallen leaves dancing in the wind. Standing alone at the gate, Malfoy huddled by the door, cursing under his breath. He had most likely been tricked. On a Saturday morning, he should have been in his comfortable, warm bed.

However, as the minutes ticked by, Malfoy secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Being tricked was far better than actually exercising with that guy. And it meant he wouldn't have to shout those mortifying slogans. If he hadn't been so utterly terrified, he would have sooner died than shout them. Now it was fine; it wasn't that he hadn't come, but that the other person wasn't there.

Just as Malfoy was about to turn back towards the castle, a slight 'tap-tap' sound came from behind him, steady and rhythmic. A figure slowly emerged from the thin morning mist.

Dudley, wearing a sports vest and shorts, was already exercising, lifting two heavy dumbbells as he walked. He appeared in Malfoy's line of sight, his body steaming in the cool air.

"I thought you'd be late," Dudley said, walking up to Malfoy. For once, he offered a genuine compliment. "I didn't expect you to be so punctual."

"You..." Malfoy looked at Dudley, unsure what to say. The boy in front of him had clearly already been exercising for some time. But it was only seven o'clock. What time had he arrived? Six?

"I've already been exercising for a while," Dudley confirmed, as if reading his mind. He had arrived much earlier. The reason he'd told Malfoy to come at seven was simply so he wouldn't be disturbed. Besides his morning workout, Dudley would also exercise for a bit before bed. Twice a day, a routine he hadn't broken in years. Exercising was truly addictive, especially watching his muscles grow little by little, feeling the Ripple inside his body strengthen bit by bit. Dudley genuinely enjoyed this process of growth.

"Let's start with the simplest things," he announced, still stepping in place, swinging the dumbbells up and down. His gaze swept over Malfoy's expensive school robes. "Next time, it's best not to wear those. You'll trip."

He led Malfoy to the lawn not far from the castle and taught him a few simple warm-up exercises. Pre-workout warm-ups were essential; they reduced the chance of injury, alleviated muscle soreness, and increased the body's heat dissipation. At first, Malfoy was dismissive, thinking the exercises were laughably simple. Only when he tried to do them himself did he realize that his hands weren't his hands and his feet weren't his feet. No matter what he did, he couldn't achieve the same fluid ease as Dudley. After finally finishing with great difficulty, Malfoy felt like he was about to collapse.

This, however, was just the beginning.

"For the first day of training, we'll take it a bit easier," Dudley said. "Just run three laps around Hogwarts Castle." When Dudley exercised himself, he included the Black Lake in his route, a much larger area. As for Malfoy, he wouldn't even be able to finish one lap, let alone three. "You don't need to swim in the Black Lake either," Dudley added generously. If he made Malfoy swim in the chilly morning water with his flimsy physique, he'd probably sink after a few frantic flounders.

After the warm-up, Malfoy no longer dared to underestimate what Dudley called "easy." With heavy steps, he began his day's training, jogging slowly behind Dudley. At first, he could just about keep up, and he started to think it wasn't so bad. However, Malfoy was, after all, a pampered young master who usually didn't even run a few steps, let alone exercise.

Soon, he realized he had overestimated his own ability. Less than halfway through the first lap, his stamina began to fail. He was gradually left further and further behind.

"No, I've reached my limit!" Malfoy yelled, his heart pounding furiously in his chest, his breathing ragged, and the muscles in his legs burning with an excruciating soreness. For the young master of the Malfoy family, being able to do this much was already quite an achievement.

However, Dudley was not his father and would not indulge him.

He walked over expressionlessly, pulled something shiny from his shorts pocket, and hit Malfoy squarely on the back of the head with it.

"Start running," Dudley said coldly. "Since you agreed, you must fulfill your promise. This is the most basic requirement for being a man."

"Ow!" Seeing that Malfoy still had no intention of running, his head was hit again. Of course, Dudley had controlled the force. According to the instructions from his Data Eye, the spot he hit would make Malfoy feel extreme, sharp pain but would leave absolutely no after-effects or visible wounds. No matter how it was examined, no problems would be found. It was just pure, unadulterated pain.

Malfoy didn't know this, but seeing that Dudley was serious, he disregarded his physical exhaustion, forced himself to stand up, and continued running. If he slowed down even a little, he figured he'd end up with a head full of bumps.

"Have you forgotten the slogans I gave you?" Another tap on Malfoy's head. "Shout them out."

He grimaced in pain. He no longer cared about being embarrassed and began to shout them out loudly into the misty morning air.

Dudley looked at the silver spoon in his hand. This was what he had been using to hit Malfoy's head. He had never understood what the strange, indestructible spoon was for, but it was surprisingly useful as a teaching tool. It had no other special features; it was just incredibly hard. Not even Dudley could leave a tooth mark on it.

Time passed, and soon a few early-rising young wizards also crawled out of their beds. Some boys and girls who were used to watching Dudley's morning exercise habitually leaned on their windowsills. This time, however, they noticed that Dudley wasn't running alone. There was another figure running alongside him, facing the rising sun.

Thus, the young wizards witnessed a magical, almost surreal scene: Malfoy was running in front, and Dudley was following closely behind, holding a spoon. As soon as Malfoy slowed down even slightly, Dudley would tap him on the head with it, while the running Malfoy in front seemed to be shouting something continuously. Although they couldn't hear clearly, they were certain he wasn't shouting for help.

(End of Chapter)

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