Dudley didn't linger at Borgin and Burkes. After confirming he would return the day after tomorrow, he departed the establishment.
Walking outside in Knockturn Alley, Dudley wasn't in any hurry to return. Instead, after wandering for a while, he pulled up his hood and slipped into a side alley. After navigating through the dark and winding passages for several minutes, he arrived at an unfamiliar location.
The alley here was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through comfortably. Dirty, stinking wastewater flowed along the ground, and the air was thick with an unbearable stench.
"This should be the place," Dudley identified the direction and entered a dilapidated building, climbing the stairs and turning left.
Swoosh!
A figure flashed out, wand pointed directly at Dudley's chest.
"Relax, Cole," Dudley said, facing the black-clad figure with complete calm.
"It's you!" Cole looked at Dudley with obvious panic.
"How are things progressing? Have you found any leads on that Mr. White Sheep?" Dudley asked, ignoring Cole's unusual reaction.
Cole lowered his hood and shook his head in defeat.
The originally handsome and confident man now looked utterly haggard, with sunken cheeks and unkempt stubble, no longer possessing the imposing presence he once had as an Auror.
"They seem to have completely vanished. I can't find any trace of them anywhere," Cole said with dejection.
He had already searched countless locations in Knockturn Alley and questioned numerous contacts, but there was no news of that group. Even people who had previously had dealings with them completely forgot about the organization when Cole inquired.
"Memory Charms?" Dudley speculated upon hearing this report.
"Most likely. From this alone, you can see they're extremely meticulous in their operations. Even the slightest risk of exposure, they'll eliminate completely," Cole confirmed.
Dudley frowned and, after considering this information, said, "While this makes sense, there's something contradictory. If they're truly that afraid of exposure, they shouldn't have committed those public cases in the first place. This seems somewhat inconsistent with their supposedly meticulous methods."
Hearing this observation, Cole fell into deep contemplation.
Indeed, the concentrated outbreak of those previous cases had actually attracted significant attention from the wizarding community. Especially the Ministry of Magic, which had given the Aurors direct orders to solve the cases as quickly as possible. Even with Cole as an inside saboteur, the disruption he could cause had been increasingly limited.
Suddenly, Cole thought of a disturbing possibility. His gaze shifted to Dudley.
"What is it? What occurred to you?" Dudley asked.
"Is there any possibility it's because of you?" Cole suggested carefully.
"Me?" Dudley's eyes sharpened, displaying a thoughtful expression.
Cole quickly explained his theory. "That organization is searching for powerful Dark Magic items, and you can easily utilize these artifacts. What I mean is, after they became aware of your existence, they didn't dare act recklessly anymore and chose to eliminate all traces and go into hiding."
"Even if you hadn't captured me, they might have chosen to kill witnesses anyway!"
Cole became increasingly animated as he spoke, standing up and pacing back and forth in the cramped room.
"That's it, it must be! Otherwise, why would they move to eliminate my family immediately after I went missing?" Cole's eyes revealed a hint of murderous intent.
Everything was because of that organization.
"It seems our enemies are more cunning than we initially imagined," Dudley said, rising to his feet.
"I should depart. Continue your investigation. Also, if you temporarily can't locate that group, you can help me investigate Voldemort's whereabouts first."
"Voldemort?" When hearing this name, Cole's body visibly trembled with fear.
"That's correct. I need him to completely disappear from this world," Dudley said without any attempt at evasion.
"But... isn't he already dead? Killed by your cousin?" Cole asked in confusion.
"No, Voldemort isn't dead. His soul still remains in this world. Just three months ago, I fought an intense battle with him," Dudley stated matter-of-factly.
"You..." Cole's throat constricted. He didn't believe Dudley would lie about such serious matters.
And this revelation also meant that Dudley possessed the ability to confront Voldemort directly. What couldn't this twelve-year-old accomplish?
"I'm leaving. Take care of yourself," Dudley said, pulling up his hood to hide his face in shadow before turning to leave the shabby building.
After Dudley departed, Cole leaned against the wall and slowly sank down to sit on the floor.
"How did he find me?" Cole pulled up his sleeve, where a large cursive letter "D" was visible.
This was what Dudley had specifically left on his body to track his location.
But before this encounter, Cole had already found ways to dissipate much of the mark's magical power and obtained an item that could shield magical perception.
Yet even so, Dudley had still located him easily.
This was why he had panicked upon seeing Dudley.
"I didn't sense any magical traces. Could he find my location without relying on magic?" Cole wondered to himself.
After a while, he shook his head in resignation.
"It seems I can't escape his control. Well, my goal aligns with his. We're both dealing with that organization, so cooperating with him isn't necessarily a bad choice," Cole reasoned.
"But Voldemort..." Thinking of this name, Cole still felt genuine dread.
He had lived through Voldemort's reign of terror. Even though he was still young during that dark period, the shadow Voldemort cast over the entire magical world still loomed in his heart like a nightmare that could never be dispelled.
On the other side, Dudley quickly exited Knockturn Alley.
Under his hood, the corners of his mouth curved into a contemptuous smile.
"Think that by shielding my magical mark, you can escape my control? Without absolute certainty, do you believe I would let you leave?" Dudley thought to himself.
"This encounter is a reminder. Next time, I won't be so accommodating."
He had long detected that the magical mark was being blocked, but Dudley wasn't concerned in the slightest.
The magical mark was merely a decoy, designed to make Cole think this was Dudley's method of tracking him.
In reality, among the Black Emperor sequence Briber's beyonder abilities, one could establish mystical connections by giving things to others.
This connection had no external manifestations and left no magical traces. As long as Dudley wanted to find Cole, even if he wandered randomly, he could unconsciously approach Cole's location and lock onto his position.
This was why Dudley could effortlessly find Cole.
"During his imprisonment, he consumed so many things I brought him. Until these items are completely metabolized from his body, the connection between us won't break!" Dudley mused as he walked out of the alley and entered Diagon Alley.
He lowered his hood, smiled pleasantly, and blended into the bustling crowd.