Thump, thump, thump…
Marcus Flint and his group of older Slytherins walked slowly out, just in time to see Dudley holding down Malfoy's head, moments before Malfoy fainted.
There's only one way out of the common room. To get to Snape, you have to go right through the middle of it.
But the scene before them was a shock to everyone. The older students in the meeting room clearly hadn't expected such a brutal scene. The common room floor was littered with first-years, no one left standing. They'd thought Dudley had simply managed to get the better of Malfoy, but it turned out he'd taken down every single student and only Malfoy was left.
What kind of spell could cause this? A powerful Stunning Spell? Some other dark curse? And why were they all holding their bums? Was that a side effect of the magic?
The older Slytherins immediately raised Dudley's threat level by several notches.
This Dursley fellow isn't simple… which means Potter isn't either. The whole story about Harry Potter growing up with Muggles must be bunk. If the cousin is this strong, how far behind can Potter be?
A whirlwind of thoughts rushed through their minds, and the older students exchanged complex glances when they looked at Dudley.
The seventh-year prefect was thinking even more.
Why are the two cousins in different houses, one in Gryffindor and one in Slytherin? There must be some deeper meaning. Could it be that Potter—no, Mr. Potter—is planning to conquer Gryffindor first, and then bring Slytherin under his control?
Once this terrifying thought took root, it refused to go away. Unconsciously, he even started addressing Harry with a newfound respect.
Out of everyone there, the only one not overthinking things was probably Marcus Flint. His brain simply couldn't handle that much information.
Oh, wait, that's not right. He was thinking about Malfoy.
"Stop! Let go of Malfoy!"
Marcus pulled out his wand, aimed it at Dudley, and immediately cast a spell: "Stupefy!"
A blast of dark green light erupted from his wand. Without a second thought, Dudley grabbed Draco and used him as a shield.
Dudley had been watching the older students closely ever since they appeared. Poor Malfoy, who was already just unconscious from fear, now got hit with a Stunning Spell on top of it. Well, there was no chance of him waking up today.
"Blast!" Marcus swore, casting another spell. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Dudley single-handedly grabbed Malfoy by the back of his robes and hoisted him up. The boy became a human shield again, deflecting the spell. Marcus, still not giving up, cast several more curses, even some nasty ones. Without exception, Dudley used Malfoy to block every single one.
For a moment, Dudley wondered if Marcus wasn't trying to save Malfoy, but had a personal vendetta against him instead. He thought he heard one of the curses sound like a leg-locking jinx.
Poor Malfoy. Without even knowing it, he'd taken at least a dozen spells. It was probably more than he deserved.
While using his "Malfoy" brand shield to deflect the curses, Dudley grabbed Goyle by the scruff of his neck, lifted him up, and held him like a weapon. He eyed the new students warily. "Enemies?"
He knew he could easily handle the first-years, but he wasn't sure how he'd fare against a group of older students who knew a lot of spells. To be sure, he'd have to take them all out in one shot, leaving nothing to chance.
He didn't attack right away because, aside from Marcus, everyone else was just standing there watching.
Is that… magic?
Using Malfoy as a shield was one thing, but grabbing Goyle and holding him like a brutal weapon? The older students were stunned. They couldn't make sense of it. When they heard Dudley's question, they quietly took a step back from Marcus to make their loyalties clear.
They were not with Marcus.
"Right then," Dudley nodded, playing along perfectly.
The mutual understanding between them felt like an unspoken conversation between old friends. Only Marcus, in his confusion, didn't get it.
"Drop your weapon! No, wait, drop Malfoy and Goyle!"
Marcus pointed his wand at Dudley again, unsure of what to do. It was the first time he'd seen someone use people as weapons.
He didn't know what to do next, and Dudley wasn't going to wait around. Dudley hated being pointed at with a wand. He tossed Malfoy aside, casually put Goyle over his shoulder, and then picked up Crabbe, too.
These two were perfectly suited to being weapons. Holding them made him feel much less nervous. Malfoy was curled up on the ground and hit with a Full Body-Bind Curse, so he wasn't a good weapon anyway, not to mention he was starting to smell a bit.
But the simple act of Dudley picking up Crabbe spooked Marcus Flint. He immediately cast his second spell out of pure instinct.
"Expelliarmus!"
Students learn the Disarming Charm in their second or third year. When it hits, it causes the target's wand to fly into your hand and obey you. For wizards, it's an incredibly useful spell. Not everyone can cast wandless magic, and losing your wand means losing your power.
But there was a problem: Dudley didn't have a wand. He only had Goyle and Crabbe.
So, the question was, did Goyle and Crabbe count as weapons?
Dudley had put a lot of work into studying spells and had researched this one specifically. The effect of the spell depends on your perception. If you see a wand as a weapon, it will disarm the wand. If you see a bow and arrow as a weapon, it will disarm the bow and arrow. If you see a gun as a weapon, it will disarm the gun.
However, the spell had one major limitation: it couldn't affect living things. Otherwise, if an enemy fought with their fists, would the spell disarm their hand? If their brain was the weapon, would it disarm their brain? Wouldn't that be even more gruesome than the Killing Curse? Teaching a spell like that to second- and third-year students would be terrifying.
So Dudley had no intention of dodging. He let Marcus's spell hit him, and nothing happened. As expected, Expelliarmus had no effect.
The Disarming Charm actually has a side effect: it can also knock the target back. But by the time the older students arrived, Dudley had already completed his sixth round of "meditation" and honed his special defenses to the max. Combined with his years of training, he was always ready to go. His legs were as steady as a rock, and Marcus's spell only made him sway slightly.
He had planned this whole thing out, even letting Marcus get a shot in just to scare him.
"He started it."
"I gave him three chances."
Dudley said, a faint smile on his face. But he wasn't talking to Marcus; he was addressing the other Slytherins. Then, while Marcus was still frozen in shock, Dudley used Crabbe as a bludgeon, swinging him like a wrecking ball to knock Marcus to the ground.
The poor guy didn't even get a chance to groan before he was out cold.
The other Slytherins didn't see it as a simple act of violence. They saw a student who could defend against the Disarming Charm, who could turn people into his own weapons, and who used a fighting style unlike anything they'd ever seen. It was… too brutal!
Potter is hiding something big.
The prefect slowly closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind and stop thinking so much. Sometimes, knowing too much isn't a good thing.
The idea that Dudley was simply using his own brute strength to do all this never even crossed their minds. A normal wizard would never do something like that.
Dudley strolled over to the unconscious Marcus, hoisted Crabbe back over his shoulder, and with an air of caution, looked at the others. "Something you need?"
The scene, combined with Dudley's menacing presence, deeply shook these students who were nearing graduation. Not a single one of them said a word.
"If not, I'm off."
"Please, wait a moment."
Seeing that none of his companions were stepping up, the prefect had to speak for himself. Dudley stopped and turned, looking at him quietly.
The prefect looked up at Dudley. But the moment their eyes met, he quickly looked away.
What kind of look was that? It was as if he weren't facing a person, but a human beast. Even as a seventh-year, having met all sorts of wizards, including dark ones, he'd never encountered a stare like this.
Thank goodness I didn't let that useless Marcus go out there alone.
The prefect felt a wave of relief.
I absolutely cannot make an enemy of this wizard.
The prefect bowed slightly, a gesture Dudley didn't understand. "I offer you my sincerest apologies for Marcus Flint's disrespect. He is simply too reckless."
He didn't actually have to apologize; this had nothing to do with him. It was a situation that could have been resolved with just a few words, but since Marcus was his man and had attacked Dudley three times, he had no choice. If he didn't make his stance clear, things would only get worse.
Dudley hadn't expected the prefect to apologize, and it surprised him, but he didn't let his guard down. Was this a strategic move, to be nice first and then attack?
It wasn't just Dudley who was surprised; the other Slytherin students were too. But they knew their prefect had his reasons. After all, he was the leader of their little group.
"Let's put the apology aside for now. Do you have anything else to say?" Dudley's voice was strangely calm.
The prefect breathed a small sigh of relief. Even if Dudley hadn't accepted the apology, at least he was willing to talk.
"Please believe that Marcus's actions were his own and have nothing to do with the Flint family."
The Flint family was a close ally of his own. If they weren't, he wouldn't have put so much effort into mentoring Marcus. He needed to separate Marcus from the Flint family name, because Marcus wasn't the only child; another one would be starting at Hogwarts next year.
"The Flints? You mean the Flint family that had a Minister for Magic a hundred years ago, and is still involved with the Ministry today?"
Dudley's words made the prefect's heart flutter as he smoothly reeled off facts he knew about the family. To ensure a peaceful life in the wizarding world, Dudley had chosen to remember everything that might be useful to him. In addition to spells, potions, herbs, and history, he also had an extensive knowledge of famous wizards and prominent families. He had prepared meticulously to integrate into the magical world.
The older students looked at Dudley in shock. They, pure-bloods, didn't even know what he was talking about. Only the prefect felt it was perfectly normal.
Just as I thought. Mr. Potter is playing a much bigger game. After all, how else could a Muggle-born know so much?
The wizarding world wasn't without its young prodigies. One should never judge a wizard's ability by their age.
In truth, all of what Dudley said was in the history books, but these boys were too lazy to read. Of course, most wizards, especially students, don't like boring wizarding history. No one would expect a first-year to have a few centuries of wizarding history memorized on his very first day.
The rest of the conversation went smoothly. The prefect acted very friendly toward Dudley. He never brought up Dudley's assault on the students again and promised to handle the rest of the situation as an apology. He even offered to buy back all the wands Dudley had collected from the first-years at a high price as compensation.
His politeness and attitude were perfect, even humble. He was giving Dudley all the respect he could. Knowing when to adapt to a situation is the hallmark of a true Slytherin. The younger students had a lot to learn.
"Mr. Dursley, I have one more favor to ask." The prefect carefully chose his words. "If you could, I hope you'll forgive Draco for what he's done, for my sake. His father is an elder who has taken good care of me."
Did Lucius really take care of him? Of course not. His family's relationship with the Malfoys was average, perhaps even strained. But he couldn't stand by and do nothing. You can make shady deals behind the scenes, but in public, you must at least pretend to protect and care for the younger members of an allied family. After all, everyone has younger relatives. That's just how things are between pure-blood families, unless they've had a major falling out.
"Mr. Carrol, if anyone else had said that to me, I'd have told them to get lost. But since it's you, I'll be happy to grant you this favor."
You don't hit a person who's smiling at you. Since the prefect had put it that way, Dudley would give him what he wanted.
But as he finished speaking, Dudley's expression immediately darkened, making Carrol's heart jump.
"But this is the first and last time. If I get another opportunity… well…"
"Understood." Carrol nodded, showing he knew exactly what Dudley meant. Respect has to be a two-way street.
Dudley had gotten his kicks, made some money, and the only person he hadn't properly taken care of was Malfoy. So far, so good.
As for actually letting Malfoy off the hook? Dudley understood Malfoy's psychology. Even if he let him off this time, Malfoy would go out of his way to cause trouble again, because Dudley had humiliated him. Kids his age have a strange obsession with "face."
And when that happens, who would protect him then? Carrol certainly wouldn't. He had already gone to his limit by protecting him once. If Malfoy kept looking for a fight, Carrol wouldn't step in.
If Malfoy didn't dare, Dudley would just have to create an opportunity for him. And if everyone else got their butts kicked, and Malfoy was the only one who didn't get a scratch, what do you think the other students would think of him?
Why do you get special treatment, Malfoy?
He would inevitably be ostracized.
Dudley would never admit he was just petty.
You offended the big boss… Mr. Dursley… and now you want to walk away?
In fact, Dudley was overestimating Malfoy. He didn't have to put any effort into fighting him; Malfoy would just walk straight into the line of fire himself.
"Mr. Dursley, I truly appreciate your understanding. It is my failure as a seventh-year prefect that the first day of school was so unpleasant. I have prepared a small token of my appreciation for you. It will be sent to your room tomorrow along with the compensation for the wands. I am sure you will be pleased."
The implication was clear: Since you gave me face, I'll make sure the compensation is more than fair.