Harry Potter: Dudley From LOTM - 365

Chapter 365: Discord

“Just a bad relationship, I suppose. I don’t know the details,” Dudley said, wiping butterbeer from the corner of his mouth.

Harry laughed. He had only been joking.

He lifted his butterbeer and took a sip. It was actually decent, better than he had expected.

“The Hog’s Head butterbeer is all right,” Dudley said. “You just have to bring your own cup.”

Hermione and Ron tried theirs too.

“Fred and George told me the Hog’s Head attracts all sorts—pretty rough. They warned me not to come here,” Ron said, glancing around.

After what had just happened, the pub was noticeably emptier, with plenty of seats left vacant.

“Yeah,” Dudley said. “If it wasn’t rough, that wouldn’t have happened.”

He had only come over on a whim, and the place always gave him that oddly familiar feeling, like stepping into a life that belonged to someone else.

As they were talking, the Hog’s Head door opened again, and Kingsley came in from outside.

He glanced at Aberforth first, then turned towards Harry and the others and walked over.

“It’s getting worse by the day,” Kingsley complained as he approached.

Dudley twitched a finger, and the original mug of butterbeer on the table drifted over to Kingsley.

“Oh, thanks. I’m parched,” Kingsley said, grabbing it and downing it in one go.

“Erp…” Kingsley belched and set the mug down.

Then his eyes fixed on his cup, and on the cups Harry and the others were using.

“Why are our cups different?” Kingsley asked, frowning.

“Ours are ones we brought. Yours is from the pub,” Dudley said.

Kingsley looked down at the filthy mug in his hand. A moment ago, he had not cared in the slightest, but compared with Dudley’s clean cups, he suddenly felt like being sick.

“Sorry. Thought you wouldn’t mind,” Dudley said.

Kingsley waved it off, forcing down his stomach as it churned, then sat.

“All right. Back to business. Those two dark wizards have been handed over to the Ministry. They’ll get the punishment they deserve,” Kingsley said.

“A good outcome,” Dudley said.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to see you lot here,” Kingsley went on. “I thought Professor Dumbledore would keep you in the castle, not let you run around.”

“Especially you, Harry. You shouldn’t be leaving Hogwarts.”

“For me, Hogwarts isn’t as safe as people like to pretend,” Harry said bluntly. “Sticking close to Dudley is safer.”

“But…” Kingsley tried to argue, then found himself without words.

It was true. A lot had happened at Hogwarts these past two years. It really could not be called safe.

“Forget it. As long as you’re all right,” Kingsley said at last. “But promise me you won’t be so impulsive again, all right? There are plenty of Aurors in Hogsmeade. If you shout for help, we can get to you in time.”

“You were lucky those two weren’t particularly strong. If they had been, you would’ve been in real danger.”

“Mr Shacklebolt, we’re not children anymore,” Harry said at once. “We know how to handle a crisis.”

Kingsley looked at the stubborn set of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s eyes and understood that they were not going to take his advice to heart.

“Fine. I’m not your guardian. I can only remind you,” Kingsley said. “With Dudley here, you do have a certain level of protection. But try not to stray too far from him, or he won’t be able to help you either.”

With that, he stood and left.

The Aurors still had plenty to deal with.

“I thought he’d praise us,” Harry said helplessly. “I didn’t expect another lecture.”

They had just helped the Ministry catch two dark wizards. Instead of any reward, they got scolded again. It left a sour taste.

“There’s nothing else he can do,” Hermione said. “Kingsley’s probably under a lot of pressure. If Scrimgeour finds out Dudley was causing trouble again, he’ll come looking for us.”

Harry did not answer. He simply finished his butterbeer in silence.

“Oh, right,” Hermione said suddenly, remembering. “We made appointments with a few students who want to join the Kingdom of Order. We still need to interview them.”

“You go do the interviews,” Dudley said. “I’ll stay here a bit longer, then I’ll come find you.”

“All right,” the three of them said.

They exchanged a look. Dudley’s mood did not feel quite right today. They said goodbye and left the Hog’s Head.

Dudley stayed, nursing his butterbeer until dusk was almost upon them, then finally got up to leave.

“Don’t come back. I don’t welcome students,” Aberforth said coolly as Dudley paid.

“Then next time I won’t wear Hogwarts robes,” Dudley replied casually.

He tossed down a Galleon and walked out of the Hog’s Head.

Aberforth watched his back in silence for a moment, then shook his head.

After meeting up with Harry and the others, they returned to Hogwarts before night fell.

“It went pretty smoothly. I know the students who want to join. They should be fine,” Hermione told Dudley.

“I did the maths,” Harry said. “Including us, the Kingdom of Order is nearly thirty people now. That’s already a pretty big group in the school.”

“These people we know well enough,” Hermione said. “But if anyone else wants to join later, we’ll have to vet them properly…”

She stopped mid-sentence.

Dudley had gone still.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

The moment they saw his expression, they all felt it. Something was wrong.

“There’s something… discordant in Hogwarts,” Dudley said quietly.

“Discordant?” The three of them looked at each other, not understanding what he meant.

Dudley did not explain. He simply focused, carefully sorting through that faint, subtle sense of wrongness.

This was his territory. Even the slightest discord could mean something was about to happen. Others might not notice, but as a Justiciar, Dudley was painfully sensitive to changes within Hogwarts.

Very quickly, he locked onto a direction and took off at speed.

“The direction of Gryffindor Tower…”

Now Dudley was certain. Whatever that discord was, it was coming from Gryffindor Tower.