Harry Potter: Dudley From LOTM - 363

Chapter 363: That Familiar Feeling Is Back

Every witch and wizard in the pub was completely stunned. They could only watch, dumbfounded, as Dudley hauled the man towards the door, no one quite sure how to react.

Even the Hog’s Head innkeeper froze in place.

He had seen things going south and had been ready to step in and help Dudley, but in the blink of an eye, Dudley had turned the tables, slamming that wizard into the floor like it was nothing.

This was not how it was supposed to go.

Clatter.

Dudley kicked the Hog’s Head door open and dragged the wizard outside.

Not a single person dared say a word the entire time.

The moment they were out of the pub, Dudley tossed the wizard onto the ground.

“Expelliarmus!” Dudley cast wandlessly in Hermes.

Whoosh.

The wizard’s wand shot out of his grip. Dudley caught it neatly, then released the man’s throat.

“Y-you…” The wizard scrambled backwards, eyes full of terror.

He never imagined a student who looked like a third or fourth year could react this fast. Not only had the boy not feared him, he had struck first, leaving him no time to respond.

What made it even worse was that Dudley hadn’t used magic at all at the start. He had simply overpowered him with brute force and pinned him. For a wizard, it was humiliating beyond words.

And now that Dudley had his wand, there was no chance to fight back even if he wanted to.

“Weren’t you just running your mouth?” Dudley sneered, staring the black wizard down. “Why so quiet now?”

For a moment, Dudley felt as though he had been thrown back to Backlund, back to the days when he hunted cultists through filthy streets.

“Go on, then,” Dudley said lightly. “Tell me. What illegal things have you done?”

“I… I haven’t!” the wizard blurted out in panic. “I was wrong. Please let me go. I won’t do it again. I swear!”

People like him were always bullies when they smelled weakness.

He had only dared to move because Dudley looked like a young student. He thought he could scare him, force him to hand over the mirror, and walk away richer.

Now that Dudley had shown real power, his courage collapsed instantly.

“Is that so?” Dudley’s smile did not reach his eyes. “Because it feels like you’re hiding quite a lot.”

He lifted a hand.

“Whip!”

Crack.

An invisible lash struck the wizard. Flesh split, and he cried out.

“Talk,” Dudley said coldly. “What have you done?”

A terrifying aura of authority surged from Dudley, and the air around them seemed to congeal in an instant.

Authority, backed by interrogation.

Dudley wielded both with effortless precision.

That familiar feeling returned, sharp and clean, like slipping back into an old coat.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” The wizard’s voice shook so badly it was barely recognisable.

It felt as if his breathing had been frozen in place. Standing before Dudley, he was like prey before a predator that could decide his life or death at any moment.

One look.

That was all it would take, and he would die without even leaving a corpse behind.

He did not hesitate. He did not dare hold anything back.

“I… I stole things before…” he babbled. “I bought illegal Dark artefacts. I even hunted protected magical creatures…”

He spilled his crimes without pause, dumping everything out in a rush.

By then, quite a few people had come out of the Hog’s Head to see what was happening.

Their expressions shifted as they watched.

This Hogwarts student’s strength was far beyond anything they had expected. He had forced a vicious black wizard into total submission.

And if they looked at themselves, who among them was truly clean?

More than a few people did not dare linger any longer. They turned and left at once.

Crack, crack, crack.

Several wizards Apparated away in quick succession, the sharp sounds echoing in the air.

“Oh Merlin, is that Dudley?” someone gasped.

Not far away, Harry and the other two, unable to find Dudley at the Three Broomsticks, were heading this way. From a distance they saw someone in Hogwarts robes standing over a wizard, scolding him like a child.

Before they even got close, they recognised the build.

“It really is him!”

“Come on, hurry!”

They did not have time to think. All three broke into a run.

The commotion had already drawn plenty of attention, and most of the Hog’s Head patrons were outside now.

“Stupef…”

Suddenly, one of the wizards from the crowd raised his wand at Dudley.

“Expelliarmus!” Hermione snapped, casting wandlessly before he could finish.

The instant her voice fell, the man’s wand flew out of his hand and shot towards her.

“Confringo!” Harry whipped his head around and spoke in Hermes.

Boom!

A streak of light flashed, followed by a thunderous explosion. The wizard was blasted five or six metres back, slamming into hard stone and collapsing unconscious.

“Blimey, you two are fast,” Ron said, half impressed and half offended.

He had spotted the movement too and had just been about to cast, but Harry and Hermione had already done it. Disarm, then strike. They had not left him a chance to show off.

Dudley turned and glanced at the three of them.

“Not bad,” he said.

Then he hauled up the wizard on the ground, who had gone limp like a rag, and walked back towards the Hog’s Head.

“Dudley, what’s going on?” Harry demanded, rushing to keep up.

“Ran into a dark wizard,” Dudley said casually. “He tried to steal my Mirror of Erised. I taught him a lesson. As a bonus, he confessed to a few crimes he’s committed.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at him, faces full of disbelief.

Crack, crack.

Two Aurors Apparated nearby.

“What happened here?” a familiar voice asked.

Dudley looked back and saw Kingsley.

The moment the tall Black wizard took in Dudley and then Harry’s trio, his head started to pound.

It had to be said that when these four were together, nothing good ever followed.

Then Kingsley noticed the half-dead wizard Dudley was carrying.

Kingsley’s vision went dark.

“Merlin’s sake,” he blurted out. “What did you do? Don’t tell me you just dueled a wizard!”

“Wouldn’t really call it a duel,” Dudley said with a small smile. “I was the one doing the hitting.”

He tossed the wizard straight at Kingsley.

“Caught you a dark wizard. He’s got quite a few cases on him.”