Harry Potter: Dudley From LOTM - 368

Chapter 368: New Members

“They really…” Professor McGonagall said, tears threatening in her eyes as she took it all in.

Nothing moved a teacher quite like seeing students shine. And in this case, most of them were Gryffindors.

Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout also wore smiles of surprise and pride. Even if fewer students from their Houses had managed it compared with Gryffindor, it was still more than enough to be proud of.

It was certainly better than Slytherin’s table, swallowed in gloom.

Among the professors present, only Snape’s expression blended perfectly with Slytherin’s darkness.

“A bit of petty cleverness, that’s all,” Snape said sourly.

“Oh, in that case, why don’t we let Slytherin’s students show a bit of ‘petty cleverness’ too?” Professor McGonagall shot back.

“Perhaps Slytherin simply doesn’t have any ‘petty cleverness’ at all,” Professor Sprout said, displeased.

Hufflepuff was too often overlooked. Now that a few of her students had finally cast a Patronus, she was not about to let anyone sneer at it.

Flitwick did not say anything, but he did give Snape a sharp look.

At the Slytherin table, everyone looked dreadful.

Part of it was the Dementors’ lingering influence. The rest was humiliation.

Not one of them could cast a Patronus.

Malfoy looked especially grim.

The worst part was that Harry and the others had all managed it, while he could not. He did not even know what the spell was.

Up in the sky, the Dementors were slowly retreating. It seemed they had not found any trace of Sirius Black.

Dumbledore lifted both arms and spread his hands.

A faint hum filled the air.

The candles that had gone out flared back to life, and light poured across the Great Hall in an instant.

The cold and darkness vanished as though wiped away, and everything seemed to breathe again.

“The staff have searched the entire castle,” Dumbledore announced. “The Dementors have also checked other areas of the school. No sign of Sirius Black has been found.”

“To be safe, everyone will sleep in the Great Hall tonight. Professors will patrol around you and protect your safety.”

“All right. Eat something,” Dumbledore said. “This Halloween night has been unpleasant enough.”

With that, he turned and left the hall, clearly with other matters to attend to.

Professor McGonagall and the other Heads of House did not leave immediately. They came over towards Harry’s side.

“Well done. Excellent,” Professor McGonagall said, unable to hide her admiration.

She rarely praised students.

Her gaze swept over Harry and Hermione, then moved on to Neville, Seamus, and the others.

To be honest, Harry and his friends managing a Patronus did not shock her. But Neville and Ginny pulling it off truly did.

“Did you teach them?” Professor McGonagall asked, looking at Dudley.

Dudley had not cast a Patronus himself, but McGonagall knew there was only one person in the school who could have taught so many students this spell.

“Yes, Professor,” Dudley replied.

“Very good. Gryffindor, twenty points,” Professor McGonagall said loudly.

At that, many students finally realised the truth. The reason those students had been able to cast the Patronus Charm was Dudley.

“Sirius Black is probably not in the castle anymore,” Dudley told Professor McGonagall. “If you want to search, it would be better to look outside.”

“Have you found something?” McGonagall asked, startled.

“No,” Dudley said. “That’s exactly why I’m sure. If he were still inside the castle, I would have found something.”

“I see. I’ll tell Professor Dumbledore,” McGonagall said, nodding, and then she left the Great Hall.

After the Heads of House left, several teachers stayed behind to guard the students.

No one had much appetite, but they still forced themselves to eat a little. Otherwise, the night would be unbearable.

At the same time, many students had already begun asking about the Patronus Charm.

A lot of them wanted to learn it, especially the older students.

They had noticed something that made no sense. The students who had cast this advanced spell were almost all the younger ones. Second and third years in particular made up the majority.

That ran completely against how difficult the charm was supposed to be.

“Hi,” a tall, handsome boy said as he came over, smiling. “I’m Cedric. Cedric Diggory. Hufflepuff. I heard from Luna that you taught her the Patronus Charm, is that right?”

“Hello,” Dudley said with a polite nod.

“I heard that as long as you join the organisation you founded, you can learn spells with you,” Cedric said. “So I was wondering if I could join.”

“That’s true,” Dudley said. “But you’ll need to pass our assessment before you can join the Kingdom of Order.”

He wanted to expand his influence, but he was not going to take just anyone.

Still, he had heard of Cedric. In Hufflepuff and in Hogwarts as a whole, Cedric was well known.

One was his looks and easy manner.

The other was his excellent grades, which was not common even in Hufflepuff.

“So that’s how it is…” Cedric looked disappointed. “What sort of requirements are there?”

“There aren’t any specific requirements,” Dudley said. Then he smiled slightly. “But there is something I’d like to know. Are you willing to learn spells from someone two years below you?”

The Gryffindors nearby all turned to look.

Cedric smiled back. “Learning magic has never been divided by age or year, has it?”

“Besides, I saw Fred and George cast a Patronus. If they don’t have a problem with it, then neither do I,” Cedric said frankly.

“Oh? All right,” Dudley said, nodding.

“Then are you coming to our gathering this weekend?” Dudley asked.

“This weekend?” Cedric’s face lit up with surprise. “Of course.”

“Wait, I’ve got a few friends. They want to come too. Can I bring them with me?”

“You can assess them as well, see if they’re qualified to join the Kingdom of Order,” Cedric said, excitement spilling into his voice.

“All right,” Dudley said after a moment’s thought, then nodded.