Harry Potter: Dudley From LOTM - 360

Chapter 360: Halloween Again

At those words, a sharp ripple passed through Dumbledore’s blue eyes.

He did not say anything else, but in his heart, he already understood Dudley’s destination.

A god.

A concept Dudley had mentioned before rose once more in Dumbledore’s mind.

After a long time, Dumbledore drew a deep breath.

“You will protect Hogwarts, won’t you?” he asked.

“This is my school. Of course I’ll protect it,” Dudley said seriously.

“Good.” Dumbledore looked at him. “That is my only request of you.”

To Dumbledore’s surprise, Dudley shook his head.

“I will protect this place because I am part of it. I like it here. It holds a great many happy memories for me.”

“Not because you ask it of me,” Dudley said earnestly.

A relaxed smile gradually appeared on Dumbledore’s face.

“Indeed.”

“That is for the best.”

“Good night, Dudley. I am going back to sleep.”

“When you get old, you never quite sleep enough. Hopefully tonight I can finally get some proper rest,” Dumbledore said, then turned and walked slowly towards his office.

“Good night, Professor Dumbledore. Sweet dreams,” Dudley said, and headed for Gryffindor Tower.

In the common room, everyone was waiting for him to return.

If Luna were not a Ravenclaw, Dudley was certain she would be here too.

“Dudley!”

The moment he came in, everyone stood and hurried over.

“Professor Dumbledore didn’t give you a hard time, did he?” Hermione asked at once.

“Have we been found out?”

“Is Dumbledore going to make us disband the Kingdom of Order?”

Questions flew at him from every direction, anxious and uneasy.

“Don’t worry, everyone.” Dudley pressed both hands down, releasing a trace of authority that made them fall quiet.

“Professor Dumbledore didn’t make things difficult for us, and we do not need to disband the Kingdom of Order. From now on, we can hold our activities openly.”

“That’s brilliant!” everyone cheered, and Colin even jumped on the spot.

“You have no idea how terrified I was. The moment I saw Professor Dumbledore, I swear my heart stopped,” Ron said dramatically.

“As if you were the only one,” Harry said.

“Thank goodness he didn’t stop us. Great wizards really are something else,” Hermione said with genuine admiration.

When they came back earlier, they had already prepared for the worst.

They had never expected the outcome to be this good, better than their best hopes.

“So next, you can see if anyone else wants to join,” Dudley said. “But we’re not taking just anyone. They have to be willing to follow my lead, and they must never reveal our secrets.”

“I’ll personally vet them. Only those I approve will be allowed to join,” Dudley said.

“Perfect. I can tell Fred and George,” Ron said immediately.

The others also spoke up, saying they wanted to tell their close friends and bring them in.

Dudley smiled.

Since Dumbledore already knew and had not objected, there was no need to keep hiding.

“All right. Off to bed, everyone,” Dudley said.

They were still buzzing with excitement and did not want to break up. Dudley did not push it. He wished them good night and went back to the dormitory to rest first.

The next day, news of the Kingdom of Order began circulating among certain groups.

Everyone was curious what sort of organisation it was, and quite a few people asked to join.

Dudley did not agree immediately. He simply asked Harry to help compile a list of the students who wanted in. Later, he would speak with each of them and decide whether they were suitable.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed.

Halloween drew near once again.

Compared with previous years, this Halloween would be completely different for Dudley and the others.

This year, they could go to Hogsmeade. Dudley had been there before, but only at night. And to avoid being noticed, he had gone to places like the Shrieking Shack. He did not really know what the wizarding village was like in the daytime, so he was looking forward to it too.

“Finally, we get to go to Hogsmeade. I’ve been looking forward to this for ages. Fred keeps telling me it’s brilliant,” Ron said, excited from the moment he woke up.

“Yes, Ron. You’ve mentioned it about a hundred times,” Harry said.

“Harry, don’t tell me you’re not excited,” Ron demanded.

“Of course I am. I’ve been waiting for this day ever since I got my uncle’s signature,” Harry said.

Then Harry looked at Dudley. “Honestly, if it were the old Uncle Vernon, he definitely wouldn’t have signed for me.”

Dudley nodded.

That was true. If he hadn’t come back, given how awful things used to be between Harry and the Dursleys, there was no way Harry would ever have gotten that signature.

They left the dormitory and met Hermione in the common room.

“Oh, honestly. Why are you lot so slow?” Hermione complained the moment they came down.

“Hermione, it’s still early,” Ron said.

“That’s not the point. We still have to interview the people who want to join the Kingdom of Order,” Hermione said seriously. “I wrote an exam paper for them based on Dudley’s requirements. It will properly test them from every angle and see if they meet our standards.”

At that, Ron’s mouth twitched.

“Hermione, I guarantee you, if you made me take that exam right now, I wouldn’t even qualify to join the Kingdom of Order,” Ron said.

“Then you should treasure the opportunity you already have,” Hermione said briskly.

“Come on. It’s almost time,” Dudley reminded them.

Only then did they stop bickering and head out.

“Halloween… come to think of it, the last two Halloweens weren’t exactly peaceful,” Ron said with a frown. “First year, there was a troll. In the second year, there was a basilisk. This year, it’s not going to be something else again, is it?”

“Oh, Ron, you and your big mouth. Stop it,” Hermione snapped.

“I’m just saying,” Ron said, rolling his eyes.

“If anything happens tonight, it’ll be because you jinxed it,” Hermione said.

Harry and Dudley exchanged a look and, without a word, quickened their pace, leaving the two habitual arguers behind.