Chapter 379: Absolute Indifference
Everyone stared at the scene in astonishment, feeling a satisfaction they had never known before. Flint would probably never crawl out from under this shadow for the rest of his life. Even Percy and Cedric could not help feeling a little sympathy for him. If that footage spread, Flint would be socially dead at Hogwarts.
"These magic spheres can be reused. A few hundred times should be no problem. If one gets damaged, come to me and take another," Dudley said. With a flick of his hand, the spheres immediately flew towards the crowd.
People reached out, and each grabbed one. With something this entertaining, how could they possibly miss out? Some did not reach for one, clearly unwilling to completely fall out with those pure-blood wizards. Dudley did not comment on that.
Different paths do not mix.
This, too, was part of refining the Kingdom of Order.
Cedric hesitated, but in the end, he still took a sphere. When the other Hufflepuff students saw that, they reached out as well, which showed just how much influence Cedric had in Hufflepuff. Percy also seemed hesitant, but remembering Flint's earlier humiliation, he decided to take one too, just in case.
Just as everyone was happily dividing up the magic spheres, the classroom doors were forced open with magic.
Snape strode in from outside, his expression dark. Behind him followed the Slytherin students who had only just fled.
"Dursley! You've got a lot of nerve. Using the Imperius Curse on your fellow students!" Snape said coldly.
The moment they saw Snape, the crowd instinctively drew their necks in. Only Dudley showed no fear at all, his face calm as he said, "Professor Snape, it's hard to imagine you actually believed what they told you and concluded that I used the Imperius Curse."
"I have to say, Professor Dumbledore's decision was correct. With your ability, you truly are unfit to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts."
"You cannot even tell what an Imperius Curse looks like."
Dudley's words hit Snape where it hurt most. Snape's face turned ugly, the muscles in his cheeks tightening with rage.
In a sharp motion, Snape drew his wand and pointed it straight at Dudley.
"Do not speak to me like that," Snape said, forcing out each word.
Dudley looked at Snape and completely ignored the wand in his hand.
"What, Professor Snape?" Dudley's expression stayed calm. "Are you going to take points from me, or cast a curse on me?"
He even stepped forward.
"I've tolerated you for a long time."
Dudley's face remained calm.
The crowd was so frightened that they could not speak. Harry looked anxious. Others could not see what was happening with Dudley, but Harry could.
The calmer Dudley seemed, the more it meant something was wrong. That calm looked less like composure and more like absolute indifference, the kind of restraint that did not care about consequences, the quiet before a storm.
Dudley had rarely been like this before, but as his strength increased, it happened more often. The most recent time was when Dudley faced Rufus Scrimgeour and a group of Aurors. In that fight, Dudley had even cast Fiendfyre.
"Dudley, calm down. This is school," Harry said in a low voice.
Dudley did not respond. He only kept watching Snape, still unnervingly calm.
Snape, too, sensed something was wrong. Dudley looked perfectly composed, his words even carrying a polite edge, yet it sent chills down Snape's spine.
In Dudley's eyes, Snape saw a disregard for life itself, like a human staring down at ants on the ground. No emotion, only coldness, absolute coldness.
"Severus!"
A sharp cry rang out as Professor McGonagall hurried in.
"What are you doing?" McGonagall demanded, staring at the scene in shock. A student was confronting a professor, and the one holding a wand was the professor.
Hearing McGonagall's voice, Snape subconsciously took a step back and lowered his wand. Under Dudley's cold gaze, Snape chose to retreat.
"Dursley, what is going on here?" McGonagall asked sternly.
Dudley did not answer at once. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the coldness and madness in his gaze were gone.
"It was supposed to be a Kingdom of Order gathering, you know that," Dudley said lightly. "But something went wrong. The Slytherin students came to cause trouble, so I taught them a lesson. Then Professor Snape, to back up his own House's students, seemed to want to throw some curse at me."
"That's not true!" Flint shouted. "He used the Imperius Curse on us!"
McGonagall's expression changed immediately.
"Dudley, did you…" Her lips trembled slightly. She truly feared Dudley had failed to control himself and cast an Unforgivable Curse. On that point, she had no doubt Dudley was capable of it.
"Of course not, Professor McGonagall. You can check them," Dudley said. "Also, I have evidence of what happened."
With that, Dudley activated a magic sphere.
A low hum sounded.
What had happened earlier was projected directly into the classroom, and everyone saw it again. As the images replayed, every Slytherin's face turned ugly, especially Flint and Nott.
Soon, under everyone's eyes, the two of them "knelt" again in the projection, frantically admitting their wrongdoing. The sight made Flint and Nott want to leap off a tower.
"This is not the Imperius Curse," McGonagall said firmly. From the footage, she could clearly see Flint and Nott's expressions. Their behaviour did resemble being controlled, obeying Dudley's every instruction, but their faces showed they still possessed self-awareness.
A person under the Imperius Curse would feel their mind go blank, their thoughts and sense of responsibility dissolving into nothing, then experience intense happiness and pleasure. After that, a voice would tell them what to do, and they would obey completely. That was not what this footage showed.
"Even if it isn't the Imperius Curse, this is still an extremely dangerous spell, something similar to it," Snape said, his face dark. "I believe Dursley should be thoroughly examined!"