Chapter 380: It's All My Fault
"But Dudley didn't cast a spell, did he?" Hermione said at once.
"I know Dursley seems capable of silent, wandless magic. For him, a curse like that would be child's play," Snape said, pressing on.
"Professor Snape, do you have any proof that Dudley cast a spell?" Harry demanded coldly.
His green eyes were locked on Snape, as if they might spit fire.
Snape glanced at Harry, especially at that stare. The words at the tip of his tongue never came out. He only gave a chilly snort.
"Dudley, what exactly happened here?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"It's just a simple application of magic. It doesn't even count as a spell," Dudley said calmly.
"Like this."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Dudley released that aura of authority again, this time wrapping both McGonagall and Snape within it.
"This…" McGonagall's expression changed instantly.
In her eyes, Dudley seemed to grow taller in an instant. That invisible pressure made her want to yield, to lower her head without even knowing why.
But the pressure had not reached the point of a complete qualitative shift, and McGonagall was able to resist that instinctive fear.
Snape experienced something similar, but his face turned even darker.
He had already tasted this ability the last few times he clashed with Dudley.
Only back then, the presence Dudley gave off had not been this intense.
For a brief moment, Snape had the illusion that he was facing the Dark Lord.
This kind of oppressive majesty, he had only ever felt from one person.
"All right. That's what it looks like," Dudley said, and withdrew the aura.
McGonagall and Snape both looked a little better, and they finally understood what Flint and Nott had been suffering.
If even the two of them found it hard to resist, then two students who had not yet graduated stood no chance.
What they did not know was that Dudley had deliberately weakened what he released just now.
If he truly unleashed the full authority of a Beyonder of the Justiciar Pathway, even McGonagall and Snape would be heavily affected. They would not end up like Flint, kneeling and slapping themselves, but their movements would slow, and fear would strike deep. Their combat strength would be sharply reduced.
"It's certainly not the Imperius Curse, but…" McGonagall studied Dudley for a moment, then said, "Use that ability as little as possible at school. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Professor McGonagall," Dudley said, nodding.
McGonagall did not strictly forbid him from using it. She only told him to use it less.
Most students simply could not withstand that sort of pressure. If Dudley used it at all, a brief warning would be enough. Hogwarts could hardly become a place where people constantly ended up kneeling in front of Dudley and slapping their own faces.
"Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, that's enough. Everyone, disperse," McGonagall said.
"But Professor, we…" Flint started, only to meet McGonagall's severe stare before he could finish.
"Mr Flint, what exactly do you want, then?" McGonagall said briskly. "I've already seen the entire sequence of events. The fact that I am not pursuing your deliberate disruption is lenient enough."
"Of course, if Mr Flint insists he is dissatisfied, we can show that recording to others and let everyone judge right and wrong for themselves."
"And if Mr Flint is still not satisfied, I can send the recording to the Ministry of Magic and let them decide whether what Dudley used was the Imperius Curse. How does that sound?"
McGonagall's words came one after another, leaving no room to wriggle.
Flint and Nott's faces turned bright red, and they did not dare say another word.
That footage was only circulating inside the school for now. If outsiders saw it, especially people from the Ministry of Magic, how were they supposed to survive in the wizarding world after graduation?
Seeing Flint fall silent, McGonagall turned to leave.
After taking two steps, she seemed to remember something and looked back at Snape.
"Professor Snape, do you have anything else?"
Snape snorted, shot Dudley a hard glare, and turned on his heel, striding out of the classroom.
McGonagall left right after him.
"You just wait. I'll…" Flint glared at Dudley and the others with venom in his eyes.
Slap.
A sharp sound cut through the room, and everyone turned towards it.
Fred had raised his hand and slapped George across the face. He did not actually hit him, but he made sure the sound was loud.
"Ah, it's all my fault!"
"I'm sorry!"
Slap, slap, slap.
Fred alternated left and right, while George whipped his head back and forth with every "hit", loudly confessing his "sins" the whole time.
The room exploded with laughter.
Even Percy, who usually found them unbearable, laughed until he was nearly doubled over.
Those two were truly something else.
Flint's face went the colour of liver. He spun around and fled without looking back.
The other Slytherins did not dare say anything either. They hurried out after him.
Malfoy gave Dudley a long, deep look, then turned and left.
"He's already that strong?" Malfoy thought.
Recently, he had been working hard at his magic, but in the end, he found the gap between himself and Dudley only growing wider.
It was not just Dudley. He was even falling far behind Harry and Ron.
Malfoy found that impossible to accept, but there was nothing he could do.
Inside the classroom, the gathering continued.
Dudley reiterated the Kingdom of Order's requirements, then, without hesitation, expelled the students who had stood by coldly during the incident and, in the end, had not even taken a magic sphere.
To them, Dudley only said they did not meet the conditions to join the Kingdom of Order.
They were unhappy, but they did not argue. They left quietly. They had already seen Dudley's methods.
At this first gathering, Dudley only taught them some simple magic. As for Hermes, unless someone was a core member, Dudley would not teach it lightly.
After a while, once Dudley had confirmed who could truly join, he would use the Justiciar's power of secrecy to bring everyone into the Kingdom of Order under the condition that they could not betray its secrets.
When the gathering ended, the signed declaration of the wizard's duel between the Kingdom of Order and Slytherin was posted outside the Great Hall.
Besides that, no one knew who did it, but someone drew a moving sketch of Flint and Nott kneeling on the floor and admitting fault, even thoughtfully labelling both of their names.