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He was different from Lucius. Lucius had ways to get himself out of trouble. At worst, he only had to spend more Galleons. If it were Lockhart, even if he donated a mountain of money, no one would help him.
Attacking wizards, stealing their experiences, and then using those experiences to earn money. No matter how one looked at it, it was an extremely vile act.
Perhaps only throwing away his entire fortune could possibly clear him.
The key point was that even if he got out, once the matter was exposed, his reputation would be ruined.
How would his readers see him? How would other wizards see him?
And how was he supposed to live after that?
"Let go of me! I am innocent!"
Lockhart argued loudly. Taking advantage of the Auror beside him being careless, he slammed into the man, knocked him down, and pulled out the Auror's wand.
Gawain had never expected Lockhart to resist. The Aurors had not expected Lockhart to resist either.
And so Lockhart actually managed to break free by purely physical means.
'This is the quality of Aurors? Feels a little pathetic.'
'Instead of restraining the target with a spell at once, they tried to grab him by hand.'
Dudley watched and shook his head.
'And they didn't evacuate the crowd either.'
If Lockhart were truly powerful, then his sudden attack could have put the students in the classroom in danger.
"Put down the weapon! What do you think you're doing?"
The moment Lockhart drew the wand, Gawain became tense. The Aurors around him also quickly looked for cover.
It looked rather ridiculous.
But after thinking about it carefully, it was understandable. Lockhart was practically a household name in the wizarding world. Looking at all those experiences of his, every one of them proved he was a powerful wizard.
"Stay back! Don't force me! That's right, I am very powerful!"
Seeing that the Aurors were wary of him, Lockhart tried to find a chance to escape.
He absolutely could not be caught. If he were caught, everything would be over.
If he ran, he could still find a way to turn things around.
Stirring up public opinion in his favor was not impossible.
"I once solved, all by myself..."
A flash of red spell light suddenly shot past. Lockhart's wand flew from his hand and landed steadily in Dudley's. Lockhart himself was blasted backward.
"I believe Professor Lockhart has earned himself another charge: attempted assault on an Auror."
In the end, Lockhart was still taken away by the Aurors. The students, who had been crying halfway through, were left utterly confused. Hadn't he just been giving them an emotional farewell? How had he suddenly become a criminal?
But for the Hogwarts students, this was only a small episode.
The day for exam results soon arrived.
Unsurprisingly, Dudley was first again, followed closely by Hermione, then Harry, Malfoy, Ron, and Neville. The members of the disciplinary group swept the top six spots in their year.
Cedric, the new member of the disciplinary group from Hufflepuff, also took first place in fourth year.
The disciplinary group once again proved itself through strength.
"You all have to come to our house over the holiday."
On the Hogwarts Express back to King's Cross, Ron invited Dudley and the others again. Last year they had gone to Neville's house, and only Harry had gone to Ron's. This year it should be his turn, right?
Malfoy felt somewhat unwilling. He truly wanted to invite them to his family manor, but with the matter involving his father...
Having them go there would only create an even greater conflict.
Unless he became the head of the Malfoy family.
"I think perhaps you should come to our house over the holiday."
Dudley opened a small pink suitcase and stuffed box after box of things inside. Hermione's luggage was becoming more and more numerous, and heavier and heavier, because it was basically all books.
Once books piled up, they became absolutely dead heavy.
That was why people said books had power.
Carry a pile of books like that around Hogwarts for a few laps every day, and as long as you could keep going, it would not take long before you were full of power.
Fortunately, the Undetectable Extension Charm existed. Otherwise, the weight of Hermione's luggage would definitely be no less than Dudley's pile of bags full of workout equipment.
"Experience Muggle life?" Ron's eyes lit up. "That sounds good too. I've never stayed in a Muggle house before. Fred told me Muggles have a little box called an electric something that moves like portraits. I really want to see it."
"My grandmother will definitely agree," Neville said.
As long as he said he was going with Dudley, Mrs. Longbottom would absolutely give it her wholehearted approval.
Malfoy frowned slightly. He very much wanted to go, but Lucius was on that side. Tsk. Annoying.
A stubborn old relic.
"No. I mean our house as wizards."
Dudley shook his head. "I bought a property in Godric's Hollow. It is right beside the old Potter house."
At these words, Ron, Neville, and Malfoy all stared blankly at him.
"Big D, you mean you bought a house?"
Ron emphasized the question again, as though he could not quite believe it.
"Yes. This holiday, I need to renovate the old Potter house and the new house."
"Do you want to come help?"
The necessary materials had almost all been delivered. All that remained was installation.
A home should naturally be as safe as possible.
Actually, it was not only the two houses. Dudley had bought the land for several miles around them.
Only ordinary renovation could no longer satisfy Dudley. He planned to use Magic Armor Modification to overhaul the houses completely and turn them into the strongest possible fortress.
Otherwise, Dudley always felt something was missing. He lacked a sense of security.
"Cool," even Malfoy could not help saying.
Even someone as wealthy as Malfoy would not dare imagine casually buying a house of his own.
Even great estates did not have endless reserves.
As for Ron, his entire family squeezed into one house. At this moment, he no longer knew what words to use.
Ron swallowed and could not help asking, "Big D, exactly how rich are you now?"
Dudley thought briefly. "In short, too rich to count."
If someone asked what his superpower was, Dudley would definitely answer: being super rich.
Simply put, he was not too clear either. He only knew that one of the accounts he had opened at Gringotts had already filled several vaults.
When the goblins saw him, they looked like... tsk, that comparison was not elegant. Better change it.
They looked at him as if they were seeing their own father, serving him with extreme caution. Their attitude could not have been better. They were only short of kneeling down to lick his toes.
Perhaps even their real fathers did not receive that treatment.
After all, goblins valued money above all else.
"By the way, there is a project to earn some pocket money recently. Do you want to take part?"
The first All-World Wizard Cards Tournament had achieved a huge wave of success. Carrow was already planning to expand the event across all of Europe. The next All-World Wizard Cards Tournament would definitely set off a storm of public attention.
They were now preparing to open a new card pool. This time, Dudley intended to release a pack of famous modern wizards.
Because it involved portrait rights, they needed the wizards' consent.
The professors of Hogwarts, along with powerful or evil wizards, were all included in this card pack plan.
"Yes!"
The three looked at one another and answered in unison.
No one disliked having more Galleons.
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