Chapter 287: Interrogation
Dudley walked toward Gryffindor Tower as the nighttime castle fell particularly quiet around him. The stone corridors stretched long and empty, their shadows deepening with each step.
The Chamber situation is finally resolved, and I've advanced to Sequence 6 of dual pathways, Dudley reflected. When facing most wizards now, I no longer need to worry about survival.
Reflecting on this term, he'd originally thought it would be uneventful, but it had proven even more dangerous than last year. Voldemort hadn't infiltrated directly, but his soul fragment had slipped in—a discovery that clarified Voldemort's true trump card: Horcruxes.
Speaking of which, I should actually thank the Malfoy family, Dudley thought with a quiet chuckle.
Lucius had placed Voldemort's Horcrux in Ginny's bag, which then circled around and ended up in Draco's possession, nearly getting his own son killed. After Draco sensed the diary's problems, he sacrificed it to the Night Emperor. These two were truly bad luck for Voldemort. Dudley had a sense they were friendly forces—or at least, semi-allies. Lucius was a semi-believer of the Night Emperor, after all.
Lucius Malfoy probably didn't realize the importance of this diary to Voldemort. Otherwise, he would never have carelessly given it to someone else. I wonder what expression Voldemort will have when he finds out.
The thought amused him.
In Gryffindor's common room, Harry's trio hadn't gone to sleep. They sat in a corner, waiting for Dudley to return. Hearing sounds from the entrance, the three immediately stood.
"Dudley, did Professor Dumbledore give you any trouble?" Harry asked immediately.
"Why would he? We're heroes of Hogwarts now. Recipients of the Special Contribution Award," Dudley said with a smile.
"That's good. Professor Dumbledore didn't look very happy. I thought he might punish you," Hermione said with relief.
"Dumbledore's poor expression is due to other matters and has nothing to do with you all," Dudley shrugged.
"Dudley, did you discover anything interesting deep in that Slytherin passage?" Ron asked curiously.
Dudley, recalling the strange circumstances in that tunnel, decided not to mention it to Harry and the others. That place was truly too dangerous—even for the current Dudley, let alone them.
"Just some of Slytherin's old books and an interesting notebook," Dudley said, retrieving Slytherin's notebook from the Mirror of Erised.
"This notebook can record the most recently cast spell. When you need it, you can release it directly. Additionally, it can help deduce spells—you can create new spells, cast them on the notebook, and it will tell you potential problems with your spell. Of course, the notebook isn't all-powerful. Being able to provide insightful suggestions is already quite impressive."
After introducing Slytherin's notebook, Dudley handed it to Harry's trio. They attempted casting spells on it, and indeed, they successfully recorded them. Hermione exclaimed with delight—this notebook was practically a divine artifact for someone like her.
"Alright, go back to sleep. We can play with it again tomorrow," Dudley said, collecting the notebook.
Hermione said goodnight and returned to the girls' dormitory. Dudley and the others returned to their beds. Reflecting on the day's events, Dudley gradually drifted into sleep.
Unaware of time passing, Dudley found himself back in that strange underground passage, standing before the cavern entrance.
That voice always feels somewhat familiar, Dudley murmured. Unfortunately, I can't quite remember it.
He frowned, staring at the darkness within the cave, but saw nothing. His vision gradually blurred as Dudley sank deeper into sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, Dudley suddenly sensed faint sounds around him—like they were separated by a thin veil, very hazy.
"Hmm?" Dudley jolted awake.
He sensed magical fluctuations. Though very faint, they were enough to wake him. Rather than opening his eyes completely, he cracked them open slightly whilst sensing the surrounding atmosphere. The magical signature felt wrong—isolated, contained within a deliberately cast barrier.
Soon, he discovered the sounds were coming from Harry's bed.
Harry was currently sitting up, excitedly saying something. However, his voice was almost inaudible, blocked by an invisible barrier. And on Harry's bed, there was a dried, skeletal figure jumping about.
A house-elf? Dudley's gaze sharpened instantly.
Wasn't this the same house-elf who had nearly killed Harry several times before? Dudley had previously tried to capture him multiple times, even going so far as to specifically learn the anti-Apparition spell for that purpose. But the creature never appeared again.
To think, after they defeated the basilisk today, this house-elf showed up.
Could a soul fragment of Voldemort still send messages outward? Dudley wondered.
Without another moment's hesitation, Dudley recited in Hermes.
"Swift Confinement!"
This was the anti-Apparition spell. However, Dudley was still cautious, so he whispered again:
"Apparition is forbidden here!"
As Dudley pushed his right hand forward, the edict took effect. The surrounding space seemed sealed, with no magical fluctuations detectable.
Swish!
Dudley immediately rolled over and stood up.
"Oh!"
Startled by Dudley's sudden movement, Dobby jumped. Upon recognizing who had stood up, his expression became even more distressed. Not daring to waste another second, Dobby snapped his fingers, attempting to Disapparate.
However, in the next instant, he discovered with horror that the space here was directly sealed. Even a house-elf's magic couldn't function.
"Now let's see where you run," Dudley approached.
"Binding!"
Dudley raised his hand, deploying his extraordinary ability to immobilize Dobby completely. From that moment, the house-elf could do nothing—not even move a finger. His enormous eyes bulged like two giant lamps, staring at the gradually approaching Dudley with pure terror radiating from every inch of his withered form.