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Dudley woke up late the next day. Since the Triwizard tournament was coming to an end tomorrow, they didn't have classes that day. Feeling sluggish, he cleaned up and went out to see Hannah and Susan.
Where are they?
Not finding the girls in the common room, Dudley went out to the owlery. Under his order, Edwin was allowed to use the owls to send him updates on business every few days. Today was one of those days.
Let's see.
He reached the dirty-smelling, shit-covered owlery and grabbed his letter. Instead of staying inside, he went out in the open air and read it.
"Impressive." He muttered, noting the details. As per his order, D&D Holdings had acquired Aston Martin since the company was already held privately by someone, it was easy. Furthermore, the sports brand called Reebok was also acquired. On the side, an offer to acquire General Motors was made as it faced some troubles recently. But that deal failed, not very surprising.
Soon, the plan was to acquire more companies that manufactured necessary goods. From vehicles to clothing, fashion brands, and even a construction firm as he'd soon get the town of Plymouth.
Most of the things outside were going as expected. And Edwin promised to follow his written guidelines. D&D Bank's branch in Manhattan was also under construction. It was being built right under the building Dudley owned, which would serve as D&D Holdings' American headquarters, and also house the Muggle side of the Bank. Of course, the wizard money wouldn't be kept there. The vault locations were a tightly kept secret.
In the end, he returned to the owlery, wrote a letter, and sent it back to Edwin.
Then, since he was already outside, he headed towards the Forbidden Forest with a purpose.
The school was mostly busy, the students all huddled around each other, betting, discussing who would win. While Hufflepuff had surrounded Cedric, Gryffindor had somewhat accepted Harry. And of course, Slytherin supported Krum.
Passing around Hagrid's hut, he neared the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Thankfully, it seemed Hagrid wasn't in the hut. The big man had a lot to do to prepare for tomorrow's task.
As soon as he walked past the first trees, he took out his wand and followed a pre-decided path. He didn't have much experience inside the forest, but he knew a few spots. He knew where the dangers were.
Careful of his surroundings, and aware of the possibility of Centaurs, Dudley soon arrived in front of a tree. The only thing that stood out in it was a hole in its trunk. Other than that, it looked so ordinary that nobody would even look at it.
That was exactly what he wanted.
Let's hope she succeeded.
Quickly, he shoved his hand into the hole in the tree trunk and patted around to reach for something. It took a little bit of searching before he finally touched a small object, a silver chain with a small, common locket.
Good job, Tonks.
He observed it. The locket was one of those that split open to reveal a photo. In his case, there were tiny words. "Not Free!" Were the words that Tonks had left for him.
"Hah! I'll make it up to you."
He quickly put the locket around his neck and hid it inside his shirt before leaving the Forbidden Forest. The place gave him the chills every single time. The fact that it wasn't yet fully mapped and even adult wizards steered away from it made him uneasy to even approach it.
Still, he was happy. At last, his preparations were finished. In twenty-four hours, the world would see the rise of a new faction. One devoid of incompetence. One not scared of the likes of Voldemort and his dogs.
Casually, he strolled back towards the school. But instead of the school castle, he decided to take a look at the venue where the third task would be held. Sure, he couldn't look at the big maze, but at least the gathering area was accessible.
But as he passed by the shore of the Black Lake, he heard someone's humming coming from beyond the tall grass. It was the usual spot where Hogwarts students commonly gathered on occasion.
Intrigued, he changed directions and went ahead.
"Luna?"
To his surprise, it was the one-year junior of his. The silver-eyed dirty-blonde-haired girl with a brain filled with more dreams than reality.
"What are you doing here alone?"
She was sitting there alone under the tree, staring at the big lake. They had no classes but she was still dressed in her school uniform. And now that Dudley thought about it, he couldn't remember seeing her in anything but the school uniform yet.
"Dudley?" Luna looked behind and jumped to her feet as if her legs were springs.
All smiles, she skipped over to him and without a warning, jumped in to give him a hug. Having reached adulthood that year, she'd gained a few more inches in height, but even at five feet two, she was short to him and delicately petite. To the point that Dudley wondered if she didn't eat enough.
Chuckling, he hugged her back like a friend would. But then Luna jumped and kissed his right cheek for a quick moment.
"What was that for?"
"We're friends," Luna replied and skipped back to the tree and sat down again, staring at the lake.
Scratching his head, Dudley went ahead and sat down beside her to see what she was even doing. Normally she'd travel around and search for her mysterious creatures.
"What are you looking for?" He asked.
"Merpeople," Luna said dreamily. "I'm just waiting for them to appear. Harry mentioned there are lots of them living here. Perhaps they'll have some insight into the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."
Honestly, her logic wasn't wrong. Out of all beings, they'd know something. Perhaps even the Centaurs. Though he personally didn't believe the Crumple-Horned Snorkack existed.
Nodding, he looked at her face, so eager, her eyes focused, her small, pale face frozen in seriousness. Her hair was long, reaching all the way to the grass behind her.
He'd met her father previously regarding investing in The Quibbler. To this day he remembered that strange man vividly. After all, who the hell suggests some random guy to marry his daughter, or ask if he likes his daughter and whatnot? Not that he didn't like Luna, though.
He just didn't have any desire to get married. If someone were to ask him where he saw himself in ten years. He'd reply with "On the bed between Susan and Hannah." While meeting and experiencing other ladies was a thrill. He was perfectly content with the two housemates. His friends since the first year.
"How's your father's business going, Luna? I hope he's not mistreating the new editors I got him," Dudley asked her, making small talk.
Luna straightened her back suddenly and nodded excitedly. Giving him a cute smile, she reached for his hand, her slim fingers warm and tight. "Oh, he loves it! The Quibbler is doing wonderfully, you know. Dad's been so busy lately, that he hardly has time to write to me. He mentioned that he's planning to expand to America and Europe this year, which is quite exciting, really."
Well, I did poach the Daily Prophet's editors.
The Quibbler had transformed into a full-fledged newspaper magazine, not just a tabloid of weird topics. From Magical to Muggle, the big events were reported. Great natural calamity, great loss of human life, or a war breaking out. It was all reported. The magazine was a loss-making business right now.
Dudley didn't care. He needed a reader base, and that was it. Eventually, he had plans to make it his goldmine—literally. As he'd give out Muggle rates of gold daily in the magazine in the future. Slowly equating wizard wealth with Muggle.
"That's great. What about you? Does anyone trouble you in Ravenclaw?"
Luna shook her head strongly, tossing her hair. "Oh, I have so many friends now. Cho brought me lovely things from her trip to China, you know, from her grandparents. And Padma and I, we visit the baths together. Really, I have more friends than I ever thought possible. I told Dad and he was so happy."
Damn? All that just from an indirect warning to Cho and Padma? Dudley was surprised by his own influence in Hogwarts.
"That's great to hear, Luna." He muttered, feeling good about the small change.
"Yes!" Luna chirped. She stared at Dudley for a while after that. Then something came over her and she moved all of a sudden, breaking the tranquil moment. "Oh, and…"
She abruptly hopped onto his lap, surprising him.
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