Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 46: Death Eater Rewards
While Lucius Malfoy was lost in thought, Draco, who had heard Dudley's comment, fumed with anger.
He stood up and glared at Dudley, wanting to curse him, but remembered his father's presence in the room.
"You… %#$@#$#%..." was all Draco managed to mutter, struggling to restrain himself in front of Lucius. Normally, he would have called Dudley a mudblood, but he didn't want to tarnish the Malfoy family's name while his father was watching.
The rest of the class didn't understand what Draco was trying to say. However, the outburst managed to snap Lucius out of his trance, and he turned to glare at Dudley with cold fury.
In his anger, Lucius forgot Snape's warning. Without thinking, he locked eyes with Dudley and unconsciously attempted to read the boy's mind.
That was the biggest mistake he could have made. Dudley had been ready and had activated his gamers mind.
Lucius was immediately pulled into a vortex. Inside, he felt his lungs being squeezed and his body torn apart by overwhelming magical forces. In a mere second, he collapsed, limp and unconscious.
The entire class was stunned, especially the Slytherins, who couldn't believe that the mighty Lord Malfoy had fainted so suddenly. Draco, who had been filled with rage, was now shocked and terrified. His fear quickly turned back into anger.
"You..." Draco pointed at Dudley, trembling with fury. "What have you done to my father?"
He drew his wand, but before he could act, Harry raised his own wand, ready to defend his cousin. In an instant, it was like a domino effect—almost every student from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff drew their wands as well.
The Slytherins, not to be outdone, followed suit, wands at the ready, preparing for a showdown.
Dudley, who had become the target of everyone's hostility, didn't draw his wand. Instead, he relied on his interface, where pressing the Y button activated a full Protego spell. It was faster than drawing his wand—a perk of having a gamer's mindset.
[DING! YOU HAVE DEFEATED A MEMBER OF THE DARK LORD'S INNER CIRCLE.]
Before he could even check his reward, Dudley dismissed the notification. The situation in the classroom was too tense, and a full-blown duel was on the verge of erupting.
"Draco Malfoy, I didn't do anything to your father," Dudley said calmly. "It was your father who tried to read my mind and was too weak to handle it."
This only made Draco even angrier. Seething with rage, Draco raised his wand and cast a curse.
"Stupefy!" Draco shouted.
Dudley, prepared for such an attack, saw a yellow warning flash in his interface. He quickly pressed the Y button, triggering Protego. Since his Protego skill was maxed out, it not only blocked the spell but also sent two powerful projectiles back at the caster, enhanced to break through even the strongest shields.
The Stupefy spell rebounded, hitting Draco and sending him crashing unconscious against the wall with double the force.
The class fell silent, all eyes on Dudley. Dudley, feeling the weight of their stares, tried to explain.
"What? I just repelled his curse," Dudley said, defending himself.
The Slytherin students frowned, more of them reaching for their wands, ready for retaliation.
"Hey, stop," Dudley called out. "Why don't you focus on helping the Malfoys and getting them to the infirmary?"
The Slytherins, realizing there was no point in continuing the fight with both Malfoys unconscious, grudgingly decided to end the standoff. They rushed to carry Draco and Lucius to the infirmary, leaving the tension in the room to slowly dissipate.
---Mind Arts---
As the Slytherin students left, others began crowding around Dudley.
"How did you do that?" they asked.
"What did you do to Professor Malfoy?" someone from Ravenclaw added.
More and more questions piled up, and Dudley, growing frustrated, gave a simple reply.
"I was just protecting myself from someone who tried to curse me. I didn't do anything wrong," Dudley defended himself.
Wanting to escape the attention and check his rewards in peace, Dudley quickly cleaned up his desk, packed his books into his bag, and made his way to leave the classroom.
But Harry, sensing that Dudley didn't want to be in the spotlight, was faster. He followed right behind him.
Susan didn't follow this time, noticing Harry was already with him.
"Dudley," Harry called out after a minute.
Dudley turned around and saw his cousin approaching, with Ron and Hermione trailing behind him.
"Harry, what are you doing here?" Dudley asked, sounding a bit weary.
"I understand why you did what you did," Harry said, "but what did you mean when you said Lucius Malfoy tried to read your mind?"
Hermione looked at Dudley with curiosity, while Ron seemed mildly interested, waiting for an explanation.
"Come here," Dudley said, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him into an empty room, with Hermione and Ron following close behind.
Once inside, Dudley cast Muffliato so no one could overhear their conversation.
"Do you know about Occlumency and Legilimency?" Dudley asked.
Harry and Ron looked confused, while Hermione, intrigued, spoke up. "What is that, Dudley?"
"It's part of the Mind Arts. Some people are natural Legilimens—they can read your thoughts just by looking into your eyes. Occlumency, on the other hand, protects your mind from being invaded by other wizards," Dudley explained.
"Wait, wizards can read minds?" Harry asked, astonished.
"Yeah. In fact, there are three people here who can do it. The first one is Professor Dumbledore, and the other two... you can probably guess," Dudley said with a knowing look.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed. "You mean Professor Snape and Malfoy?"
"Exactly. What happened to them is because they tried to read my mind. But I was quick enough to defend myself, and they ended up injuring themselves in the process," Dudley replied.
Harry paled as he listened. "No way... Has he always known what I was thinking?"
Ron started to panic, while Hermione frowned, thinking deeply.
She then turned to Dudley and asked, "Can you teach us Mind Arts magic?"
"Maybe," Dudley said thoughtfully. "But I need to figure something out first." With that, he decided to leave the room, leaving them behind in silence.
---Rewards Time---
"System, show me my rewards," Dudley commanded.
[DING! THE REWARDS ARE AS FOLLOWS]
[CHOOSE ONE]
[A. APPARITION]
[B. MIND ARTS]
[C. UNSUPPORTED FLIGHT]
Dudley stared at the options in disbelief, muttering, "Bloody hell."
Author Notes - You can read advance chapter on my patreon, there are 22 advanced chapter there.
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