It wasn't just an army of fighting wizards that Dudley had funded.
His base in Myanmar was also a research facility where artifacts could be made that would help his fighters be better at everything. Better protection, better offense, and better ways to escape in case of capture.
It took him many days to meet every single member of the Vanguard Group, know their name, their reasons for joining, and finally exchange the Unbreakable Vow. The vow was meant to ensure their loyalty, but also make them confident that the promises he was making wouldn't be broken. That even if they were to die in the line of work, their families would be taken care of.
But it wasn't yet the time to make them known. That moment was getting close, however.
After seven days of working and nights full of satisfying Tonks' needs with endless creampies, he finished his work in Myanmar and returned home. As he'd promised Lily, he knocked on her door, too. He sighed with a tinge of disappointment and relief when nobody opened the door.
Part of him was attracted to her. Part of him was questioning that attraction. She was Harry's mother; while he didn't give a damn if he were to get physical with her and Harry found out, the mess would be insane.
"Mum, I'm heading off to the States—want me to bring you anything back?" Dudley asked, grabbing his magical suitcase with too much space.
Petunia was in full makeup, in a fine dress, and with an apron over. She was preparing to shoot another episode of her cooking show. "Can you bring a Smoker if you find a good one? I couldn't find anything decent here."
"Oh!" Dudley's eyes opened wide, his tongue drooling. "You mean one of those meat smokers? Yeah, I can bring one. I'll be flying a big jet—loads of space in the cargo hold, so it's no trouble."
Petunia walked closer and hugged her son warmly before patting his shoulder. "Take care, pumpkin."
"Ugh…"
Dudley was sure she called him pumpkin just to tease him at that point. He didn't mind, though. Petunia was a changed woman. Sure, her past deeds couldn't be fixed. But now, she doesn't give a damn about magic. She even reconciled with Lily.
Sadly, he knew that if Petunia were to know of the unholy things he wanted to do to her sister, it'd be the end of all familial ties.
"I'll see you in three days, Mum."
Waving at her, he got into the backseat of his luxury MPV, which looked ordinary from the outside.
"You're late, Edwin." Dudley greeted his co-passenger. The CFO of D&D Holdings was also going with him this time.
With dark circles under his baggy eyes, Edwin tiredly pointed at the storage behind their seats. There, cardboard boxes lay stacked. "Well, Sir, you asked me to be prepared for everything. I've reviewed countless documents, corrected and reassessed the reports, and then ensured they were properly packed. I've not slept in two days."
"Just a couple more years, that's all. The tech stuff I've put money into—it'll make things loads easier for us before long."
Dudley had pushed forward the development of the internet through Google and his other strategic investments. After all, the more widespread the internet was, the more his companies like Netflix, Google, and Amazon would give him returns.
"I hope you're right… I can't wait for it. If that smartphone thing is a success, I'll be able to read everything on the go. And the light weight laptop—"
"That also means you'll be prone to hacking. Getting your data stolen or something? New tech always brings new risks, doesn't it? But no need to fret. I'll be pressing for stricter data protection laws, whether Westminster fancies it or not. This is our home turf, and we ought to feel as safe here as kings in their castles."
"Hah—Would that count as treason, we've a Queen, you know?" Edwin quipped, pressing the button to recline his seat. "In any case, with all this magic stuff, I'm afraid true safety may never be ours, Sir."
Chuckling, Dudley patted his CFO's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm more confident on that aspect than the muggle one. In the UK, at least."
####
The United States was really an uncharted territory. Sure, he had massive investments in muggle business, but the magical world remained a mystery. He had no contacts, and in general, the size was much bigger. With wizard populations many times the size of Britain's, MACUSA was far more powerful than the Ministry, and Dudley had to be careful.
One of the reasons he was creating a private wizard army was to offset such fears. He wanted to have more fighters under his wing than the number of Aurors a nation like America possessed.
Vernon's death was a painful wake-up call. In an ideal world without magic, his wealth would have sufficed. He could have outsourced solutions to his problems. But in the magical world, hard power was everything.
The best thing about traveling in a private jet was the private jet terminal. Once the plane landed at San Francisco International Airport, they didn't have to wait long before entering a fine luxury SUV and leaving for D&D's American branch. It was a building, a skyscraper, in fact.
One of the fields Dudley had always pushed for investment in had been real estate. And he'd been doing it since the day he made his first ten million. From London to Tokyo, he had properties everywhere.
"Nice meeting you again, Sir."
"Drop the act, Penny," Dudley said with a grin, stepping forward to give Penelope Clearwater a warm hug. "How've you been? Heard things got a bit rough for you."
It had been a long time since they last saw each other. Penelope had been busy too, managing Dudley's magical side of the business. Buying out Diagon Alley and then overseeing its expansion and face lift.
But more than that, she worked in the D&D Bank. Her job was to find talent to hire, get them investigated, then interviewed, and put on a waiting list for Dudley's approval. Of course, vows were involved. He didn't have the luxury that Goblins had. Human greed made it easy to backstab.
But the United States, where Dudley hoped to make strides through his bank, hit a wall. MACUSA pulled back its support abruptly, halted all permissions, and forced D&D Bank to cease setting up its branch there.
"Let's discuss that later, Dudley. You ought to handle the Muggle matters first—the magical side will be rather chaotic. Percy's been quite reliable since you sent him; he's made connections at MACUSA and can arrange a meeting with Madam President."
"Straight to the top, ha?" Dudley sighed, but then he raised a brow in a teasing manner. "Wait, Percy? Are you tw—"
"He's found someone else, I'm afraid. Some American Muggle girl." Penelope clarified quickly. "I've no idea how he managed it, honestly—she's far too pretty."
That sounds suspicious.
"Edwin, get our folks to look into it. Percy is closely tied to D&D Bank. His too-pretty girlfriend could be a gift from our well-wishers," Dudley ordered, hiding his doubts with sarcasm. "You too, Penny. Keep your eyes and ears open."
The tall, slender, blonde Hogwarts senior saluted like a soldier. "Understood, Boss."
"Let's go then."
The first day of his trip was packed with meetings. He had decided to conduct another round of investing in new companies. Of course, he only bet on those he knew would succeed. Priceline Group, GoDaddy, WebMD, and many more.
Though the notable name that Dudley placed the most focus on remained the future juggernaut—BlackRock. The company was founded in 1988, but it was currently going through restructuring and other changes. It was easy to dip his hands in it at this point. In a way, the company was his future competitor, and he had no desire to let it sprout.
In the evening, Dudley held a large party for his company executives, the CEOs, and executives of the companies he was invested in. People from Google, Amazon, and many more who wanted to be close to this young man who was more mysterious than Santa arrived.
Nobody truly knew how rich Dudley was. The only fact known was that he was the richest man under 20 in the world, and possibly among the top 10 richest in the world. And it was hard to reach people with that much wealth, so the party was filled with new faces.
Dudley recognised a lot of people. This was the purpose behind the party. Instead of seeking out the people from his past life who he knew would succeed, he let them find him. And sure enough, nobody could ignore the sweet, sweet scent of capital investment.
That night, the number of business cards he received could fill a school bag. But a handful of them went straight to his wallet. Either men he wanted to hire or own.
______________________
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