In the bathroom, Dudley pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Maintaining dignity at all times is exhausting. Even Mr. Fool must find it challenging," he thought to himself.
He reviewed his conversation with Malfoy. Some parts had been mediocre at best. Compared to Mr. Fool's masterful performances, he still had much to learn.
But this wasn't a major concern. After all, the Fool dealt with seasoned veterans, while Dudley only faced an eleven-year-old child. Deceiving Malfoy was relatively simple.
Besides, even if the deception failed, he wouldn't lose anything significant.
"I wonder what Malfoy will do next. This should be entertaining to watch," Dudley mused with a slight smile. "His father was once Voldemort's follower, and now I'm manipulating his son into becoming the next generation Dark Lord. The irony is delicious."
He felt like someone who thrived on drama. Wherever there was a good show, he didn't want to miss it.
He pressed the toilet flush, and in the rushing sound of water, Dudley ended the mystical communication. The bathroom stall felt suddenly ordinary again, a stark contrast to the divine authority he had just wielded.
In the Great Hall, Harry asked with concern, "Why were you gone so long? Did you eat something bad?"
"My stomach's bothering me. Might have been the fumes from Potions class," Dudley said casually.
"I knew Potions class was the problem. I'm feeling queasy too. Do you think Snape wants to harm us? Maybe he secretly poisoned something?" Harry said.
Ron's face went pale. "If he poisoned us, we'd never detect it."
"Not only would we miss it, but even if we died, it could look like an accident," Dudley added.
Harry and Ron's faces turned ashen. They genuinely believed Snape capable of murder.
"Relax, I was joking. Professor Dumbledore is still here. If Snape poisoned us, Dumbledore would definitely discover it," Dudley said.
"That's true, but we should still be careful," Harry said, breathing easier though his face remained pale.
Ron nodded vigorously. Snape was their number one enemy.
The day before Christmas, Hermione said goodbye to Dudley and the others. She was going home for the holidays. At Ron's request, Hermione promised to bring them gifts when she returned.
Dudley had already informed his family that he and Harry wouldn't be coming home for Christmas. His mother was clearly disappointed, though she wrote in her letter that "Dudley baby has grown up and can spend Christmas by himself," which made Harry shake his head in amusement.
"If your parents knew how incredible you are at Hogwarts, they'd be thrilled," Ron said to Dudley.
Dudley and Harry exchanged glances.
"Aunt Petunia might be happy, but Uncle Vernon... that's harder to predict," Harry said.
"As long as they don't object, that's enough. I don't want them too involved in the wizarding world," Dudley replied.
Ron seemed to understand and didn't press further.
On Christmas Eve, Hogwarts prepared a magnificent feast. All the students remaining at school enjoyed the celebration and played until very late before retiring.
The next morning, when Dudley woke up, Harry was already unwrapping presents.
"Look, Dudley! You received so many gifts," Harry said excitedly.
Dudley glanced at the foot of his bed and saw quite a collection of wrapped packages.
"Most are from Aunt Petunia. Poor Hedwig must be exhausted from all the deliveries," Harry observed.
"She actually sent this many?" Dudley was genuinely surprised.
The gifts included toy guns, pastries, new clothes and hats... everything imaginable.
"Aunt Petunia sent me a hat too. It's actually quite nice," Harry said with a genuine smile.
He had expected no gifts at all, so receiving anything—especially something that wasn't Uncle Vernon's old socks—was cause for celebration.
"Wait, there's also a deck of tarot cards here. Who sent this?" Harry suddenly said.
"What?" When Dudley heard "tarot cards," his expression immediately tensed.
The last time, the Trunsoest Brass Book had been hidden among his birthday gifts.
Dudley immediately focused on the deck in Harry's hands. The packaging appeared intact, showing no signs of tampering.
"Probably from Aunt Petunia. Maybe she thinks we're learning tarot divination?" Harry said, offering the cards to Dudley.
"Possibly." Dudley took a deep breath and accepted the deck, opening it slowly and carefully.
The tarot cards were beautifully packaged. From the outside, they looked unopened. Dudley unwrapped them gradually until he revealed the cards inside.
Exquisite. And completely ordinary.
This was just a normal deck of tarot cards with nothing unusual about them.
"Do we need to learn tarot divination later?" Harry asked Ron.
Ron frowned. "I know there's a Divination class, but I'm not sure if it involves tarot cards. Probably does, though."
He wasn't particularly interested in divination, considering it mystical nonsense and unreliable.
Dudley listened to their conversation while examining the cards in his hands. This was indeed just an ordinary deck.
He breathed a sigh of relief. This should have nothing to do with that other world.
When he'd heard "tarot cards," his pulse had quickened, fearing some strange artifact might be hidden inside. After all, the Trunsoest Brass Book had accompanied him, so bringing one or two tarot cards wasn't impossible.
"Wait... the Trunsoest Brass Book came with me. Could it be because I was carrying it when I traveled back?" Dudley pondered. "Is it possible I was carrying other things at the time? Sealed artifacts, perhaps?"
"And when I discovered the Brass Book, it was in my birthday gifts, not on my person. That means when I traveled back, the items I brought might have appeared with spatial deviations, not necessarily on my body."
This realization made Dudley feel he had overlooked many things. He should have carefully searched his room at the time to check for other items.
Unfortunately, he had been overwhelmed by the joy of returning, and later, due to wizarding world affairs, he hadn't considered this possibility. Now it seemed he had indeed been careless.
Perhaps what traveled back with him wasn't just the Trunsoest Brass Book.
Seeing Dudley lost in thought, Harry took the tarot cards and began examining them himself. The artwork was exquisite, each card fascinating to look at.
"Wait, that's not right, Dudley. This deck is missing two cards," Harry suddenly said.
"What?" Dudley startled. "Which two are missing?"
Dudley felt his breathing quicken.
"Missing 'The Emperor' and 'Judgement.'"
[Chapter Complete]
***
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