Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 40: Showing Memory
"Hi, Dudley," greeted Justin upon seeing him.
"Hello, Justin," Dudley replied with a smile.
Justin blinked in disbelief. Normally, when he greeted Dudley, the boy would just nod in acknowledgment. This time, Dudley not only replied but also smiled at him.
"Uh… how was your holiday, Dudley?" asked Justin, trying to continue the conversation.
"Good. We went to the cinema and visited lots of places," Dudley replied casually.
"Oh, good to know," Justin said, smiling. "We went to the Tower of London."
"I know that place. My father took me there when I was ten," Dudley said with a hint of nostalgia.
Suddenly, Ernie Macmillan entered the dormitory.
"Did I interrupt something?" Ernie asked, noticing the two boys in conversation.
"Nope, we just started," Justin replied.
"Yeah, we just started," Dudley echoed with a smile.
Ernie froze for a moment, stunned by the change in Dudley's demeanor. Usually stoic and distant, Dudley now seemed approachable. Gathering his courage, Ernie decided to join the conversation.
"Dudley, how was your holiday?" asked Ernie.
"It was good. We visited a lot of places and even had a birthday party," Dudley replied.
"Birthday party? You only mentioned visiting places earlier," Justin said, feigning a hurt expression.
"Er… sorry. When people ask you the same question twice, you start preparing more answers," Dudley said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
Both Justin and Ernie exchanged amused glances. This new, friendlier version of Dudley was unexpected but welcome. Compared to the old Dudley, who was all "yes," "no," or "I don't know," this version was far more likable.
The three continued chatting about various topics until Ernie suddenly brought up a controversial question.
"Is it true that You-Know-Who is back?" Ernie asked hesitantly.
Though Ernie didn't believe Harry Potter's claims, mostly due to his parents' influence. He was careful to respect the boundaries and privacy of those within Hufflepuff. That was one of the unique traits of the Hufflepuff house. They stood united, fiercely protecting their own people from outsiders. Even if they disliked someone within their house, they rarely showed it.
Harry Potter's case was different, some people might say that in Harry 4th years he was being harrased. He was octracized by Hufflepuff because he is a Gryffindor and because Cedric Diggory was the official Triwizard Tournament champion, many Hufflepuffs harbored resentment toward Harry.
Meanwhile for adults, rejecting Dumbledore's claim that Voldemort had returned was a way of avoiding living in fear, which also affect the student like Ernie. His parents repeatedly insisted Voldemort's return was a false and hearing it so often made the lie feel like the truth.
Justin knew very little about the wizarding world since his parents were Muggles. However, during his train ride to Hogwarts, he overheard conversations claiming that Dumbledore had gone senile and that Voldemort's return was nothing but a lie.
This gave him some context as to why Ernie was questioning Dudley about it. Of course, it also made sense because Dudley Dursley was Harry Potter's cousin—even though Dudley rarely interacted with Harry at school.
"If I said he has returned, would you believe me?" Dudley calmly reversed the question back to Ernie.
Ernie frowned in response, while Justin tried to shrink into the background, not wanting to get involved.
"I'm not saying I don't believe you," Ernie said defensively, "but if he's really returned, why hasn't anyone seen him?"
Dudley sighed, exasperated. "Kids," he muttered under his breath. "Alright, I'll show you part of the memory my cousin shared with me."
"Memory? How?" Justin asked, curious but wary.
Ernie, despite being a pureblood, had never seen a Pensieve before and looked equally puzzled at how Dudley planned to show a memory.
Dudley walked over to his bag, pretending to retrieve something, but in reality, he accessed his game inventory and pulled out a Pensieve.
With a flick of his wand, he conjured a table and placed the Pensieve on top of it.
"This," Dudley began, gesturing toward the bowl-like object, "is a Pensieve. It allows us to view memories. Have you ever heard of it before?"
Dudley directed the question at Ernie, knowing it would be embarrassing for a pureblood wizard not to recognize such a rare magical item.
"I've heard of it, but I've never seen one in person," Ernie admitted, his surprise evident. "These are extremely rare! How on earth did you get one?"
Ernie was baffled. As far as he knew, Pensieves were rare artifact, often owned by only the most accomplished wizards. When the owner passed away, the Pensieve was usually buried with them. Yet here was Dudley, a Muggle-born, with a brand-new one.
"It's not difficult for me to acquire," Dudley said with a mysterious smile. "Now, I'll show you what happened to Cedric."
He raised his wand to his temple and carefully extracted a shimmering silver strand of memory. Placing it into the swirling contents of the Pensieve, he said, "This is a memory Harry shared with me. Now, dip your heads into the Pensieve to see for yourselves."
Ernie and Justin hesitated for a moment, exchanging a glance, but curiosity got the better of them. They leaned forward and dipped their heads into the Pensieve.
As they did, their bodies became translucent, and moments later, they were pulled into the memory.
Dudley, too lazy to enter the Pensieve himself, decided to wait outside while Ernie and Justin explored the memory.
When they finally emerged, their faces were pale with shock. Dudley smiled slightly, knowing the misunderstanding had finally been cleared up.
"You… That… How…" Justin stammered, clearly overwhelmed.
"Dudley, I believe you," Ernie said firmly, his expression serious.
But Justin, instead of focusing on Voldemort's return, had something entirely different on his mind. "I mean, why is Susan always with you? She's one of the hottest girls in school!" he blurted out, jealousy tinging his voice.
Dudley's frown deepened. Here he was, showing them undeniable proof of Voldemort's return and Justin was fixated on Susan Bones.
"You…" Dudley sighed, trying to keep his temper in check. "Her aunt is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so I called her that day to view the memory."
"Oh, I see," Justin replied sheepishly.
"But if Susan has seen the memory, why does the Daily Prophet still claim your cousin and Dumbledore are liars?" Ernie asked, frowning in confusion.
"Because Cornelius Fudge denies Voldemort's return," Dudley explained. "And most adult wizards are too afraid to face the truth. They deny it because they don't want to live in fear again."
"Live in fear?" Justin echoed, his curiosity piqued.
"When Voldemort was in power decades ago, people were terrified to even step outside. And even inside their homes, they kept their wands by their sides while they slept. They were prepared to flee at a moment's notice. The fear was constant and they don't want to experience that again," Dudley elaborated.
"How do you know all this?" Ernie asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
'Well, I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter and read the books cover to cover,' Dudley thought but didn't dare say aloud.
Instead, she replied, "Because I'm one of his targets. I need to understand my enemy."
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