A Slap

Professor McGonagall was strict, but she was not the type to micromanage every aspect of her students' lives.

How they chose to spend their pocket money was their own business.

Even when Harry Potter received rare magical materials daily, she never questioned it.

There was only one rule—they could not be scammed.

Ludo Bagman, however, had no such scruples.

To make money, he had been shamelessly promoting his bets, hyping Harry up as an unstoppable force, convincing many students to wager their entire monthly or even bi-monthly allowances on:

"Mr. Potter will complete the task in five minutes."

Others had placed their bets on:

"Delacour or Krum will win the Triwizard Cup."

Fred and George also wanted to join in.

Ludo refused.

He had already lost a huge sum to them.

Worse, just the fact that they were Harry's friends made him wary.

Sure, Mr. Potter was upright and noble, not the type to get involved in "dishonorable dealings."

But what if?

What if Harry teamed up with Fred, George, and his godfather for revenge?

Not impossible.

By the day before the final task, Ludo had already collected over 3,000 Galleons—just from Hogwarts.

The most popular bet?

"Mr. Potter will finish in twenty minutes."

Ludo also saw this as the safest bet, so the odds were extremely low—1:1.001.

Bet one Galleon, win less than five Knuts.

The highest payout was on:

"Mr. Potter will take more than an hour to finish."

The odds? 1:250.

Thanks to Ludo's persuasion, nearly 500 Galleons had been wagered on it.

Mostly from Ravenclaws and Slytherins.

The Ravenclaws had used Divination to determine that this option had the best risk-to-reward ratio.

The Slytherins?

They didn't care about magic or logic.

They just wanted to curse Harry Potter.

If he messed up, they wanted it to be so bad that the Triwizard Cup at least stayed at Hogwarts.

The final task would determine the champion.

The Ministry of Magic wanted Hogwarts to open its doors, allowing anyone to attend.

Dumbledore refused.

The Death Eaters' plans were still unclear—he would not risk it.

The Ministry pushed back.

But Dumbledore's wand carried more weight.

In the end, only the champions' families and pre-approved guests were allowed invitations.

Even the Dursleys were invited.

Vernon reluctantly agreed—for Petunia's sake.

The Day Before the Final Task

Harry met them at King's Cross Station.

The Weasleys were also with him.

"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, I'm glad you could come," Harry greeted them.

"It was Dudley who made a fuss," Vernon grumbled.

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have bothered."

"I can't believe you freaks use a normal train," Vernon sneered.

"I always thought you were lying."

He kept glancing at his wife.

"Maybe you don't want to be here," Harry said casually.

"But Aunt Petunia has probably been waiting for this day for a long time."

Petunia turned her head away.

"Harry, you never told me your aunt and uncle were this entertaining," Arthur Weasley said cheerfully.

"Muggle life is much richer than I imagined!"

"Merlin, Mr. Dursley sells drilling machines! That's fascinating—they can dig over 700 yards underground!"

"Let's walk and talk," Harry suggested.

They left the station and boarded the Thestral-drawn carriages.

Petunia stared.

Her eyes filled with conflicted emotions.

She had once longed to come here.

She had once hated this place.

Now, when she had finally let go of those feelings, she was invited.

Through the Hogwarts gates, up to the castle itself.

"I thought you'd be hiding underground in some creepy dungeon," Vernon muttered, awed by the castle's grandeur.

"We don't live like that," Arthur corrected patiently.

"That's just old Muggle propaganda against wizards."

"Snape is creepy," Petunia countered immediately.

Arthur opened his mouth—

And then shut it.

…

She wasn't wrong.

Nearby, young Hogwarts students stared at Petunia in shock.

That's Potter's aunt?!

His family was this fearless?!

They just arrived at Hogwarts, and they were already badmouthing Snape?!

Inside the castle, Petunia was stunned by the moving portraits, the resting suits of armor, and the ghosts gliding past—making Dudley visibly pale.

Arthur enthusiastically explained everything—proudly sharing the castle's rich history.

They weren't staying in student dormitories.

Dumbledore had arranged private quarters.

The house-elves were frantically preparing.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were fine.

Sirius and Lupin were fine.

But three Muggles?

The elves had never served Muggles before.

Dudley quickly adapted, even wanting to explore alone.

Harry had already assigned Crookshanks a mission—

Follow Dudley.

Don't let him wander.

Hogwarts was less safe than before.

No way was he letting a child run loose.

Vernon, unlike Petunia, genuinely despised wizards.

Especially after meeting James Potter—

Which had only deepened his hatred.

Still, he stayed—talking business with Arthur.

As a top salesman, Vernon quickly noticed that Arthur was fascinated with drilling machines.

And if he could make a sale…

As long as they paid in pounds, he didn't care who his customers were.

Meanwhile, Harry showed Petunia and Dudley around Hogwarts.

The Gryffindor common room.

The Astronomy Tower.

The Owlery.

The Potions classroom.

And then—

They ran into Snape.

"Long time no see, Severus," Petunia greeted.

Snape gave a brief nod, averted his eyes, and hurried away.

Petunia frowned.

"What happened to his arm?"

"I cut it off," Harry said bluntly.

Petunia froze.

The simple statement caught her off guard.

"He was partly responsible for my mother's death."

"Snape?" Petunia's head jerked back in shock.

Harry nodded.

Petunia fell silent.

She had never been close with Lily.

But blood was blood.

She clenched her jaw—

And stormed after Snape.

Then—

SLAP.

SLAP.

SLAP.

She hit him.

Again.

And again.

Snape did not dodge.

He took every blow.

Some wounds never fade—

Not even with time.

That night, Petunia cried for hours.

Vernon tried to comfort her.

Meanwhile, rumors spread across Hogwarts.

Some said Potter's relatives held immense power in the Muggle world—so much so that Snape didn't dare retaliate.

Others claimed Potter's relatives were mighty knights, and Snape was no match for them.

Somehow—

Petunia Dursley became known as a towering female knight who could eat an entire cow in one sitting.

June 24th.

Even with the final task approaching, classes continued as usual.

That morning, The Daily Prophet published Rita Skeeter's latest article.

Since forming alliances with both Harry Potter and Dumbledore, she had become one of the few journalists allowed inside Hogwarts during this period.

And with her newfound backing, it seemed her long-dormant sense of justice was making a comeback.

The front page was not about the Triwizard Tournament.

Instead, it featured a furious attack on Ludo Bagman.

Every single word condemned him for his shameless exploitation of young Hogwarts students.

She exposed his entire betting scheme, breaking it down piece by piece.

Only after her article did many students finally realize—

As long as the least likely scenario didn't happen—

("Mr. Potter will take over an hour to complete the task")—

Then Ludo Bagman was guaranteed to profit.

At minimum, he was set to scam over 2,500 Galleons from Hogwarts students alone.

When factoring in adult wizards' bets, his earnings would exceed 20,000 Galleons.

By the afternoon, the Howlers had begun piling up at the Ministry of Magic.

But it didn't matter.

Because at this moment—

Ludo Bagman was at Hogwarts.

The Night of the Final Task

After dinner, students and invited guests followed their professors toward the Quidditch Pitch.

The champions trailed behind Ludo.

The Quidditch Pitch had been completely transformed.

A twenty-foot-high wooden maze enclosed the entire field—

Even the top was sealed, preventing any champion from flying over the maze.

Spectators sat outside the pitch, facing three enormous enchanted screens.

Meanwhile, Ludo led the champions to a tent near the entrance.

Inside, waiting for them, were:

Madame Maxime Igor Karkaroff Albus Dumbledore Several other professors A very nervous-looking Hagrid

"Mr. Bagman," Maxime said sharply, "I expect you to be fair."

Ludo had set over twenty types of bets on Harry's victory conditions alone.

But for Fleur's victory—there was only one option, and its odds were outrageously high—even higher than Krum's.

"I am always fair!" Ludo grinned, completely unfazed.

"Don't worry—I won't favor any of the champions."

Karkaroff and Maxime scoffed in unison.

How shameless.

"You all know the rules," Ludo cleared his throat.

"The goal is simple—reach the center of the maze and claim the Triwizard Cup."

"While the first two tasks were important, this final challenge determines everything."

He paused, then turned to Harry.

"Now, I should remind you all—"

Ludo smiled meaningfully.

"While getting to the Cup first is a great achievement…"

"The true requirement for victory—"

"—is to carry the Cup out of the maze."

A dangerous gleam flashed in Ludo's eyes.

"Of course, let's say—hypothetically—"

"If, when the first champion grabs the Cup, the other two have already been eliminated…"

"Then they wouldn't need to leave the maze—"

"They'd automatically win."

Fleur's expression darkened.

She asked, "So we're allowed to attack each other?"

Ludo nodded.

"From the very first task, there has never been a rule forbidding it."

Both Fleur and Krum widened their eyes.

"You see, back in the old days," Ludo chuckled, "one of the biggest spectacles of the Tournament was how the champions would sabotage each other."

"I figured you were all—gentlemen and ladies—"

"Guess you didn't realize?"

Fleur and Krum exchanged glances.

At that moment, an unspoken agreement formed between them.

Dumbledore sighed.

"We would all prefer a Tournament where honor takes precedence," he added.

"But of course, the choice lies with the champions."

Maxime and Karkaroff rolled their eyes.

Easy for you to say.

Harry was the clear favorite to win.

It was easy for Dumbledore to preach morality when his champion was most likely to walk away with the Cup.

Ludo cleared his throat again.

"Now, let's talk safety—"

"While the maze isn't very large, it's filled with dangerous magical creatures—"

"Some of them are Dark creatures…"

"And some are simply dangerous beasts."

"I dare say, it might even be more dangerous than the Forbidden Forest!"

Fleur and Krum's brief confidence vanished.

Their faces tightened.

Harry, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed.

The Forbidden Forest was practically his second home.

Ludo sighed.

"Let me remind you again—I hope to not see any champions harming the magical creatures inside."

"At least leave them alive," he added.

"Don't kill them outright."

Harry made no promises.

Ludo sighed again.

"One more thing—"

"The maze walls were built and reinforced by Dumbledore, the other headmasters, and several master wizards."

"They cannot be destroyed."

"So don't bother trying," Ludo smiled.

"That time would be better spent looking for a new path."

Maxime snapped.

"Mr. Bagman!"

This directly benefited Harry.

Fleur and Krum would likely test the walls once and move on.

But Harry, being the strongest, might have wasted time attempting to break them—

Now, he wouldn't.

Ludo coughed.

"I'm just helping the champions."

"Alright!" He clapped his hands.

"Now, get ready."

"We need to prepare for the final task!"

"Oh, and one last thing—"

"If you run into trouble and need rescue, fire red sparks into the air."

"But this will mean you forfeit the tournament."

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Powerstones?

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