Chapter 39 - The Sticky Note Hero IV

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Before long, June started and with that arrived the third year exams. Dudley felt highly prepared and looked forward to the Transfiguration and Charms exams. Although he didn't remember specifically what was going to be asked in the exam, he felt confident.

"Mr. Dursley, you are needed in the Headmaster's office."

Dudley heard Argus Filch and looked. The famed squib of Hogwarts. It wasn't easy dealing with the foul-tempered man, but where everything fails, money succeeds. Dudley knew what someone like Filch desired.

Respect, fame, and magic. None of those were possible for the man. But money was one of the hidden aspects of life that could give a man the illusion that they are respected and that they have worth.

So, once Dudley became famous as a rich man in Hogwarts, he directly offered Filch financial aid. The man refused at first but eventually gave in to money. They always do.

In two years Dudley had become one of the few people in school that Argus Filch truly liked. It was one of the connections Dudley planned to make use of later. After all, the fourth year was coming and there were going to be a lot of beauties to show around the castle.

Slightly annoyed since it was the day of his first exam, Dudley relented and left the Great Hall. Walking the known hallways, he soon arrived at the Headmaster's office, its entrance already made accessible to him.

He climbed the spiral staircase and knocked on the already open door.

"Professor?"

"Ah, do come in, Mr. Dursley," Dumbledore said serenely, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "This shall not take long. Mr. Malfoy here requested a brief word with you."

Dudley walked inside the room and surveyed. There, to the right, stood Lucius Malfoy in his usual haughty manner. Chin raised high, cane in hand, and regally dressed.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

Lucius stepped forward and placed a bank transfer note on the table. "As per the wager you made with my son, the amount has been settled. This should suffice to conclude the matter."

Amused, Dudley walked over and grabbed the note. It had a Gringotts stamp and the details about the transfer of 100,000 Gold Galleons from the Malfoy vault to his vault. Furthermore, there was Lucius' signature and another place left blank for him.

Wasting no time, Dudley grabbed a quill and signed his name as well. "Thank you for keeping your word, Mr. Malfoy. I agree, it may have been a childish bet, but a promise is a promise, and it's good to see it honored."

Lucius merely hummed and nodded before looking back at Dumbledore. "I shall take my leave."

Seeing the blonde man leaving, Dudley shamelessly raised his voice. "I'm still waiting for a response, Mr. Malfoy."

"You'll have it soon." The man replied without looking back and just left.

Dudley sighed and turned towards the old Headmaster. "Is he angry? I thought the Malfoys were filthy rich."

"A hundred thousand is still a significant sum, Mr. Dursley. The Hogwarts Investment Fund, entrusted to your care, amounts to only three hundred thousand—crafted through the collaboration of many wizards. While it may seem modest to you, to most witches and wizards, it represents the fortune of several lifetimes," Dumbledore advised him like a wise senior. "To Lucius, money and pride are the same. You put a dent in his money and that has also injured his pride."

"That's too bad. I hope he can still think clearly and invest in the Bank," Dudley muttered and tried to stop himself from yawning.

"Burning the midnight oil for your exams, I see?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Had to, Professor. Can't just do well in a few subjects and let the others slip, can I? Oh, I'd better get going—it's the Transfiguration exam first. Not exactly my best, that one."

Dudley wasted no time and bolted out of Dumbledore's office. He really ran, wanting to practice his Transfigurations again to not embarrass himself during the exam.

Woosh!

He turned a corner and slid to a halt to avoid bumping into the Ravenclaw's princess. "Luna?"

"Hey, Dudley." Luna waved, a slim smile plastered on her face. Her naturally protuberant eyes made her look surprised, though she always looked surprised.

Dudley paused for a moment to chat with her. "Hey, what are you doing here? Don't you have your Potions exam today?"

"I forgot to bring ink."

"You forgot? Luna, did someone take your ink pot?" Dudley asked, his tone softer than usual. Ever since he'd subtly made it known to Cho and Padma that he cared about Luna, the girl had been treated with unexpected kindness by all the Ravenclaw girls. In fact, Luna had earned a new nickname—Ravenclaw's princess.

Luna shook her head strongly, her waist-length hair also swinging with it. "It's in my table drawer, Dudley. Nobody hides my things anymore."

That's great to hear.

"Well, I'll be on my way the—"

"Dudley, about my Father." Luna stopped him from leaving, her small fingers pinching his dark robes. "He wants to meet you this summer, to talk about the, uh, terms of investment... I think he said that?"

Dudley scratched his head and remembered his promise. "Oh, right. Don't worry, I'll come by this summer. Just have some tea ready, maybe a pizza, a virgin's sacrifice, and majority ownership of the Quibbler, that's all I need."

"Virgin's sac—"

Seeing Luna's face turned sideways in seriousness, Dudley realized she hadn't taken his words as a joke. "It was a joke, Luna. I'll meet with your father and sort everything out, don't worry. But I really need to get going now."

"Okay, see you later, Dudley!" Luna chirped and waved her hand brightly.

Dudley bolted back to the Great Hall and sat down with his friends to finish last-minute studies. An hour later, the entire Great Hall was turned into a massive exam hall with benches equally distant.

The first written exam was Transfiguration. The practical was next, where they had to turn a teapot into a tortoise. To his relief, he succeeded, even if the turtle did have a few silver nails. Still, he passed, and that was what mattered most.

The Charms exam came after that. The written part was easy enough, but the practical was a little trickier. They were to cast a Cheering Charm. Dudley did it on his second attempt and passed.

Just like that, the first day of exams came to an end, and Dudley felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The subjects had been quite difficult for him, but he had managed.

The next day, the Care of Magical Creatures exam went by with ease. In the afternoon, Potions was no challenge at all. Later that night, Astronomy proved no trouble either, especially since he could apply his knowledge of Arithmancy to it. On the third day, History of Magic, Herbology, and his elective subject of Arithmancy passed without much difficulty either.

Just like that, on the last day of the exams, and also the D-day for the year-long mess, Dudley took the somewhat difficult DADA exam and passed. That marked the end of his third year, though relaxation still seemed far off. Susan and Hannah had taken Divination alongside the Gryffindor trio, and he still had to wait for their exam to finish.

While waiting for the Divination exam to conclude, Dudley focused on preparing for the evening's show. He had only one chance to make it right, and one mistake could end up messing up his future.

He put things where they needed to be and roamed near Gryffindor's common room's entrance. Avoiding the girls and guys greeting him, he waited for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to show up. Since he had already saved Buckbeak, things had changed significantly.

Where are they? He looked at the mechanical watch on his wrist time and time again.

Moments later, he heard Ron's bickering tone from a distance. The guy was still fighting with Hermione about his missing rat.

"Ron!" Dudley rushed towards the three, bringing out the actor in himself. "Ron, I saw your rat. It was getting chased by a cat."

"What?!" Ron panicked. "Where?"

"It ran under the Whomping Willow. You know, it leads to the Shrieking Shack, right? Your rat's either going to get lost in there or, worse, end up as a snack for a cat."

"N-No! Scabbers!" Ron cried and turned around, running away. "Wait for me, Scabbers!"

"Ron, wait!" Harry followed.

With only Hermione there, Dudley whispered advice to her. "The Freezing Charm."

Scared for her cat, Hermione also ran away, following Harry to leave the castle and head to the Whomping Willow.

Dudley, hands behind his back, strolled after them, taking his sweet time to exit the castle. He had no plans of following them all the way, so he found himself a nice high-ground location from where he could see the Whomping Willow.

He then took out a pair of binoculars he had prepared for the day and watched the show unfold.

I did what I could, Lily Potter. If you still mess it up, it's all on you.

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"Mum?!"

"Harry! Stay there!"

"What's going on? Where's Scabbers?" Ron cried, frantically looking left and right.

The Shrieking Shack truly creaked, making ghostly sounds from its ancient wood. A small gathering had arrived inside, all in the right place at the right time.

"Remus." Sirius Black stood beside Lily, wand raised high just in case.

"Sirius." Remus did the same, his eyes glued to the table in the middle of the room. "Was it you who sent the letter? Telling me to be here?"

"That doesn't matter!" Lily snapped, her voice trembling with urgency. Her gaze locked on her son, then quickly shifted to the table where two items lay visible. She already knew who was behind the letters and chose to honor her promise. "Sirius, check the table."

No longer in tattered clothes or looking like a wraith, Sirius carefully stepped closer to the table and chuckled. "The rat's been caught!"

Squeak! Squeak!

All eyes darted towards the small, metal cage on the table so finely built that its mesh walls had barely any space to look inside. In fact, there were tiny needle-sized spikes inside the surface, making the rat jump and squirm.

"Scabbers!" Ron tried to lunge forward, only to be held back by Hermione.

"What does the note say?" Lily asked, noticing a sticky note above the cage.

Sirius grabbed it and read for all. "It says, 'I am Peter Pettigrew, I am an Animagus. Better kill me or I'll run away once again. I betrayed the Potters because I have no spine'."

Finally, Lily stepped closer to the table and looked into the cage.

"What's the other note? Looks like a bottle." Remus also closed in on the table.

"Hah! It's for you, Moony." Sirius read the sticky note on the bottle and chortled. "It says, 'Drink the bloody wolfsbane, you fucking incompetent man. Today's a full moon.' You didn't drink the potion?"

"I-I didn't… I…" Remus stuttered.

Speechlessness was an understatement.

Lily, in silence, lost herself in a daze while eyeing the rat cage. In her heart, she knew whose gift all this was. She knew what would have happened if Remus hadn't drunk the potion.

And there wasn't anyone but one who she knew could look into the future like that.

Thank you, Dudley. I will make it up to you.

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