Chapter 21: Avada Kedavra

Dudley's expression immediately turned grim. The evil aura he had sensed before was back, stronger and more potent than ever. This meant the hidden watcher was not only close, but something had caused them to lose control of their emotions, their malevolent presence leaking out like a psychic wound.

Could it be…

As Griphook's long, withered finger traced the final sigil on the door to Vault 713, a thought flashed through Dudley's mind with the clarity of a lightning strike. Their target is whatever's inside this vault. That's why they had been followed. That's why the evil aura had erupted now, at the very moment the vault was about to open.

"Wait!" Dudley snapped, his voice cutting through the damp, subterranean air.

"What?" Griphook's hand trembled, his concentration broken. He looked at Dudley with a deep, annoyed frown.

"Kid, what are you doing?" Hagrid grumbled, his patience wearing thin. His mission was already delayed, and now this boy was wasting more time.

"I have a question," Dudley said, forcing his voice to remain steady, hoping the figure lurking in the darkness wouldn't sense the urgency in his tone.

"What question?" Hagrid asked impatiently.

Dudley ignored him, stepping forward until he stood directly in front of the small, scowling goblin.

"What do you want?" Griphook asked, his black eyes glinting coldly.

"To the left," Dudley said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. "About twenty meters from us, behind that huge stalactite. There's someone there. They've been following us."

His words hung in the air. Both Griphook and Hagrid stared at him, stunned into silence. Harry, standing behind them, just looked confused.

"They might be here to rob Gringotts," Dudley added, his gaze unwavering. There was nothing more he could do on his own. He had to trust the authorities to handle it.

"Kid, do you have any idea what you're saying?" Hagrid hissed, his face darkening. "Rob Gringotts? Are you mad?" He suspected Dudley was playing a prank, but he still lowered his voice, a sliver of doubt creeping in. After all his boasting about Gringotts' safety, this boy was practically begging for trouble.

"Sir," Griphook said, his voice dripping with arrogance, "do you understand the gravity of your accusation? No one can sneak into Gringotts, and certainly no one can steal anything from here. I suggest you watch what you say." For centuries, Gringotts had been impregnable. The very idea of a successful robbery was laughable.

"Mr. Griphook," Dudley said, his voice now imbued with the calm authority of an Arbitrator and the persuasive logic of a Lawyer, "Gringotts has maintained its reputation precisely because it doesn't overlook any potential threat. Do you really want to ignore my warning? If something goes wrong, you will be held responsible."

The power of his Beyonder sequences, honed in a world of far greater dangers, flowed through his words. Griphook's arrogant expression faltered. He was just a boy, not even as tall as a goblin, yet his words carried an undeniable weight.

"Alright," Griphook conceded after a moment's hesitation. "I'll go check."

Hagrid frowned, studying Dudley with a new, perplexed expression. The boy's words made a strange sort of sense, yet coming from him, it felt completely surreal.

"Hagrid," Dudley said, turning his gaze on the giant, "you wouldn't want anything to happen to the top-secret mission Professor Dumbledore entrusted to you, would you?"

"I hope for your sake you're not talking nonsense," Hagrid warned, though his hand had already slipped into his coat pocket, his fingers closing around the worn handle of his pink umbrella. "The consequences for playing tricks on Gringotts are… severe."

Griphook gave Dudley one last, hard look. "If you're deceiving me, there might not be much punishment," he said, his voice a low growl. "But if I notify the guard…"

"Notify them," Dudley said, his tone grave.

"Alright," Griphook said, and with a curt nod, he reached into his uniform and pressed a device hidden within. A silent alarm, Dudley surmised. Without another word, he turned and began walking toward the distant stalactite.

As the goblin marched off, Dudley began to slowly back away. That goblin is too reckless, he thought. Walking over so brazenly… the watcher will know they've been spotted. He had to put as much distance between himself and that spot as possible.

"What are you doing?" Harry whispered, completely bewildered. "Are you trying to prank Gringotts? That's crazier than telling a flight attendant you have a bomb on a plane!"

"Shut up and follow me," Dudley commanded, pulling Harry back with him.

For a moment, everything seemed normal. Griphook and Hagrid still seemed to believe this was just a childish prank, their actions merely a formality to prove Dudley wrong. This was Gringotts, after all. The safest place in the magical world.

Tap, tap, tap…

Griphook's small footsteps echoed in the vast cavern as he approached the stalactite. Dudley's gaze was fixed on that spot, his every muscle tensed.

I hope it's just some petty thief, he prayed silently.

"There's no one here at all, boy," Griphook called out, his voice laced with smug annoyance. "You just wait until…"

He was just a few feet from the stalactite now.

It was at that exact moment that an overwhelming chill flooded the cavern. Evil, madness, cold, fear… a wave of pure, negative energy washed over Dudley, making his scalp tingle and his spirit recoil.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A voice, high and cold, hissed from the darkness.

Poof.

A brilliant, sickly green light erupted from behind the stalactite, striking Griphook squarely in the chest. The sneer on his face froze, his body going rigid.

For a single, horrifying instant that seemed to stretch into an eternity, the world was consumed by that blinding, emerald green.

***

(End of Chapter)

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