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The moment those words were spoken, everyone's attention in the Great Hall immediately turned toward the center.
While Gryffindor threw furious glares in unison, Slytherin's faces lit up with delight.
After all, they knew exactly who had spoken.
It was the esteemed Mr. Dursley of their House.
"And who are you to say that?"
Dudley had barely finished speaking before someone jumped up to challenge him.
Dudley knew that person.
He knew him well enough to have written his name down in his little notebook.
Lee Jordan, Hogwarts' Quidditch commentator. Setting aside the quality of his commentary, as a commentator, he was blatantly biased, favoring Gryffindor without limit and targeting Slytherin with equally unlimited hostility.
The other Gryffindors also rose to their feet in agitation.
Only after Dumbledore emphasized silence once more did they sit back down, unwillingly.
Dudley could not even be bothered to spare them a glance.
Instead, he turned to Professor McGonagall with a faintly apologetic expression.
"Professor McGonagall, please forgive me. I have no intention of targeting you, nor do I mean any insult toward Godric Gryffindor. I am talking about these Gryffindors who did absolutely nothing. They are not qualified, and they do not deserve the honor of the House Cup."
He was targeting those Gryffindor students.
Not Professor McGonagall.
Reckless, impulsive, always causing trouble, pulling pranks, stirring up chaos...
Did they really deserve it?
If they did, then their total score should never have been only 111.
Without Hermione's perfect answers, they had spent two full terms crawling from a two-digit score to barely over one hundred.
If they still ended up in first place after that, it would be a direct insult to everyone who had truly worked hard.
Even Hufflepuff had more right to it than Gryffindor.
"I think the people of Gryffindor have failed to understand one thing."
Dudley's voice was deep, carrying clearly through the entire hall.
Faced with all those looks that seemed ready to beat him to death on the spot, he remained completely calm, as if none of them were worth his attention.
Hamon Energy.
The Zoldyck family's assassination techniques.
Alchemy.
And at his waist, a nearly inexhaustible supply of potions.
Without anyone really noticing, Dudley had already become very strong.
There might still be a gap between him and truly powerful wizards.
But it was not a gap those students could even dream of closing.
"The points Headmaster Dumbledore awarded were given to them individually. Not to Gryffindor."
Put simply, it came down to one sentence:
Do not flatter yourselves. Those points were not given to Gryffindor.
From beginning to end, Dumbledore had never declared that Gryffindor had won the House Cup.
"And what difference does that make?"
The Gryffindor students clearly did not see the problem.
Was there really any difference between awarding points to individuals and awarding them to Gryffindor?
Most of the Gryffindors had not realized that what Dudley was doing at that very moment had already crossed the line.
This was not something a student should be doing.
And yet, not a single professor stood up to stop him.
Quite a few clever Slytherins and Ravenclaws caught that crucial detail immediately.
So did a very small number of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.
For example, fifth-year Percy.
And third-year Cedric.
"It makes a huge difference."
After saying that, Dudley turned toward Dumbledore.
"Headmaster, will you be making the announcement, or shall I?"
"You may."
Dumbledore replied.
Dudley nodded.
"Starting today, besides the prefects of the four Houses and the Head Boy and Head Girl, Hogwarts will establish a new organization..."
"The Discipline Group."
"Ron, Neville, Harry, and Hermione are provisional members of the Discipline Group."
"And I, Dudley Dursley, am an official member of the Discipline Group."
"We handle disciplinary matters inside the castle."
"We handle injustices inside the castle."
"We handle inequality inside this castle."
"And cases of bullying and assault inside the castle... those are what we deal with above all else."
When he said that last line, Dudley's gaze sharpened like a blade as it fell directly on Gryffindor's table.
That incident before had made a tremendous stir. Several students had even been expelled.
Other than the bookworms who paid attention to nothing but studying, almost everyone in Hogwarts knew what had happened.
Not a single Gryffindor present dared meet Dudley's eyes.
That was how presence worked.
The moment you showed weakness, everything collapsed.
At that moment, with the professors' silent approval, Dudley had seized complete control of the situation by himself.
"As long as you have the ability, we welcome anyone who wants to join."
"And one last thing."
"Draco!"
The moment Dudley called his name, Malfoy shot to his feet, excitement blazing across his face.
"You did not betray your honor. For that, you should be awarded 100 points."
Malfoy lifted his chin and puffed out his chest like a proud peacock.
It did not matter in the slightest that the praise was not coming from the Headmaster, but from Dudley, another first-year student.
'He acknowledged me. Big D acknowledged me in front of everyone.'
As he spoke, Dudley brought his hands together.
At once, beside the four House hourglasses, a fifth, entirely new hourglass appeared.
The points that had just been awarded to Harry and the others immediately shifted into that new hourglass.
In the blink of an eye, the new hourglass had surpassed all four of the others.
"I think... glory should belong to the Discipline Group!"
Dudley brought his hands together once more.
The transmutation circles on the backs of his hands gave off a faint glow.
The hall's decorations, which moments earlier had turned red with Gryffindor's lion, changed yet again.
Black and silver wove themselves through the room, creating an atmosphere that was stern, yet faintly mysterious.
At the same time, the lion emblem also changed.
But it was not replaced by Slytherin's serpent.
In its place appeared a proud hippogriff, head held high, wings half-spread, its gaze sharp and severe.
A noble creature.
Proud, difficult to tame, and intolerant of disrespect.
That display from Dudley deeply shocked every young wizard present.
What had previously required several older Gryffindors casting together, Dudley accomplished with a single clap of his hands.
And of course, no one there knew it was alchemy.
To them, Dudley's display meant only one thing.
Wandless magic.
Something many highly accomplished wizards could not do.
While the other three Houses stared in stunned disbelief, the Slytherin students remained astonishingly calm.
'As expected of Mr. Dursley.'
That was what every Slytherin was thinking.
Then the sound of flapping wings echoed through the hall.
An owl descended from above.
It had come to deliver a letter.
Its recipient was Dudley.
Dudley Dursley.
The envelope was elegant and refined.
An elegant letter with gold detailing.
And along with it, a gleaming Third-Class Order of Merlin.
The entire hall fell into absolute silence.
This time, even the professors at the High Table were stunned.
That was a genuine Order of Merlin.
Even Third Class was not something just anyone could possess.
"Dursley! Our king!"
At the Slytherin table, Pansy was the first to leap to her feet, overflowing with excitement as she led the shout.
The second to react was Malfoy.
His usually pale face was flushed red with excitement.
Right after that, more and more Slytherin students rose from their seats and joined in.
It sounded as though they had rehearsed it beforehand.
Perfectly unified.
Firm.
Powerful.
The shout was so thunderous it seemed capable of tearing the roof off the Great Hall.
"Prevented Gryffindor from winning the House Cup, obtained..."
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