Harry Potter: Dudley From LOTM

"Run!"

Dudley shoved the three terrified students, urging them in the opposite direction. He himself didn't care about being caught, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione absolutely could not be caught violating school rules again. They had just been punished; if they were caught wandering around in the middle of the night again, Professor McGonagall would surely skin them alive.

The four of them ran downstairs like mad. Filch had come from the direction of Gryffindor Tower, which meant they could only run in the opposite direction.

"This way!" Dudley called out, his superior physical condition putting him in the lead. Harry, Ron, and Hermione used every ounce of their strength, their footsteps echoing on the cold stone, terrified of being left behind. Hermione, in particular, looked as if she were about to faint. As a model student, the thought of being caught violating school rules was a fate worse than death.

"Come on," Dudley urged, his familiarity with Hogwarts' labyrinthine corridors allowing him to navigate them with ease. Behind them, Filch's raspy voice echoed through the halls, a triumphant, almost giddy sound. He hadn't been this excited in a long time.

"Hahaha, students out of bed at night, running around!" a new, cackling voice screeched. A milky-white ghostly figure burst out of a nearby wall, laughing hysterically at the four fleeing students.

"Damn it, it's Peeves!" Ron's face turned pale. Peeves, the poltergeist, was the most mischievous ghost in all of Hogwarts. Only the Bloody Baron of Slytherin could control him. Running into Peeves now was the worst possible luck.

"This way!" Dudley had to change their escape route on the fly, veering into another corridor.

"Filch is about to catch you, you little rascals…" Peeves taunted, following them, his shrill, mocking laughter echoing off the walls. At this rate, they would never escape.

Dudley's face hardened. He whirled around, his eyes locking onto the poltergeist. "Scram!" he roared, his voice imbued with the full authority of a Sheriff of the Justiciar Pathway.

The authority, boosted by his connection to Hogwarts itself, was incredibly impactful. Peeves froze in mid-air, trembling, his laughter dying in his throat.

"So… so scary!" he shrieked, his voice filled with a terror he usually inflicted on others. "More terrifying than the Bloody Baron!" With a final, terrified wail, Peeves crashed through the nearest wall and disappeared.

"Quick, Dudley, this way!" Harry called out, now in the lead.

Dudley looked around. The corridor was unfamiliar, its stone walls lined with ancient, ominous sculptures. His expression hardened. He hadn't been here before. This was the one place in the entire castle he hadn't yet explored: the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side.

"Where are we?" Ron whispered, sensing the eerie change in the atmosphere.

"Can't worry about that now, Filch is catching up!" Harry insisted, continuing to run deeper into the forbidden corridor.

"Oh, damn it, no way out!" Harry cried, reaching the end of the corridor. A single, locked door blocked their path.

"What do we do?" Ron asked, his voice panicked.

"Let me think, I should be able to use a spell… oh, I forgot my wand when I came out!" Hermione said, her voice filled with despair.

Dudley didn't have time to draw his own wand. He could hear Filch's footsteps rounding the corner. He pressed his hand against the ancient, oaken door. "Alohomora!" he whispered, channeling his magic through his palm.

With a soft click, the lock disengaged. The door swung open. Harry, Ron, and Hermione scrambled inside, closing the door just as Filch's shadow fell upon the corridor.

Dudley's expression was grim as he followed them in, shutting the door behind him.

"Did he follow us?" Harry whispered, peeking through the keyhole.

"I don't know, but there's no sound now," Ron replied, his own ear pressed against the door. "He seems to have left. I hope he didn't find us."

Dudley, however, was no longer concerned with Filch. His pupils were filled with the sight of a monstrous, three-headed dog, its massive form filling the dark room. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He hadn't expected such a creature to be hidden within the walls of Hogwarts. He could feel the immense pressure emanating from it, the raw, primal power of a sentient, magical beast.

"Harry," Dudley's voice was calm and steady, "you three, go out. Quietly." His Sheriff's authority was already spreading through the room, a subtle, calming influence that seemed to hold the beast's attention, though a thick rope of drool was already dangling from one of its massive jaws.

"What?" Harry turned, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, and finally saw it. The massive, mountain-like figure, the three enormous heads, the six glowing, red eyes.

"Get out!" Before Harry, Ron, or Hermione could scream, Dudley's sharp, cold command stifled their terror. Coming to their senses, they obeyed without question, quietly opening the door and retreating step by step back into the corridor.

The great beast saw them leave and let out a low growl, its massive body tensing.

"Back off, sweetheart," Dudley's voice was a low, commanding murmur, his gaze locked on the creature's six eyes. "You don't want me to hurt you, do you?" His authority was at its fullest, amplified by his connection to Hogwarts, but even so, he wasn't sure it would be enough to control a monster of this level.

"Back off!" he commanded again, trying to force the beast to submit to his will. At the same time, he slowly, carefully, drew his wand, his mind racing through the limited arsenal of spells he knew. None of them would be effective against such a creature. He would have to rely on his Beyonder abilities.

He continued to command the beast, slowly backing away toward the door. But his retreat seemed to enrage the creature, or perhaps it had finally realized that the authority emanating from this small human couldn't truly threaten it.

Roar!

All three heads roared simultaneously, a deafening sound that shook the very stones of the room. The middle head lunged, its massive jaws, filled with dagger-like teeth, snapping at him.

"Damn it!" Dudley cursed under his breath. His left hand, which wasn't holding his wand, clenched into a tight fist. He poured all of his physical power, the raw, supernatural strength of a Barbarian, into a single, desperate punch, aimed directly at the lunging dog's head.

[Chapter Complete]

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