Second Chances [The Dudley Story]

"Two things can be true at the same time, isn't that right, Professor?"

"Knowing Lucius, he will investigate you thoroughly, and once he learns about your talents… He's a ruthless man to be in business with, Mr. Dursley."

And I'll show him what real Wall Street savagery looks like. He'll be begging me by the time I'm done.

"I'm aware, Professor," Dudley replied. "I don't rely on luck."

"If you manage to sway Lucius, though I doubt his attachment to his beliefs will allow it, you'll find the path ahead considerably clearer," Dumbledore said, his tone both cautious and wise. "As for the Ministry... I suspect Cornelius would welcome a bit of competition for Gringotts, regardless of who's behind it."

Forget about Lucius joining. Dudley noted the hint in his tone.

I'll consider it a test then. If he can't look beyond his ideology and focus on money, he's doomed to fail.

"Does that mean you'll support me, Professor?"

"I shall speak with those who are keen on establishing the Hogwarts Investment Fund with me. Should they, as I suspect, be swayed by the undeniable evidence of your talents, I shall certainly offer my full support."

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Dudley celebrated silently.

"Now, Mr. Dursley, it would be wise for you to return to the Great Hall. Breakfast is soon to be served, and while the world beyond may call for your attention, I do hope you will not neglect your magical studies." Dumbledore signaled him to leave as kindly as he could.

"Not a chance, Professor." Dudley stood up and frankly spoke while leaving. "I love magic."

####

"Morning, girls."

Susan leaned in close as Dudley settled between her and Hannah, her voice low and teasing. "What took you so long?" she purred, her hand sliding onto his warm lap, fingers squeezing lightly at the muscles of his thigh. "We were just about to go look for you."

Dudley cherished his redheaded friend so much. Just being close to her was a natural antidepressant. Besides, he also landed his left hand on Hanna's thighs on his other side, receiving a warm smile from her succulent lips. She also squeezed closer to his side at that.

"The old boss called me. Warned me about the bet I made with Draco," he revealed. "I didn't back out, though."

Susan vocally sneered. "Let me guess, he cried to his daddy and his daddy complained to the Headmaster?"

"Typical Malfoy," Hannah added, a real sign of her growing confidence.

Certainly, Dudley rewarded her by squeezing her inner thighs a little harder. Under his breath, he cursed the lack of privacy in school or else he'd have loved to be inches deep inside them that morning.

"Well, he can do whatever he likes. I'm not backing down. There's still two months before the Quidditch match."

"Ehm… Dudley?"

All of a sudden, they heard a voice from behind. Dudley quickly moved his hand away from Hannah, but he had to swat away Susan's from squeezing his rock-hard erection.

God damn, girl. You're too wild.

He looked behind finally, finding two Gryffindor lads far from their table. One was Ron, and the other was Percy, his face was red with some acne.

"Lost?" He joked.

Ron shrugged and patted his elder brother's shoulder. "Percy wanted to have a word with you, but since you two haven't met, I thought I'd step in. Percy, this fatty's Dudley, and Dud, this is my brother, Percy."

Dudley sneered dismissively, "Fat? Buddy, have you seen me without a shirt? I got muscles enough to shatter your head with my biceps alone."

"I can vouch for that," Susan blurted from the side, winking and giggling.

Hah! Dudley noted a hint of jealousy on Ron's face at Susan's words.

"So, what can I do for you?" Dudley looked at Percy. Though, he was already aware of what Percy was likely going to ask. Ever since the news of Penelope Clearwater getting hired by him spread, too many 7th years had reached out. Of course, he gave the truly talented ones a chance, some beauties too.

"I was wondering if you have a job opening at your business. I got twelve OWLs and…"

"Wait, weren't you interested in joining the Ministry?" Dudley asked back.

Percy awkwardly smiled, nodding his head. "I… I was but then… Isn't it better to work somewhere more fulfilling?"

Ah, money does talk. Dudley understood the issue. No matter what, the Weasleys were poor as fuck.

But the fact remained that Percy was extremely gifted and hard-working. However, the guy was too stiff, and in business, being shrewd was the utmost requirement.

"Can you lie?"

"What? Why?" Percy asked back.

"I do business, Percy. In business, there's no such thing as equivalent exchange. The key to success is finding ways to get more out of your investments than you put in," Dudley replied, and thought of a position for Percy. "I don't think there's a spot for you at D&D Capital, but... I'm starting something new where your honesty and skills will be truly appreciated. It'll require travel across the world, and the salary will be generous, though the work will be demanding."

"May I know what that work is?"

"Not right now, it's a bit of a private matter. But if you'll keep your options open, I'll let you know when the position becomes available." Dudley extended his hand as the breakfast had just appeared on the table.

Percy shook his hand, thanked him, and left with Ron.

"Any position for me?" Susan teasingly asked.

Dudley chuckled, "Wheelbarrow? I'd love to try that one."

"Hehe, I didn't mean that, but it sounds exciting."

Oh, this whole new life is exciting.

####

It was a long day, one class after another. The only ones he struggled at were the classes that required pure magic—Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA. From the start, Dudley knew that he wasn't magically gifted, but he still did his best to remain average or slightly above average.

The places he shined the most were Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, and most of all, Arithmancy. All these subjects benefited from his continuously, rapidly increasing mastery over Arithmancy. Harnessing the magical properties of numbers was a boon for him that set him above.

Even Snape stopped giving out snarky remarks at him and saw his skill for what it was—talent. However, the brooding Professor did start asking him more challenging questions.

However, the most excited, impressed, and astounded was the Professor of Arithmancy herself—Septima Vector, the woman known for wearing red robes and matching pointed hats. She had particularly long dark hair, reaching all the way to her waist, and she always allowed it to cascade freely.

Perhaps in her early forties, she'd already been teaching at the school for six years, and while most other students feared and disliked her for being a very strict, and highly complex homework dispenser, Dudley rather liked her.

Always to the point, serious in her teachings, professional, and actually talented in Arithmancy. The fact that she was always there to answer his questions, and entertain his hypothesis about the relation between muggle calculus and Arithmancy, helped him improve tremendously.

As usual, it was the last class of the day, and it was Dudley's favorite one, Arithmancy. But he didn't sit among the students and instead wrote on the blackboard using chalk while Professor Vector sat at the teacher's table on the side, looking at the entire class and him.

"Well, you see, in Arithmancy, people mostly ignored the Muggle side until recently. The numbers are the same, but Muggles have taken them much further. They've made huge progress using things like Probability, Set Theory, and even Integration and Differentiation. I know, it's pretty hard, but it's doable—look at this formula I made using Probabilities and Arithmancy. It's a very basic and crude one, but it can help you predict the result of a coin toss ninety-nine percent of the time."

As Dudley looked behind at the class, he noticed one hand raised high. As expected, it was Hermione. Since Arithmancy was an elective subject and a very tough one at that, not many chose to study it. Thanks to that, all four houses took the Elective subjects together. Sadly, Susan and Hannah had dropped out already.

"Let me guess. Why not a hundred percent?" Dudley guessed Hermione's question.

She smiled and nodded strongly.

In response, Dudley went back to the board and extended the formula he wrote. For a whole three minutes, he kept writing, using the entire length of the blackboard. He noticed Professor Septima's keen gaze too as this was the first time he revealed the full formula.

Clack!

"Now, it can predict ninety-nine point nine percent of the time." Dudley started underlining parts of the formula. "This part takes into account the air; this, the temperature; this, the time of the day, this one takes in the humidity, and…."

Nobody realized when the class came to an end. So absorbed in Dudley's explanation, they just listened to him in awe. What he showed them was not even seventh-year Arithmancy. It was something completely different.

"I still left point one possibility because you never know what other factors might come into play." He concluded his explanation with that. "And I think the class is over."

All heads looked at the clock on the wall, realizing the class had been over for half an hour by now. But nobody left and started to write down the formula Dudley had written on the board. By then, only the students truly interested in Arithmancy were left.

What the… Dudley noticed that even Professor Vector wrote it down on a paper.

______________________

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