Confronting Dumbledore in the Street!

Having unlocked an A-rank regret event that was still possible to complete, Dudley was very pleased.

He understood that raising dragons at Hogwarts was not as simple as he had made it sound.

Calling a deer a horse and a rat a duck required "power" as backing.

Without connections, bribery, absolute military deterrence, or the threat of authority and reputation, the Ministry of Magic under Cornelius Fudge would still uphold wizarding laws and regulations to some extent.

However, depending on future developments, Dudley always had targeted means of fulfilling those conditions related to "power."

He was very confident about that.

Unlike Dudley, who was confident he could break the rules, the old man Dumbledore following behind him had already furrowed his brow.

This great wizard had realized that Dudley simply had no regard for rules. He was utterly lawless!

He was thinking about how to guide Dudley onto the "right path."

He did not want to see another Voldemort rise during his lifetime!

"Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter!"

Just as Dudley and Harry were about to enter the final stop of their shopping trip—Ollivanders Wand Shop—Dumbledore appeared in front of them and spoke.

He called out to Dudley and Harry, took an acceptance letter from his robes, handed it to Dudley, and said:

"Dear Mr. Dursley, as the current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I am very pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to study at Hogwarts. You will be in the same year as Harry Potter and may enroll alongside him."

Dudley stopped and looked at the great wizard before him, who seemed clever yet foolish, brave yet cowardly, and old and frail. A teasing smile and chilling coldness suddenly appeared on his face.

"You say you're very pleased? Just how pleased are you? And who told you I wanted to attend Hogwarts?

"To tell you the truth, before what happened today, I had a certain degree of respect for you and had planned to attend Hogwarts with Harry.

"But now, if you cannot give me a reasonable explanation, I will have my parents take Harry and me to another country.

"We can attend America's Ilvermorny, France's Beauxbatons, Northern Europe's Durmstrang, or even a Chinese magical sect. In any case, wherever we go, I am confident that Harry and I can become powerful wizards—stronger even than you!

"Then we'll come back here and torture that noseless ugly freak Voldemort we met today, along with everyone who once harmed Aunt Lily's family, until they beg for death. Those who deserve to die will die, and those who deserve punishment will be punished!"

Dudley's voice was as cold as a biting winter wind, making even Hagrid feel afraid. Dumbledore's brow furrowed deeply, and he was utterly shocked.

That troubled shock deepened further after Harry unconditionally agreed with Dudley.

"I'll listen to my cousin! Wherever he tells me to study, that's where I'll go! I'll definitely avenge my parents too!"

That was what Harry said. His voice trembled slightly, but there was no lack of determination in it.

A hazy barrier had long since surrounded them. Under Dumbledore's methods, these shocking remarks, which would have stunned ordinary wizards in the magical world, did not leak out in the slightest.

After pondering for a long time, Dumbledore finally could not resist secretly casting Legilimency on Dudley. The result... was exactly as Dudley had said.

Dudley truly would do everything he claimed he would.

Hearing the system notification in his mind about the mental intrusion, a trace more disdain appeared on Dudley's face. He was utterly certain that Dumbledore had become petty and truly grown old.

The thoughts Dumbledore had just discovered were Dudley's genuine thoughts.

Although they had encountered considerable danger today, in terms of the outcome, Dudley had indeed achieved great success in his actions and gained the capital to act aggressively.

He had already fused with the Philosopher's Stone and possessed magical power at the level of an elite magic professor. He would only continue to grow stronger in the future.

As long as he learned to use all kinds of dark and light spells proficiently, things would become even simpler...

He could go home, transfer the [Weak Wizard Bloodline] he had obtained by fusing with Harry's blood to his mother, teach her a few spells, and at the very least complete [Petunia—Rejection of the Magical World], a D-rank regret event, to obtain one D-rank magical item fusion opportunity.

Added to his current stockpile—two C-rank opportunities and two D-rank opportunities—he could combine them into one B-rank magical item fusion opportunity.

If he fused Quirrell's Broken Wand, a magical item that could be considered at the peak of B-rank, he would immediately become an elite professor-level powerhouse proficient in numerous light and dark spells.

After all, if Quirrell's wand had not been damaged, the system could have rated it as an A-rank magical item.

Every spell Quirrell had cast in his life, along with the spells Voldemort had cast through Quirrell's body during his parasitic stay, could be completely inherited and thoroughly learned by Dudley after the fusion.

That way, Dudley would have the means to establish himself in the magical world of any country. Even if he no longer completed other regret events, did not go to Hogwarts to meet other original story characters, and did not unlock new regret events, it would not be entirely unacceptable to him.

He could take the family he wanted to protect and stay far from all conflict, watching Dumbledore and Voldemort scheme against each other and fight to the death.

Once he had cultivated himself to sufficient strength, he could return and wipe out Voldemort and the Death Eaters in one fell swoop.

This newly formulated simulated plan had no obstacles at all, except for Dumbledore standing in his way now.

Unless Dumbledore completely gave in to darkness, killed him, altered Harry and Hagrid's memories, and forcibly set things right.

But if he did that, how would Dumbledore be any different from Voldemort? The beliefs he had struggled for all his life would be destroyed by his own hand.

Dumbledore would not do that, just as Dudley would rather gamble with his life than accept being manipulated by others.

"Well? You set up a barrier and thought for so long. Have you come up with some foolproof explanation?"

Dudley spoke calmly, his eyes seeming capable of seeing through people's hearts. He did not resemble an eleven-year-old boy at all.

"Dudley." Dumbledore finally spoke, exhaustion and age showing in his eyes. "You are an exceptionally intelligent young wizard. You should be able to see that I was doing this to temper Harry..."

"Ha!" Dudley laughed. "Of course I can see that you wanted to temper Harry, but is that the point? The point is that you lack the ability to make proper arrangements, yet insisted on setting up an extremely crude, extremely dangerous scheme that disregarded the lives of others!

"Why did Voldemort know that the Philosopher's Stone was at Gringotts and head straight for Vault 713? You placed the Philosopher's Stone in Gringotts, had Hagrid bring Harry and me to retrieve it, and meanwhile leaked the information in advance, drawing in Voldemort, who craved life force. Isn't that right?

"Harry has protective magic placed on him by Aunt Lily. Voldemort cannot kill him, but he can torture him. Would you really let an eleven-year-old child endure the Cruciatus Curse? And you call that tempering?

"I had never met you before. In your initial understanding, I was merely an insignificant little Muggle. You probably never cared whether I lived or died. I can understand that.

"But what about Hagrid? Hagrid trusts you so much that he practically worships you like a god. Whatever you tell him to do, he does. Did you ever consider whether he would live or die?

"If the spell Voldemort used on him down in the underground vault had not been Reducto, but Avada Kedavra, then what you would be seeing now would be a three-and-a-half-meter corpse!"

Within the barrier, Dudley roared furiously at Dumbledore, every word striking straight at the heart.

Harry's little face turned pale as he listened, and his impression of Dumbledore plummeted again and again.

Hagrid's lips trembled as his large eyes stared at Dumbledore, eagerly hoping Dumbledore would speak up and refute what Dudley had said.

"I... I..."

Dumbledore's heart began to panic under Dudley's string of questions. Such emotions should not have appeared in him, but after thinking for a long while, he realized that he truly had not considered things so thoroughly or in such detail.

"I truly never expected you to run into Voldemort at Gringotts. I did not properly consider the timing."

In the end, that was all he could say. Self-reproach and guilt appeared on his aged face, and he hardly dared meet Hagrid's eyes.

But Dudley's anger had yet to subside.