Bang!
The dark shape struck the wall behind him with a sharp crack. Several seconds passed before Dudley turned to look at the white mark on the wall and the object that had fallen to the floor.
It was a steel crossbow bolt, but its tip had been wrapped in leather and cloth.
Dudley swallowed hard, a chill running through him. That-that thing had just been aimed straight at my forehead?
Even with the tip wrapped up, with that much force... wouldn't it still really hurt if it hit someone?
"Not bad." Edward clapped twice. "If an evil wizard had ambushed you just now, you would have successfully dodged that attack.
"But your reaction afterward was far too slow."
*???*
Dudley glared at him, wondering whether he could beat the old man now that he had drunk the sacred potion, but he soon abandoned that tempting idea.
Edward must have drunk the sacred potion too. He couldn't beat him. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't win.
"Come and take a look." Edward beckoned to Dudley, then pulled a coldly gleaming crossbow bolt from behind the machine.
The bolt was about as thick as an adult's thumb. Edward tossed it to Dudley, then tugged on a rope hanging from the ceiling.
With a swish, a screen suddenly dropped from the ceiling.
Dudley stepped back. Painted on it was a hooded wizard holding a wand, shown both from the front and in profile.
"This is a wizard, an evil and terrifying creature."
Evil... and terrifying?
Dudley thought back. Magic certainly was frightening, such as some of the things his cousin could do, but neither Mr. Weasley, who worked at the Ministry of Magic, nor his cousin...
...seemed to have anything to do with evil.
"They commit every imaginable atrocity.