####
The Ministry for Magic was still in chaos. However, the Aurors and most of the Ministry were now dissatisfied with the Minister's decisions. Cornelius Fudge seemed to make every wrong decision at every turn with such precision that it felt deliberate. A man couldn't be that foolish.
"You expect me to believe—truly—that a hundred wizards breach Ministry jurisdiction and not a single soul knows how? Preposterous!" Fudge thundered, flinging the report aside with disgust. "If this is the level of incompetence we're dealing with, hand me your resignation this instant, Madam Umbridge! Lucius Malfoy has been abducted, and yet the Daily Prophet is printing rubbish about me? Where is the outrage?!"
"Good riddance," growled Moody, leaning on his staff, sharp-eyed. "Caught with his trousers down, that one. Death Eater filth. If Lucius got carved up, so be it."
"First of all!" Fudge thundered, then upon seeing Alastor, toned it down—grudgingly. "There is no Dark Lord! Pure fantasy! Dumbledore's usual alarmism. A doctored photograph proves nothing!"
Moody scoffed and said nothing. He believed in the testimony of Lily and the rest who were there. He was interested in the hundred wizards, but since they didn't commit any crime against the Ministry, he didn't give a damn.
Knock! Knock!
Suddenly, the door opened and Amelia Bones walked in stoically with a newspaper in hand. She came to the Minister's table and threw the paper down. "Additional photographs from alternate angles. The original film was provided by the Daily Prophet. Both the Ministry's Research Division and MACUSA's Forgery Office have verified their authenticity. Copies have been dispatched to the French and German Ministries."
Silently, Cornelius Fudge fumed. He looked at the faces present in the room, his lips quivering. He didn't want to resign. He wasn't going to.
"This changes nothing whatsoever! I demand those hundred wizards be investigated at once! Interrogate Walden Macnair—we have the man, don't we? I want everything he knows, and I don't care how you get it!"
Sighing, Moody and Amelia Bones looked at each other before nodding.
Cornelius, without realizing it, just dug his own grave by handing over the prisoner to the two Aurors.
####
Business was booming. After the mess at Hermione's place, Dudley quickly climbed into his smaller private jet and landed at Plymouth less than an hour later.
That day, he had a special reason to be there. He felt the lack of someone who could work for him in bridging the gap between the muggle and the magical world at all times. While Tonks helped, she was still an Auror.
So, Tonks suggested her own father, and Dudley agreed right away. The man was a muggle-born and didn't seem to hold any prejudice. And knowing the future, Dudley knew the man could be trusted against the Dark Lord.
Through the Edward Tonks, Dudley got to meet the N.E.W.P.A.T.H., an abbreviation for Non-Enchanted World Parents Adjusting To Hogwarts. It was sort of a parents association but for parents of Muggle-born children. The association helped parents learn and deal with their sudden introduction to the magical world.
Although the association had a lot of members, Dudley selected only ten who were from civil engineering, construction, and other building backgrounds. Sure, they didn't own any big companies, but they worked for them.
In a private business meeting room, protected by the Vanguards, Dudley met with the ten parents, six men and four women. All of them still had their kids studying in Hogwarts, and they were all Dudley's juniors. It gave him leverage over the parents as he was the senior of their kids.
"Thank you for accepting my invitation." He greeted them one by one. And they all showed extreme enthusiasm. Dudley was as famous as a muggle as he was a wizard now.
"As you lot may have heard, I'm setting out to transform Plymouth into our own slice of Silicon Valley—something properly British, built from the ground up. It's a massive undertaking, years in the making, and I'll need solid, dependable people beside me. We're talking billions, and we've got one shot to get it right."
He saw the greed, the thirst in their eyes.
"Right then, I'd like the ten of you to come aboard with me on this project. One of you is already a senior leader at a civil engineering firm—through you, I'll get the plans commissioned to build the city from the ground up. I'll need you to move up the ladder a bit more, and when the time's right, I want you to jump ship and join my construction firm. There'll be a hefty bonus, of course—but I'll need you to bring your best people with you."
Was it scummy? Yes. Was it illegal? That depends. Would it make his life easier? Absolutely.
"The rest of you will be joining my firm directly as construction and procurement leads. I'll be working with wizards to build this city, and if we get it right, we'll take it global. That's why I chose you—because you understand the magical world. Like your children, I'm a Muggle-born myself. And don't forget, this industry we're starting will open up new jobs for wizards. Your children—and their children—will have real futures because of what you're helping build today."
Money, a grand vision, working with the richest man and the richest wizard. It was hard to refuse, and they were already vetted by Dudley's team of Vanguards. He just needed to explain their jobs to them.
An entire new city, and he had big plans. Futuristic, focused on greenery, energy efficiency, walkable streets, good public infrastructure including underground metro, parks, and overall, a good vibe as a city. And yeah, bicycle-friendly roads. The dream was to build a city where he personally wanted to live.
After finishing his meeting, he had lunch with Edward Tonks who was going to be the manager-in-training directly under him. It was awkward with the man since Dudley was regularly banging his daughter. But it was mostly Tonks being the needy, crazy one, so he felt a little less embarrassed.
Then, he left for the Arithmancy Research Lab he had created. It had already been built, safely guarded. Professor Vector had accepted her new job as his Chief Scientist. There were five more avid Arithmancy addicts working under her, paid so handsomely they didn't even need to look at their bank accounts anymore before buying something.
"Let's do it, Professor." He changed into a lab coat and joined the research team. The main lab was pretty much a massive room with a chalkboard that took up over three sides of the wall and went from bottom to ceiling. And it had a high ceiling.
His goal was to write and refine an algorithm that could be customized every minute to predict global stock market shifts. It was a sort of divination but far more accurate and under control. If successful, he would be the king of the market. But that wasn't all, he also wanted to predict his companies, as well as natural disasters.
It was no easy task. He was willing to give that project his genuine time. And he did just that. From lunch till evening, he worked with Professor Vector. Thankfully, she didn't attempt to reward him in her usual way. She was also focused.
Eventually, as the sun sank, he returned to his London office to finish some work. He learned about Narcissa visiting again, and that she left hours later. He was going to meet her, but not yet.
Later, as dinner time approached, he left the office and headed home for a meal with Petunia.
####
Dropped at the door of his house on Privet Drive, Dudley waved at the squib driver and walked to his home. He rang the bell once and waited, and then waited some more. He rang the bell again and still nobody opened the door.
Frowning, he stepped back and looked at the windows of the house. They were all dark.
"She went out for drinks with her show's guest. Some actress—Kate Winglet? From that soppy shipwreck film where she hogged the raft."
Dudley looked behind and found Lily standing there, wearing just a silky, full-sleeved, knee-length dark blue sleeping robe, tied at the front around her curvy waist. As the light from the nearby street lamp fell on her, she looked rather breathtaking, her soft skin shining, her red hair loosely tied in a single thick braid that fell over her shoulder to the front.
"Winslet? The Titanic one?" Dudley murmured, looking back at his house.
"Petunia asked me to cook you something," Lily purred, crossing her arms beneath her rather distracting swells, giving them the tiniest lift. "Why don't you come over?"
Dudley just took one look at her face and already knew what she was plotting. Her eyes, hovering between embarrassment and something else, her toes in the slippers curling constantly.
Let's just get this over with. Can't avoid her forever now.
"Sure, let's go. I'm starving."
For what, he didn't specify. Everything depended on her responses and reactions.
Instantly, Lily lightened up, eyes narrowing as her smile seemingly lit up the entire street. There was no doubt, the almost forty-year-old woman was insanely beautiful, and being a witch, she had the perfect curves.
"Wonderful! Follow me, dear."
Don't! Don't think with your dick, Dud.
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