Dudley quickly took the tarot cards from Harry's hands and pulled out all the Major Arcana cards, indeed finding that two were missing.
"The Emperor and Judgement," Dudley said softly, his expression somewhat uncertain.
"What's wrong? Aren't there just two cards missing?" Ron came over.
"Is there a problem?" Harry was also somewhat puzzled.
He felt Dudley's reaction was a bit severe, but these were just two missing cards. It shouldn't be that serious, right? Did Dudley really like this deck of tarot cards so much that missing two made him feel terrible?
"It's nothing. I was just thinking that since these are new cards, how could two be missing? Maybe someone stole them," Dudley restrained the expression on his face and said.
"That shouldn't be the case. Hedwig delivered these. No one would intercept Hedwig just to steal two tarot cards," Ron said.
"Indeed. I suggest you write to Aunt Petunia and ask. Maybe she accidentally dropped two when she sent them," Harry patted Dudley's shoulder.
"Mm." Dudley nodded.
Ron and Harry said nothing more and continued unwrapping their own gifts. Dudley looked at the tarot cards in his hands, lost in thought.
"Of all cards, it had to be these two missing. No wonder I can't help but overthink," Dudley thought to himself.
His intuition told him this matter might not be so simple. After searching through the other gifts and confirming the two cards weren't there, Dudley immediately wrote a letter and went to the Owlery to find Hedwig.
To get the exhausted Hedwig to deliver the letter, he specifically brought many small dried fish for her. Only then did Hedwig reluctantly fly out from the Owlery and leave Hogwarts with his letter.
"I hope I'm overthinking this." Watching Hedwig's figure disappear into the vast snowy landscape, Dudley thought to himself.
In that world, Emperor Russell had once created a deck of tarot cards called the Cards of Blasphemy, with each card representing a pathway to godhood. The two sequences Dudley possessed corresponded to the Emperor and the Judgement cards. The fact that these two cards were missing from the tarot deck he received today couldn't help but make Dudley vigilant.
When he returned to the dormitory, Dudley had been thinking about the tarot cards. Walking to his bed, he suddenly felt the dormitory was unusually quiet.
"Did they go out?" Seeing no sign of Harry and Ron in the dormitory, Dudley was somewhat puzzled.
Many opened gifts were scattered on the beds, including sweaters sent by Ron's mother. Not only did Harry have one, but Dudley also had one with a large "D" on the front, cementing his nickname as "Big D."
Suddenly, Dudley frowned. He felt something wasn't quite right about the dormitory. He was too familiar with this place, so much so that even the slightest disturbance could trigger Dudley's spiritual intuition.
As an Interrogator, his abilities had additional bonuses within his jurisdiction, especially in places he was familiar with.
Dudley's gaze swept across the entire dormitory. His eyes narrowed slightly as he activated his spiritual vision. Everything around him immediately became clear. Some magical items revealed their original traces under Dudley's gaze, but what made Dudley feel strange was that he didn't discover anything unusual. Everything was the same as usual.
"Something is definitely wrong." Dudley's feeling grew stronger and stronger.
He almost didn't hesitate and immediately drew his wand. His gaze constantly moved around the surroundings, making sure every corner had been carefully examined by his spiritual vision. But even so, he still found nothing. However, that vague sense of unease was becoming increasingly intense.
Suddenly, Dudley's gaze flashed. Relying on animal instinct, he suddenly turned around, pointing his wand directly at the position behind him.
"Reducto—" The spell almost escaped his lips. At the same time, a hand suddenly appeared in mid-air, reaching toward Dudley.
"Don't! It's me!" A familiar voice suddenly appeared.
Dudley's gaze focused, and the spell about to be cast was immediately interrupted. Actually, when that hand appeared, he had already realized there was no danger—he recognized the sleeve of Harry's pajamas.
Whoosh!
Ron and Harry appeared out of thin air, and a liquid-like robe fell at their feet.
"You scared me to death. We were originally planning to play a prank, but we didn't expect you to discover us," Harry said with a pale face.
Just now, he felt like Dudley's eyes wanted to kill both of them.
"Good thing we didn't ambush you, otherwise..." Ron didn't dare imagine what would have happened next.
Big D was still Big D after all.
"What were you doing?" Dudley glanced at the two, then at the transparent, liquid-like robe on the ground.
"Harry received an Invisibility Cloak. We don't know who sent it. There was a note inside saying, This thing belonged to Harry's father and telling him to use it well." After Ron finished speaking, he handed Dudley the note from the Invisibility Cloak.
"It's Professor Dumbledore." Dudley immediately recognized Dumbledore's handwriting. Obviously, Dumbledore didn't intend to hide anything.
"I also guessed it was Professor Dumbledore," Harry said.
"We were just trying out the Invisibility Cloak. Guessing you'd be back soon, we wanted to play a prank on you. We didn't expect you to still discover us. Is this the Invisibility Cloak's effect that poor?" Ron said.
"Not poor at all." Dudley shook his head.
Actually, he hadn't detected the presence of the Invisibility Cloak, nor did he know Harry and Ron were hiding in the dormitory. From this perspective, the effect of this Invisibility Cloak had far exceeded Dudley's expectations.
Being able to completely conceal a person's aura without leaving any traces—this wasn't something an ordinary Invisibility Cloak could do. Even Dudley's spiritual vision hadn't detected any abnormalities.
Moreover, Harry and Ron weren't skilled at using the Invisibility Cloak. After becoming invisible, their gazes were definitely focused on Dudley, and they were thinking about how to prank him. In such circumstances, this would trigger Dudley's spiritual intuition. If not for this relationship, relying solely on the Invisibility Cloak's powerful concealment ability, Dudley probably wouldn't have been able to detect anyone was there.
Keep in mind, this was his familiar dormitory. If it were a place Dudley wasn't familiar with, he might not be able to detect any abnormalities, even if someone got close to him. This was somewhat terrifying.
Dudley picked up the Invisibility Cloak from the ground.
"Are Invisibility Cloaks common?" Dudley inquired. He wasn't very familiar with some things in the magical world.
"Not common, and Harry's looks very old. It should be passed down through his family," Ron said.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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