Chapter 315: The Fugitive
Over the next few days, Dudley kept waiting for news from Draco. However, ever since that night, Draco had not contacted him again.
Dudley did not worry too much. Stealing something from Lucius Malfoy was hardly easy work, and he had not given Draco a deadline. As long as that card eventually ended up in his hands, it was fine.
In the meantime, his magic research made fresh progress.
He had successfully replicated, through wizarding magic, the Flame Leap ability of the Magician at Sequence Seven on the Fool Pathway.
He had chosen this ability first because it was an excellent life-saving trick. With this spell, Dudley could launch many surprise attacks or retreats.
The reason he had managed to complete this spell so quickly was largely thanks to his solid grasp of Apparition. In essence, Flame Leap was a specialised form of Apparition. Instead of simply moving a wizard to a place they imagined, it used fire as the medium for transit.
The advantage was that there was almost no visible casting phase. The leap was completed in an instant, letting him evade lethal attacks at the last moment. Combined with Blazing Flames, he could also use it to instantly close the distance to an enemy and showcase the terrifying close-combat prowess of the Black Emperor Pathway.
Overall, it was a substantial boost to his capabilities.
Snap.
Dudley flicked his fingers. Pale blue cold fire sprang up in his room. It shed no heat; in fact, it was slightly cooler than the surrounding air and would not ignite anything. It was perfect for practising a fire-based spell indoors.
"Flame Shift."
As he cast, his body vanished and reappeared inside a blossom of blue fire.
Dudley continued to trigger the spell again and again, changing his position repeatedly until he had full control.
"Feels good. I can teach this to Harry and the others later," he thought.
"Diddykins, dinner is ready. I have made a very rich feast," Petunia called from downstairs.
Dudley answered and headed down.
"It has really got hot these last few days," Harry said as soon as he saw Dudley, grumbling about the weather.
"Has it?" Dudley reached out with his senses and realised the temperature in the kitchen was indeed rather high.
"You did not notice?" Harry said, surprised.
"Oh, I set my bedroom to a constant temperature with magic," Dudley said with a small laugh.
"..."
Harry's face said everything.
Underage wizards were not allowed to use magic outside school, but Dudley had found a way to slide through the cracks. As long as he did not cast in front of outsiders and no one reported him to the Ministry, there would be no consequences.
He had done the same thing during last summer's holidays.
This loophole, however, worked only for Dudley. Harry, when at home, could not use magic at all. It made him feel like he was suffocating. Especially when he watched Dudley use spell after spell to improve his daily life, the frustration only grew.
"Cool down at once," Dudley said softly in Hermes.
Hum.
In an instant, the stiflingly hot dining room cooled. A gentle, refreshing breeze filled the space. The oppressive heat vanished as if it had never been. It no longer felt like the height of summer, but rather the most pleasant days of spring.
"Oh, my Dudley, you are wonderful," Petunia said, feeling the sudden change and immediately realising what he had done. She launched into an unrestrained stream of praise.
"This spell is brilliant. We will not need to install air-conditioning now," Vernon said cheerfully.
"Saves us a bit of money," Dudley replied with a smile.
"Mm. Not bad at all," Harry muttered, a touch sour.
If only he could cast spells at home, too. For now, that was an impossible dream.
"Breaking news. A highly dangerous prisoner has escaped from prison. If anyone sees this man, they must report it at once."
"...We remind the public that Black is armed and extremely dangerous. Do not attempt to act on your own if you encounter him."
"A dedicated hotline has been opened. Anyone who sees Black should report immediately."
The announcer's tone and expression were both grave as he read out the segment.
"You can tell he is a piece of work," Vernon snorted, glancing up at the television.
On the screen, the man stared wild-eyed at the camera, long matted hair hanging in clumps, his thin face haggard and sharp.
Dudley also looked up at the news.
An escaped prisoner, nothing unusual about that in itself. The world produced fugitives every day. But if one appeared in a prime slot like this, they were clearly not ordinary. The fact that the authorities had even opened a special hotline just for sightings spoke volumes.
Dudley's eyes skimmed over the screen, and he was about to look away and return to his food when his gaze froze.
He found himself staring at the man's face.
He was certain he had never met this man before. He had never seen that face with his own eyes. And yet, for some reason, a very subtle reaction stirred within him as he looked at it.
"Do I have some kind of connection to this man?" he wondered.
As a Beyonder on the Justiciar Pathway, Dudley possessed a unique sensitivity in this area. He could sometimes perceive mysterious links that others could not. The fugitive on the screen gave him exactly that kind of feeling.
But it was fleeting and indistinct. Without more detailed information, Dudley could not judge exactly what kind of connection it might be.
It could be something like a distant blood relation with someone he had never met and never even known existed. Or perhaps this man was a friend of a friend, that kind of thing.
In any case, it was hard to define.
"Sirius Black."
Dudley read the name under the picture and committed it to memory.
"What is it? Interested in that fugitive?" Vernon asked, seeming to notice Dudley's expression.
"He is extremely dangerous. It does not hurt to pay attention," Dudley said casually.
"He should not be a threat to us, should he?" Harry asked, glancing at the screen.
The man looked feral and vicious, but in Harry's mind, a Muggle, no matter how deranged, posed little danger compared to a wizard.
"That is not guaranteed," Dudley said seriously.
That faint, mysterious connection made him raise the threat level of this unknown fugitive in his mind.
What if Sirius Black was not just an ordinary escapee?