Chapter -52 I'll wait for you at your doorstep.

Chapter -52.

"You can't."

Malfoy tried to get up, but his legs were shaking too much to cooperate.

He could hear his teeth clicking together as he spoke, making a nervous 'clack clack clack' sound.

"Oh? Why can't I?"

Dudley lightly tapped the conference table, each tap feeling like a heavy weight on Malfoy's heart, making him tremble even more. Dudley opened his palm, big as a fan, and said slowly, "You should know, you've crossed me, and not just once."

"I should have mentioned, I'm not exactly a nice guy, Mr. Show-off."

"The students outside know it was you who took me away." Malfoy, suddenly feeling a spark of cleverness, shouted as if he had found a lifeline: "If you hurt me, professors will find out in no time. They'll expel you!"

The mention of expulsion seemed to give Malfoy a boost of confidence.

In that moment, it was like he had found a little support; his teeth stopped chattering, and his body calmed down. He took a deep breath.

"Mr. Malfoy," Dudley lowered his voice, cutting through Malfoy's bravado, his eyes glinting with a hint of danger: "Are you trying to threaten me?"

Dudley's gaze popped Malfoy's newfound courage like a balloon.

"What made you think I care about being expelled?"

Does Dudley truly care about being expelled?

To be honest, he does care; he had hoped to enjoy his time at Hogwarts without any drama.

But why should he be the one to get kicked out?

Because of his rumored Viking roots?

Or because of his board member dad?

Oh, in some places, having a board member dad might let you get away with a lot.

But Hogwarts isn't like those fancy private schools; the power of a board member doesn't stretch that far.

They can't even decide what's for dinner at Hogwarts!

Dudley had looked into this and was totally sure, just like the Sorting Hat said, he'd be ready before making any moves.

This left Malfoy scratching his head; with his current brainpower, he couldn't figure out why some students weren't scared of expulsion.

The magic of words lies in who holds the upper hand.

Whoever blinks first loses.

It was only fair for the Dursleys to lose.

In Malfoy's anxious gaze, Dudley slowly revealed an address.

"Wiltshire, England."

That was Malfoy's home, the real Malfoy Manor.

"How do you know?"

A sharp voice, like a rooster crowing, burst out; Malfoy's voice had changed from fear, his heart racing.

Dudley could hear it loud and clear.

Why would Dudley know Malfoy's manor address?

Good question, blame Lucius.

He's usually so flashy and never bothered to hide where he lives, nor did he cast any secretive charms; plenty of folks in the wizarding world know about it.

For instance, Lucius's old rival, Arthur Weasley.

Even the Ministry of Magic sometimes pops by for surprise checks at Malfoy Manor when they are in need of donations.

With Dudley's smarts and the magic data eye, figuring out the exact location wasn't too tough.

The kicker is that this arrogant guy had no clue about any of this. He was genuinely scared by Dudley's words, regretting it deeply inside.

What could be more chilling than "I'll be waiting for you at your doorstep"? At least for a little student, nothing.

By the way, Dudley recently stumbled upon something interesting while diving into magical history.

According to records from Malfoy's own family, their ancestor was Armand Malfoy from the eleventh century, who supposedly founded the Malfoy family. The eleventh century spanned from 1001 to 1100, almost a thousand years ago.

At first glance, that sounds pretty impressive, right?

But here's the catch: this claim isn't recognized in the wizarding world; magical historical records say the Malfoy family first popped up in the sixteenth century, with the recorded founder being Lucius Malfoy I.

There's a six-century gap between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries.

Even more intriguing, there are no records in their family before the sixteenth century; the only proof is a couple of lines in the family books: Armand Malfoy founded the family in the eleventh century, and Nicholas Malfoy used the Black Death as an excuse to "get rid of" Muggle tenants in the fourteenth century and managed to escape punishment from the Wizarding Council.

Other than that, nothing.

Not a single record exists, and as for evidence...

Sorry, don't ask.

The answer is simply no.

According to magical historical records, in 990: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was established, in 1100: Merlin became the court wizard of King Arthur, and in 1200: the Deathly Hallows were born.

Wow, the Malfoy family is from the same era as Merlin, even a hundred years before the Deathly Hallows showed up.

If Armand Malfoy had been born a bit earlier, he might have seen Hogwarts being founded.

The history of the Malfoy family is truly something, just like the fossils of England.

"Oh, I heard your family has a lovely white peacock, portraits on the walls, a marble fireplace, and gilded mirrors, with splendid carpets," Dudley said, piecing together what Malfoy Manor might look like based on what he had gathered, as if he had seen it all himself.

As Dudley shared this information bit by bit, Malfoy felt like his heart was being squeezed tightly.

'How does he know? How does he know even the small details?'

At the same time, his gut told him that if Dudley really got expelled, what he said would definitely come true.

In reality, Dudley had never been to Malfoy Manor, but most wealthy folks usually decorate like that.

"If I get expelled, do you think I'd come over to your place to chat?"

"Mr. Show-off, I don't think your dad, Mr. Lucius, can always have your back."

"There will be times he's not around, right?"

"Like this week? France sounds like a nice getaway."

Dudley spoke slowly, and as he went on, Malfoy's face turned paler, like a sheet of paper.

Malfoy completely believed Dudley's words; his dad really was in France this week.

Dudley used simple language to slowly chip away at Malfoy's defenses.

How did Dudley know so much? Well, someone as flashy as Lucius would always brag about any big events he was part of. This week's Daily Prophet had even published news about Lucius heading to France.

Malfoy didn't have the habit of reading newspapers, or rather, young wizards rarely did.

But Dudley, who made a little money from the wand business, subscribed to the Daily Prophet and other wizarding publications every week.

Being observant is also a key part of becoming a wizard.

The important thing is that Malfoy believed it, didn't he?

Sigh, kids are really easy to fool.

Tl/N: If you want to read more [upto Ten chapters] while supporting me, you can join me on patreon.com/EmptyThoughts ;Thanks.

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Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.

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Upcoming chapters :-

53. This is definitely dark magic.

54. Hagrid's cooking, it's not that bad.