Chapter 17: Dudley Is Cunning

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I make.

Chapter 17: Dudley Is Cunning

Amelia Bones' POV

It all began one fine day when her niece informed her about an invitation from Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter's cousin.

"Aunt, my friend invited you to his house," said Susan.

"Your friend?" Hearing this, Amelia felt a headache coming on. Which family was trying to bribe her this time? "Please tell your friend that I'm unavailable because I'm busy with work."

"But… it's Harry Potter's cousin," Susan replied.

"Harry Potter?" That name had been quite popular in the Daily Prophet lately, often labeled as a liar and attention-seeker. Before Amelia could ask more, Susan handed her a letter.

After reading what was written, Amelia agreed to go, partly because she somewhat believed in Harry and Dumbledore. This might be her chance to learn the full story—and she was also curious to meet the famous Harry Potter herself.

But what she hadn't expected was the Dementor attack and Sirius Black's appearance. How much had been swept under the rug for such corruption to happen?

After capturing Dolores Umbridge, she ordered her team to investigate Sirius Black's trial. But they found nothing—no record of any trial. The only thing Sirius had received was forcible capture and imprisonment. This confirmed that what they said about Sirius's innocence was true—because the man had never been given a trial.

Since then, she had believed in Dudley and the Potter boy. Dudley, in particular, intrigued her. He was more cunning than anyone she had ever encountered.

When Dudley explained the blood ward that Lily had invoked and how it had protected Harry for 15 years, Amelia became even more interested. She wanted Susan to be protected by the same magic.

Although Bones Manor had its own magical protection, it wasn't enough to fully safeguard her niece. The attack on Bones Manor a few years ago was proof that the magic protecting the Bones family wasn't very strong.

As a pureblood, Amelia knew about love magic. She believed the blood ward was powerful, especially since it had repelled Voldemort when Harry was just a year old.

That was why she agreed to let Susan stay with Dudley. Now, she was convinced that Voldemort had returned. But then, the boy asked for her house-elf, and the first thing he did was have the elf use magic repeatedly.

Now, she understood: the boy wanted her house-elf to turn the house into a wizarding household.

Present Time…

"We are sorry, Madam Bones," said one of the Aurors who had come to investigate. They had received a notice that underage magic had been used multiple times in front of a Muggle.

"Oy, don't you have eyes? You should be feeling sorry for us! You sent a letter to me and my cousin," Dudley snapped, muttering under his breath, "Corrupt government."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dursley, Mr. Potter," the Auror apologized.

"So, why was elf magic detected here?" Dudley asked, pretending to be clueless. "Can't you tell the difference between elf and wizard magic?"

"The trace of magic was registered when magic was used," the Auror explained. "Especially in Muggle areas, where wards are installed to detect any magical signals. Only in wizarding households are those wards removed."

"That means, let's say us underage wizards aren't here, and only an adult wizard is. Would you still get a signal that magic had been used?" Dudley asked.

"No, the trace is only triggered when there is an underage wizard," the Auror confirmed.

"So, you can't even tell who exactly used the magic, right?" Dudley continued.

"Correct, the trace only alerts us that magic was used near someone who has a trace. Even if Madam Bones herself used magic, we would assume it was you, since no other wizards live here except you two," the Auror explained.

"Well, that's a problem, because now Mipsy and Bones are going to live with us," Dudley said, smacking his forehead.

"There is a way for house-elves to use magic freely by registering this house as a wizarding household. We would then remove the wards," explained the Auror.

"Yeah, go ahead and do it," Dudley replied.

"But we need Madam Bones' confirmation. Will she be living here?" the Auror asked, turning to Amelia.

"Yes, I will stay here. Please proceed," Amelia confirmed.

After learning Voldemort had returned, her top priority was her niece's safety. She quickly understood why Dudley had asked for her house-elf—he wanted to transform his home into a wizarding household.

This was a small price to pay to ensure Susan's protection.

"Okay, Madam. We'll update the records. Just make sure they're punished if they use underage magic," the Auror said.

"Wait, does that mean if someone lives in the wizarding world, the authorities won't punish them for underage magic, but the guardians will?" Dudley asked for clarification.

"Correct. We trust that parents and guardians won't allow children to misuse magic," the Auror replied.

Dudley, hearing this, wanted to argue but held back. He knew the real reason: purebloods had the advantage of mastering more magic because of fewer restrictions. They could practice freely, while those living in Muggle neighborhoods couldn't even use their wands.

Author Notes - Thank you for 14 subscriber in my patreon, so I decided to release this early.

You can read 15 advanced chapter in my patreon using the link below. 

-patreon.com/zorojurown