Chapter 4: Chess and War

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but if I did I'd throw him into the Forbidden Forest and let him sort himself out.

When Dudley woke up early the next morning, the first thing he saw was a bright red bird perched on his nightstand, with feathers that looked like flames. As soon as the bird noticed that he'd woken up, it flew over and dropped a slightly singed letter onto Dudley's lap, then disappeared in a flash of fire.

Dudley rubbed his eyes, then sat up. Then he rubbed his eyes again.

"What the fu-"

"That was Dumbledore's phoenix!" said Blaise from the next bed over. "What was his phoenix doing here?"

Dudley picked up the letter, which was a bit charred at the corners. "Looks like it was delivering a letter," said Dudley as he opened the letter and read it.

"What's it say?" asked Blaise after Dudley had finished.

Dudley looked troubled. "He wants to see me in his office immediately." Could the Headmaster know about my communications last night? he wondered.

"Oh," said Blaise as he gave Dudley a sympathetic look. "Here, why don't you take this?" Blaise rummaged around in his bag a bit, then came up with two small bronze rings. "I got these a couple years back for my birthday. I suppose they're a bit small now, but they'll have to do. They're panic rings," he explained as he put one ring on his own pinkie finger, then tossed the other to Dudley. "If you're in trouble, you just twist the ring on your finger and my ring will warm up. Same goes for my ring."

"Thanks." said Dudley. He put the plain bronze ring on his left hand pinkie. It was a bit of a tight fit, but it worked.

He waved to Blaise as he left the dorms, then trudged through the damp corridors of the dungeon up towards the Headmaster's office. It was still fairly early in the morning, and so most of the castle was still asleep. The only creatures Dudley passed were a small troupe of ghosts that were gliding down one hall, and a pair of Ravenclaws who looked to be heading to the library. Soon enough, Dudley found himself in front of the stone gargoyle that the letter directed him to.

"Jelly Bean" he spoke, as directed by the letter. To his surprise, the gargoyle then quite calmly stood up and moved to the side before resuming its stony appearance. Behind it was a door that led to a rotating spiral staircase.

As Dudley was carried up the staircase, he thought about all the possibilities for why Dumbledore would call him to his office like this. Had Dumbledore listened in on his conversation with Mr. Malfoy last night? If so, was he calling Dudley to punish him, or to try to convert him? Maybe to interrogate him, though Dudley wasn't sure he had any useful information to give.

Before he knew it, Dudley was at the top of the stairs and looking at a large wooden door, wondering whether he should knock or not. Just as he pulled back his hand to knock, he heard a Dumbledore's voice from within. "Come in," he said, and Dudley complied, stepping into the most absolutely chaotic room he had ever seen.

Dumbledore had just sent Fawkes off to Dursley when one of his many golden devices started to chime while giving off a bright red glow. Furrowing his eyebrows, Dumbledore drew his wand and tapped the device, then held his wand up to the side of his head in a manner not dissimilar to a muggle telephone.

"What is the situation?" he immediately asked, cutting directly to the point. If she's using level red, then there must be no time to waste.

"We've just picked up another attack," said Amelia Bones. "Targeting the Eastern Solardomes. We've detected the Third, Fifth, and Sixth squadrons, though we suspect that the Twelfth Squadron is hiding around here somewhere."

Dumbledore muttered a curse. Lucius is really going for it this time. He isn't usually this cocky. Could this have to do with the boy? He looked up as a flash of fire marked the return of his Phoenix, realizing that this meant the boy had gotten the message and would be here soon. "Alright, dispatch two Elephant squads and a Guardian squad as main guards. Send in a Falcon squad as backup, and send in our best Cat squad to find the Twelfth. I have some extremely urgent business to attend to, but I will head out there with the Dog squad as soon as I can."

"Will do, sir," said Bones. Dumbledore terminated the call just in time to notice the device linked to his Gargoyled go off. It seems the guest of honor has just arrived. Waiting until the door proximity sensor indicated that the boy was directly outside of his door, Dumbledore said "Come in." He always enjoyed having people think of him as an all powerful wizard. It made them much more likely to go along with his plans.

Dudley Dursley entered his office and immediately stared at the many devices Dumbledore had lined along his walls. "Hello there, Mister Dursley. Please, take a seat." He gestured towards the chair in front of his desk, which Dudley sat in. Dumbledore then held out a tin of his favorite sweets to Dudley. "Would you like a lemon drop?" he asked.

"No thank you, Headmaster," Dudley replied.

"Ah, alright," Dumbledore said, a bit disappointed. He himself pulled a drop out and popped it into his mouth, then leaned back in his large chair. "You are probably wondering why I called you here, Mister Dursley." said Dumbledore. "To put is simply, I have heard that there was an outgoing communication through the Slytherin common room fireplace last night. As Champion of Slytherin, I hoped that you would know who it was."

A troubled look flashed across Dudley's face for but an instant, his expression so quickly back to its normal look that, had Dumbledore not dealt with such people before, he likely would have discounted it as a trick of the light.

"I was the one who made that call, Headmaster," Dudley finally said, much to Dumbledore's surprise. "I was calling Lucius Malfoy to try to trick him into helping me."

Dumbledore looked a bit shocked at this, but still maintained his normal cheerful expression. "Trick Lucius Malfoy into helping you? I'm not sure what business you have with Lucius Malfoy, but that man is distinctly Not Good."

Dudley moved to a distinctly false smirk. "Well, Headmaster, I have heard a bit about Wizarding Politics from my friend Draco, and he says that recently you've been suffering quite a few losses to your side. I was able to convince Mister Malfoy to have me classified as the True Descendant of Slytherin, and had him give me this form." he slid onto Dumbledore's desk an Emancipation form, with a large space where his own signature would go. "All I need is for you to sign this form, and I can join the Wizengamot. Imagine the political sway gained by having the first Slytherin seat in over a hundred years on the right side."

Dumbledore considered this. Whether he is telling the truth or not, this boy is either very clever or very stupid, though I am likely to believe the former. I only wonder if he's genuinely for my side and playing a double agent for Lucius, or if he's working for Lucius and playing me? "Why should I trust you to support my side though, Mister Dursley?" he finally responded.

Dudley smiled his practiced smile. "I have my reasons. I am, after all, Harry Potter's cousin. Lucius' side has many goals which I do not support."

"Hmm." If the boy is truly on Lucius' side, then signing the release form would give Lucius another powerful ally in the Wizengamot, but if he is actually working for my side, it would be an advantage that I simply couldn't pass up. If only I could use Legilimency on the boy. He has been avoiding making eye contact this entire meeting so far, staring at that ring on his pinkie. Does he somehow know that I am a Legilimencer? There shouldn't be anybody who knows that! Actually…

"Mister Dursley, I would like you to look into my eyes. I will be able to tell if you are telling the truth or not." If he truly is on my side, he would have no reason to refuse.

Dudley nodded, then looked up straight into Dumbledore's eyes.

The moment their eyes locked, Dumbledore sent a Legilimency Probe into Dudley's mind. It immediately picked up a large and very heavily guarded secret that Dudley seemed to desperately not want Dumbledore to know. He began surrounding the Mental Lock with Legilimency Sigils, then started bringing them in, rotating them to better unlock the Lock.

However, the moment Dumbledore send out his Sigils, the Dursley boy winced and put his hand to his forehead in pain, and the boy's Mental Pressure increased dramatically. Dumbledore's Legilimency Probe was almost forced out by the sudden burst of pressure, and it was all Dumbledore could do to keep his probe in, though as the pressure increased further and further, that was becoming increasingly difficult. This boy's Mental Pressure is ridiculous! If I weren't a high level Legilimencer, I would have already been repulsed! How does a boy his age have such massive Mental Pressure, and yet still know nothing about the other Legilimency techniques?

Doing his best to concentrate his probe, Dumbledore continued to twist the Sigils rapidly, the mental symbols spinning like pinwheels. Dumbledore was surprised that the boy hadn't used anti-Sigil seals yet, though he supposed with this much pressure they weren't all that necessary. With a final click, Dumbledore was able to crack open the Mental Lock. He quickly looked at the contents of the lock, and was so surprised that his concentration dropped, and his mental probe was shot out with such pressure that his ears rang. However, in that instant before he was forced out, he saw the one word, the word that Dudley was trying to hide from him with everything he had, the word that Dumbledore least expected to see from this Champion of Slytherin.

Muggle.

To an outside observer, this process took less than a second. The two looked at each other, the boy winced in pain, and the Headmaster reeled slightly. It was a scene whose true significance could easily be ignored from how little appeared to happen.

When he recovered from his shock, Dumbledore became aware that the boy was calling him.

"-ster Dumbledore, are you alright?" The boy's face showed concern. "Was it supposed to hurt a bit when you did that?"

Dumbledore looked at the boy in disbelief. Had he somehow produced so much pressure without even realising he was under attack? Could someone like this even exist? No matter, I got what I was looking for. Somehow, boy is a muggle, meaning he would never actually side with Lucius' side. I suppose that is the reason he mentioned earlier.

"I am sorry, I used a bit more force that was necessary," he lied to Dudley. "Regardless, I have confirmed that everything you told me is true." Dumbledore noticed that one of his devices on the wall behind Dudley had started spinning, and realised that he would have to finish this up quickly. "I will sign your form. The new session of the Wizengamot doesn't start until January, so I hope that you could do some research on the subject to better prepare you. I suggest talking to Percy Weasley. Here, let me give you a note." Dumbledore quickly signed the form, then wrote a note to Percy Weasley explaining the situation, or rather, the part of the situation that he needed to know. He passed both papers back to Dudley. "Now, I have some urgent business to attend to, so I am afraid you must go." He waved his hand at the door to his office, which sprang open.

Dudley nodded. "Thank you Headmaster," he said, then he exited the office.

The moment the boy was out of sight, Dumbledore waved the door shut and slumped back into his chair. So the boy is a Muggle? If the boy is on my side, then it would be best to get him some more Light-sided friends. I suppose I could send him to meet Mister Harris. That would give the boy an opportunity to see what real magic is like as well. I'll have to send the note to Nott when I return.

Dumbledore stopped the spinning device, then tapped another with his wand. Almost immediately the other sixteen members of his Dog Squad were assembled in the office, having jumped in using the portkey that Dumbledore had given them. Addressing the collection of retired Aurors, Werewolves, Half Giants, Centaurs, recent graduates and current seventh years, all hand picked for their loyalty to himself above all, he spoke. "Madame Bones reported an attack on the Eastern Solardomes. Several squads have already been dispatched and have been defending against the attack. It's up to us to lead the counterattack." He held his wand out to the assembled others. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes, Dumbledore sir!" they responded, each drawing their own wand and laying it on top of Dumbledore's own. Dumbledore smiled and spoke a spell, teleporting the seventeen of them to the front lines of battle.

Dudley returned from his Defence Against the Dark Arts class feeling quite satisfied. He had managed to ace the quiz on Vampires, and was one of the only two who did so. Though the teacher for that class, Quirrell, was a bit odd, overall Dudley felt like he was learning more in that class than in many of the others, such as Transfiguration or Charms, where all Dudley learned was that he still had no magic.

He was looking forwards to tomorrow, when he would be able to check in with Hermione about what information she had gotten about the Cerberus. Currently he was preparing to have a talk with Draco, since Dudley certainly didn't trust the "politics tutor" that Dumbledore had recommended him. One look at the boy and you could see that he was completely brainwashed to the Pro-Gryffindor side.

As Dudley headed over to where Draco was sitting, Theodore suddenly rushed into the common room, looking exhausted but excited. He ran over to the part of the common room where all of the first year Slytherins gathered and presented them with what looked like a letter. "I got this… really awesome… we gotta go," he panted as he slumped onto the couch.

Blaise was the first to read the letter. "This… this is…" he handed the parchment to Dudley, who read it.

You, Theodore Nott and friends,

have been invited to

The Hogwarts Battle Club

An invitation only underground fighting club/training facility

Come to the eighth floor, south corridor, room twelve.

Ask for Kyle Harris.

Dudley passed the note along to Draco, who scanned the page as well. Soon all of them had read the paper.

"Kyle Harris?" started Millicent. "Isn't he that sixth year Gryffindor?"

"We've got to go!" said Theodore, who had recovered a bit. "I've heard about this club, and apparently it's pretty much the only way to learn how to properly fight. It's invitation only, so you usually have to do something notable to get invited. I assume we've been invited because of our Champion here."

Dudley shrugged. He wasn't so sure about this whole Battle Club, since he couldn't use combat magic, but it seemed like a good idea. Maybe he could use his strength to overpower them? He'd probably have to learn how to do that anyways if he wanted to succeed in the wizarding world. "Well, I'm in," he said.

"If Dudley's in, I'm in as well," said Draco. Crabbe and Goyle both grunted in agreement.

"Well, you all know I'm in," said Theodore.

Blaise shrugged. "Eh, I'll go too then. Can't let my mates go to a place like that alone, can I?"

"You can count me in!" said Tracey excitedly. "This sounds ten kinds of fun."

"Eh, why not," said Pansy offhandedly. "It certainly can't hurt to go, can it?"

"Because suddenly getting an invite from a Gryffindor isn't suspicious at all." said Daphne, sighing. "But I obviously won't change your minds. I'll go, if only to keep you all out of trouble."

Millicent found herself the last one left, and eventually sighed in defeat. "I suppose I can't let you all run off and leave me behind again. I'm in."

Dudley grinned. "Great. Now, if we're all going to go together like this, I suppose we should declare ourselves some sort of team. Maybe we should have a team name? Like… Little Slytherins, or Silver Snakes…"

"How about Champions of Slytherin?" suggested Tracey.

"Nah, we can't use that," said Theodore. "After all, Dudley's the only actual Champion here."

"No, I like it," said Dudley. "After all, no Champion can win without a team. Any objections?" He looked to his companions. Not one of them faltered. "Alright, Champions of Slytherin it is!"

The ten of them stood in the empty classroom on the Eighth floor, wondering what they were supposed to be doing. They had been standing there for a few minutes already, and nobody seemed to be coming to greet them.

"Could we have gotten the wrong room?" asked Pansy.

"No, this is definitely the right one," responded Draco, shaking his head.

"Maybe we're just supposed to ask the room?" suggested Tracey.

Dudley shrugged. "May as well give it a try at this point." He cleared his throat. "Room, we are here to meet Kyle Harris."

A chime sounded, and they heard a voice, seeming to come from all around them. "Welcome, Battle Brothers," it said. A portion of the far wall disappeared to reveal a staircase behind it. The sound of many voices casting many spells emanated from the doorway. As the ten Slytherins filed down the spiralling staircase, the sounds of magical battle got louder and louder. Soon, they were standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring into the Battle Club room.

The room was fairly large, about the size of four normal classrooms stuck together. The room's main points of interest were the assortment of raised platforms around the room, all of them with a strange purple glow rising from them. In many of these "rings" were students having duels with each other, missed spells simply fizzling when they reached the edge of the platforms. In other parts of the room were various targets and dummies, where a few groups of students were practicing their spells. Dudley grew nervous as he saw the sheer volume of spells being thrown around the room. Could he really do this?

Dudley heard someone calling his name from somewhere in the center of the room, and he looked to see an older student with spiky red hair waving to him from the center of the room. The boy walked over, accompanied by a woman about the same age with straight black hair and a boy with short cut brown hair. A fourth, another girl, but with bright pink hair, straggled behind.

"Hey there, you must be Dudley Dursley!" the boy said to him as he approached the group. "I'm Kyle Harris, and these are my friends, Claire Tanaka and Oliver Wood." The two greeted Dudley, sullenly from Claire and reluctantly from Oliver. "And this," he said, pushing the pink haired girl forward, "is Tonks. Just Tonks."

Tonks was glaring angrily at something behind Dudley, and he turned to see that that something was Draco.

"Malfoy." she stated, more as a statement than anything else.

"Tonks." responded Draco, equally sullenly.

The two stared at each other for a few moments before Kyle broke in, clapping his hands together. "Alright well, Mister Dursley, why don't you come with us. You don't seem the kind of chap who wants to hang around a bunch of pureblood supremacists. You can have other friends here."

Dudley narrowed his eyes at the still cheerful boy. "For your information, I already have some very good friends. I assume that they are supposed to be the 'pureblood supremacists' that you mentioned."

Kyle seemed taken aback. "Well, I suppose. If you can consider them 'friends'. Regardless, since you are all new here, why don't I assess your combat skills so that we know where to start you, alright?" He walked over to the nearest open fighting ring. "Why don't we start with you, Dudley. Come on into the ring."

Dudley hesitated for a moment, then pulled his silver staff out of his mokeskin bag as he approached the raised platform. Over the past several weeks, the strengthening potion had certainly increased his muscle mass quite a bit, but it wasn't really enough to stand out against his fat. However, Dudley was certain it would be enough to knock this guy out.

Oliver stood by the side of the ring and explained the arena. "Alright, so here's the deal. Once that platform is active, nothing can get in or out of that ring. No spells, artifacts, or even long range effects like Accio will cross the barrier. The match doesn't end until one side is either unconscious or admits defeat. Other than that, the only rules are no killing, and no permanent injuries. Other than that, there's no rules to how you fight. Have fun."

The instant the bell rang, Dudley dashed forwards, already swinging the staff back in anticipation for the swing. However, before he got halfway across the arena he felt something scrape his left arm, and that entire limb went numb. Stopping, he looked up to see Kyle with his wand trained on Dudley, an amused look on his face. "Aren't you going to draw your wand, Dursley?" he asked.

"Eh, I'm not really the caster kind of guy. Terrible at the wand work," responded Dudley as he retreated slightly, trying to take in the situation. It looks like this guy is already using stunners, and that one that grazed me put my arm to sleep. Dudley motioned like he was preparing to dash right, then dashed left instead, trying to get close enough to get a shot. He felt his right leg go numb, and he collapsed onto the ground, still clutching the staff in one hand.

Kyle stood over Dudley, his arms crossed. "Well, I expected more from the Champion of Slytherin," he said. Dudley tried to swipe at him with his staff, but Kyle simply jumped back a bit, avoiding the blow. "Why don't you just admit defeat so we can start your training."

"I'm… not done yet" groaned Dudley from the floor. He tried to push himself up with his one functioning arm, but quickly fell back down under the pressure. He fumed.

"Fine then, I'll just have to knock you unconscious," said Kyle as he pointed his wand at Dudley again. Dudley's mind raced, but he came up blank no matter where he turned. In desperation he cried out for help mentally. Help me!

Time suddenly seemed to slow down, and Dudley noticed a presence contacting him telekinetically. Why hello there sounded a strangely reptilian voice, resonating within his mind. *You must be the new Champion of Slytherin.*

Yes, who are you? asked the boy, both awed and a tad impatient. Although this conversation was taking place much faster than realtime, he was still aware of the wand that very slowly was raising to point at him.

*I am your staff,* responded the hissing voice. *More specifically, the snake on top.*

Ah. Dudley suddenly remembered why he had called for help. Say, you wouldn't be able to do anything that could get me out of this situation, do you? Like, a fighting power boost or something?

The snake seemed to be chuckling, a very strange hissing noise, especially coming from within Dudley's mind. *No, I cannot provide any Gryffindor tricks, nor any Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw ones. I am, after all, a creature of Slytherin.* The snake paused for a moment. *Are you aware of where the true strength of Slytherin House lies?*

Dudley considered this. I can't say I do, no. What is the true strength of Slytherin?

*Well,* the snake hissed, *while the Gryffindors have their courage, Ravenclaws their knowledge, and Hufflepuffs their loyalty to others, Slytherins specialise in command and control. Taking power, and knowing what to do with it. In other words, Slytherins are the Leaders.*

So what does that mean for your abilities then? asked Dudley.

*You have already gathered a bit of a following, have you not?* The voice somehow flashed an image of the other nine Slytherins. *Why don't you have them assist you? After all, leaders aren't the fighters, but rather the ones who organise the fighters to fight. Here is what you need to do…*

Kyle was a good person.

He knew that in his mind, and although Kyle realised that he was simply a part of someone else's game, he went along with it anyways. After all, being a part gave him the opportunity to help a lot of people, and have a lot of exciting adventures. He didn't really care about the bigger picture, as he really just did what he considered right, and what he was told by his mentor.

In other words, Kyle was the epitome of the perfect Gryffindor.

Throughout his four previous years at Hogwarts, Kyle had gone through many adventures, involving everything from Vampires to Dragons to Pygmy Shrews. Along the way he found a few Gryffindor companions to support him, a centaur mentor to teach him, and a whole load of magical combat training. However, when Kyle realized how bad the combat training at Hogwarts was, he did what seemed logical.

He started an underground fight club.

More recently, today he had visited Firenze at lunch time, and the centaur had told him about his prediction of a boy, Dudley Dursley, surrounded by venomous snakes. Firenze had bid Kyle to invite the boy to his club through Nott, and so Kyle did just that.

Once the boy had arrived, however, things had not gone as planned. When the boy walked in, Kyle noticed how nervous the boy was, surrounded by all those Slytherins, and so had offered the boy a hand of friendship. Dudley, however, had evidently still been too afraid of his companions to accept. So Kyle moved onto his next plan, helping to train Dudley so that he could properly defend himself against these Slytherins. The match had shown just how much improvement Dudley would need, but Kyle was up for the challenge, ready to do anything he needed to help the boy out.

However, once the boy had gone down, he kept trying to swipe at Kyle. "Fine then," he said. "I suppose I'll just have to knock you unconscious." They boy was determined, and Kyle liked that, but at some point the kid would have to learn to lose. So Kyle raised his wand, prepared to fire a stunning spell at Dudley.

Suddenly the boy was up, propping himself up on one leg and using his staff as a crutch. "I told you," said the kid, gritting his teeth. "I'm not done yet." He balanced himself on his one good leg, then held his staff out in front of him, horizontally. "DRACO!" he yelled, and a strange silver rune circle appeared on the ground. "DAPHNE, THEODORE, PANSY, BLAISE, TRACEY, MILLICENT, VINCENT, GREGORY." Another eight rune circles appeared, the set of nine now circling Dudley. There was a flash of light, and suddenly in place of the nine rune circles stood nine first year Slytherins with determined expressions on their faces.

Oliver, from outside the ring, was taken aback. "You… you can't do that!" he yelled. "Isn't that interference or something?"

Dudley grinned. "No rules, remember?" He turned to look at Kyle, and was shocked to see the boy grinning even more widely than before. "You aren't surprised?" he asked the fifth year cautiously.

"No, I'm plenty surprised," he responded, still grinning from ear to ear, "but I don't like to overthink things like this. All I know is that this match is looking a lot more exciting than it was before." He raised his wand into ready position. "You all ready?" he asked.

Dudley barely hesitated. "We're ready. Let's go!" The two sides jumped into action, the first of many waves of spells already flying.

It had been a long battle, and an exciting one, but in the end it turned out that even ten untrained first years couldn't beat a well trained fifth year. The others in his team had pulled all sorts of moves that he hadn't expected, like when Draco started summoning snakes left and right, or when Daphne pulled that trick with the illusionary duplicates, or when Crabbe and Goyle revealed exactly how good their teamwork was. Still, in the end it was down to him again, all the other members of his team lying unconscious around him.

"Wooh. That was quite some fun," said Kyle, looking weary but with a smile still on his face. "I haven't fought a team like that in ages. Your teamwork was great. Almost as if you all knew what each other were thinking," he said. "If you guys want to, you can train as a team. I've heard of all sorts of famous teams throughout history, and one of the most notable was the founders of this school. I take back what I said about these guys earlier, Dudley."

Dudley was surprised to hear this, but grunted a thanks anyways, too exhausted to speak.

"Well, I suppose it's time for you to admit defeat so we can get out of here then." He waited for a few moments. "You know, you don't actually need to speak the admittance of defeat. Thinking it works just fine as well." He waited a few more moments, still just watching Dudley's defiant form on the floor.

"So that's how it's going to be then, huh? Alright, have it your way." He raised his wand, pointed it at Dudley's chest, and fired off a spell.

Much later, Dudley sat at his desk, wondering what to write.

The ten of them had returned from the Battle Club a bit earlier. After they had all been brought back to consciousness, Kyle had given them a few pointers and a couple spells they could use, and had even been wonderfully polite about it. The others were still a bit reluctant to accept help from such a die-hard Gryffindor, but the begrudgingly accepted it in the end.

Now he was trying to figure out how he could convince his parents to sign off on his emancipation form. After a bit of thought, he settled for appealing to their greed.

Dear Dad and Mom,

I've gotten this form that I need you to sign. If you sign it I'll be able to make loads of money, and I'll share it with you.

Sincerely,

Your son Dudley

He stuffed the form and letter into an envelope, and gave it to Falcon, who then took flight out the window. Suddenly he heard Draco's voice within his head, delivered there through Dudley's staff.

*Hey Dudley, Blaise gave you a panic ring, didn't he?* Draco communicated from upstairs.

*He did yeah,* responded Dudley, rubbing the ring on his pinkie finger.

*Well, I was thinking, why don't we all get a ring sort of like that, but better. With like, something that can tell who activated the ring, and where they are. After all, us Champions of Slytherin have to stick together.*

Dudley considered this. *Well, where would we get something like that?* he asked.

Here Blaise piped up. *I know a couple guys who I'm sure could rig something like that up. The only issue is cost, and Draco says he can cover that.*

*Then I suppose that's a good idea then. Why don't we get them as soon as we can.*

*Can do, boss.* responded Blaise, giving a mental salute.

Dudley smiled. Today had been a big day for him, and a lot had happened, but the best thing, he decided, was the creation of his new team. We are the Champions of Slytherin, he realised. And nothing can break us apart.

A/N:

The staff's powers REVEALED! (Or at least, part of them.)

Basically, the staff lets Dudley create sort of a team/group/army with himself at the head. This team thing has a bunch of mechanics that I'm not going to reveal yet, but let's just say that all the people thus far are considered part of the group's "Inner Circle". Telepathic connection between members, teleportation to their leader, maybe some other stuff in the future.

Also yes, the war between Dumbledore and Lucius takes place not just in the Wizengamot, but also through all sorts of less than legal operations, though Dumbledore tends to lean on the side of the law.

Kyle is technically an OC, and with his heroics he would probably fall well into Mary Sue territory. Good thing he's not a protagonist!

Please review. Reviews are like caffeine to me, in that they make me write faster. And I NEED that caffeine.

Next Chapter: Probably Halloween