Dudley spent the remainder of his holidays at his home in Little Whinging. A few days after the trial, an owl arrived from Arthur Weasley containing an issue of the Daily Prophet.

"To Dudley,

Here's an article about the trial. Thanks for your help in jailing Malfoy. I have been given a raise at work and the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office is expanding. I have to interview three new people for jobs.

Take care

Arthur

Dudley felt pleased for Arthur Weasley who he liked. He turned his attention to the newspaper that Arthur had sent to him.

Lucius Malfoy Found Guilty

Hogwarts school governor and apothecary chain owner Lucius Malfoy has been jailed for his part in a plot to frame a Hogwarts student, Dudley Dursley, for opening the fabled Chamber of Secrets. During the trial, Malfoy was accused of harboring a diary once belonging to You-Know-Who and slipping the diary into the possessions of a schoolmate of his son. While the Wizengamot found no evidence that Malfoy intended the chamber to be open, they found enough evidence that Malfoy had the diary—a dark object—in his possession and planted it on Dudley Dursley. For this, he was sentenced to eight years in Azkaban.

Justice has been served," said Gilderoy Lockhart, former Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. "I long suspected the Malfoy family of being involved in framing my student and good friend, Dudley Dursley. I suggested as much early on during the investigation, so I am glad to see at last that my suspicions were proven to be correct. Be sure to check out my upcoming book, Boarding With Basilisks which details my own investigation into the Chamber of Secrets and my duel with Slytherin's monster."

Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge also gave a statement to the press. "It is a sad when when an esteemed member of the wizarding community carries out such a heinous act. Lucius has donated generously to various causes for many years, so to see him act so foolishly is a shame."

One Ministry of Magic employee who came out of the situation well is Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, Arthur Weasley. Weasley, who was suspended last year for his part in a brawl in Diagon Alley, worked tirelessly to track down a house elf by the name of Dobby and persuaded him to give evidence against Malfoy.

Weasley also led a successful raid against Cobb & Webb's of Knockturn Alley last year, leading to the confiscation of a number of dark objects. Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had this to say. "Mr. Weasley has served the ministry with distinction as of late. I am very pleased with his work. This trial would not have succeeded without him.

The story continued on for another two pages, giving more information on the trial, on Malfoy's background and the news that Mr. Malfoy was being held at the Ministry until his transfer to Azkaban.

Dudley felt pleased with the work that he had done. He had helped jail a man he hated, and as a bonus, given a proverbial two fingers up at Draco Malfoy too. As a reward, he allowed himself an extra scoop of ice cream after his dinner.

He had already started his new regime. He went for a bike ride every day on his new mountain bike and had pursuaded his dad to buy him a punch bag which was set up in the garage which he used every day. He had also gotten a magazine about boxing and tried some of the different punches and techniques.

One evening, he had even took to the streets to find someone to test them on. He had knocked his victim—a boy from the other end of town who looked to be one year younger—down within 20 seconds, and did the same to his older brother when he intervened.

"Nice one, Big D," Piers had chortled as they headed back home.

A few days later, another owl arrived, this time from Ron. It contained a letter and a copy of the Daily Prophet.

Hey Dud,

Thought I'd send this to you. Dad is furious—the Ministry is in an uproar. First Black and now this."

Cheers

Ron

Dudley opened the attached copy of the Daily Prophet and swore as he saw the headline.

Malfoy Escapes

The Ministry of Magic received word that Lucius Malfoy who was due to enter Azkaban for eight years has escaped from wizarding custody. A Ministry of Magic insider revealed that the aurors escorting Lucius Malfoy were attacked at the dock where they were about to board a boat going to Azkaban. Aurors John Dawlish and Ted Williamson were ambushed by at least three wizards. They are both now recovering at Saint Mungo's Hospital.

Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge swore that they would apprehend Malfoy and find the perpetrators of the attack. He refused to comment on speculation that Sirius Black was involved. Of course, if Black was involved in the escape of Malfoy, it leads to fears that he assembling his old friends. Could we see a new Dark Lord on the scene with Black at the helm? As we all know, Sirius Black was You-Know-Who's second in command and escaped from Azkaban not long ago.

Pressure is mounting on the Minister to apprehend the two fugitives as soon as possible.

Dudley swore again, suddenly feeling in a bad mood. He had been so pleased that he had sent Lucius Malfoy behind bars, and now he was loose. He read the lower part of the article again. Could it be true that Malfoy was joining up with Sirius Black? That was definitely bad news if so.

He wondered who the other attackers would be. The article said at least three, so Black seemed to have two others working with him—four now if Malfoy had joined his side.