Dudley wanted revenge. He had, a few years ago, decided to stop bullying others and had turned over a new leaf. But this was different, those two Slytherin gits had attacked Luna—pouring stink sap all over her and for no reason at all.

"I can't just let them get away with it?" he said, gruffly to Hermione.

"No … well … I suppose you're right," Hermione said, flustered. She was clearly torn between her duties as a prefect, her general opposition to bullying and thuggery and her wish to see retribution for Luna's embarrassment. "But, seriously, Dud. Don't take things too far. You'll get in dreadful trouble and … well, I don't want you to slip into the way you were. Beating up everybody and … and using your fists all the time."

"I didn't beat up everybody," Dudley pointed out, irritably. "And usually they deserved it … ok, not all the time, but usually … ok, sometimes." He sighed at her stern expression. "Ok, I promise. Just a small drubbing. That's all. Just to teach them not to pick on Luna again."

Hermione still looked torn but nodded. "Yes … I suppose you've got to. I think I'd do the same if it were me."

"Do you want backup, mate?" Ron had offered immediately.

Dudley had shook his head. "No, it's just two crummy second years."

"Yeah, but what if … I dunno, Crabbe or Goyle are there?" Ron pointed out.

"I'll handle it," Dudley said, determined to handle this by himself.

Dean hadn't offered to help. "I'm a prefect, mate—I can't actually go around and beat people up with you. But, they've got detention with McGonagall until 8.30—that's your best time. Near that statue of Sebastian the Sly."

And so, later that night—Dudley was waiting next to the statue of Sebastian the Sly. He was quite excited. Since turning over a new leaf, he hadn't beaten anybody up for a while. This was deserved. Those two gits had attacked Luna for no reason.

He pressed himself into the shadows as the Fat Friar floated past. He didn't want to be spotted.

He didn't have to wait long until he heard two people approaching. The corridor that Dean had mentioned led to the Slytherin Common Room. Sure enough, it was the two boys-Otto and Randall, Dudley had learnt they were called. The two bullying gits.

Dudley stepped out of the shadows. He towered above the two second year boys. "Why'd you do that to Luna?" he demanded.

One-a fat boy called Randall-foolishly reached for his wand. "Expelliarmus!" his wand skittered down the corridor and his mouth dropped open in surprise. He looked remarkably like Crabbe and Goyle.

"Why'd you do that to Luna?" Dudley demanded. This wasn't a time for wands. He grabbed both boys by the front of their robes and slammed them hard into into the wall. "Why?" he snarled, shoving his head close to ours.

"We didn't!" jug-eared Otto said.

Dudley released his hold on him, only to give him a hard punch in the stomach that doubled him over. "I saw you!" Dudley snarled, raising his hand again.

He had to admit, tubby Randall was brave. While Dudley was distracted, he swung his foot forward, kicking Dudley hard in the knee and followed it up with a slap across the ear-surprisingly hard for a 2nd year. Dudley was older, bigger, stronger and tougher than both-he quickly landed a chopping white hand to Randall's eye, buckling his knees.

"Don't you try anything," he snarled, kicking Otto in the ribs to keep him down.

He took a deep breath, his hands clenched by his sides. He days past, he would have beaten the pair-badly. A large part of Dudley was urging himself to give the pair a well-deserved thrashing. They had attacked Luna-pouring stink sap all over her and for no reason.

He took a deep breath. Otto was crying, curled up. Randall was still on his knees, looking dazed after Dudley's punch.

"Listen close," Dudley said, finally. "If any of you so much as look at my girlfriend the wrong way again, I will give you the biggest beating of your life. Understand?"

They didn't answer.

"Understand!" Dudley repeated, raising his hand to give Otto a slap.

"Yes! Yes!" he shouted.

"Good, now, fuck off." Dudley turned and stalked off. It had been a while since he had beaten somebody up. A small part of him felt a bit guilty, but he told himself they deserved it. By attacking Luna, they had crossed a line.

Cassius Warrington

Cassius Warrington listened as Otto Selwyn and Randall Prat told him what happened. Randall was sporting a black eye and Otto had a split lip.

"Why did he attack you?" Warrington asked.

"No reason," Otto said, quickly. "He just did, right, Randall?"

"Liar," said Warrington. "I know you two poured stinksap over his girlfriend the other day. Everybody saw."

Otto and Randall exchanged a sheepish look.

"But that was ..."

"What did you think Dursley would do?" Warrington demanded. "You attacked his girlfriend. You're lucky he didn't beat you to a pulp. Dursley is a nasty piece of work."

"So you're not going to do anything?" Pansy Parkinson said, scornfully. "A mudblood Gryffindor attacks a Slytherin and you're ..."

"What do you expect Dursley to do, Pansy?" Warrington retorted. "What if, Weasley attacked Millicent or one of your friends? You'd do the same."

"True," Pansy admitted, reluctantly. "But he's still a mudblood and ..."

"If Dursley attacked them without reason, believe me, we would get revenge," Warrington promised. "But these two idiots deserved it. There was zero reason to attack Lovegood the way they did. They attacked Dursley's girlfriend. Dursley gave them a beating-that's that ..."

He trailed off thoughtfully. "I'll say to Dursley that this is it. Over with. if he continues-if he touches these two idiots again, then things will change."

Pansy gave a small nod of agreement.

Otto and Randall looked like they were going to argue.

"Leave Lovegood alone," Warrington said. "Don't mess with Dursley's friends. He's can be a nasty piece of work-just look at what he did to Theo and Draco."

Dudley Dursley

On the first weekend since the attack on Hogsmeade, the school was abuzz at breakfast over the return of Draco Malfoy. Ron had stared, eyes wide as he saw Draco sat at the Slytherin table with his friends.

"When'd he get back?" he demanded to Hermione, expecting her to know this the way she knew everything else.

"Last night I expect, I wonder where he's been …" she replied.

From what Dudley could hear as he passed the Hufflepuff table, they were all pondering where he had been and what he had been doing too.

"He's been hobknobbing with Death Eaters," Ron said, darkly. "I can't believe they let him back in."

"He was kidnapped, Ron," Hermione said.

Dean was on Ron's side. "Come on, by his own father-I bet You-Know-Who wanted to recruit him."

"Or force him to do something," Ron said. "That's more likely. Why'd You-Know-Who want to recruit a 15 year old? I bet he wants Malfoy to spy on Hogwarts."

Dudley didn't see Malfoy until next week when they had potions. He eyed the Slytherin darkly as they passed. Like Ron, he was suspicious of Malfoy's whereabouts and felt it couldn't be anything good. Malfoy however, did nothing suspicious during potions. He kept his head down and did his work to his usual high standard before leaving with Crabbe and Goyle.

That changed during Care of Magical Creatures, where Professor Grubbly-Plank had them at the lake studying plinkies. Dudley felt Luna would enjoy this lesson. She had plinkies in a stream near her home and often caught them.

"Dursley," Dudley looked around. It was Draco. He was by himself and looked awkward. Beside him, Dudley saw Ron tense up, the most suspicious look in the world on his face.

"What do you want?" Dudley asked trying hard to not sound aggressive. He had never liked Malfoy. The guy was a complete and utter worm.

"Can we talk?"

Dudley raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Alone," Draco prompted.

"Anything you have to say, you can say it here?"

Dudley hesitated. "It's fine," he said, finally. He felt confident that he could handle Draco if the rodent tried anything.

"After class," Draco said with a curt nod and walked back to his friends.

"You sure about this, Dud?" Ron asked, immediately. "I wouldn't trust that git as far as I could throw him."

"Me too," said Dudley. "But he won't try anything here. Besides, if he does, I'll just give him a thrashing again."

Draco Malfoy

Draco went over in his mind what he ahd been asked-no, what he had been forced to do by Lord Voldemort. He shuddered slightly, remembering his time in Grimmauld Place. He had expected to be killed at any moment by the mad Dark Lord or his followers. He had been kept there for a week, and all week long, Lord Voldemort's followers had jeered he and his father and threatened them. He had watched his mother toiling away like a House Elf, scrubbing the floor and cleaning up. He had watched his father been ordered around and waiting hand and foot on Lord Voldemort. His father now had the task of going through the inventory of items found in Grimmauld Place by a man called Percival Pyrites, supposedly to use his knowledge to spot any important items. He also was used to pass messengers along, bring food and drink to Lord Voldemort and be treated as a dogs body.

Draco knew that he was been kept there as an extra twisted punishment. An extra humiliation for Lucius and Narcissa to be treated like this in front of their son. The worst humiliation had come when Lord Voldemort had made his mother kneel down and wash and rub his twisted feet. His mother had done it, stony faced, but Draco knew she must be beyond humilated.

His own orders had come the day before he was taken back to Hogsmeade. Lord Voldemort had summoned him back to his chamber.

"You have been among us for a week, Draco. Tell me, do you still want to be one of us?"

"Yes, my lord," Draco said, bowing.

"Then you must prove your loyalty. Your father proved his loyalty-that's why he is still alive. Do you know why I treat your father and mother like this, Draco?" he said.

"No, my lord."

"It's because your father disobeyed my orders and lost an extremely important object of mine during your second year at Hogwarts. The only reason he lives is because he helped me regain my former strength. My reward to him was life."

"Yes, my lord," Draco said numbly.

"Now, it is your turn to prove your loyalty. Once you do that, I will forgive your actions earlier this year," Voldemort said. "I will find a place for you in my ranks as my own personal torturer."

Draco paled. He had felt sickened with himself for casting crucio on his father.

Voldemort smiled. "Or I could allow you to as sit your mother in her cleaning duties."

"Whatever you wish, my lord," Draco said, feelign a surge of rage. He was a Malfoy. His family were Malfoys. They shouldn't be treated like this.

"Your task is to get close to Dudley Dursley. You need to convince him to go to the Department of Mysteries. Once he does, he must remove an item-a prophecy. You will notify me as soon as he is heading there and I will send a team of Death Eaters to retrieve the prophecy."

"Dudley hates me," Draco said. "He won't ..."

"Are you not a Slytherin?" Voldemort asked. "You are supposed to be cunning, are you not? You will find a way to convince Dudley to go to the Department of Mysteries or I will kill your mother and father."

"I'll try," Draco said. He had no other choice.

"You won't try. You will do," replied Voldemort.

When his father had took him back to Hogsmeade by side-along apparation, Draco had pleaded with him. He remembered the conversation well.

"Father ... can't you leave?" Draco ahd asked as they stood at the entrance to the cave. "The Dark Lord treats you and mother like ... like garbage. Like slaves."

"We must put up with it," said Lucius. "Believe me Draco, if we keep proving our loyalty, the Malfoys will once more rise in power and be among his most trusted followers. He will see we are loyal. If you can do what he wishes."

"Do you really believe that?" Draco asked, skeptically. "He hates you."

'I failed him," Lucius said. "But I will continue to prove my loyalty. So will you."

"But, father ... surely ..."

"There are no buts, Draco," Lucius said. "The Dark Lord is going to win. The Ministry will fall. What do you think will happen when it does if we left his service? He would track us down and he will kill us. There is no other way. We have to do what he says."

"But, Dumbledore ..." Draco protested.

"Dumbledore will fall. He ... the Dark Lord let slip that he is surrounded by enemies. It is just a matter of time until Dumbledore, the champion of mudbloods, falls. No, we have picked our side, Draco. We need to stick with it."

And so, Draco was torn. He had no problems with the Dark Lord doing anything to Dursley. Draco couldn't stand Dudley Dursley. But, did he really want to spend his life serving Lord Voldemort? Did he really want to serve as Lord Voldemort's personal torturer? Draco knew he didn't. The Dark Lord was mad-that much was clear. Attacking students, treating his parents like slaves, forcing him to torture his father-those weren't the actions of a pure blood champion who would elevate wizard kind. They were the actions of a complete and utter madman.

And yet, there was no choice. He couldn't see a way out of the situation and so, he would do what Lord Voldemort asked. He would convince Dudley to go to the Department of Mysteries, for there was no choice. But he wouldn't use trickery or deceit. Things were too broken between them-they could never become close. No, he would tell Dudley Dursley the truth. He would ask for Dudley's help in retrieving the prophecy for the Dark Lord and in return, Draco would offer Dudley his help in overthrowing the Dark Lord.