Chapter 49 Dudley
Chapter 49 Dudley
Later that evening Draco apparated Dudley out of his cell.
‘They’re all out anyway’ Draco whispered as they crept up the stairs into the main house.
‘They’re welcoming some new evil bastards from Europe or something. Yaxley is here, but he’s already asleep.’
Dudley allowed himself to relax slightly, they weren’t here. It was okay. He was going to see killer again. Dudley couldn’t deny his excitement. The weeks at the cabin had been a dream but he couldn’t help it, he missed her so much.
Killer was one of the cornerstones of his life now. She was in his foundations, without her he might start to fall apart. Dudley didn’t have much left to hold on to, Draco and killer were all he had. She had been kind and gentle when Dudley had needed it. Dudley fleetingly thought of his old life in the muggle world, his boring muggle parents in his average muggle house in his normal muggle town where he went to an ordinary muggle school. He wondered if his friends missed him, if they ever thought about him anymore. Was he was a distant memory to them? They felt like a distant memory to him. Dudley tried to shake off his melancholy thoughts.
Even though the mansion was largely empty they both remained silent as they made their way through the maze of grand hallways and reception rooms clad in gaudy emerald and silver. Once they made it through to the garden Dudley relaxed.
He paused as the frigid air hit him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, it smelled cold and crisp.
‘Okay?’ Draco asked, a note of concern in his voice.
Dudley breathed deeply again and nodded.
He opened his eyes and looked at Draco, who was hovering halfway down the stone steps that led to the large manicured section of the garden, where neatly trimmed hedges sat primly at the edges of the perfectly cut lawn.
Dudley smiled and Draco reached his stump back towards him. Dudley grabbed it and the continued through the garden, through the orchard and into the quiet section of woodland behind Malfoy manor.
It took a while, the Malfoy estate was vast.
Dudley followed Draco into a small clearing, where the trees thinned and the ground opened up. Some smaller trees had been uprooted and bent into a crude triangle.
‘She was here earlier.’ Draco said turning back to Dudley with a slight furrow in his brow.
‘Killer?’ Dudley whisper-shouted into the trees.
A branch snapped in the distance. Clear and distinct in the empty silence of the wood.
Rustling leaves followed and the sound of something large sweeping along the ground. The earth beneath Dudley’s feet vibrated and he swivelled his head, trying to figure out the direction the sound was coming from. The rumble got closer and closer until… there she was. Killer careened along the floor and emerged between a thicket of trees into the clearing. Dudley almost fell over. She was truly enormous, her head alone was the size of Dudley’s torso. Her colours had changed slightly, her scales were still opalescent and shifted in colour as she moved. But they had more of a greenish yellow hue now. She was magnificent. Completely terrifying and utterly beautiful. Her eyes were deep yellow and the spines that ran down her back were taller and sharper than before, a hundred knives pointing upwards and outwards along the centre of her body. She hurled herself towards Dudley, he should have been scared, but he wasn’t.
Killer smashed her nose into his face, she was cold and hard as metal but Dudley felt warmth rush through him anyway.
‘Hello.’ He said and he kissed her nose. She let out a strangled whine, so deep it sounded thunderous. She nuzzled into him, gently pushing him backwards.
‘I missed you.’ Dudley said.
Killer pushed air out of her nose in a huff as if to say ‘where the hell have you been?’
‘Sorry. We had to go, I didn’t want to leave you. I promise. I had to.’ Dudley scratched underneath her chin. Killed huffed again but leaned into his scratches.
‘You’ve grown.’ Dudley whispered to her. Stating the obvious.
At this killer proudly drew herself up, almost like a cobra, lifting most of the front half of her body off the ground.
She towered above Dudley and raised her head into the air, showing off, clearly trying to impress him.
Dudley laughed ‘yes yes you’re very beautiful, very regal, congratulations, well done.’
She looked happy with that assessment and came back down to the ground, so he could look in her eyes. Though Dudley knew killer was blind he could see happiness in them.
Dudley gave her nose a stroke and she settled down resting her head on his feet.
Draco walked over and gave her an affectionate scratch, she hummed with contentment.
Dudley sat down where he was, he didn’t really care about the dirt on the floor or the chill in the air. He had killer and he had Draco and he was outside under the stars. He was, despite everything, happy in this moment. Draco sat next to him and rested his head on Dudley’s shoulder. The two of them were a grounding weight, holding him down, holding him together.
They sat on the floor in the woods for a long time, with killer now stretched out on the floor in-front of them, she eventually began to snore gently. When Dudley’s toes started to feel numb he decided they should probably leave. If Dudley was cold Draco must be frozen.
‘Shall we go?’ Dudley whispered.
‘Yeah.’ Draco replied lifting his head from Dudley’s shoulder. Dudley felt the absence of the weight immediately, like something was missing.
Killed stirred.
‘We’ll be back okay? Just stay here. Stay safe.’ Dudley tickled her chin again. She seemed happy enough with that, she slithered away to her nest and huffed in goodbye.
‘Come on.’ Dudley said walking back in the direction they had come from.
He snatched one last look at killer before he left the clearing. She was snoring gently in her nest.
They walked back up to the mansion hand in hand.
‘Will you stay with me tonight?’ Dudley asked
‘Always’ Draco replied squeezing Dudley’s hand tighter.
They made their way silently through the garden, Dudley feeling a lightness in his chest that he hadn’t felt since he had arrived back at the manor. The joy vanished as quickly as it had come. As they approached the house to go back inside Dudley heard the drawling haughty sound of Voldemort’s voice from within. It was too far away for Dudley to make out the words but it was unmistakably Voldemort. The next few seconds were a blur, they seemed to happen too fast but in slow motion. Dudley turned to Draco. He had a second to register the white hot fear in Draco’s eyes before Draco violently pushed Dudley to the ground and out of view. He landed on the hard floor in a heap. They were just about to walk through the french doors and into one of the many cold, unused rooms that littered the manor but now Dudley was on the floor and Draco was confidently striding back into the manor alone, his face an expressionless mask. He had become Draco Malfoy pureblood son and heir, Dudley’s Draco disappeared.
‘Draco?’ Voldemort’s voice came from inside. He sounded surprised.
‘What are you doing here?’ Bellatrix sneered. Dudley couldn’t see her but he could imagine the smug expression on her small mouth.
‘Walking.’ Draco replied coolly.
Draco had left the door open behind him, Dudley could hear his heartbeat in his ears.
This was it. They would find him out of his cell, they’d kill him. He couldn’t leave Draco on his own, he wouldn’t do that. They needed each other. Dudley spiralled, pulled under by his own panic, he didn’t move from his position, he barely breathed.
‘He’s here for the muggle.’ Dudley wasn’t aware he had even been listening but the word ‘muggle’ cut through the white noise In his head.
Someone was here for him. But he wasn’t where he should be. What would happen when they reached the dungeon to find it empty? Would they suspect Draco? Panic drenched him, he was drowning in it. Struggling to breathe, his vision blurred and he felt hundreds of hands inside him writhing, squeezing, tearing at his insides.
Draco. He needed to find a way to the dungeon. He needed to protect Draco. His ears began buzzing and he felt vomit crawling up his throat, he shut his eyes, desperately trying to shut out the world. The buzzing intensified until his entire body was vibrating and screaming… and then it stopped.
Dudley opened his eyes to find that he was back in the dungeon. Vinny stood over him looking worried. Bless that elf.
‘Master Dudley?’
‘Go! Vinny go! They’re coming!’
Vinny’s pupils dilated in his large eyes and he disapparated.
Dudley let out a long breath, he didn’t know what Voldemort had planned for him this time but at least Draco would be safe. He was where Voldemort had left him. Vinny was a wonder. They owed that elf their lives several times over.