The Adventure of Dudley Dursley

Chapter Eight: A New Hunter for the Ax of Coifi

The next morning, Dudley awoke with a start as he fell from the bed, tangled in his sheets and soaked in sweat. He had been having a horrible nightmare, and visions of the previous evening spun past his eyes. The destruction of the shrine, the death of his friend Langford, kissing Hannah, reporting to the police the passing of his friend, and then the angry confrontation that had occurred with the two order members when he returned home all swam through his mind. Apparently, Hestia and Dedalus were furious that Dudley had stayed out so late, and had come so close to death. They chose to confront Dudley away from his parents in the fear that despite their increased tolerance of magic, they would relapse if they learned Dudley had become so involved in a magical issue and was in danger.

Dudley had explained what occurred, and despite the danger, insisted that he continue with his search for the ax. It had taken several hours to convince the pair to allow him to first leave the house again, and eventually to finish his quest. He then had stumbled his way to bed had such a restless night.

However, now that he was awake, he hurriedly showered and dressed before inhaling a piece of toast on his way to Hannah's house. When he arrived, he saw her in deep study on the lawn with a collection of books surrounding her. Her face lit up upon hearing his approach, and she suggested that they make their way back to the ruins to examine the texts that they now possessed.

On the walk over, they held hands and talked of the previous evening. Dudley was still pretty depressed about the loss of Langford, and still couldn't believe that he was gone. He expressed to Hannah his shock that he'd never hear kind advice from this man again, or be able to go to him with a problem. He explained how Langford had gotten him interested in his future, and had been an example for leading a life to help others. As he finally got how he felt off his chest, they arrived at the ruins.

Hannah squeezed his hand and said, "I'm sorry he's gone too. He was a great guy, and helped us and those poor people trapped in the well of souls. But I think he'd want us to finish what we started instead of just grieving for him."

Dudley wiped away a tear that had run down his cheek and nodded his assent. With that settled, he removed from his bag the book which had led them to the ruins the previous night. As they approached the remains of the pool of memories, the book began to glow again, and Dudley was able to make out the faint writing that only he could read. He described for Hannah the writing in the book about the Ax of Coifi, and the powers that it possessed and the history of its creation. Apparently, the Ax was built in conjunction between goblins and Coifi, and therefore possessed the best of both worlds. As Coifi had been a knowledgeable wizard, he had managed to imbibe the blade of the ax with the ability to remember its battles and to learn from them. Inside of the ax were the contents of several unicorn hairs, as well as a dragon heartstring and a phoenix tail feather. These items combined to create a magical artifact which allowed the wielder to channel any small amount of magic which they possessed into great feats of magical ability. For example, Coifi's son had been a squib, yet when he held the ax, he had been able to perform magical spells. Similarly, other Muggles had also managed varying acts of magic when they had been gifted with a loan of the ax.

When he finished describing the ax, he looked up, wonder on his face to see Hannah's expression of wonderment. She said, "Dudley, imagine this ax! It can allow anyone to do magic. With it, anyone in this village could perform spells. You could suddenly do magic, or my father. But most importantly, it remembers all of the magic it has seen. If we found out how to work it, it probably would know all sorts of spells that have been long forgotten and could help us in the battle against You Know Who."

"That it certainly can my dear, because that is the reason that this young man was chosen as the seeker of this ax." Dudley and Hannah almost leapt out of their skin at the ethereal voice which had sounded right behind them. Both spun on the spot to see an ancient looking man, wearing the clothing of a monk, and possessing both long hair and beard. Hannah almost thought that it was Dumbledore, but his nose wasn't broken, and his eyes were a bright green instead of his famous blue.

The man seemed to be reading Hannah's mind and said, "No, I am not Dumbledore, although I do know of him. However, I was a wizard of fair renown in my own time seven hundred years ago. I am the last descendant of Coifi, and I have preserved my soul in this spot until this book was returned here to find the ax of my great ancestor."

Dudley and Hannah realized that they were looking at a ghost. They questioned him and learned that this man had married but lost his wife while he was on a quest, trying to find the ax. She had been accused of witchcraft and, not possessing her wand at the time, had been killed. Because of this loss, this man, who said his name was Thomas Mortimer, had no children, and therefore could not carry on the family line until someone found the ax of his ancestor and undid the damage done. However, he had instead focused the remainder of his life in preserving his memories and soul into a book which would allow him to guide someone with the ability to find the ax in the future. He had consulted with a centaur who had given Thomas enough information to discern the time and person who would have the ability to find the ax, and Dudley had been that person.

Dudley stared at this man for a moment before stating, "I'm sorry, but you must have me confused with my cousin. He is a famous wizard, and is very skilled at this sort of thing. I'm not even a wizard, so why have I been chosen?"

Thomas smiled and said, "Dudley, would you believe that hundreds of years ago, your early ancestors were living in this very region when Coifi was here. In fact, one of your ancestors was a famous wizard of that time period, and was a rival with the most evil dark wizard Brevisar of the time, Brevisar. He eventually won the heart of the woman loved by Brevisar and they married. This so angered Brevisar that he plotted revenge. First, he invented a curse called the imperious curse, and placed it on Coifi. Once he controlled my ancestor, he forced him to use the ax to rob your great ancestor of his magical ability and then to kill him. Your family was therefore broken apart, and this woman, who was pregnant, was robbed of her magical ability and her unborn son of his magical heritage. The young mother and her infant son were forced to flee or else risk ending up either murdered or forced to marry Brevisar. Therefore, your family line is one that has never been full. You are drawn to the ax because it possessed all of the magic that your relatives are meant to have possessed. If you find it, you'll be able to free what was stolen from you, and I'm here to help."

Dudley and Hannah sat stunned with the news that Dudley ought to possess magical powers, much less that the Dursley line had once been renowned for magic. With a smile, Dudley said, "Do you realize what this means Hannah? All of that crap that my dad gave Harry about being unnatural and a freak, and if we're successful, he'll suddenly be a wizard too!"