The Adventure of Dudley Dursley

Chapter 9: Finding the Ax of Coifi

Having heard stories from Harry of all the things that Vernon Dursley had done to protest magic, the thought of him suddenly causing magical accidents in his perfect little life caused both Hannah to start chuckling. "Well, it would certainly make for an odd apology for your dad to have to make to Harry if we can find the ax."

Mortimer said, "Well, I don't know anything about that, but I do know that you CAN find the ax because it is your destiny. Now that you've freed the people locked in the well of souls, you've undone the only hurdle standing in your way of finding the ax"

Mortimer went on, "The only person who could call the ax was destined to be a descendant of a victim of Coifi's bewitchment. If my calculations are correct, there are only three people left who are capable of this act. Young Dudley here is the first, his father the second, and his aunt Marge is the third."

With a chuckle, Dudley said, "I think I'm probably your best chance. My father is pretty terrified of magic for the most part, and my aunt is too busy having a slightly creepy relationship with her bulldogs."

Mortimer laughed, and then told him, "You alone then will be able to call the ax. You must return in the evening to this spot and reflect upon your past. Think of those who matter to you and then think of the ax. If all goes well, the ax will reveal itself to you, and you will be able to retrieve it."

Hannah gaped at Mortimer and said, "It can't possibly be that easy. We've been working at this for months now, and there are all these ancient texts that we've searched through that mention spells and enchantments and all sorts of difficult things. How can it be that we've been working at the exact spot that the Ax is hidden?"

Mortimer answered that Ax wasn't really just sitting in the ruins, but had been removed out of time and was waiting to be recalled. "Besides, he said, its not like you two haven't enjoyed each other's company, given the budding relationship between the two of you."

Both Hannah and Dudley blushed, and Mortimer said, "Just teasing. Don't worry about that, if my suppositions are correct, Dudley would not have been able to call the ax had he not befriended you and you two become so close. The power of love has to play a role in this, given the destruction of love in Dudley's familial past caused by Brevisar."

Having spoken his instructions, Mortimer looked at the young couple and said, "I have told you all that I can. Good luck this evening, Dudley, righting this ancient wrong."

The memory of Mortimer shimmered slowly and then he vanished back into the book, which suddenly flared white hot, and then burst into blue-green flames.

With a yell, Dudley tossed the suddenly hot book off of his lap and onto the ground. Hearing the noise, Hannah's father came hurrying around to corner to see the pair looking at the charred remains of the book on the ground on his now-budding lawn. With a sigh, the man returned to the house and thought about his daughter. He knew that if his wife was still alive, she'd be teasing him about being uncomfortable that his daughter was growing up, and that she'd insist that he be nice to Dudley.

A few minutes later, while Dudley and Hannah looked at the small pile of ash that had contained the memory of Mortimer and discussed their plans for the evening, the front door of the house opened again. The pair looked at Hannah's father Jon trudging towards them carrying three glasses of juice. He smiled at his daughter and said, "I thought you guys might be thirsty out here." He seemed slightly uncomfortable about how close the pair had gotten (even he could see the way they held hands and kissed when they said goodbye, but was glad at least that Hannah had finally stopped crying at night because she missed her mother).

Jon told the pair of them that they'd been out in the sun for a few hours, and that he'd made lunch if they wanted to stay over for awhile, instead of disappearing into the woods. They agreed to come inside, and sat down for an excellent meal of chicken with potatoes and peas grown in the fertile soil behind the house. Throughout the meal, Jon had observed his daughter's interactions with Dudley and realized that it reminded him of when he had first met his wife. She had been a local girl whom he had gone to school with, and had been friends with, until one year she had just stopped coming to public school. He'd been told that she went to a boarding school, and therefore only got to see her over breaks. However, one summer he'd been sneaking up to surprise her in a playground and scared her. She'd jumped and Jon had found himself blown backward by some unseen force. His future wife had apologized and told him that since they were such good friends and since she'd almost managed to kill him by mistake, the who story of how she was a Muggleborn witch. They'd stayed close and finally married. Now Jon didn't want his daughter thinking quite that far ahead, but just the fact that seeing the pair together reminded him of his lovely wife lessened the grief he still felt. He winked at his daughter, who realized that he liked Dudley and was secretly relieved, given that her dad had generally been very protective of her since her mother had been murdered.

The meal finished, the pair headed out to attempt to relax. They knew that in the evening, they'd attempt to recover the ax, and, given that they didn't know the danger, wanted to have one good afternoon together that didn't revolve around quests or books or anything like that. They walked into the center of Goodmanham and went to the local shop. Now that winter was finally coming to an end, the pair of them went to the local ice cream parlor and got milkshakes. They walked through the picturesque village until they found a bench that overlooked the river and they sat down together and cuddled. They spoke of their lives, and where they thought they might be heading. Dudley talked about going to college, but Hannah interrupted him and said, "Well Dudley, who knows what will happen after tonight. You could end up recovering the ax and suddenly have to start at Hogwarts." The mental image of Dudley, dressed in a cloak and being sorted with a bunch of tiny first years made Hannah start giggling, and even though Dudley didn't quite get the joke, he was just happy that she was happy and laughed with her.

All too quickly the day came to an end, and the pair of them walked to the ruins of the church. Remembering what Mortimer had said, Dudley walked inside the footprint of the church and sat down. Hannah, who was unsure of whether or not she ought to be there, kissed him for good luck and then stepped out of the ruin, and watched nervously as Dudley sat among the piles of stone and bowed his head.

Dudley began to think of what Mortimer had instructed. He thought of his life and of how he had treated Harry. He thought of his experience with the Dementors and of how he had come to this village. He thought of meeting Langford and of his help. He reflected upon their vision of the trapped souls in the ruin and of the discord that this evil wizard had managed to create. But mostly, he thought of Hannah. He thought of how he had saved her from the Snatchers. Of how the two of them loved to look at the same book, searching for clues, and how he treasured those moments because he could smell her shampoo, of the first time they'd kissed, of the first time they'd managed to be alone together, and of how much she meant to him.

Outside the ruin, Hannah was staring in awe at what was occurring. At first, she'd seen only Dudley in the ruin, but as he sat there, suddenly the ruins began to glow. Brighter and brighter they became until it was almost too painful for her too look at the piles of rubble in the clearing. Suddenly, the bright, piercing light erupted into the sky with a powerful bang, and then just as quickly it diminished. In the sudden darkness, her eyes couldn't adjust, and she couldn't see Dudley. She quickly ran towards him, fearing the light had hurt him or taken him, but as she approached him, the lights suddenly flared again and were pointed towards Dudley. He began to glow bright white. By now, Hannah was panicking. "Screw the ax, I don't care, I just don't want Dudley hurt." She leaned in and shook him, but he didn't move. Fearing the worst, she decided that she ought to try stronger measures, and instead sat down next to him and leaned in. She brushed her lips against his and kissed him. The feeling was electric, and suddenly night turned into day, and the ruins around them flew together into the shrine they once had been. Dudley's eyes opened, and he said, "Wow, that was some way to wake up!"

That said, he smiled at her, and said, "Sorry if you were worried, but I think it worked."

Hannah said, "But we've gone back in time again. Why do you think it worked?"

Dudley answered, "We haven't gone back in time, we've gone out of time, like Mortimer said. This is the spirit of the shrine, and I believe it worked because the ax is right behind you."

With a jump, Hannah let go of Dudley and turned around. With a start, she saw a glowing battle ax set upon the wall, pulsing with power. Dudley kissed her cheek, and walked confidently towards the ax. He placed his hands upon the ax and with a whirl of color and a roar of sound, the pair was standing back in the middle of the night in Goodmanham, with the glowing Ax of Coifi grasped in Dudley hands.