Dudley was slightly startled by the woman who had appeared at his side. She was dressed strangely, even for a fortune-teller. She wore a long, black dress with numerous bulging pockets, a tall, pointed purple hat perched on her head, and her deep blue eyes held an unnerving intensity. The eclectic jewelry adorning her body had a strong, distinct Romani character.
"Fortune-telling?" Dudley repeated, a flicker of something ancient and familiar stirring within him.
"Yes. Are you interested?" the woman continued, her voice a low, raspy whisper.
Dudley felt a momentary dizzy spell, a strange sense of temporal displacement, as if he had been thrown back into that other world where oddities lurked around every corner.
"Seeing as you're my first customer of the day," the woman said, her deep blue eyes blinking slowly, "I can offer you a reading for free." She seemed genuinely intrigued by the chubby little boy in front of her.
"Free?" A faint, knowing smile touched Dudley's lips. "What do you use for your fortune-telling?"
"Tarot."
"Alright then," Dudley nodded, his curiosity piqued.
"Please, follow me."
The woman led him toward a small, makeshift tent set up a short distance away. Dudley followed without hesitation. He wasn't afraid of any tricks she might try to play.
The light inside the tent was dim, with a single, sputtering candle illuminating a small, cluttered table. Dudley's eyes scanned the interior, taking in the various tools of divination scattered about: crystal balls, stacks of Tarot cards, dusty tomes, and more.
"Is there anything specific you would like to ask?" the woman asked, her voice seeming to echo in the confined space.
Dudley considered for a moment. "The past, the present, and the future."
The woman's deep blue eyes narrowed. "Oh," she rasped. "I expected you to ask something more… childish. 'What job will I have?' or 'How can I get that game console I want?'"
Dudley simply shrugged. If he were just an ordinary boy, he might have asked exactly that.
"Then… let us begin."
She reached into one of her many pockets and produced a worn deck of Tarot cards. Her hands moved with a practiced, fluid grace as she shuffled and cut the deck. Watching her, Dudley felt a pang of nostalgia, recalling the first time he had drawn a card at that fateful gathering around the bronze table.
"Now," she said, fanning the cards out before him. "You may draw. The first card represents the past, the second the present, and the third the future."
Dudley raised his hand and drew a card, placing it to the left. He drew another for the middle and a final one for the right.
"So, which would you like to see first?" the woman asked, her eyes seeming to hold a mysterious, mesmerizing power.
"Let's look at the past."
"As you wish." She turned over the leftmost card.
"The Emperor."
Dudley almost blurted out the name himself. It was a Major Arcana card, a figure of immense power and authority.
"That's right," the woman said, a hint of surprise in her voice. "It seems you know a little about the Tarot."
Dudley stared at the familiar image. For a dizzying moment, he saw the long bronze table again, felt the oppressive weight of the gray fog. The first card he had ever turned over was also The Emperor. It was why his codename had been…
"Oh, but this Emperor is reversed," the woman noted, leaning in. "Interesting…"
Before she could begin her interpretation, Dudley reached out and flipped over the card on the far right, the one representing the future.
"Judgment."
He spoke the word softly, a sense of grim finality settling over him.
"Another Major Arcana," the woman murmured.
"The Emperor… and Judgment," Dudley repeated to himself. The two cards that corresponded perfectly to the Beyonder Pathways he now walked.
BANG!
The tent flap was thrown open violently, and someone burst inside.
"Oh, Diddy-dums, darling! Are you alright?" Petunia's panicked voice shrieked.
"What are you doing?! Get away from my son!" Vernon bellowed, grabbing Dudley and yanking him away. In his rage, he kicked the small table, sending the cards scattering across the floor. Dudley glanced down, but the card representing his present was lost in the mess. "You… you freaks! Monsters!"
"I'm fine, Dad," Dudley said calmly. "She was just telling my fortune. It was quite interesting."
As he spoke, he subtly released a pulse of his spiritual energy. The fury in Vernon's expression softened considerably. At the same time, Dudley blinked, activating his Spirit Vision.
The fortune-teller's aura was clear, no different from an ordinary person's. But then he saw it—deep within her soul, a peculiar energy was surging, the same strange power he had glimpsed within Harry.
"What is that…?" he wondered, his mind racing.
"Oh, you're fine… good, good, that's good. I thought…" Vernon stammered, his anger deflating.
"Sir, I simply felt a connection with the child and offered him a free reading," the woman said, frowning at her overturned table. "I meant no harm."
"Sorry," Dudley said, deactivating his Spirit Vision. "We were rash."
"It's fine," the woman sighed, waving a dismissive hand. "You can go."
Dudley nodded and led his bewildered parents out of the tent.
"Dudley, are you okay?" Piers said, rushing over. "I saw that strange woman take you in there. I thought you'd been kidnapped!"
"I'm fine," Dudley said casually. "It was just a fortune-telling."
Across the way, Harry watched Dudley return safely, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
The incident was quickly forgotten by everyone else as they finally entered the zoo. Dudley followed his family, feigning excitement as they moved from one exhibit to the next. But his mind was elsewhere, replaying the Tarot reading, the images of The Emperor and Judgment burned into his thoughts.
And he kept pondering the mysterious energy he had seen in both the fortune-teller and Harry. It wasn't something everyone possessed; he couldn't see it in his parents or Piers.
His eyes scanned the crowd, seeking out his cousin. He found him standing before a large glass enclosure. Behind the glass, a massive python was slowly uncoiling its powerful body.
And Harry, his face pressed close to the glass, seemed to be talking to it.
***
(End of Chapter)
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