Dumbledore stared for a moment into Kyle's eyes—which were identical to those of his old flame—a trace of relief washing over his bright blue eyes. "Then let's arrange it according to your ideas."
"You know as well, for this tournament, I plan to have seven or eight people from each school become champion contestants."
"Only when there are more people can we muddy the waters effectively," Kyle said nonchalantly, toying with the fake locket in his hand. "With me keeping an eye on things, I can guarantee these students won't run into any major accidents."
The moment Kyle spoke, Dumbledore instantly regretted it. Why on earth had he agreed to go along with this brat's ideas?
After thinking for a moment, Kyle added, "Oh, and we can also ask Old Gellert to come over and help."
Dumbledore opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't utter any words of refusal.
After all, the three top-tier powerhouses of the wizarding world were all keeping watch here; if a major accident could still happen under their noses, the three of them might as well just find a brick, smash their heads against it, and lie down in coffins together as a happy family.
"During Harry's participation in the tournament," Kyle put away the fake locket, "I won't coddle him the way you do."
"So?" Dumbledore's expression turned serious.
"So, you need to have Professor Moody give him some private tutoring behind the scenes so that he has what it takes to handle the competition."
When Kyle flew back to Hogwarts on his own, it was already late into the night.
Dumbledore hadn't returned with Kyle, claiming he still had matters to attend to, and had vanished mysteriously into the vast night veil.
In the middle of the night, what urgent business could Dumbledore possibly have?
Kyle pushed up his nonexistent Force glasses; this was the moment for Detective Kyle to get his gears turning.
Generally speaking, when a grown man works overtime until the middle of the night...
Well, he and his adoptive father had gone out to look for a Horcrux after finishing dinner—was that not working overtime?
And after finishing overtime, instead of going home, he continued hanging out outside...
It was either playing matches at an internet café or visiting a foot spa.
Boy! Since the wizarding world didn't have internet cafés, then... The scheming frog is always touching your belly!
Case solved!
Dumbledore had run off for a luxurious spa day!
Combining what Dumbledore had said to him back in the cave, Kyle could roughly guess who Dumbledore had gone to find.
Horace Slughorn.
This potion master who looked somewhat like a fat walrus had vanished into thin air ever since he learned at the Quidditch World Cup about the massive breakout of Death Eaters from Azkaban.
Dumbledore was presumably tracking him down.
Yet even if you were looking for someone, did it have to be at this ungodly hour?
Why did he have to go wandering blindly outside in the middle of the night?
Coupled with Dumbledore's orientation, could you really say there wasn't some hidden backstory here?
Therefore, the very first thing Kyle did upon returning to Hogwarts was write a complaint letter. He then ran up to the deserted Astronomy Tower, stuffed it into the warhead of a ballistic flying broomstick, and launched it straight to his Old Gellert far away in Nurmengard.
He had no idea whether his Albus-Dad would be forced to kneel on a washboard by Grindelwald once he got home.
That, however, was no longer something Kyle needed to worry about.
Having completed his deed, he brushed off his clothes and left, hiding his deep merit and fame.
Back to sleep!
Over the next few days, Kyle didn't catch sight of Dumbledore anywhere within Hogwarts.
On the contrary, Grindelwald replied to his letter almost immediately upon receiving it.
To be precise, it wasn't a letter, but a slip of paper.
Considering that the Hogwarts where Kyle resided had been transformed by the Father-Worrying Alliance over the past few years into a hidden war fortress complete with full anti-air weaponry and missile-defense systems,
Grindelwald hadn't sent his reply via a ballistic flying broomstick; instead, he honestly used an owl.
During breakfast that morning, owls swooped into the Great Hall in a flurry.
Aitatsu dropped the little note written by Grindelwald right into Kyle's dinner plate.
Kyle picked up the note and glanced at it; it bore only a single, simple sentence: "Read."
Alfred's letter followed close behind. According to the old butler, the moment Grindelwald finished reading the letter, he left Nurmengard.
Judging by the spatial traces left behind by Apparition, his destination appeared to be Britain.
Upon seeing the old butler's letter, Kyle's expression perfectly replicated that classic "metro man looking at phone" meme.
Kyle: "______"
Did he accidentally, just by a tiny slip-up, throw Professor Horace Slughorn under the bus?
He wondered if Horace would get cornered at a tube station by Grindelwald and whipped back and forth with the Cruciatus Curse.
As an veteran philanthropist of Project Hope, Kyle silently pressed his palms together in his heart and began praying for Professor Horace—hoping the man is still in one piece.
Just as Kyle was about to set down the note and dive back into his meal, Hermione noticed Kyle's strange expression.
She asked with a concerned tone, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Kyle waved a hand and handed Alfred's letter over to the little Beaver.
After reading the contents of the letter, Hermione looked somewhat baffled. "Lord Grindelwald is coming to Britain?"
Seemingly thinking of a certain possibility, the little Beaver's expression shifted abruptly.
Could Grindelwald be planning to cause trouble for the British Ministry of Magic?
Fortunately, Kyle explained the ins and outs of the matter to her in time: Grindelwald was simply acting up because his European Jealous King traditional skill had flared up again, so he had rushed over to Britain to fetch his wife.
Listening to Kyle's explanation, the little Beaver's expression was a sight to behold.
So... Lord Grindelwald was that kind of person?
The image of that unyielding, peerless First Dark Lord instantly collapsed within Hermione's heart.
Glancing at Kyle's face, which bore a striking resemblance to Grindelwald in his youth, Hermione's thoughts drifted off course before she even realized it.
Come to think of it... might Kyle have also inherited Lord Grindelwald's European Jealous King personality trait?
Gently pulling on Kyle's hand, a hint of shyness surfaced on Hermione's face. "Um... if I also stay out overnight like Professor Dumbledore, would you also..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Kyle cut her off.
Leaning in close to the little Beaver, Kyle murmured softly in her ear, "If you stay out overnight, then I'll just go find Konan, alright?"
"No way!" Panic-stricken, the girl raised her volume by a good dozen decibels.
Students dining nearby cast curious glances toward the two of them, causing the little Beaver to instantly lower her head in embarrassment.
Offering the surrounding people a polite, flawless smile, Kyle turned back to whisper softly to the little Beaver once more, "Can you tell me what on earth happened between you and Konan that morning?"
Hearing Kyle's words, the little Beaver's face turned instantly into a ripe red apple, blushing all the way from her neck to the roots of her ears.
As she frantically avoided the boy's curious gaze, she failed to notice a strange gleam flash and vanish within Kyle's eyes.
Legilimens, activate!
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