By the time Kyle arrived at the Headmaster's office carrying his small suitcase, the first thing that caught his eye was the sight of two little girls sitting in front of the desk, trembling all over with cold hands and feet, looking as if they were about to burst into tears.
"Kyle, I am very curious as to why you are appearing here at this hour."
Dumbledore, wearing a fluffy, flamboyant purple dressing gown, blinked at Kyle.
If Dumbledore hadn't been there, Hannah and Hermione would likely have already pounced on Kyle and beaten him half to death.
"I just felt that we needed a place to practice magic."
Kyle placed his suitcase on the floor.
"You know, although Hogwarts is spacious enough, there really aren't many places where we can cast magic freely during our spare time."
Kyle spread his hands. "You can't possibly expect us to sneak off to the edge of the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night to practice magic, can you?"
Upon hearing Kyle mention the Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore's face darkened slightly.
Ever since he brought Kyle to Hogwarts, the number of times Hagrid had reported young wizards trespassing in the Forbidden Forest had increased dramatically.
If he guessed correctly, the young wizards Hagrid mentioned were likely these members of the "League of Father-Vexers."
"Sit down," Dumbledore said, trying to maintain a kindly expression. "So, what you are doing now is..."
Kyle, acting familiar with the place, sat down in the chair across from the desk.
"As the Headmaster, you could write a permission slip for the three of us, allowing us to come to the Headmaster's office to study after curfew, right?"
Dumbledore crossed his hands, his long fingers tapping his index fingers together. "That is against school rules."
Listening to Old Man Dumbledore's tone, it seemed he was about to deduct points from the three of them.
Hannah and Hermione's small hands couldn't stop trembling, and their mournful expressions looked as if the sky were about to fall.
Kyle smiled slyly. "Well... Dad once told me that when you were at Hogwarts..."
As a typical Gryffindor, Dumbledore must have broken quite a few school rules back in the day.
Grindelwald didn't even need to tell him this; Kyle could guess it himself.
Between the two Dumbledores, big and small, it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
"However, diligence and eagerness to learn are behaviors worth encouraging," Dumbledore quickly interrupted Kyle.
Grindelwald, you scoundrel! Just how much of my dark history did you leak?!
Dumbledore cursed furiously in his heart.
On the wall, the portrait of the previous Headmaster, Armando Dippet, who had been pretending to sleep, quietly opened his eyes, a mischievous smile appearing on his face.
Dumbledore smiled, though for some reason, his smile seemed to reveal a hint of awkwardness.
"I approve your request."
Hermione and Hannah looked up in pleasant surprise.
Kyle's gaze drifted toward the parchment and quill on the desk.
Dumbledore smiled helplessly, picked up the quill, and scribbled out three permission slips.
"You must return to your dormitories before twelve o'clock," Dumbledore said, wagging his index finger. "After all, you are still at the stage where you are growing; staying up late is not good."
Kyle took the permission slips and agreed readily, then stepped one foot into the suitcase.
"Professor, one more thing," Kyle poked his head out of the suitcase. "Before you go to sleep, if we have any magical questions, we can come to you for answers, right?"
Dumbledore nodded, effectively agreeing.
The surprised smiles on Hannah and Hermione's faces grew even wider.
Perhaps it was because of the previous incident where Kyle got lost, or perhaps Grindelwald's appearance had given Dumbledore a sense of crisis, making him want his "half-son" to be closer to him...
In any case, Dumbledore was very tolerant of Kyle, as long as he didn't walk down a dark path.
However, watching Kyle lead two girls into the suitcase, Dumbledore felt something was a bit strange.
He hadn't noticed it before, but just now, seeing the way Hannah looked at Kyle, Dumbledore suddenly realized: had Kyle unknowingly abducted a daughter-in-law for him?
Then what was the deal with Miss Granger?
Dumbledore subconsciously touched the area over his heart, feeling a familiar pendant beneath his purple dressing gown.
Children have their own fortune; let him be.
Down in Bag End, Hannah and Hermione acted as if they had discovered a new world, constantly pestering Kyle with questions.
When they were in the living room, Kyle saw several booklets scattered beside the sofa, and his eyelids twitched instantly.
These seemed to be brought over by the twin brothers during the last gathering—a type of small publication nicknamed "Wizarding Erotica"—why were they left here?
Those brothers did it on purpose, didn't they?!
While dealing with the two overwhelmingly curious little girls, Kyle calmly stuffed the books under the sofa cushions without changing his expression.
Phew! Successfully avoided a social death crisis.
Kyle wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
When Hermione followed Kyle to the shooting range, which was used as a magic practice room, the first things to enter the Little Beaver's line of sight were the various types of firearms covering an entire wall, and the ammunition crates stacked neatly along the other wall...
Hermione: (゜Д゜)つ
Based on the conversations she had heard between Kyle and the Weasley brothers, she thought they had just obtained one or two weapons from Muggle arms dealers through some illegal channel.
But looking at it now...
Kyle could arm an Independent Regiment inside Hogwarts in minutes?
Heavens! Why does Professor Dumbledore turn a blind eye to this kind of thing! The Little Beaver screamed internally.
Beside her, the dazed Hannah didn't quite understand what was going on, but she felt it was impressive. She only knew that having such a spacious underground space to practice magic was simply wonderful.
Of course, it would be even better if that messy-haired Little Beaver wasn't there, and she and Kyle were the only two people alone.
It wasn't until past eleven o'clock at night that Kyle emerged from Dumbledore's office.
Unexpectedly, just as the three of them stepped into the corridor outside the Headmaster's office, they ran into someone they hadn't expected.
"Three young wizards not sleeping, wandering about at night. Very good."
In the gloomy, dim environment of Hogwarts Castle after curfew, Snape's perpetually sullen old face, paired with his icy tone, was truly terrifying enough.
Even Kyle was startled by Snape.
Hermione and Hannah shrank back, hiding behind Kyle.
Even with Professor Dumbledore's permission slips, they still felt an instinctive fear upon seeing this old bat, Snape.
Kyle smiled and handed the parchment bearing Dumbledore's royal signature to Snape, not forgetting to greet the old bat.
"Good evening, Professor Snape."
Snape saw the content written on the parchment in his hand, then swept a glance at the identical parchments in Hannah and Hermione's hands. His already gloomy face became even more clouded.
"Get back to your dorms!"
"Alright, Professor. Good night." Before leaving, Kyle didn't forget to snatch his slip back from Snape's hand.
Watching the retreating figures of the three young wizards, Snape turned his head to look at the stone gargoyle squatting nearby. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.
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