A luxury sedan pulled to a stop on the street.
The golden hood ornament standing tall at the front of the car silently proclaimed the prestigious status of its owner.
Soon, the car door opened.
Alfred stepped out from the driver's seat and opened the rear door for Kyle. "Young Master Kyle, welcome home."
"Thank you, Alfred." Kyle really wanted to say that he could open the door and get out himself in the future, but looking at the old butler's expression, it was likely he wouldn't be pleased to see Kyle do so.
"I heard my old man has a gift for me?"
Upon hearing the word "gift," Dumbledore's expression turned somewhat peculiar, and his gaze couldn't help but drift toward their neighbor's house.
He knew that the Scamander couple lived here in seclusion. For Grindelwald to choose their new home in such a location... Newt's magical zoo had most likely already fallen victim to the Dark Lord's "treacherous hands."
While Dumbledore was pondering how to handle the conflict between Grindelwald and Newt, Kyle had already been led into the living room by Alfred.
Grindelwald's lifestyle was as extravagant as ever.
The small cottage, heavily enchanted with Space-Extension Charms, possessed an internal luxury that could almost rival their castle in France.
What was originally a small house of only forty or fifty square meters had been expanded to nearly a thousand square meters under the effect of the Undetectable Extension Charm.
And that was only the living area, excluding the library and the magic practice rooms.
If it weren't for the fact that a house too large would feel lonely with only four people living in it, Grindelwald would have loved to stuff the entire castle into this little cottage.
At that moment, Grindelwald was leisurely reading a newspaper in the living room.
"Dad, I'm back!"
Grindelwald put down the newspaper and looked up with a soft expression.
However, when his gaze fell upon Dumbledore, it turned indifferent once more, as if Dumbledore were a transparent man.
An egg from some unknown creature appeared in Grindelwald's hand.
"Look, what have I prepared for you?"
Kyle sat down beside Grindelwald with a hint of joy.
"You mentioned before that you wanted a phoenix..." Grindelwald affectionately ruffled Kyle's hair. "Although I couldn't get you a phoenix, this Thunderbird is definitely not inferior to one."
"A Thunderbird!" Kyle carefully took the Thunderbird egg from Grindelwald's hands. "Thanks, Dad!"
"You're welcome. If there are any other magical creatures you want, just say the word."
Kyle thought to himself: If I said I wanted an old bat, would my old man go to Hogwarts and snatch one for me?
Hearing Grindelwald's words, Dumbledore's face was covered in dark lines.
If he wasn't mistaken, Grindelwald's method of acquiring magical creatures was likely by "robbing" their neighbor, Newt Scamander.
Perhaps at this very moment, Newt was so heartbroken over the loss of a Thunderbird egg that he could barely breathe.
Dumbledore took a step forward. "Gell—"
As soon as he spoke, Grindelwald cut him off.
"You still have the nerve to come here?" Grindelwald's tone sounded as if he were looking at something loathsome.
Dumbledore's face turned slightly livid.
"Hogwarts, hah," Grindelwald sneered. "The school where the greatest White Wizard resides, hailed as the safest place in the Wizarding World..."
Dumbledore knew exactly why his old friend was so enraged.
By all accounts, Hogwarts was indeed the safest place in the European and American Wizarding Worlds—bar none.
With various protective enchantments passed down from the era of the Four Founders, even the Ministries of Magic of various countries wouldn't dare claim their headquarters were safer than Hogwarts.
Yet, in such a "safe" place, Kyle had already been attacked for the third time since entering Hogwarts.
Every time, if Kyle hadn't handled it properly, Grindelwald wouldn't be seeing his only descendant right now.
"Gellert, this was entirely my mistake." Dumbledore's voice was filled with self-reproach, his azure eyes looking sincerely at the father and son before him.
Gellert Grindelwald crossed his arms and let out an unmoved snort.
Kyle nudged his father's arm, signaling for the two of them not to fight.
Grindelwald wasn't someone who over-spoiled children; he knew that necessary hardships were essential for Kyle's growth.
But look at Dumbledore—what kind of opponents was he letting Kyle face?
Adult elite wizards?
The previous Dark Lord?
No matter how much Grindelwald looked down on Voldemort, Voldemort's strength was a fact; even in a soul-remnant state, he wasn't someone Kyle could deal with.
If he could, Grindelwald really wanted to pry open Dumbledore's skull to see his thought process—just how bizarre did one have to be to invite Voldemort into Hogwarts as a professor?
Grindelwald waved his hand, signaling Alfred to take Kyle out.
After being led out of the living room by the old butler, Kyle heard the sound of a fierce struggle coming from inside.
Kyle's expression was a bit odd. Are those two... fighting?
The two wizards at the very ceiling of the Wizarding World's power levels actually settled their conflicts in private by brawling like street thugs?
Who would believe that if it got out?
The old butler saw Kyle's expression and thought he was worried about the argument between Grindelwald and Dumbledore.
"Young Master, there is no need to worry," Alfred comforted him.
"No, Alfred, I'm not worried about them." Indeed, there wasn't a hint of concern in Kyle's tone.
Regardless of how hard they were fighting now, everything would be fine by the time dinner was served.
He was currently more concerned about something else.
Kyle looked down at the Thunderbird egg in his hand. "I was wondering how to hatch it."
He suddenly missed Hagrid; if he gave this thing to Hagrid, there would certainly be no problem.
"There is no need to worry about that." Alfred snapped his fingers, and a House-Elf instantly appeared before them.
"Just give the Thunderbird egg to him. The family has elves specifically responsible for raising magical creatures. He will notify you when it is close to hatching."
"It is Lamy's honor to serve the Young Master!" The elf, calling himself Lamy, respectfully took the Thunderbird egg from Kyle's hands.
Watching the House-Elf vanish into thin air, Kyle couldn't help but marvel—this wicked capitalism is really damn good.
Of course, the premise of all this was that you had to be an exploiter, not the exploited.
Kyle suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Alfred," Kyle asked in as casual and nonchalant a tone as possible, "Where is Katherine?"
However, no matter how much Kyle tried to hide the anticipation he felt when mentioning Katherine, he couldn't hide it from the experienced and world-wise Alfred.
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