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Chapter 110: The Vault Key
Chapter 110: The Vault Key
Kyle was rather surprised by Dumbledore's words.
Only students who have made significant contributions to Hogwarts are awarded the Special Contribution Award, the highest individual honor for students during their time at school.
Half a century ago, a certain famous noseless wizard, the originator of the Dark Magic Defense Curse, the Soul-Splitter, Mr. Tom, had won this award in his fifth year.
But Kyle was only in his first year, a full four years earlier than him.
In this regard alone, Kyle could confidently look at the other's nose... well, upper jaw, and calmly say, "You're lame."
As for what would happen after saying that, that's another story.
"Thank you for your kind words, Headmaster," Kyle smiled.
He was grateful not for the Special Contribution Award, but for what Dumbledore had just said.
Especially the four words, "noble spirit"...
No wonder the old man is the headmaster, he actually saw through his inner qualities at a glance.
Impressive.
"You deserve it, and it is well-deserved," Dumbledore winked. "It's rare for someone in their first year to have the courage to face two adult wizards alone, let alone defeat one of them.
The board of governors unanimously agreed that presenting you with the Special Contribution Award is the best decision I've made this year."
They're probably just afraid of trouble, Kyle thought to himself. He didn't think the governors cared that much.
Unlike Dumbledore, who devoted his heart and soul to the school, they were more concerned about their own interests.
If Kyle had truly died in the Forbidden Forest, it wouldn't be long before the entire wizarding world knew that Hogwarts' Dark Arts professor killed a student.
At that time, even if Hogwarts didn't have to close down, it would still face a lot of trouble, and the governors naturally wanted to avoid such a situation.
Fortunately, Kyle was fine.
They probably intended to use this Special Contribution Award to appease Chris and Diana.
But Kyle didn't care what they were thinking. He was just satisfied with the current outcome.
"Headmaster, there's one more thing," Kyle said.
"Go ahead and ask."
"What about Hagrid? I noticed he wasn't in the house."
"In fact, Hagrid was the first one to be attacked yesterday," Dumbledore said. "Oren tricked him into drinking undiluted Acromantula venom, and then hid him in the Forbidden Forest after he fell unconscious."
"Then how is Hagrid...?"
"Don't worry, Kyle. Hagrid's body is tougher than that of an ordinary wizard, and his life is not in danger," Dumbledore reassured him. "Moreover, I've obtained the method to eliminate the Acromantula venom from Newt, and he'll be back from St. Mungo's soon."
Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost forgotten that Hagrid was a half-giant with thick blood and high resistance.
And the venom of the Acromantula was a bit special; compared to getting it on his body, drinking it was less severe.
"Headmaster, I have one last question."
"Go on."
"That witch..." Kyle said, "Why was she hiding near Connor?"
"Ah, I've been wondering when you would ask about this," Dumbledore said. "I'm sorry, Kyle, but because this matter involves the Prince family, I can't tell you too much. All I can say is that the witch indeed had ill intentions, and her goal was a key."
"A key?"
"Yes, a key to a Gringotts vault," Dumbledore said mysteriously. "Her identity is quite special. If she obtained the vault key, she could have legally taken away all the inheritance left by the Connor family."
Kyle frowned. The word "inheritance" instantly reminded him of something.
He looked at Dumbledore, but received no response.
Dumbledore seemed unwilling to continue the topic. He placed the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans on the bedside table and smiled, "Well, that's enough questions. I suggest you start enjoying these candies.
He genuinely wanted to get rid of those roach clusters.
However, Dumbledore refused.
Standing up, he said, "Lastly, I must ask for your forgiveness. Due to some matters, I was not at the castle yesterday and failed to appear at your most dangerous moment. It was a dereliction of my duty as a headmaster."
"It's alright, please don't worry about it," Kyle replied.
...
Kyle didn't stay in the school hospital for long. Not long after Dumbledore left, Madam Pomfrey agreed to his request to leave.
Thanks to his usually amiable nature, Kyle was surrounded by a group of concerned students as soon as he returned to the Hufflepuff common room. He had to respond to each of them individually.
An hour later, he found himself back in the familiar abandoned classroom.
"Kyle, I heard you took down an adult wizard?!''
Fred immediately asked excitedly, "Is that true?!"
"Don't even think about denying it," George said. "Someone overheard the Beaters' conversation as they were leaving the Forbidden Forest. That witch who was brought back by Professor McGonagall was indeed defeated by you."
"..."
Kyle rubbed his forehead, wishing the Beaters had better discretion. Fortunately, he had no intention of hiding the truth. "It was just luck. My opponent was too weak." Kyle admitted, "I guess she probably didn't study at Hogwarts."
"Come on, that was an adult wizard capable of using dark magic. Don't make it sound so easy," Cedric chided him in jest. "It makes us sound useless."
"Alright, alright." Kyle played along. "I barely survived a life-threatening situation and managed to hold on until help arrived. I barely made it out alive against that dark wizard."
George nodded gravely as if satisfied with the response, "Now that's more like it."
"But I never would've expected Professor Oren to be a dark wizard," Cedric shook his head. "And his classes were so interesting, much better than last year's."
"Be careful, Cedric," Fred warned. "Oren is no longer a professor. He nearly killed Kyle."
"Sorry, it's just a habit," Cedric apologized quickly.
"None of us saw it coming," added Autumn. "Even Davis couldn't believe it. He thought someone was impersonating Oren using Polyjuice Potion, and he almost got into a fight with your Gryffindor house over it."
"I know who he is," Fred sighed. "He was right, and we were all wrong about that man."
Speaking of Oren, the group fell silent for a while, even the usually cheerful Fred and George turned quiet.
They had liked Oren a lot and even hoped he would break the curse so he could stay at Hogwarts for another year.
But now everything had changed; Oren turned out to be a dark wizard!
They would probably never again meet a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who was humorous, funny, and didn't check their homework.
For a while, the classroom fell into an unusual silence, with none of the five speaking a word.
Indeed, there were only five people present this time, missing one—Connor.
The incident with Patch, or rather, the witch, had hit her hard. She had locked herself in her dormitory for days, only stepping out when Kyle returned to the common room after his discharge.
However, the others were unaware of this, assuming that Connor was simply too scared and that was why she had been hiding in her dormitory.
......
(End of Chapter)
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