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Chapter 227: The Cunning Dumbledore
Chapter 227: The Cunning Dumbledore
At the school hospital, after ordering the Basilisk to return to its slumber, Kyle rushed over as quickly as he could.
Harry lay asleep on one of the beds, while Dumbledore chatted with Madam Pomfrey beside him.
Madam Pomfrey looked somewhat displeased.
"A Dark wizard last year, Death Eaters this year... I wonder what identity our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will have next year... a mystery man, perhaps?"
Madam Pomfrey shot a sidelong glance at Dumbledore. "If that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised."
Dumbledore merely smiled, neither refuting nor defending himself.
Indeed, he was responsible for bringing both Quirinus and Gilderoy to Hogwarts, and he couldn't deny it.
Fortunately, Kyle arrived at that moment.
"Oh, perfect timing, Kyle. We were just talking about you..."
Dumbledore quickly wrapped up his conversation with Madam Pomfrey and headed towards Kyle, but a second later, Madam Pomfrey pushed him aside.
"You should have come straight to the hospital wing!" Madam Pomfrey glared at Kyle.
At this moment, she looked more like a villain than Voldemort himself.
Kyle glanced at Dumbledore, seeking his help to get out of this predicament.
However, their headmaster suddenly took a keen interest in the potion bottles beside him, studying them with his head down and completely ignoring the situation.
Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey didn't say anything further.
"Now, stand still!" She waved her wand in front of Kyle, and soft white light sprinkled from its tip, forming a cloud-like substance that enveloped him.
Madam Pomfrey stared at the 'clouds' for a while before finally relaxing a bit.
"Good, no signs of Dark magic."
"You should indeed feel fortunate..." Madam Pomfrey said sternly, "When Harry Potter was brought in, he couldn't even utter a complete sentence."
She took out a bottle of potion and then shooed Kyle onto a bed.
"Hmm... Poppy, may I have a word with him? Just a couple of words, it won't take long." Dumbledore asked softly.
"Even if you say so, Professor," Madam Pomfrey frowned. "But this young man has just been through a fiery ordeal... He needs rest."
Dumbledore nodded and didn't insist further.
After drinking the potion, Kyle felt his brain clouded with drowsiness and soon fell asleep.
...
When he woke up again, it was already the next morning.
Kyle was woken by the sound of angry shouting. It seemed like Madam Pomfrey was chasing away Fred and George?
"Good morning, Kyle," he heard a familiar voice say.
Opening his eyes, he saw the smiling face of Professor Dumbledore next to his bed.
The scene felt somewhat familiar.
Oh right, it was similar to last year... and around the same time, too.
"Good morning, Professor," Kyle sat up and asked, "How's Potter doing?"
"I'm glad you asked," Dumbledore said, "He's doing well, and I expect he'll be awake by noon... Would you like something to eat? The kitchen is serving fried pork chops this morning."
"No, thank you. I'm not really hungry," Kyle shook his head.
"What a shame. Today's pork chops are particularly delicious."
Kyle thought Dumbledore would question him about why he went to the restricted area, but he didn't. After a brief chat, Dumbledore calmly said, "By the way, remember to return Roary to Hagrid later. He was worried sick last night."
"Unless... there was some sort of magical item involved. Perhaps a box or a bag of some sort."
"Umm..." Kyle said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
In fact, the small amount of Felix Felicis he had consumed only lasted about an hour.
"Sorry, Professor."
"It's quite all right, Kyle. I don't mean to blame you. In fact, even if you hadn't taken Roary away, Quirinus would have found another way through the trapdoor."
Kyle nodded, having guessed Dumbledore's intention.
Instinctively, he glanced around the room.
Aside from himself, Dumbledore, and the sleeping Harry, Madam Pomfrey, whom he wanted to see the most, was not present. He missed the way she had chased them out yesterday...
Kyle steered the conversation towards Quidditch, exams, and finally, the House Cup...
Dumbledore patiently engaged in the small talk, seemingly enjoying it immensely.
However, what needed to be addressed eventually came up. As Kyle finished talking about the House Cup and was about to move on to another topic, Dumbledore spoke first: "Speaking of the House Cup... I suddenly remembered, Kyle, did you happen to see a bright red stone yesterday?"
"So, the House Cup has something to do with the Sorcerer's Stone... That's a hard topic shift," Kyle thought to himself.
But in response to Dumbledore's question, he nodded. "Yes, Potter was holding onto it, but it later fell into the fire."
"I see," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "But interestingly, the Sorcerer's Stone is a magical stone that even a fierce blaze would find difficult to burn.
I went back to check, and there was no trace of it... which is impossible."
"Did you search thoroughly?" Kyle asked softly. "Maybe it rolled into another room..."
"I looked very carefully," Dumbledore said with a smile. "It seems you already know that the stone was hidden there."
"Umm... I heard about it from Potter," Kyle explained.
"During breakfast one time, he and Ron were discussing how to stop Professor Snape from stealing the Sorcerer's Stone from the restricted area," he continued, not lying as he had indeed overheard Harry and Ron mention the "Sorcerer's Stone" on more than one occasion.
Sometimes it was in the Great Hall, sometimes in the corridors, and they were so loud in their "secret planning" that they didn't seem to care if anyone overheard them.
Most people probably thought they were just rambling and didn't pay any attention.
"It seems they got quite a bit of information from Hagrid," Dumbledore said with a smile, shaking his head.
He turned to Kyle again. "So, you don't know where the stone is either?"
Kyle remained silent.
"It looks like... the stone must have been taken by that bowtruckle," Dumbledore concluded.
"I checked the reflection in the Mirror of Erised yesterday..." Dumbledore blinked. "Perhaps I should ask Newt; he should be able to recognize that bowtruckle."
(End of Chapter)
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