Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 658: Another Day of Envying Dumbledore - Novel Cool

Chapter 658: Another Day of Envying Dumbledore

Chapter 658: Another Day of Envying Dumbledore

When Kyle found Snape, he was in his office, fiddling with an ancient stone basin on his desk.

The basin was engraved with a circle of runes, and inside, faint blue lights flowed like swimming fish.

A Meditation Basin? Kyle wondered why this object was here when he saw Snape quickly cover the basin with a piece of velvet cloth, and in a cold tone, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Professor Dumbledore sent me," Kyle said, "He asked me to be your assistant and help Harry learn Occlumency."

"Are you proud of yourself?" Snape drawled, "A sixteen-year-old Occlumency master, what a remarkable achievement, isn't it?"

"So, you can't wait to tell everyone, using it as a boastful capital? How foolish."

"You're right, Professor Snape," Kyle nodded, "I also think this decision is not very wise, but Professor Dumbledore insisted on having me here, and I didn't dare to say no."

"You're straightforward, Professor, speaking the truth." Kyle gave a thumbs-up, "Rest assured, Professor, I will convey your message to the Headmaster."

"Did the Headmaster send you?" Snape was taken aback, as he had just assumed Kyle took it upon himself to offer help.

"Yes," Kyle replied.

"I'll go ask him right now." Snape stood up, "If you dare to lie, I won't hesitate to give you a two-week detention."

"I wish I were lying," Kyle said nonchalantly.

Snape had barely taken two steps when he suddenly noticed Kyle's glance towards the desk, and this caught his attention, causing him to halt.

"Get out. If Dumbledore tells me you didn't, you'll receive a detention notice before curfew."

"Alright," Kyle said, leaving Snape's office with some disappointment.

If only he had known Snape's guard was up, he should have restrained his curiosity.

...

That night, as expected, Kyle did not receive a detention notice, but neither did he get a time to tutor Harry.

Kyle was secretly relieved that Snape hadn't arranged the tutoring session, as it gave him an excuse to slack off openly.

...

The next day, the holiday began.

Early in the morning, everyone carried their pre-packed trunks and boarded carriages heading to Hogsmeade Station.

Kyle also planned to visit Sirius in London, although he had signed the stay-at-school list a few days ago and couldn't take the train, this wasn't a problem.

He made a trip to the Headmaster's Office, and fortunately, Dumbledore was still at the school and hadn't left.

A few minutes later, Kyle appeared in London, in the living room of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Who is it... Oh, Kyle, dear." Mrs. Weasley walked in from the side, surprised, and asked, "Did the train arrive so quickly?"

"No, Mrs. Weasley, I used a Portkey from Professor Dumbledore," Kyle said, taking out a pair of woolen gloves.

"I was planning to go directly to St. Mungo's, but the Headmaster insisted I come here first."

"He's right." Mrs. Weasley hugged Kyle, "You should be on the train now, not at St. Mungo's, or there might be trouble if the Ministry people see you. Come, have you eaten breakfast? I made beef pies."

"Oh, I've already eaten."

Despite this, Mrs. Weasley still brought a large plate of steaming hot pies.

"Haven't you eaten breakfast yet?" Kyle asked.

"Yes." Mrs. Weasley replied.

"What about the others?"

"No one else, just me." Mrs. Weasley led Kyle to the kitchen and brought another jug filled with pumpkin juice.

"Everyone's been busy lately. Arthur has to be at St. Mungo's with Sirius, Lupin hasn't been back for a long time, and the others have work. Chris and Alastor did come by last night, but they didn't stay the night."

"Wait... Who came last night?" Kyle asked, raising his voice.

"You heard right. It's your dad." Mrs. Weasley laughed, "He officially joined the Order of the Phoenix a month ago, invited by Dumbledore, and he was the first to find Sirius and drive away the Death Eaters trying to break into the Ministry."

Kyle wasn't surprised that Chris had joined the Order of the Phoenix, as he saw it as an inevitable event.

What caught his attention was Mrs. Weasley's latter statement... Death Eaters trying to break into the Ministry.

So, the Death Eaters were headed to the Ministry that night, but they discovered Sirius and the wizard named Sturgis, who were tailing them.

Then, following Voldemort's orders, they wanted to eliminate Sirius and Sturgis.

Was Voldemort there at that time? Kyle frowned, then shook his head.

It's unlikely that Voldemort would appear at that time, and Harry mentioned killing someone, but neither Mr. Weasley nor anyone else mentioned this news.

"This proves that Voldemort wasn't there at the time, and he should have given the command through the Dark Mark."

But why did they go to the Ministry? Kyle's first thought was that the entire Ministry might be the only place that would interest Voldemort.

Thinking of this, Kyle became tense, as Diana was in the Department of Mysteries.

Fortunately, they didn't break into the Department this time.

Kyle had no appetite, so he pushed the beef pie aside and took out parchment and a quill to write a letter to Diana.

When he finished writing, Mrs. Weasley had just returned.

"Kyle, are you sending a letter?" She looked at the envelope in Kyle's hand, "But I don't see your owl."

"I didn't bring my owl this time," Kyle said.

"Then you'll have to wait until the kids are back on vacation." Mrs. Weasley put a basket of Christmas decorations to the side, "There's no owl here, and you didn't bring one either."

"However, if you're in a hurry, I can go to the post office on Diagon Alley and send the letter for you."

"It's fine, Mrs. Weasley," Kyle said. "I'm not in a rush."

In fact, he had never intended to send the letter by owl.

Ever since Voldemort's resurrection, Diana had been assigned urgent missions. In such cases, owls were usually unable to deliver letters to the Department of Mysteries.

"That's good," Mrs. Weasley nodded and continued to fetch other Christmas decorations.

After she left, Kyle opened his trunk, jumped in, and woke up the dozing Phoenix.

Although Kyle had borrowed the Phoenix on the pretext of guarding the Basilisk, since it arrived, it had been sleeping most of the time, even too lazy to glance at the Basilisk. It could be said that he had mastered the art of slacking off.

However, this was normal. After all, every time Kyle went to the Headmaster's office, the Phoenix was also sleeping on the branch, and it didn't look much different from now; it was just a change of environment.

After being woken up, the Phoenix poked its head out from under its wings.

"Sorry, but can you help me deliver this letter to the Department of Mysteries?" Kyle asked, holding the letter.

Then he took out a cloak of grass, "This is your reward, have an extra meal."

The Phoenix's sparkling eyes stared at Kyle, and after a moment, it nodded.

But it didn't eat the cloak grass; instead, it turned its head towards the direction of the forest and chirped softly.

"You want to eat Mandrake?" Kyle didn't hesitate and immediately nodded in agreement, "No problem, I'll get you the biggest pot when you come back."

This time, the Phoenix was no longer sleepy. It flapped its wings and flew onto Kyle's shoulder, carrying the envelope in its beak.

"It's best to give it to my mom, her name is Diana..." Kyle continued, "If you can find her, I'll give you two more Venomous Cabbages as a reward."

The Phoenix rubbed its head against Kyle's neck and disappeared in a flash of fire.

"So convenient," Kyle clicked his tongue, feeling a bit envious.

The Phoenix's abilities were truly remarkable. Not only could its tears heal, but it also had a unique Apparition ability, making it extremely convenient for delivering messages, keeping watch, or escaping.

More importantly, at critical moments, it could even use its immortal nature to shield its owner from the Killing Curse, making it an all-around fantastic beast.

Kyle glanced at Norbert, who was scaring a Mooncalf not far away, and clicked his tongue in disdain.

So foolish, there's really no harm in comparison...

Norbert seemed to sense something, let go of the Mooncalf in its claws, raised its head to look at Kyle, and happily snorted.

Two small flames were sprayed out, lighting the tail of a Mooncalf.

Norbert was startled and quickly swallowed the unfortunate Mooncalf, not spitting it out until the fire went out.

"Alright..." Kyle clicked his tongue,

He's a bit foolish, but there's not much else wrong with him. He's fine.

Kyle waited for a while, about five minutes later, the Phoenix returned, and it also brought a brooch.

The dragon scale brooch was a souvenir they bought from the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary last time, and it was also a gift from Chris to Diana.

"Did you really find her?" Kyle asked subconsciously.

But immediately, he realized his redundancy. If he hadn't found her, where did this brooch come from?

So, Kyle immediately fulfilled his promise. He picked a pot of Mandrake with the best growth, dug up two Venomous Cabbages, and placed them in front of the Phoenix along with the previous cloak grass.

"Go ahead and eat, and if it's not enough..." Kyle stroked the feathers on the Phoenix's neck, reluctant to leave the trunk.

Although he wanted to stay a little longer, his trunk was still in the kitchen on a stool, and Mrs. Weasley might return at any moment, which would be troublesome if he was discovered.

So it's better to go back as soon as possible.

...

Fortunately, when Kyle came out of the trunk, Mrs. Weasley was still outside, busy decorating for Christmas.

After Kyle packed up his trunk, he also helped her hang the mistletoe and holly on the walls and ceiling.

At noon, there were still only him and Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen.

It wasn't until 5:30 in the afternoon that someone returned.

To Kyle's surprise, the visitors were Bill and Charlie.

"Mom... we should go to the station to pick them up. Do you know where the car keys are?" Bill shouted as soon as he entered.

Then he paused slightly upon seeing Kyle in the entrance hall.

"Kyle, when did you guys get back?"

"Just me, I didn't take the train," Kyle explained briefly and asked, "What about you guys? When did you return?"

"Just a week ago," Bill said, "Dad thinks the Death Eaters will make their move soon, so I took a long holiday."

At this moment, Mrs. Weasley also hurried over and handed the keys to Bill.

"Dear, you can drive, right?"

"Of course, Mom," Bill said after taking the keys, "When I was a curse-breaker, I almost bought a car. Sometimes it's more convenient than a broom or a flying carpet.

"Kyle, I'm going to King's Cross Station now. Do you want to come with me?"

"No, thanks," Kyle shook his head, "I plan to go to St. Mungo's."

"That's perfect," Charlie also came over, "I have to take over Dad's shift at 6 o'clock, and we can go together. You probably can't use Apparition openly yet, right?"

"No," Kyle sighed, "So I plan to take the subway. By the time I get to St. Mungo's, the train should have arrived too."

"No need for that trouble, I can take you there," Charlie said.

With the opportunity to save time by not taking the subway, Kyle had no reason to refuse.

...

So, at 6 o'clock, the two of them appeared on time in a phone booth near St. Mungo's.

"This is a place specifically for wizards to Apparate, just like the fireplaces in the Floo Network," Charlie explained.

This was the first time Kyle had heard of such a place in St. Mungo's, and he looked around curiously.

It seemed like an ordinary phone booth to him, and the space was also quite small.

"It doesn't seem like a big place. What if a lot of wizards come here together?"

"There's the Expansion Charm, Charlie," he said. "The more people here, the bigger the space, so there's no need to worry. No matter how many people stand here, it won't feel crowded."

He pushed open the door and walked out. Not far to the left was the department store with the "Closed for Renovation" sign.

When Kyle came out, he saw a tall woman curiously examining him from behind.

"How strange, when did this phone booth appear here?" she muttered to herself, and walked over to take a closer look.

But just as the woman's hand was about to touch the phone booth, she suddenly stopped, as if she had remembered something urgent, and quickly ran forward.

"Hurry up, Kyle," Charlie said, standing in front of the shop window and speaking to the mannequin inside, "Hello, we're here to visit Sirius Black."

The mannequin nodded slightly.

Charlie walked straight through the glass and disappeared, and Kyle quickly followed.

The waiting room of St. Mungo's was as crowded as before, with rows of male and female wizards sitting on wobbly wooden chairs. Some looked normal, while others had various strange appearances.

However, Kyle and Charlie didn't stop here. After entering St. Mungo's, they went directly to the second floor, where Sirius was hospitalized.

"I'm fine now, why can't I go home?"

Just as he reached the door, Kyle heard Sirius' voice from inside, "Arthur, Harry's on holiday now. I want to spend Christmas with him at home, not at St. Mungo's."

"I understand what you mean, but the Healer said that the Runesnake Venom on your body has just been cleaned up, and you still need a few days of observation."

Charlie pushed open the door, interrupting their conversation.

The ward was small and dimly lit, with only a small window on the wall opposite the door.

There were three people inside, and Sirius' bed was the outermost one, closest to the door.

As they entered, Sirius looked up and, after seeing who it was, smiled happily.

"It's been a while, Kyle. Are you on holiday?" Then, he glanced nervously towards the door.

"Don't look, it's just the two of us," Kyle said. "Harry might not be able to come for a while."

"Oh, it's not that," Sirius said. "I actually don't want Harry to visit me."

"I understand."

Mr. Weasley and Charlie went outside, while Kyle took out the gift he had prepared in advance—a large bag of chocolates with various flavors.

Upon seeing the chocolates, Sirius' eyes lit up, and he eagerly unwrapped a Chocolate Frog and popped it into his mouth.

Ever since he was proven innocent and released from Azkaban, he had developed a habit of eating chocolate every day, or perhaps every wizard who had been to Azkaban had this habit.

"Arthur doesn't let me eat these, saying it's not good for my wound recovery," he mumbled. "In fact, I don't really care. Compared to the Dementors, these minor injuries are nothing."

"You should still be careful," Kyle said with a smile. "At least if you recover a day earlier, you can leave a day earlier."

"Well, you're right," Sirius said, smacking his lips. In the end, he restrained himself from eating another piece.

"I heard that Hogwarts has a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor..." Sirius didn't care at all about the other two patients in the room and spoke loudly, "That damn toad of Fudge's! Disgusting toad! Has she been giving you a hard time?"

"It's impossible for her not to," Kyle shrugged. "I dare say that if Harry were to make a list of the most hated professors, Snape would rank below her."

In just half a semester, she had surpassed Snape. This was quite telling.

"That damn toad!" Sirius angrily pounded the bed. "If she dares to harm Harry, I'll never let her off the hook!"

"Calm down," Kyle glanced at the other two people in the room. "I have a way to solve this problem."

"You mustn't do anything reckless," Sirius frowned. "Although that person is terrible, she represents the Ministry of Magic. If you do something to her, it will cause a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry, I know," Kyle smiled. "And it's you who should be saying this to me."

"Ha, you're right," Sirius couldn't help but laugh.

The two chatted for a while, and then Mr. Weasley and Charlie came in.

"Headmistress Sax, what brings you here?" Mr. Weasley said, pushing open the door.

Kyle and Sirius looked over as well.

"I heard from Dumbledore that you would probably be coming to St. Mungo's around this time," she said. "How about a cup of tea? I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Of course, no problem," Kyle said. He turned to look at Sirius, "I'll come back to see you later."

After the two left, Sirius blinked in a daze, "Arthur, does Kyle know the Headmistress of St. Mungo's?"

"Yes, I think they met when Kyle defeated a werewolf during his first year here, and was awarded the Order of Merlin for it."

"That was years ago. Is it worth it for Headmistress Sax to make a special trip here and invite Kyle for tea?"

"I remember Healer Hippocrates saying that the Headmistress of St. Mungo's is very busy, and that woman..."

Sirius pointed to the middle bed, "The Flint family, she only met them once before her discharge, and they donated five hundred Galleons."

"Yes, they just exchanged a few words," Mr. Weasley nodded.

In fact, he was also surprised by Kyle's interpersonal relationships, but he didn't pay too much attention to it, attributing it to Dumbledore's influence.

After all, the last time they came, it was the Headmistress who brought them here.

"By the way, Sirius," Mr. Weasley said, "I must go back tomorrow. There's a mountain of work waiting for me, and Charlie will take my place here to take care of you."

"No, let him go back too. It's the busiest time now," Sirius shook his head. "I don't need anyone to take care of me."

"It's better to be cautious," Mr. Weasley said.

(End of Chapter)

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