Chapter 696: Coincidence, Almost Beaten Up by Harry (Happy New Year!)
Chapter 696: Coincidence, Almost Beaten Up by Harry (Happy New Year!)
Newt had spent a considerable amount of time in the giant tribe and then accompanied New Gog and several giants to the largest cave.
At this point, he had left the sight of Kyle and the others. Out of concern for provoking the giants and their trust in Newt, they didn't approach but watched from a distance.
By the time Newt returned, it was already late at night.
"Good..." He smiled and said, "New Gog has already told me that he was very opposed to Gogmagog's decision, so the giants won't join the Death Eaters in this war... Of course, they won't join the Phoenix Society either. They will maintain their current stance and stay away from this war."
"You see, it's just as I said, isn't it?" Kyle looked at Hagrid and Maximus and said with a smile.
"It's exactly as you said." Hagrid couldn't help but say, "How did you know?"
"I guessed, and it wasn't that difficult." Kyle shrugged, "You'll understand once you look down there. Almost all the powerful giants were injured in the fight for Gog, and the stronger ones were injured more severely."
"In this situation, they will definitely choose to recuperate and not continue participating in any war, unless they get bored of living in seclusion."
"No matter who New Gog is, he will choose to remain neutral and continue living in seclusion."
"Mhm, Kyle is right." Newt also nodded.
"As long as the giants don't side with the Death Eaters, it's the best outcome for us."
He looked up at the sky.
"It's over, and we should head back too." Newt turned to Hagrid and Maximus and said, "If the giants show any unusual movements or if Death Eaters try to approach them again, remember to contact me immediately."
"No problem, leave it to us." Hagrid patted his chest and said.
"Won't you come back with us?" Kyle asked.
"No, watching over the giants is a task Dumbledore asked us to do, so I and Olim will stay a bit longer, but..."
Hagrid suddenly became hesitant, "Can I see Norbert again? Just one more time."
He had wanted to see Norbert for a long time, but since there were still important matters to attend to, he had been holding back. Now, he couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Wait until school starts, Hagrid." Kyle thought for a moment and shook his head, "Because of that Hungarian Hornet, Norbert is in a bad mood right now. If it accidentally bumps into you, it might cause trouble for the upcoming tasks."
"Then... alright." Hagrid couldn't help but glance at the box in Kyle's hand. Although reluctant, he nodded, "Alright, when school starts, you must let me see Norbert again... He's grown so beautiful, hasn't he?"
Beautiful?
Maximus frowned slightly, remembering that Hagrid had praised her appearance before... Could it be that in his eyes, her looks were comparable to a dragon's? This thought instantly dampened Maximus' good mood, and her expression turned gloomy.
She furrowed her brows and quietly moved a bit further away from Hagrid.
But no one else seemed to notice this.
Newt picked up a twig and tapped it with his wand.
"Mentos!"
The twig emitted a golden light and began to vibrate violently in Newt's hand, but soon calmed down.
"Oh, it should work." Newt checked it and handed one end of the twig to Kyle.
However, Kyle didn't take it but looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Should work? What do you mean? Won't this thing take me to some strange place?"
"Of course not." Newt explained, "After being deceived too many times, I also tried to make a Portkey myself, but every time, the Ministry of Magic would track it down.
"As soon as I appear, the Aurors can arrive at the first time, so it's been about fifty years since I last used this magic."
Tsk... Kyle clicked his tongue.
A magic that hasn't been used for fifty years... Now he was even more hesitant to touch that twig, "Then, let Lupin come and pick us up, just like when they came before."
"Don't worry, I'm sure there won't be any problems." Newt said, "And the members of the Phoenix Society are also very busy. It's not good to trouble them over such a small matter... Hurry, we only have five minutes."
With Newt's repeated assurances, Kyle finally gathered the courage to hold the twig.
"Have a safe journey!" Maximus waved her hand and said.
As soon as she finished speaking, Kyle was pulled away from the ground by an irresistible force and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"My Norbert..." Hagrid muttered softly, then turned to Maximus and said, "You go to sleep, I'll take over watching the giants."
"No." Maximus said expressionlessly, "You were on guard duty yesterday, so I'll take over. Maybe you'll see your dragon again in your dreams."
"Huh?" Hagrid scratched his head, puzzled by why Maximus was suddenly angry when she had been fine a moment ago.
"What's wrong?" he asked softly.
"I'm fine." Maximus said without turning back.
...
Meanwhile, in a small village in Britain.
After a nerve-wracking journey, Kyle finally stepped onto solid ground.
He immediately released the twig and looked around.
He seemed to be in a village, surrounded by rows of houses, and he could vaguely see a pub sign. Thankfully, it wasn't some desolate place.
"I knew it would be fine." Newt said with a frown, then added, "But where is this... It doesn't seem to be Stagford Village."
"The destination of the Portkey is Stagford Village." Kyle's voice rose slightly.
"I agreed with Chris that after the matter is resolved, we'll go to Stagford Village." Newt said.
"Phew..." Kyle took a deep breath, and sure enough, he shouldn't have trusted Newt.
"But it's fine, I can confirm that this is Britain." Newt continued.
"Why?"
"Because of these..." Newt pointed to the faint black mist in the air, "... this kind of thing can only be found in Britain."
"The famous foggy London, huh." Kyle felt like laughing, mainly because he didn't expect Newt to know this nickname, which was popular among Muggles but not well-known among wizards.
"What fog? How do you know this is London?" Newt blinked, looking perplexed. "I mean, Dementors only exist in Britain, and this fog is caused by them."
"Wait, Dementors?" Kyle didn't have the heart to dwell on whether he had misunderstood, and quickly asked, "Weren't the Dementors that escaped from Azkaban already dealt with?"
"That's right," Newt replied. "But the remaining ones have also joined the Death Eaters. On the day of your holiday, there was another mass breakout at Azkaban, and this time, even more of them escaped."
"The Mysterious Man promised the Dementors they could feed freely and absorb the souls of anyone they wanted, so almost all of them defected to the Death Eaters' side."
"So, what should we do?" Kyle asked.
Newt sighed. "There's nothing we can do. This time, the Dementors didn't gather in one place; they scattered to various locations. It's impossible to deal with them all at once."
"Then we'll take them out one by one." Kyle narrowed his eyes. "As long as we go out more often, we can finish them off."
"That's what Dumbledore did," said Newt. "Unfortunately, it's too slow, and regular wizards can't kill Dementors."
"Can't we use the Patronus Charm?"
Newt shook his head. "Dementors can only be destroyed after prolonged contact with a Patronus, but they're not stupid. They'll flee the moment a Patronus gets close."
"Moreover, most Patronuses are ordinary animals, so they can't possibly capture Dementors. Usually, the charm can only be used to drive them away... unless it's a Phoenix Patronus like Dumbledore's, which can capture and destroy them."
Kyle raised his eyebrows. "My Patronus seems to be able to capture Dementors as well," he said, unable to hold back. His Patronus wasn't a Phoenix, but it seemed to be able to capture Dementors, something that had already been proven.
More importantly, his jellyfish Patronus could bind multiple Dementors at once, making it a group attack that was even more efficient than a Phoenix.
"Oh, right," Newt said, suddenly remembering something. "I remember your Patronus was an octopus, wasn't it?"
"It's a jellyfish," Kyle corrected him.
He had learned the Patronus Charm in the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, and Newt had been his teacher. It was hard to imagine that he could have gotten the species wrong.
"Sorry, I don't know much about ordinary animals," Newt apologized. "Can you cast it again for me?"
Kyle took out his wand without hesitation.
Soon, a jellyfish emitting a silver-white light appeared before the two of them, and the annoying gray fog in the air dissipated almost instantly.
"I wanted to say this earlier, it's so beautiful," Newt couldn't help but say, his gaze fixed on the jellyfish's thin, delicate tentacles.
"Indeed," Newt said, surprised. "These tentacles are not as obvious as a real Patronus, so even if they get close to Dementors, they won't feel threatened."
"Oh, I should have thought of this earlier. You should stay here instead of coming with me to deal with the giants."
"It's not too late now," Kyle said.
"Yes, it's not too late," Newt nodded in agreement. "But before that, I need to send you back first. Hold my hand, Kyle."
"I don't know where this is, but as long as we're in Britain, we can Apparate."
"It's fine, I can Apparate too," Kyle said.
"But you haven't taken the exam yet," Newt said. "I remember this year's Apparition exam was postponed to July 30th due to some special circumstances."
Kyle wanted to say that even without taking the exam, he could still Apparate... at least, Fudge wouldn't have any objections.
Before he could finish, he faintly heard someone calling his name.
At first, Kyle thought he had misheard, but the next second...
"Kyle..."
This time, he heard it very clearly; someone was definitely calling him.
Wow, in the middle of the night, in a remote village he didn't even know the name of, someone was calling his name... It gave him goosebumps.
Even though Kyle could calmly have tea with ghosts, at this moment, he felt his scalp tingling, and subconsciously took out his wand, pointing it in the direction of the voice.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
Several dozen red and orange flames began to dance around him.
Kyle became much calmer. He believed that no matter what appeared, the Firegod Pathway would teach them a lesson; scaring people in the middle of the night was not right.
"Oh, calm down."
As a familiar voice reached his ears, Kyle felt his vision blur, and a figure appeared in front of him.
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"Professor Dumbledore?" Kyle asked, puzzled.
"Yes, it's me," Dumbledore nodded, glancing at Kyle's wand. "I didn't teach you that spell for you to use it against your friends."
Well, now it was certain that the person in front of him was Dumbledore himself.
Kyle removed the spell from the tip of his wand and looked behind him.
A blurry figure was running towards them.
"That's Harry," Dumbledore explained. "Because you were standing under the moonlight, he recognized you from a distance."
Kyle tried to understand the scene before him but couldn't figure out why he was seeing Dumbledore here.
Could it be that the Ministry of Magic detected the Portkey and Dumbledore came to pick them up?
It shouldn't be the case; he could Apparate himself.
"Professor, how did you get here?" Kyle asked, unable to hold back.
"I think it's you who should be asking that question," Dumbledore said. "Aren't you supposed to be dealing with the giants? Why are you in the village of Baberton in the middle of the night?"
"Baberton Village..." Kyle glanced at Newt. "Well... explaining this situation is complicated. Normally, we should have appeared in St. Catchpole Village."
Dumbledore also looked in that direction.
At this moment, Newt was looking up at the night sky, seemingly deeply fascinated by it.
After a moment, Dumbledore seemed to understand something.
"Sorry, it was my oversight." He said, "I should have let Fawkes accompany you."
Kyle moved his mouth, and it was better to be brought back by the Phoenix than the current situation.
At this moment, Harry also ran over panting.
"Kyle, it's really you." He said with some surprise, "I knew I didn't make a mistake. Did you hear me calling you just now?"
"So, did you call my name?" Kyle's expression was a bit strange.
"Yeah." Harry nodded, "What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing." Kyle said, "I'll give you a suggestion. In the middle of the night, in a place like this with few people, it's best not to shout someone's name loudly."
"Ah, why?"
"Because everyone's asleep." Kyle continued, "Like you did just now, shouting loudly, you're very likely to get beaten up."
"I know, I was just too excited." Harry said, "By the way, how did you get here? Did Professor Dumbledore bring you too?"
"No, it's because..." Kyle hesitated, shook his head, and said, "Never mind, it's a long story. Just consider it a coincidence."
Then he looked at Dumbledore, "Professor, we're going back now."
"Oh, no rush. Since we've met, let's go together." Dumbledore smiled, "I was actually thinking of inviting you along, and now it's just right."
Then he looked at Newt, who was still studying the night sky, but just as he turned his head, Newt suddenly disappeared, leaving only a crisp sound echoing in the quiet village.
"Hmm... Okay."
Dumbledore looked at Kyle again, winked, and said, "Remember to keep it confidential. To be honest, after all, he hasn't used some spells in a long time, and it's normal to have some deviations in the details."
"I understand." Kyle said.
"That's good." Dumbledore walked towards the village again, "Come with me. I think we should be there soon."
"Professor, where are we going?" Kyle asked.
"I've lost count of how many times I've said this recently." Dumbledore sighed, "But there's no way, Tonks insists on being transferred back to the Auror Office, so we're short of a professor again.
"We came this time to persuade a retired colleague to come out of retirement and return to Hogwarts."
"But how can I help?" Harry asked.
"I think you'll be useful." Dumbledore said, "Oh, and Kyle, you too. With both of you, I think our success rate this time will definitely increase a lot... Turn left."
An old colleague? Kyle guessed who they were going to meet.
Harry continued to ask, "But Professor, why can't we directly Apparate to the old colleague's... I mean, the old professor's house?"
"Because that's as rude as kicking open someone's door." Dumbledore said, "And most wizarding residences have magical defenses against unwanted Apparators, like Hogwarts..."
The journey was a bit boring, and Kyle looked at Dumbledore ahead and asked, "Professor, I remember that Headmistress Sascia of St. Mungo's wanted to retire and go to Hogwarts, didn't she? Why don't we invite her?"
"If Sascia is willing to come, I'd even give up the position of Headmaster for her." Dumbledore sighed, "Unfortunately, she changed her mind, especially after obtaining those precious potion ingredients. In the short term, she probably won't choose to retire."
Kyle immediately closed his mouth.
He didn't expect it either, but he casually mentioned it out of boredom, and it turned out to be related to himself.
He didn't want to take the blame for this, and besides, he had done a good deed by donating snake sheddings and snake blood to St. Mungo's.
However, Harry didn't notice anything unusual and instead started talking to Kyle about the holiday.
"I heard you went on a trip?"
"Trip? Who told you?"
"Ron." Harry said, "Fred and George went to look for you. Your father told them you went on a trip with Mr. Scamander, and then they told Ron."
"I thought you wouldn't be back until later."
"Ah, it wasn't that fun, so I came back early." Kyle said.
"Where did you go?"
"It should be Romania."
"The Dragon Sanctuary?"
"No, it was another place. Mr. Scamander took me there."
"That must have been interesting." Harry said with some admiration, "I heard from Hermione that Mr. Scamander is the greatest magical zoologist of our time."
"It was okay, quite interesting." Kyle thought for a moment and said, "We witnessed a tribe choosing a new leader, which is rarely seen."
Dumbledore also showed great interest and asked, "How was the new leader? Easy to get along with?"
"I guess." Kyle said, "At least he and Mr. Scamander got along well."
Dumbledore nodded, "And what about the tribe?"
"After a grand celebration, they need some time to rest." Kyle said, "They no longer welcome visiting guests."
"Is that so?" Dumbledore smiled and didn't ask anything else.
"What a pity." Harry looked at Kyle with some envy.
Choosing a tribal leader... a grand celebration... Just listening to these made Harry envious of Kyle's freedom to travel wherever he wanted and experience different things, unlike himself who could only stay on Privet Drive and couldn't go anywhere.)
But soon Harry became happy again because Dumbledore had promised to take him to Grimmauld Place after they finished their business.
Thinking of seeing Sirius soon, Harry felt a joy from the bottom of his heart.
This time, he was determined to set up a room of his own, a real room, not a cupboard or an attic.
Thinking of this, going to Romania didn't seem so enviable anymore.
(End of Chapter)
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