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Chapter 711: Kyle's Decision
Chapter 711: Kyle's Decision
Once the commotion outside had gradually subsided, Kyle, along with a few others, escorted Mr. Fortesco away from the now pitch-black Knockturn Alley.
All twenty-five Death Eaters had been captured, a substantial number.
It seemed apparent that they had been planning something significant in Diagon Alley—besides kidnapping a few shop owners, they might have been plotting a more substantial scheme.
But whatever their intentions had been, they had undoubtedly failed.
Scrimgeour was busy counting the Aurors' casualties while Sirius Black, Mr. Weasley, and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix volunteers were tallying the number of captured Death Eaters and their respective wands.
"This is a resounding victory!" Fred exclaimed with a laugh. "Thanks to your intelligence, Kyle, the Dark Lord must be fuming right now."
"I've told you, it wasn't my intelligence," Kyle said earnestly. "It came from an anonymous wizard who wants to do what's right."
His value to Voldemort was increasing, and he couldn't help but worry about the consequences. What if, one day, the Dark Lord flew into a rage and decided to come after him personally? For his own safety, it was better to downplay his involvement in certain matters.
Kyle approached the door of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor and asked, "Mr. Fortesco, do you have any idea why the Death Eaters targeted you?"
"That's what I'd like to know," Fortesco replied, equally puzzled. He was just an ice cream seller—why would he become a target for the Death Eaters? Surely they weren't after his secret ice cream recipes.
Even if they were, would they really send over two dozen Death Eaters to seize it? That seemed a bit excessive. He would gladly share his recipes, regardless of the flavor, if they had just asked.
Mr. Fortesco shook his head and sighed, at a loss for words.
Kyle could tell that he was genuinely unaware and wasn't lying.
"Well, Mr. Fortesco," Kyle continued, "if you remember anything or have any insights, please let us know immediately. Also, to prevent the Death Eaters from making another attempt, it would be best to find a safe place to stay for the time being.
I suggest you remain in Diagon Alley. The Ministry will be deploying additional personnel here after today's events, so it should be relatively secure.
Of course, if you have a better option, feel free to choose that."
"No, I'll stay in Diagon Alley," Mr. Fortesco replied.
After being attacked out of the blue, he seemed to have developed a stubborn streak. "Let the Death Eaters come if they dare. Whatever they're after, I won't let them have it!"
"I believe you, Mr. Fortesco, but please stay vigilant," Kyle said. With that, he turned and left.
There was still much to be done—the capture of over twenty Death Eaters had caused quite a ruckus, and the entire street had suffered varying degrees of damage.
Kyle waved his wand, extinguishing the nearest flames. Bricks and stones that had been scattered on the ground slowly levitated and returned to their original positions.
Mr. Fortesco stood at the shop's entrance, transfixed by the movement of Kyle's wand. Suddenly, he found himself thinking about Ollivander, the other target of the Death Eaters, and his renowned knowledge of wands.
A thought occurred to Fortesco, and he reached out as if to call Kyle back. But after hesitating for a moment, he let his hand fall to his side, his expression serious as he turned back into the shop.
Kyle, of course, was oblivious to what was happening behind him.
After restoring Diagon Alley to its former state with the help of the others, they prepared to return to the Ministry.
With over two dozen Death Eaters captured, the Aurors would undoubtedly be working overtime, and Kyle needed to prepare a detailed report as soon as possible—it was part of his job as a senior ministerial assistant.
Meanwhile, the members of the Order of the Phoenix gathered together.
"We'll leave the rest to you," Mr. Weasley said to Lupin. "I haven't even had a chance to inform Molly yet. I'm sure she's worried sick by now."
"Of course," Lupin replied. "And Sirius, you should head back as well. I'm sure Harry is waiting for you."
The mention of Harry brought a smile to Sirius' face. It felt good to be worried about, like he had traveled back to his graduation days.
"Then I'll leave it to you," Sirius said. "Just make sure they don't escape again."
"Don't worry, we won't let that happen," Lupin assured him.
"See you tomorrow, then," Mr. Weasley said, waving goodbye. "Come on, kids, let's head home."
"Coming, Dad," Fred and George replied, with Bill and Charlie following close behind.
"I hope Mum left us some dinner. I'm starving," Fred said.
"Well, it's more like supper at this hour," George added.
"I'm sure she did," Mr. Weasley said.
The group parted ways in the Leaky Cauldron, with Kyle accompanying the Aurors back to the Ministry via the dedicated Floo network.
Despite the late hour, the atrium was still brightly lit, bustling with activity.
The capture of the Death Eaters sparked a wave of triumphant cheers from those gathered in the atrium.
The elevators were packed, so Kyle and Chris had to wait for the next one.
"Kyle, it's pretty late. Why don't you head back too?" Chris suggested.
"I wish I could, but Fudge is waiting for my report," Kyle sighed. "With such a significant event and the Ministry's first major victory, he'll want to spread the news immediately.
"So, I must submit this report before tomorrow morning, before the printing of the Prophet."
"Why don't I help you with it?" Kyle glanced at Chris. "You've written countless reports before, so one more won't hurt."
"Oh no, I think I dropped something!" Chris suddenly exclaimed, tapping his forehead. "It must have fallen along the way. Go ahead, I'll just look for it."
With that, he lowered his head and quickly walked to the other side of the atrium.
Kyle couldn't help but roll his eyes at the lame excuse. Couldn't Chris just say he didn't want to write the report? This unoriginal excuse was just plain dull.
As he was thinking this, the elevator arrived.
Kyle stepped inside and soon reached the first floor since he was alone.
Fudge wasn't there, probably still in the courtroom.
Kyle returned to his office and sat at his desk, beginning to write the report.
...
It was already the wee hours of the morning by the time he finished due to the large number of Death Eaters and Aurors involved.
He tossed aside his quill and rubbed his sore wrists.
No wonder Dad hated writing reports so much; this was truly torturous!
He needed to find a solution.
A Quick-Quotes Quill? No, that was too obvious and had too many drawbacks. It was fine for copying, but writing reports with it would be too forced and easily noticeable.
He had to think of a way to improve it. Although it would be troublesome, it would be worth it if he could save a lot of time on writing reports.
With that in mind, Kyle mustered his energy and picked up the thick stack of reports, intending to deliver them to the Minister's office next door.
As he walked down the corridor, he happened to meet Fudge, who had just stepped out of the elevator.
"Oh, Kyle, I was just coming to find you," Fudge said excitedly. "A huge victory! Capturing over twenty Death Eaters—we haven't had such exhilarating news in the wizarding world for a long time.
"Ha! Just wait till those skeptics see the courtroom full of Death Eaters. They'll be stunned!"
"Indeed," Kyle agreed. "Fortunately, the Auror Office didn't listen to them."
"Thanks to your information," Fudge continued, "I can't wait to see the expressions on people's faces when they read tomorrow's newspaper. But first, I need your help in organizing the details. After all, this will be the entire front page tomorrow."
"I've already written the report," Kyle said, handing over the stack of papers.
"Well done, Kyle! I knew I could count on you," Fudge praised. "Rest assured, your name will be in the most prominent position in the newspaper tomorrow."
"No, Minister," Kyle shook his head. "The credit for this goes to the Auror Office. It was the Aurors who captured the Death Eaters and protected the people. I merely assisted with the aftermath and did nothing else."
"Don't be humble," Fudge said, shaking his head. "If it weren't for your information, they would have succeeded. You certainly played a part."
"No, I didn't," Kyle insisted. "I only received an anonymous letter."
"Anonymous letter..." Fudge frowned. "Where is that letter now?"
"It self-destructed after I read it," Kyle explained. "I think it must have been enchanted to prevent it from falling into the hands of Death Eaters."
"So cautious," Fudge mused. "But who would send such important information? Could it be a Death Eater?"
"I think so, as only Death Eaters would know the insider's plans," Kyle replied.
"But there are so many Death Eaters. Who could it be?"
"I have no idea," Kyle admitted. "However, the letter mentioned Professor Umbridge, and the writer mentioned that they decided to betray the insider upon learning that she would endure the Cruciatus Curse twice and still insist on resisting the Death Eaters.
"So, I believe the credit should go to Professor Umbridge."
"Have you made up your mind? This is a great opportunity to boost your reputation," Fudge said softly. "You didn't have to tell me all this, as only you read the letter, and no one would know otherwise."
"Of course, Minister. My decision is final," Kyle stated.
Fudge nodded, regarding Kyle with a touch of admiration. "Dolores would be proud to know that you were once her student."
"It's the least I could do," Kyle smiled. "Minister, if there's nothing else, may I head home now?
"Now that you mention it, you were busy capturing Dementors back then," Fudge said casually. "Alright, go ahead. And consider the Apparition test exempted as a reward for your efforts."
"But Minister, is that really appropriate?"
"Don't worry about it. We all know that such a test wouldn't pose any challenge to you, right?"
...
After Fudge returned to his office with the report, Kyle made his way to the atrium, where Ministry employees used the Floo Network to apparate.
By the time Kyle arrived at Grimmauld Place, the sky was beginning to lighten.
At this hour, Kyle had expected everyone to be asleep, but when he pushed open the door, he found the lights still on.
"It's alright, Dad. It's just Kyle returning," Bill called out from one of the rooms. "Come and have something to eat, or Fred and George will finish everything."
"Hey, Bill, don't exaggerate. It's clearly Charlie who's eating the most!"
Hearing that there was food, Kyle hurried over.
The lit room turned out to be the kitchen, and everyone except Sirius was there. On the table were a few bottles of wine, some bread, a plate of corn chips, and a platter of cured beef.
"So, did you find out anything useful during your interrogation?" Mr. Weasley asked, pushing the bread towards Kyle.
"I don't know," Kyle said. "I've been busy writing the report and didn't make it to the interrogation room. However, I don't think the Aurors will get much useful information out of them."
"Why not?" Charlie asked, puzzled.
"Do you recognize any of the captured Death Eaters?" Kyle asked.
Charlie thought for a moment before shaking his head.
He had seen them earlier, and they were all unfamiliar faces.
"That's why," Kyle took a piece of bread. "Aside from Antonin Dolohov, the rest were probably just here to make up the numbers. They might be good for causing chaos, but they likely don't know anything important."
"It's a shame Dolohov got away," Mr. Weasley said regretfully.
The Aurors who had pursued him into the depths of Knockturn Alley had lost track of him and returned empty-handed.
"Can't be helped. He knows Knockturn Alley better than we do," Charlie said. "Kyle, would you like some brandy?"
Having already turned seventeen, Kyle was of legal drinking age, but he glanced at the corn chips and cured beef on the table and hesitated.
He preferred to eat something rather than drink.
Just then, the house-elf, Kreacher, scuttled over and asked eagerly, "Would Master Kyle like a midnight snack?"
Kyle glanced at the almost empty platter of cured beef and the dwindling stack of corn chips, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Sure, just a sandwich or something. Thanks."
"It would be Kreacher's honor!" the elf squeaked, his eyes shining with excitement as he scurried into the kitchen.
"Hey, keep it down," Fred said. "Mom's been worried sick all night, and she's just managed to fall asleep. Hopefully, we didn't wake her up."
"Sorry," Kyle said. "I forgot that house-elves can get a bit overexcited sometimes."
"It's not your fault," George said. "But I can't figure out why that elf wasn't this attentive to us when we got back."
"Yeah, he didn't even want to get us a cup of water."
The twins complained about Kreacher's apparent favoritism, but Mr. Weasley didn't find it strange at all.
He had already learned about Regulus from Sirius, and as the Black family's house-elf, it was natural for Kreacher to be especially attentive to Kyle.
As they waited, Kyle suddenly thought of something and asked, "Mr. Weasley, do you know why the Death Eaters targeted Florean Fortescue?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe they grabbed the wrong person," Mr. Weasley speculated. "Or perhaps Fortescue somehow offended them.
"Or maybe he let slip the mysterious man's name," Bill suggested.
Aside from that reason, they couldn't think of any other motive for the Death Eaters to go through so much trouble to capture an ice cream shop owner.
The group chatted for a while longer, and soon Kreacher returned with Kyle's requested sandwich, along with fried potatoes, grilled sausages, and a whole roast chicken.
Seeing this, Fred and George's resentment turned into determination to channel their sorrow into their appetites. They grabbed the grilled sausages in front of them and stuffed them into their mouths.
Kreacher watched them with a gloomy expression, but the twins paid him no mind. In fact, Fred even gave him a cheeky wink before picking up a second sausage.
"I finally understand why Kreacher doesn't like you two," Kyle said with a laugh.
(End of Chapter)
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