Chapter 723: A Second Spy?
Chapter 723: A Second Spy?
By the time Kyle returned to Hogsmeade, the sky had darkened, and the windows of shops on both sides of the street glowed with varying degrees of light, creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere.
Kyle wasn't in a hurry to return to school. Since he was already in Hogsmeade, he decided to stop by The Three Broomsticks to purchase some beverages not available at Hogwarts.
He bought a large bucket of Butterbeer, a bottle of pumpkin soda, and two bottles of cherry soda, which Connie liked.
After placing his order, Kyle waited nearby.
Although it wasn't a designated visiting day, The Three Broomsticks was bustling with customers, and the bar was packed, making it difficult to find an empty seat.
Not far away, two wizards were drinking and complaining about their current situation.
From their conversation, it was clear that they had avoided The Three Broomsticks recently and opted for The Three Broomsticks, which was closer to Hogwarts.
It seemed that most people believed that Death Eaters wouldn't dare approach a place where Dumbledore was present.
However, this belief was indeed true, as Kyle hadn't heard of anyone disappearing or being killed by Death Eaters near Hogsmeade. It was understandable that they chose to come here for a drink and some leisure time.
"Here's what you asked for..."
Soon, Madam Rosmerta returned, and the eyes of most wizards in the bar followed her, occasionally letting out a silly laugh and taking a big gulp of their drinks.
This was the second advantage of coming to The Three Broomsticks; admiring the beautiful and charming Madam Rosmerta was far more pleasant than dealing with the old and ugly hunchback Tom. Even the drinks seemed to taste better, and one could easily finish two extra cups.
"Madam Rosmerta, one more pint of mead, please! Hurry up!" someone shouted.
"Wait!" Madam Rosmerta called out impatiently before turning to Kyle.
"Here's what you wanted." She handed over several packaged bottles. "I wish the visiting day at Hogwarts would come sooner. Then, I wouldn't have to deal with these boring people."
"They are all customers..." Kyle said with a smile, "and they bring Galleons."
"Hah, they're just a bunch of cowards who can't face Death Eaters and only think about running away," Madam Rosmerta scoffed, rolling her eyes. She lowered her voice and said, "With the recent major incident at the Ministry of Magic, which wizard with abilities would come here for a drink at this time?"
"Of course, I'm not referring to you," Madam Rosmerta added. "It takes courage to come out to Hogsmeade at this time, although I personally don't encourage such behavior."
"You mentioned the Ministry of Magic. What happened?" Kyle asked, blinking, not at all concerned about her latter statement.
"You'll find out tomorrow."
Madam Rosmerta seemed reluctant to reveal too much to Kyle. "By then, you'll be glad you stayed at Hogwarts, which is probably the safest place right now. With Dumbledore there, no Death Eater dares to intrude."
"Alright," Madam Rosmerta raised her voice, "Hurry back before it gets too dark."
After saying this, she grabbed a bottle of mead and casually tossed it to the group of wizards who were still arguing.
The bottle flew through the air, and a wizard caught it.
"Hey, that's my drink!"
"I got it first. If you want it, you can have it..."
Noisy arguments erupted in the bar, but by this time, Kyle had already left and was back on the streets of Hogsmeade.
He followed the path towards the school, passing through the gate adorned with a wart hog, and along the grounds by the Black Lake, he reached the front of Hogwarts Castle.
It was almost dinnertime, and several mischievous first-year wizards were rushing towards the castle.
Filch, as usual, stood at the entrance with a strange-looking device, inspecting each passing student.
It was a device for detecting Dark Magic items, and if anyone carried something dangerous, it would emit a piercing alarm.
"Where have you been, and why are you returning so late?" Filch asked Kyle in a harsh tone when it was his turn.
However, he didn't treat Kyle like the others, forcefully poking the device at him. Instead, he conducted a normal inspection around him.
It wasn't just Kyle; every seventh-year student received different treatment from Filch.
Filch wasn't foolish; he was well aware that these soon-to-be graduates had little fear of rules and professors. If they were provoked, there was a real possibility of getting beaten up.
As for how Filch knew this, it was based on similar experiences, and not just once.
"Ah, I went to see Hagrid," Kyle said calmly.
"Hagrid..." Filch let out a disdainful snort.
He looked down on Hagrid, considering him a foolish giant. However, Hagrid also called Filch 'Old Filch,' and they had a mutual dislike for each other.
"Are you done inspecting?" Kyle asked, glancing at the unresponsive device. "I'm going to have dinner."
Filch looked at the device and waved him in. "Go ahead, but I'll ask Hagrid about this later. If I find out you're lying..."
"As you wish." Kyle shrugged nonchalantly, believing that Hagrid would surely cover for him, even though they hadn't discussed it beforehand.
Kyle first returned to the common room and found a notebook he had once taken notes in from the desk drawer.
Since it hadn't been reviewed in a long time, a layer of dust had settled on the notebook, but this was easily solved with a simple cleaning spell.
When Kyle arrived at the Great Hall, dinner had already started, and the hall was filled with people chatting, none of whom noticed him.
Kyle glanced towards the staff table, as expected, Dumbledore was not there.
"Where have you been?" When Kyle reached his seat, Cona couldn't help but ask, "I heard from Hermione that you encountered Dumbledore's Phoenix."
"Has the news spread so quickly?" Kyle took a bite of a jam pie, "I thought they would keep it confidential."
"Hermione only told me." Cona said, "She also seemed curious as to why Dumbledore was looking for you."
"It's because Ms. Bones from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was attacked by Death Eaters." Kyle lowered his voice, "Dumbledore needed the Basilisk's unique petrification ability to stabilize her injuries."
"Bones..." Cona paused for a moment, "Does Susan know?"
"She probably doesn't know yet." Kyle said, "But she'll likely find out tomorrow."
Susan Bones, a sixth-year Hufflepuff, was Amelia Bones' niece.
On the train to school, Slughorn had also invited her, but she had mostly stayed in the corner without much conversation.
Cona sighed, "First Hannah, and now even Susan... I wonder if she'll also leave Hogwarts."
A few days ago, Hannah had been picked up by her family and hadn't returned since.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Kyle reassured her and took out a cherry soda, "This is for you."
"Did you go to Three Broomsticks?"
"Yes, I happened to pass by on my way back."
...
Half an hour later, dinner ended, and everyone began to return to their respective common rooms.
Kyle found Harry and Hermione preparing to go upstairs at the entrance of the Great Hall.
"You're back so soon?" Harry seemed surprised to see Kyle here, both he and Hermione thought that something significant had happened at the Phoenix Society, and Kyle wouldn't be back until tomorrow at the earliest.
"I came back after finishing the task." Kyle didn't explain too much either, but handed over the notebook.
"Is this the potion class notes you mentioned?"
"Yes." Kyle said, "If you're free, you can take a look. I think it's still very useful."
Harry curiously flipped through the notebook, and Hermione couldn't help but lean in as well.
"Look, this is the Elixir of Life, the first thing we learned in class." Harry looked at the content of the notebook and whispered, "It's very detailed... If I had known this earlier, I would have told you."
"Wait, Harry, there's something wrong with this notebook." Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's hand as he was about to turn the page.
"Look here..." She pointed to a line, "Use a silver knife to squeeze the Sleep Bean for juice... I remember it should be sliced instead."
"Is that so?" Harry blinked in surprise.
To be honest, he didn't remember if the book said to slice or squeeze, but since Hermione said so, there was no problem, after all, she had almost memorized the entire book.
This was Hermione's usual practice; every time a new semester started, she would memorize the new textbook, and Harry and Ron were used to it.
"And here..." Hermione pointed to a few more places.
"The textbook says to stir counterclockwise, but this says to stir counterclockwise seven times and then clockwise."
"The mandrake root should be cut into evenly sized chunks, not strips, and doesn't need to be pre-baked..."
Hermione frowned, finding the notebook increasingly problematic, even contradicting the textbook.
It was as if someone had fallen asleep in class and then hastily scribbled something down in the last minute before the end of class.
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If the notebook wasn't brought by Kyle, she wouldn't have even glanced at it a second time.
"As I said before." Kyle waved his hand, "The content here differs from the textbook, so don't worry about it.
"Furthermore, I can assure you that following the steps in the notebook will not cause any problems and might even be more convenient."
"But the book doesn't say that." Hermione insisted.
"The last revision of 'Advanced Potion Making' was thirty years ago." Kyle looked at Hermione, "You can't expect everyone to strictly follow the steps from thirty years ago without any innovation, that's impossible.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Professor Slughorn. I guarantee that when he brews potions, he doesn't follow the textbook's steps either."
"Yeah, Hermione." Harry whispered, "Remember, in the last class, you pointed out two mistakes Professor Slughorn made while brewing, but as a master potion maker, how could he possibly make a mistake in stirring?"
"But he gave me extra points," Hermione said, "You know, a full ten points."
"Ah, that's right," Harry thought, considering his words carefully. "You think there's a chance he just... well, rewarded you for studying ahead of time?"
But Hermione merely turned and glared at Harry, and he immediately fell silent, knowing that he still needed Hermione to submit their assignments on time, and so he dared not offend her.
However, Kyle didn't have such concerns.
"Hermione, the book's content is correct, but it's just a reference."
"Remembering the book's content might get you an 'O' on the exam, but if you want to go further, you need to have your own understanding."
Hermione remained silent.
"Look here, the method of handling Mandrake roots... was discovered by Cona." Kyle pointed to a section of his notes.
"The advantage of this method is that it saves ten minutes of time. After baking, the Mandrake roots react more easily with potions and are more stable, reducing the chances of errors... At least my roommate, Mikael, hasn't made a mistake in this step since learning this little trick."
"Moreover, this discovery earned her extra points in the assessment of the Non-Ordinary Potion Masters."
Hermione kept her head down, deep in thought.
Kyle understood her personality; it had been like this for over a decade, and it wasn't something he could change with a few words. So, he didn't explain further.
"Well, I've lent you my notes. Whether you choose to refer to them or not is up to you."
With that, Kyle turned and left.
Harry discreetly glanced at Hermione, then silently slipped the notes into his pocket, his intuition telling him that they would be useful.
After all, he wasn't making much progress with the book's content, so why not try an alternative method?
Meanwhile, back in the common room, Kyle quickly forgot about the matter. He had lent Harry the notes simply because it was convenient, and the notes were of no use to him anyway.
In the common room, Susan Bones sat silently in an armchair, crying, likely having received a letter from home.
However, from her continued presence in the common room, it seemed that the Bones family had no intention of taking her home.
But upon reflection, Amelia Bones, with all the protection of the Aurors in the Ministry of Magic, had nearly been killed. So, it was even less likely for her to be safe elsewhere.
The only place safer than the Ministry of Magic was Hogwarts.
Not to mention the renowned Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, who were equally famous in the magical world. Even if numerous Death Eaters arrived, they could still protect the students' safety.
Currently, an unknown number of people were desperately trying to enter Hogwarts, as evidenced by the bustling Hogsmeade village. And this was just a temporary situation; there would undoubtedly be more people rushing in later.
It wouldn't be long before the Prophet Daily reported Amelia Bones' news.
At that time, those students who had previously withdrawn from school would likely return, assuming their parents weren't fools.
Of course, those who chose to leave, like sixth-year Midge, whose father had withdrawn her from school and picked her up in the afternoon, relocating the entire family to France, weren't considered.
By now, she was probably already at Beauxbatons.
To be fair, this was a reasonable choice, at least to ensure the safety of the family.
However, most people didn't want to leave.
At that moment, next to Susan, Cona and several other girls were comforting her.
Kyle observed them, hesitating whether to say something, when he suddenly recalled Albus Dumbledore's words,
"He said he received news of Death Eaters targeting the Ministry of Magic, which is why he rushed over."
Kyle hadn't paid much attention at the time, but now he wondered, who had conveyed that message...
Kyle only knew of one Death Eater spy within the Order of the Phoenix, and that was Snape.
But Snape had been teaching at the school all along, unaware of Voldemort and the Death Eaters' plans. Voldemort wouldn't specifically write a letter to inform him.
Considering this, there must be a second spy.
Moreover, this person must hold a certain level of importance to learn about significant plans like targeting the Ministry of Magic in advance.
But who could it be?
... Malfoy? It was possible, but not very likely.
Malfoy, adept at self-preservation, even if he had thoughts of betraying Voldemort, wouldn't take any actual action, much less secretly convey messages to Dumbledore.
They would only choose sides when the situation became clearer.
But if it wasn't Malfoy, who else could it be?
Kyle carefully recalled the names of Death Eaters, but none fit the profile.
It couldn't possibly be Bellatrix who conveyed the message... Kyle glanced at the common room, focusing on an armchair.
If it truly was Bellatrix's message, he would dip that armchair in orange jam and eat it.
(End of Chapter)
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