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Chapter 781: The Stolen Wand
Chapter 781: The Stolen Wand
The next morning, Kyle was awakened from his slumber by the loud buzz of voices downstairs.
He opened his eyes and listened carefully, only relaxing when he discerned that there was no hint of panic in the voices. He then changed his clothes and, with a yawn, left his room.
The voices belonged to Harry, Ron, and the others, who were downstairs.
"A new minister was selected in just one night," Ron said, glancing at the latest issue of The Prophet that had arrived that morning. "This has got to be the fastest the Ministry has ever acted."
"How could they possibly delay in a situation like this?" Hermione shot him an annoyed look. "Do you think the Ministry should organize another voting event? Imagine how much time that would waste, and what if there's another Death Eater attack in the meantime?"
"I know, I'm just saying," Ron mumbled. "But does anyone here know who this new minister is?"
"Amelia Bones..." Ron continued, "I remember there's a Bones in Hufflepuff, what's her name again?"
"Susan Bones," Harry and Hermione replied almost in unison.
"How do you two know that?" Ron asked, giving them a curious look.
"Because of Slughorn," Harry explained. "He invited Susan Bones to join him for lunch in his compartment on the train ride here last year."
"And I saw her at the start-of-term feast after we got back," Hermione added. "But I've only seen her twice, and she hasn't been back since."
"I think that was probably because Ms. Bones was attacked by Death Eaters and had to be sent to St. Mungo's for a while," Harry said.
"That's just how he is. He loves to cozy up to students from influential families, but the moment they lose that influence, he drops them like hot potatoes," Harry remarked, making no attempt to hide his disdain for Slughorn.
"Ha!" Ron suddenly laughed. "I bet Slughorn is regretting his actions now. Ms. Bones is not only recovered but also the new Minister of Magic!"
"Yeah, Slughorn must be kicking himself," Harry agreed, unable to resist a laugh as he thought of something.
"I bet he'll be eager to invite Susan to his start-of-term feasts from now on," Ron predicted.
"But whether Susan will accept is another matter," Hermione chimed in with a smile. "I remember Susan wasn't too fond of those feasts, and after what happened before, I doubt she'll be keen on Professor Slughorn's invitations."
Just then, Kyle walked downstairs, rubbing his eyes and yawning widely.
"Sorry, were we being too loud?" Hermione turned to ask.
"It's fine," Kyle waved his hand. "It's almost noon anyway, time for lunch... What were you guys talking about?"
"The Ministry has selected a new minister," Ron said, waving the newspaper in his hand.
"Amelia Bones?" Kyle asked.
"How did you know?" Ron asked, surprised that Kyle knew without having read the newspaper.
"Because Professor Dumbledore met with her last night," Kyle replied casually. "And she's the most suitable candidate in the Ministry."
"So even Professor Dumbledore thinks so?" Ron muttered, "No wonder she was able to take over Fudge's position so quickly. I mean, with Dumbledore's support, no one would dare oppose her, right?"
"I think it has more to do with Ms. Bones' own capabilities," Harry said. "Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have supported her if she wasn't capable."
He knew this from the numerous times he had asked Sirius about the retrial, and he was also aware of Amelia Bones' attitude and how she had helped Sirius.
Because of this, Harry instinctively felt favorable towards Amelia Bones and supported her appointment as the new minister without hesitation.
"Maybe you're right," Ron shrugged, not arguing further. "So, what kind of person is this new minister? How does she compare to Fudge?"
"I'm not sure about the position of minister," Kyle said after a moment's thought. "But when she was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she was known for her fairness and decisiveness. If something could be done today, she wouldn't put it off until tomorrow."
"Well, that's already a big improvement over Fudge," Ron shrugged. "Everyone knows how indecisive he could be."
"Who knows..." Kyle said.
Positions of power could change people; take Fudge, for example. He had performed exceptionally well when he was the Head of the Disaster Department, and his achievements had been remarkable.
But that hadn't stopped him from gradually becoming the power-hungry minister everyone now knew.
After chatting for a while longer, Kyle looked around.
"Is it just the three of you here? Where are the others?"
"Sirius and Mr. Weasley went to the Ministry," Harry said. "There's a lot to deal with, and Sirius was asked to help out temporarily."
"Thank you."
"Please enjoy, young master Kyle. Lunch will be ready shortly," Kreacher said, bowing before leaving the room.
"Unbelievable," Ron muttered. "That house-elf has never been this friendly to us."
"That's because you're not friendly to him," Hermione said.
"I don't think so," Ron shook his head. "You've been nice to him, but he's never been polite to you either. I've even heard him calling you 'Mudblood' behind your back... Anyway, you know what I mean."
Hermione opened her mouth but remained silent.
Ron's words were true; Kreacher had not only insulted her behind her back but also to her face, calling her all sorts of nasty names. The only times he showed any restraint were when Sirius or Kyle was around.
Hermione wanted to refute Ron but couldn't find a suitable argument, so she shifted her gaze to Kyle, pretending she hadn't heard anything, and changed the subject, "It's not entirely because of Percy... It's mainly because of another person."
"Another person?" Kyle frowned. "Could it be someone from the Order of the Phoenix..."
"No, no, you misunderstood," Hermione shook her head, guessing Kyle's thoughts. "It's not the Order, it's someone else, but I don't know who it is, and they didn't mention it before they left."
Kyle nodded, no longer concerned now that he knew it wasn't someone from the Order of the Phoenix.
Half an hour later, Fred and George also stumbled downstairs, yawning. Like Kyle, they had only fallen asleep at dawn and had just woken up.
"Gosh, you two have been chattering nonstop since early morning," Fred said, rubbing his eyes. "I'm starting to understand how Mom felt during the holidays."
"She must've wanted us to go back to school as soon as possible," George added.
"It was too noisy,"
"Sorry," Harry apologized.
"No, it's not your fault, Harry, or yours, Hermione," Fred said. "We're talking about Ron here. His voice is the loudest."
"If you're really that bored, why don't you just do your homework?" George said, looking at Ron. "I bet three galleons that your homework is still untouched."
"I'll add another three galleons," Fred said.
Ron's face turned red. He wanted to throw his homework at Fred and George's faces and make them pay the six galleons, a small fortune to him.
But he couldn't, because he hadn't written a word.
After all, the holiday was only half over. Who would start their homework this early?
Seeing Ron's embarrassed and annoyed expression, Fred and George both snickered. They knew Ron too well, and he immediately thought of them when something unexpected happened to him, just as he was doing now.
This was a useless tacit understanding unique to brothers.
Since the adults were not around, lunch was provided by Kreacher, a luxurious spread for the six of them.
After lunch, they finally had some free time.
Fred and George returned to Diagon Alley to tend to their shop, and Kyle went to St. Catichepol Village.
This place was protected by the Fidelius Charm, so owls couldn't find it. Thus, any letters or packages for Kyle were usually sent to St. Catichepol Village.
Today was his birthday, and he received an unusually large number of gifts and letters. However, he also received something he hadn't gotten on his previous birthdays—various job offers.
For instance, the Romanian Dragon Reserve included a letter with a full set of dragon model gifts, inquiring if he would be interested in becoming a dragon keeper.
He also received Quidditch team tryout invitations from the Chudley Cannons and the Falmouth Falcons, both seeking him as a Chaser.
Kyle glanced at the invitation from the Chudley Cannons and casually tossed it aside. He wouldn't be caught dead playing for a team that consistently ranked at the bottom.
As for the remaining invitation from the Falmouth Falcons, Kyle was surprised to see a familiar signature at the bottom.
Karen Harris, his Hufflepuff prefect and Quidditch captain during his first year, and an excellent Chaser.
Kyle knew that she became a professional Quidditch player after graduation but couldn't remember which team she played for. He was surprised to learn that she had ended up with the Falmouth Falcons.
To be honest, Kyle wasn't very familiar with this team, but they were undoubtedly better than the Chudley Cannons.
Since he had received quite a lot of things, it was already afternoon by the time Kyle finished sorting through them and returned to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
As he entered the house, he found the living room filled with people.
Even though it was still early for the Ministry employees to finish work, Sirius, Mr. Weasley, and Tonks were all there, along with Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie, who had returned from St. Mungo's.
Even Mundungus and Dedalus were present. One could say that all the members of the Order of the Phoenix were there, except for a few who couldn't make it.
"I don't know." Fred shook his head. "But Dumbledore is here, and everyone else came back one after another within half an hour."
"They had a meeting and didn't let us join," George said, a hint of resentment in his voice. "I don't understand why, even though we're official members of the Order of the Phoenix now, they still keep some things from us."
"And I don't know what magic Dumbledore used, but our devices aren't working," George added, referring to the eavesdropping devices they had used to listen in on meetings even before their graduation.
Apparently, Dumbledore had anticipated this and taken measures to prevent them from doing so this time.
As they spoke, many people stood up and left the room with solemn expressions.
Kyle then spotted Dumbledore, who had just exited the room, and the latter also noticed him.
"I was just wondering where you had gone off to," he said softly. "If you hadn't returned within the hour, I would have asked Mr. Weasley to look for you."
"I went back to sort through my packages," Kyle replied.
"That's understandable." Dumbledore smiled. "Today is your birthday, so it's only natural that you'd want to go through your gifts carefully. By the way, did you like my present?"
"It's nice, but..." Kyle's tone turned odd. "...I'm not sure when I'd wear a short-sleeved sweater made directly from wool."
Indeed, the gift from Dumbledore was a short-sleeved sweater made of wool, and Kyle was perplexed when he received it. He had spent a long time pondering when he would ever wear it.
First of all, he definitely wouldn't wear such a thick woolen short-sleeved sweater in the summer; it would be too hot. As for winter... he usually wore long-sleeved clothes during that season.
"It's fine; you'll be able to wear it at some point." Dumbledore said. "If you have time now, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. We should be done in time for dinner."
"Of course." Kyle nodded and followed Dumbledore into the room.
Fred and George wanted to follow, but just as they reached the door, it slammed shut in their faces.
"How is it that even Kyle is allowed in, and not us?" Fred said through gritted teeth.
"And he's a year younger than us!" George complained loudly, with Harry and the others chiming in their agreement. However, no one responded to their grumbles.
The newly arrived crowd soon stood up and left, and the place quickly returned to its previous calm.
Meanwhile, Kyle entered the room and had just sat down when he heard Dumbledore speak in a very calm tone. "I suppose you're curious about what happened yesterday."
"Yes." Kyle nodded, his gaze instinctively falling to Dumbledore's limp arm. "Are you injured?"
"It's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about." Dumbledore waved it off. "It's a special kind of curse that severs a wizard's perception of a part of their body. Tom has always had a talent for these peculiar abilities."
"Can it be healed?" Kyle asked, his greatest concern.
After all, Dumbledore was the sturdiest pillar of the Order of the Phoenix, if not the entire British wizarding world. If something happened to him, who would stand against Voldemort? Surely not Harry, the so-called "Chosen One."
No matter how Kyle looked at it, he couldn't fathom Harry defeating Voldemort, nor did he think it was possible. Given Harry's usual performance, it was questionable if he could even beat Bellatrix Lestrange.
His favorite spell seemed to be Expelliarmus, and the idea of Expelliarmus against the Killing Curse seemed absurd to Kyle, even ridiculous.
Rather than pinning his hopes on the "Chosen One," Kyle would rather go to France to find Connor, as it was at least safer there.
If all else failed, he could always go to Nicole's old mansion, a place Voldemort would never find.
"Don't worry; Sasha is brewing a potion for me, but it might take some time." As he spoke, Dumbledore chuckled. "And it's all thanks to you."
"Me?" Kyle asked, confused. "How so?"
"The basilisk venom you gave me, to be precise."
Dumbledore explained, "The basilisk venom is the primary ingredient in Sasha's antidote. It has an extraordinary effect on injuries caused by Dark Magic and, in certain situations, can be even more effective than a phoenix's tears."
"That's good to hear." Kyle was relieved to learn that Dumbledore would be fine.
"So, what happened yesterday?" Kyle asked, intrigued.
"Tom set a trap..." Dumbledore said softly. "...and my wand was stolen."
(End of Chapter)
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