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Chapter 787: Dumbledore's Intentions
Chapter 787: Dumbledore's Intentions
With matters to attend to, Professors McGonagall and Sprout departed early, nearing midday.
Mr. Weasley, too, had to return to the Ministry of Magic due to unforeseen circumstances.
It was a challenging time at the newly rebuilt Ministry, and it was already a challenge for them to take half a day off.
As Moody prepared to leave, Kyle approached him first and asked, "Alastor, are you sure that's Bathilda herself?"
"I can't guarantee there won't be any problems," Moody said as his blue magical eye spun rapidly. "But I haven't detected any issues so far. She hasn't drunk anything in almost three hours, ruling out Polyjuice Potion, and with Dumbledore here, she won't be able to use the Imperius Curse..."
With that, Moody limped away on his wooden leg and Disapparated beyond the protective enchantments.
"Yes, with Dumbledore here, there's nothing to worry about," Kyle muttered to himself.
However, being constantly stared at was uncomfortable, so after a moment's thought, Kyle decided to seek clarification.
He approached Bathilda and was about to speak when the old witch began scolding him.
"Why are you still here!"
"What?" Kyle was taken aback, unsure what she meant... Why couldn't he be here?
"Well, I'm here for Lupin and Tonks' wedding," he said. "Ms. Bathilda, you..."
"Why haven't you apologized to Aberforth?" Bathilda interrupted, her words confusing Kyle even further.
Aberforth? He should still be at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade, keeping company with the goat. Why would he need to apologize?
But the next second, he heard a name that should never have been mentioned here.
"Let me tell you, if it weren't for you insisting on chatting with Albus, he wouldn't have forgotten to prepare lunch for Ariana. Aberforth has every right to be angry."
"You were in the wrong, and you should apologize, not just to Aberforth but also to Ariana. That child has already been through enough."
"Wait..." Kyle said instinctively. "Who were you talking about earlier?"
"Ariana Dumbledore, my sister," came a familiar voice from behind.
Kyle turned around.
At some point, Dumbledore had appeared beside them.
"You should have seen her; she's in the largest portrait in my office."
With Dumbledore's arrival, the surrounding sounds seemed to fade, the music and the Weasley brothers' screams growing more distant as if they had suddenly been transported miles away.
"But Professor, why would Ms. Bathilda be talking to me about these things?" Kyle asked.
"It's obvious," Dumbledore said vaguely. "She mistook you for someone else."
"And you, Albus," Bathilda said, turning to Dumbledore. "You shouldn't be out and about right now. And if you wouldn't mind, could you take off that fake beard? It looks ridiculous."
"My beard is not fake, Bathilda," Dumbledore said. "Take a closer look."
He waved his hand gently, and from a distance came a crisp, melodious song.
In the overlapping clouds, a golden-red streak appeared, and Phoenix Fawkes flapped its wings, landing on Dumbledore's shoulder.
The phoenix's song was like a clear stream, flowing through the ears of those present.
As the song played, Bathilda blinked her cloudy eyes twice and looked up at Dumbledore.
"Albus, I'm glad you came to see me again."
For some reason, Kyle felt that her voice sounded much older than before, and her body seemed more hunched over.
"Where am I?" she asked, as if she had completely forgotten what she had just been doing.
"We're out for a walk," Dumbledore said, stepping forward. "But we should head back now. This way, we need to turn at the next corner."
"I'm not senile, and I know the way. I don't need you to remind me," Bathilda said grumpily. "But is Hogwarts that quiet these days? You came to see me just yesterday, and now you're here again."
Dumbledore remained silent, merely nodding gently.
However, Kyle was well aware that Dumbledore had just been through a lot—losing the Elder Wand to a thief and dealing with the Death Eaters' attack on the Ministry—and he wouldn't have had time to visit Bathilda. She had probably mixed up the dates again.
The two walked further and further away, and Kyle merely glanced back at the lively wedding dance floor before following without hesitation.
Compared to dancing, he felt that what was about to unfold would be far more intriguing.
Bathilda shuffled along the path they had come, turned into a small trail after passing a few houses, fumbled for a key to unlock the door, and then stepped aside to let them in.
"Come in, Albus, but I don't have any good tea to offer you.
"Who is he?" Bathilda asked.
"One of my students," Dumbledore replied. "He expressed an interest in meeting the historian who wrote 'A History of Magic,' so I brought him along."
"Oh, yes," Kyle quickly chimed in. "I've always been a fan of 'A History of Magic.'"
"Good for you, young man," Bathilda said, her face creasing into a smile that nearly hid her eyes. "It took me over a decade to write that book, and I interviewed countless people in the process. It's my most cherished work."
Kyle nodded in response.
Although Dumbledore had dispelled most of the odors in the room, Kyle could still detect a strong musty smell, along with the scent of spoiled food.
These odors seemed to have permeated the very fabric of the house, and it would likely take more than a simple spell to get rid of them completely; perhaps even blowing up the place.
"Now, what brings you here to see me?" Bathilda asked, walking past Kyle. She untied her moldy headscarf, revealing a sparsely haired head.
Kyle glanced at Dumbledore, but the latter suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh, I almost forgot something I needed to tell Minerva. Wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."
With that, he hurried out of the house, leaving a bewildered Kyle standing alone.
"Sit down, don't just stand there," Bathilda said, prompting Kyle to carefully sit on a sofa that looked like it might fall apart at any moment.
"I bet he didn't really go to tell her something," Bathilda suddenly said. "He probably went to visit Ariana."
"Every time he comes here, it's to see Ariana. He only occasionally stops by to see me. I know all about it."
"His sister, Ariana Dumbledore?" Kyle asked, following Bathilda's train of thought. "Is she here too?"
"Just a couple of miles away, near the church," Bathilda said, looking up at Kyle. "I'm surprised you know that name. Did he tell you about her? That's quite rare."
"I saw a picture of a girl in his office," Kyle explained.
"Yes, that's Ariana," Bathilda muttered. "But what's the use? That poor child..."
Perhaps due to her lack of interaction with others, Bathilda had found a willing listener in Kyle, someone Dumbledore had brought along, and she eagerly opened up, sharing stories about Dumbledore's youth.
She even pulled out several severely faded old photographs from a tattered box.
The photos depicted two vibrant young men, and Kyle quickly recognized one of them as a young Dumbledore.
He had seen the middle-aged Dumbledore in the Pensieve, and the young man on the right-hand side of the photo bore a striking resemblance to him. The other man was around the same age as Kyle, slender, handsome, and with a sharp gaze, exuding a lively aura.
"That's one of my nephews," Bathilda said. "But in regards to Ariana's situation, he was just as much of a scoundrel as Albus."
"Look, there's Ariana," Bathilda pointed to a corner of the photograph.
It was an attic in a house, and a small figure could be seen peering at them through the attic window.
The Revelaso spell had divided the photograph into two distinct parts, the most prominent being the vibrant young men.
The other part was Ariana, neglected and confined to the attic, longing for sunshine and friendship.
This contrast made Kyle uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but have a bold thought—he felt like punching Dumbledore.
He didn't have his wand, and one of his arms was still useless, so maybe he really could take a swing at him.
At that thought, Kyle quickly shook his head and refocused his attention on the photograph, specifically the figure on the left side.
Gellert Grindelwald, Dumbledore's former friend and greatest adversary, was currently studying in Nurmengard.
Kyle recalled that Bathilda Bagshot was somehow related to him, perhaps as a great-aunt.
Just as Kyle was about to take a closer look, the photograph was put away.
"I can't bear to look at it," Bathilda said. "It always brings back sad memories."
Kyle considered asking about Grindelwald, but thought better of it and instead said, "Professor Dumbledore back then didn't seem to care much for his sister."
"Yes," Bathilda nodded. "He was completely different in his youth. He always felt he had more important things to do than stay at home and care for his poor sister. In his eyes, Ariana was a burden."
"A poor sister?" Kyle paused.
"Oh, I shouldn't be saying these things.
'In any case, Ariana's death changed Albus completely, and it also caused a permanent rift between him and Aberforth, and his nose was broken at that time.'
Bathilda shuffled over to the table, put the photo back into the box, and started rummaging through it.
'Would you like to see the manuscript of "A History of Magic"? There are many interesting stories that were not recorded in it.'
'Of course,' Kyle replied.
Although he was more interested in learning about the headmaster's youth, Bathilda clearly didn't want to continue on that topic, and he didn't want to press her.
'Now, where is it...'' Bathilda searched through the box, 'I might have left it upstairs, let me go and look for it.'
She made her way to the stairs and slowly climbed up.
After Bathilda left, Kyle took the opportunity to look around the room.
The room was messy and rarely cleaned, with dust everywhere.
Next to the sofa was a chest of drawers, on top of which were many photos, and Kyle spotted Grindelwald again in one of them, a solo portrait, and he looked even younger.
He was smiling lazily at Kyle from within a silver picture frame.
"Clack..."
At that moment, the door opened, and Dumbledore walked in.
What a coincidence, just as Bathilda went upstairs, he returned.
Kyle looked at him and picked up the silver picture frame from the chest of drawers, asking, "I guess Bathilda Bagshot mistook me for this person just now, her nephew."
Dumbledore paused slightly and nodded. "That's probably it. She rarely speaks to others in that tone."
"But we don't look alike at all, especially our hair color." Kyle looked at the photo.
The person in the frame had golden hair, while his was black, which was quite a significant difference.
Moreover, being mistaken for a Dark Wizard was not a pleasant thing, as Kyle always considered himself a good person.
"I'm not sure, maybe it's because of her age. Her eyesight isn't what it used to be.
"And she's been getting more and more forgetful lately. There were several times when she mistook me for my father, even though we look nothing alike."
"Is that so?" Kyle put the frame back, and Dumbledore seemed to breathe a silent sigh of relief.
He came to stand next to Kyle and asked, "Do you find it strange that I suddenly came here?"
"A little," Kyle nodded.
To be honest, he already had a guess as to why, but he didn't voice it, merely looking at him.
"After I left last night, I went to Devon," Dumbledore said with a conflicted expression, as if struggling with something. After a few minutes, he said in a low voice, "But Nico told me that what I was looking for was with you?"
"Nico?" Kyle didn't find that strange at all. "The last time I visited his manor, he did give me a gift."
Kyle rummaged in his lizard-skin pouch and took out a golden pocket watch with five hands.
For a moment, Dumbledore's breathing became rapid, and Kyle even felt a chill down his spine, his body tensing up.
It was clear that Dumbledore had considered taking the pocket watch by force, but he restrained himself.
"Can you lend it to me?" Dumbledore struggled to control his emotions. "It's important to me."
"Because of Ariana?" Kyle asked casually, lifting his head to meet a pair of sharp and bright blue eyes.
"How did you know?"
Regardless of whether it was an illusion or not, although Dumbledore was questioning him, Kyle felt that he had already known that this would be the case.
"Just a guess. Bathilda told me some secrets about your youth." As Dumbledore watched, Kyle opened the box and placed the pocket watch inside.
During this time, he just stood there, not moving at all, until Kyle closed the box.
"Or maybe I can take a bolder guess," Kyle continued, "You brought me here, and from the beginning, you intended to use Bathilda to tell me about Ariana."
"Yes," Dumbledore didn't deny it. "Bathilda has been reminiscing about the past a lot lately. Seeing me leave would definitely make her guess that I was going to visit Ariana, and that would prompt her to bring up the topic."
"Why?" Kyle didn't understand and couldn't fathom why he would go to such lengths.
These were things he could have said himself, so why go through so much trouble to have Bathilda relay the message?
"Because I need the Time-Turner, but I don't have the courage to tell you the reason." Dumbledore sat down across from Kyle. "I don't dare to recall the events of those years, nor do I dare to speak of them, so I could only use this method to explain the reason to you."
"What if Bathilda hadn't mentioned Ariana?" Kyle asked. "Or what if I wasn't interested in that name and didn't ask?"
"Then I would say that my luck has always been good," Dumbledore said. "And this time is no exception."
(End of Chapter)
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