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Chapter 822: The Failed Memory Extraction
Chapter 822: The Failed Memory Extraction
As the evening approached, Professor McGonagall, having finished her dinner and a busy day, was ready for some well-deserved rest in her office.
With Professor Dumbledore absent and no one else to help, the entire school's affairs rested solely on her shoulders. Even Professor McGonagall, accustomed to this demanding lifestyle, couldn't help but feel a bit weary.
As she passed by Professor Slughorn's office, she clearly heard laughter emanating from within.
It seemed that Professor Slughorn, believing the crisis had passed, had resumed his classic dinner parties.
Professor McGonagall shook her head and quickened her pace.
How leisurely... Not a single person in the entire school gave her peace of mind, especially Professor Slughorn. Despite her clear rejection on two occasions, he had sent an application to purchase a Self-Stirring Cauldron just yesterday.
He didn't consider that the Board of Governors would never approve such an expensive purchase.
As Professor McGonagall returned to her office, just as she was about to close the door, she suddenly noticed an owl perched on the railing.
Seeing owls in Hogwarts wasn't unusual; these messengers flew back and forth daily, delivering letters and packages. It would be a rare sight not to see them.
But this one was different. Professor McGonagall felt something was off about it.
"Who are you?" she exclaimed, drawing her wand and her eyes narrowing.
"Calm down, Professor," the owl spoke.
Professor McGonagall was taken aback by the familiar voice. After a moment of thought, she tentatively asked, "Kyle?"
"Yes, it's me," Kyle replied.
example, the feathers merging into a seamless whole, transforming back into his robe-like form.
"Wait a moment," Professor McGonagall said, her voice stern as she kept her guard up despite Kyle's appearance. "When we last saw Miss Granger, what was she trying to do?"
"She wanted to submit an article to 'Today's Transfiguration,'" Kyle explained. "She's attempting to become the most promising newcomer before graduation."
Professor McGonagall nodded and put away her wand.
"I must verify this," she said. "What do you mean by that?"
"To avoid the Death Eaters' spies around the school," Kyle began, summarizing the situation at the Hog's Head Inn. "Under those circumstances, transforming into an owl was the best option."
"I thought I did a good job, but you saw through it immediately."
"The traces of human transfiguration were too heavy. Anyone proficient in Transfiguration could see through it."
"Fortunately, none of the Death Eaters' spies are skilled in that area," Kyle said with relief.
"But why did you use Transfiguration to evade their detection?" Professor McGonagall asked, puzzled. "Wouldn't it be more convenient for the phoenix to bring you directly?"
"There were special circumstances. The phoenix couldn't bring me by apparition at that moment," Kyle explained.
"Special circumstances... What do you mean by that?" Professor McGonagall asked nervously. "Did the Death Eaters do something we're unaware of?"
"No, it's unrelated," Kyle shook his head. "It's about Professor Dumbledore."
"Dumbledore... What about him?"
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's go to the Headmaster's Office, and I'll explain," Kyle said. "But before that, please wait a moment while I find my wand."
Kyle searched through his robe with his hand.
Since human transfiguration couldn't hide his wand, he had to hide it in the owl's thick, fluffy feathers. Once the feathers transformed back into a robe, the wand's position naturally changed.
After a while, Kyle finally found his wand behind his shoulder.
"If you had learned the Animagus skill, you wouldn't find yourself in such an awkward situation," Professor McGonagall said, unable to suppress a slight chuckle.
"But if I used Animagus, I wouldn't necessarily turn into an owl," Kyle shrugged.
Then, he concealed himself and accompanied Professor McGonagall to the Headmaster's Office on the eighth floor.
"Can you tell me now, Headmaster? What exactly happened?" Professor McGonagall asked eagerly as soon as she pushed open the oak door. "And do you know where he is?"
Professor McGonagall had a hunch that Kyle might know Dumbledore's whereabouts.
"He's trapped in the past," Kyle said.
The moment Kyle finished speaking, not only was Professor McGonagall caught off guard, but even the surrounding portraits were stunned. They stopped pretending to sleep and crowded into the frame closest to the two of them.
"What did you just say?"
"Albus is trapped in the past?"
...
"He's trapped in the past," Kyle whispered. "Strictly speaking, it's about a hundred years ago."
The office fell silent for a moment, and then the headmasters gathered together, arguing intensely about something.
Professor McGonagall looked at Kyle, perplexed. "So, what's going on here? How could Dumbledore possibly go back a hundred years? The existing Time-Turner can't achieve that. Going back a month is already the limit."
"Not now, but a thousand years ago."
"Kyle spoke up, 'You should remember the broken Time Turner that was found after the Chamber was opened...'"
Kyle then proceeded to recount the entire story of how Dumbledore had used the Time Turner to travel back in time.
Given the extensive details, Kyle took a considerable amount of time to narrate the events.
From dusk to the late hours of the night and into the early morning, it was evident that Professor McGonagall had numerous questions throughout the story, but she restrained herself and did not interrupt Kyle.
"So, you're saying that Dumbledore not only fixed the Time Turner taken from the Chamber but also used it to travel back a hundred years ago?"
Professor McGonagall rubbed her forehead, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information she had just received. She needed time to process it all.
"That's correct," Kyle nodded, "During this period, no one has seen Professor Dumbledore because he doesn't exist in the current timeline."
"Wait, that's not right."
At that moment, the female Headmistress suddenly spoke up, "If it's the Time Turner, Albus should have returned by now. It's a matter of... well, balance in time."
"It's due to Time Exclusion," Kyle explained, "This is the joint conclusion of Professor Viktor and Nicoleme."
"When did this happen?" Professor McGonagall asked gravely.
"About a month ago, at noon on the day of Lupin and Tonks' wedding," Kyle replied.
"So, Dumbledore has been missing since then?" Professor McGonagall mused as she paced back and forth in the Headmaster's Office, speaking softly, "He left without a word... What if the Dark Lord leads the Death Eaters to attack the school during this time? What would be the outcome?"
"I suspect he considered that possibility," Kyle said, "Or he intended to go back and forth quickly but got trapped in the past."
"With something this significant, why are you only telling us now?" Professor McGonagall turned to face Kyle, her tone stern.
"Yes," Phineas's portrait chimed in, seemingly eager to join in on the criticism, "If you knew, you should have informed us of Albus's whereabouts immediately, instead of..."
"Please be quiet, Headmistress Black," Professor McGonagall frowned, cutting him off without hesitation.
Phineas's tone faltered, seemingly taken aback by the rebuke, but seeing Professor McGonagall's expression, he chose to remain silent and quietly stepped aside.
"This was Professor Dumbledore's request," Kyle explained, "He anticipated the possibility of getting trapped and asked me to keep it confidential until he returns."
"In that case, why did you tell me?" Professor McGonagall, now regaining her composure, "If it's meant to be confidential, no one should know. That's the safest approach."
"There's no need for that," Kyle shrugged, "I haven't finished my story yet. Professor Dumbledore encountered a Time Exclusion, which he couldn't resolve on his own. Without assistance, he might have remained trapped in the past forever."
"What should we do then?" Professor McGonagall inquired.
"No rush, we need to be patient and wait a bit longer," Kyle suggested.
Then, Kyle proceeded to tell her about his recent trip to France, including the Time Turner's flaws he learned from Professor Viktor and the solution proposed by Nicoleme.
"That's the gist of it, so I returned," Kyle concluded.
Kyle continued his narrative for about an hour, feeling parched by the end, but he managed to clarify everything.
"The issue now is that Professor Dumbledore can't resolve the Time Exclusion on his own, and he might not even be aware that he's trapped. He's likely repeating events he's already experienced countless times."
"Without help, he might never return. But if Professor Viktor's solution works, he could be back the very same day. So, there's no need for secrecy anymore."
"By revealing this, we can prepare the school... In case he doesn't return, at least someone knows why."
"That won't happen," Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, "He's Albus Dumbledore."
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"Yes," Kyle smiled.
"Then, what should we do?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Not you, but me," Kyle knocked on the table, and a fresh glass of lemonade appeared beside him. "Once the Time Turner is fixed, I'll use it to go back in time and help Professor Dumbledore correct his erroneous path."
"No way!"
As soon as Kyle finished speaking, Professor McGonagall immediately objected, "We know nothing about time travel, and even a wizard like Dumbledore could get trapped. It's too risky for you, a recent graduate."
"In any case, leave it to us professors," she insisted.
Kyle sighed, "I don't want to take risks either, but there's no other choice. We've encountered too many incidents, and only I know the full details."
Kyle had a hunch that Dumbledore might have returned by now, as it was the only way to explain the Time Turner's sudden appearance at Beauxbatons.
And the one who was involved in this incident from beginning to end, knowing all the details, was him. Only he knew what to do and when.
This realization came to him while he was at Nico's estate.
"It won't work," Professor McGonagall insisted. "You can tell me everything in detail... No, I remember there's a Pensieve here. I'll teach you the memory extraction spell, as long as I experience it myself, there won't be a problem."
"In any case, it's the professor's responsibility to protect students, not to let them take risks. We should stay in the castle like nothing happened."
Professor McGonagall's tone was resolute, leaving no room for Kyle to refuse.
"Alright," Kyle nodded, agreeing... for the time being.
Once Nico fixes the Time Turner, it will definitely be delivered to his hands, and at that time, he can make his own decision.
But for now... since Professor McGonagall wants to know the specifics, he'll let her see.
"I actually know the spell for memory extraction," Kyle said.
Kyle found the ancient Pensieve from under Professor Dumbledore's desk and placed it on the table.
He then pointed his wand at his temple, ready to extract the memory of that night after dinner at Busbaron's.
It was the conversation he had with Professor Viktor.
Kyle waved his wand, and a blue light followed the wand, but after just two inches, the light suddenly broke.
"Are you okay?" Professor McGonagall asked anxiously.
The memory spell is one of the most complex spells, and every failure may backfire on the wizard.
She regretted a bit that when Kyle suggested extracting the memory earlier, she should have helped instead of letting him do it himself.
It was because Kyle had always performed exceptionally that she subconsciously felt that even the memory spell would be fine.
"I'm fine," Kyle waved his hand.
Unlike Professor McGonagall, he didn't think this was a failure of his spell. He was certain that every step he took was correct, but the memory was still broken.
Kyle pointed his wand at his temple again.
"Stop!" Professor McGonagall hurriedly stopped him. "Let me do it. I'll help you."
"It might not work, Professor," Kyle shook his head. "I've learned the Mind Shield spell. It blocks any magic that tries to view my memories, and it's beyond my control. Not to mention extracting memories, so this is something only I can do."
As he spoke, Kyle waved his wand again.
The result was the same as before; the blue light representing the memory broke after moving just one inch.
This time, Professor McGonagall also noticed something amiss.
Normally, when the memory turns into a blue light and leaves the temple, it means the spell has succeeded, and the rest is to extract it.
This wasn't very difficult, or you could say it had no technical content. Even a new student who knew how to use a wand could do it.
But Kyle had failed twice in a row, which was obviously a bit odd.
However, Professor McGonagall didn't know what was wrong, as this was the first time she had encountered such a situation.
Kyle was also a bit dazed. He carefully recalled his previous experiences and suddenly realized something.
That cup of 'Raspberry Juice'! If there was anything different about him recently, it was the cup of 'Raspberry Juice' he had drunk at Nico's estate.
If he remembered correctly, the house elf Tata had said that it took Nico several days to make that drink. Kyle didn't think it was just a tasty beverage; there must be some effect that he was unaware of.
Out of trust in Nico, he drank it without asking any questions.
Now that he thought about it, would this inability to extract his memory have something to do with that 'Raspberry Juice'?
But what use was that? Kyle couldn't figure it out.
Professor McGonagall couldn't figure it out either, but after two consecutive failures, she dared not let Kyle continue trying.
Moreover, at this moment, the sky outside had already darkened, and large clouds obscured the moon, giving a sense of oppression.
"I'll think of another way later," she said. "Before that, let's put the idea of viewing memories on hold. You write down the process, and I'll come up with a solution."
"Also, if the Time Turner is fixed, you must tell me immediately. Don't take any action on your own. This is very important; do you understand?" Professor McGonagall said sternly.
"I'll try," Kyle said.
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, I'll try to write the process in detail," Kyle quickly added. "But Professor McGonagall, there's a big difference between watching the process and experiencing it firsthand."
"I know," Professor McGonagall said. "But I can't watch you go and take the risk. Besides Professor Dumbledore, perhaps only you have the chance to defeat the Dark Lord."
"What about Harry?" Kyle asked. "He's the savior, and he's also killed the Dark Lord once."
"Oh, yes, there's also Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said, but her tone was somewhat dismissive. "If his Human Transfiguration was half as good as yours, I might feel more at ease."
(End of Chapter)
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