Chapter 941: Mad-Eye's New Home
Chapter 941: Mad-Eye's New Home
After leaving the Great Hall, Kyle didn't go anywhere else but headed straight back to his wooden hut beside the Forbidden Forest.
Having fought throughout the night and with barely an hour of rest, Kyle was exhausted from running around again from dawn to dusk due to various trivial matters.
Upon returning to his hut, he didn't even bother changing clothes and fell into a deep sleep on the bed.
However, there were those who didn't want Kyle to sleep, like those wizards who were experts at scheming.
These individuals came from various backgrounds and professions. They were nowhere to be seen during the battle between Hogwarts and the Death Eaters, but now that the war was won, they emerged one by one, roaming the castle and eagerly inquiring after those injured in the war.
As the primary force who fought Voldemort alone, Kyle naturally became their target. But previously, Kyle had been constantly occupied, and they couldn't find an opportunity to approach him alone.
Now, everyone was gradually becoming idle.
So, these individuals, with various unspoken intentions, found their way to the wooden hut, hoping to get acquainted with Kyle at the earliest opportunity.
However, most of them were blocked by the Alchemical Fog etched on the door.
But some managed to get past it.
They looked at the others circling in place, feeling delighted beyond words.
But before they could relish this for long, a pair of purple eyes lit up in the dark hut.
Then, they turned around awkwardly and joined the group spinning in place, only to be shooed away by Hagrid, who had heard the commotion.
...
When Kyle woke up, it was almost noon the next day.
As he stepped out of the hut, the first thing he saw was Hagrid busy in the pumpkin patch.
The Death Eaters had previously destroyed his patch, and the new seeds had been planted by Kyle the night before.
Next to the patch, there was another person chattering incessantly.
He was a very unfamiliar wizard, and from Hagrid's impatient expression, it was clear he wasn't very welcome.
Just as Kyle was about to say something, the other person noticed him first... or rather, while talking to Hagrid, his peripheral vision had been fixed on the other wooden hut.
"Oh, isn't that Kyle?"
He approached cheerfully, his face beaming with a warm smile.
For some reason, Kyle suddenly thought of a former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor... Gilderoy Lockhart, who also had a similar smile, as if his teeth were always on display.
But the difference was that Gilderoy Lockhart's smile seemed more natural than this person's.
"From your expression, you don't recognize me?" The man seemed to notice Kyle's confusion and said, rather presumptuously, "I'm an old friend of Chris. Cornelius Fudge often spoke highly of you to us. Everyone envied him for finding such an excellent assistant."
Kyle raised an eyebrow.
It was certain that the man was from the Ministry of Magic, but it wasn't clear which department he belonged to.
However, Kyle didn't think Chris would befriend someone so insincere.
"I..."
"Oh!"
Just as Kyle opened his mouth to speak, he saw the man suddenly jump up in place as if he had been stepped on by the Three-Headed Dog, letting out a loud cry.
His voice was so loud that even Hagrid, who was in the distance, looked over in their direction.
Kyle was startled by this sudden scene, and his mind involuntarily flashed back to the previous night's encounter with Voldemort. Instinctively, he drew his wand.
"Bang!" A muffled sound echoed.
A person rapidly retreated backward and crashed into the pumpkin patch from mid-air.
"My mixed fertilizer!" Hagrid's trembling voice was filled with heartache. "You idiot! I finally managed to get some good stuff from Pomona, and you wasted an entire bucket of it!"
Hagrid bent over, frantically cleaning up, but due to the distance, Kyle couldn't see what he was doing.
However, from the brief words, Kyle could guess what was happening.
"Sorry, sorry..." Kyle muttered to himself, unsure if he was apologizing to Hagrid or the stranger he had just blasted away.
"Hmph, useless fool!" A cold snort came from behind. "The Ministry of Magic is full of such useless people, no wonder half of them were easily replaced by Death Eaters."
The voice was familiar.
Kyle turned around and exclaimed in surprise, "Mad-Eye... you're alive!"
Now, he finally understood why the man had suddenly cried out earlier.
Since he was from the Ministry of Magic, he must know Alastor Moody. But in everyone's perception, this legendary and renowned Auror had long passed away, and he might have even attended his funeral.
It wasn't strange to be startled by seeing someone who was believed to be dead suddenly appear before you. Those with weaker mental resilience might even faint on the spot.
But his actions had also startled Kyle, who was then blasted away by an instinctive spell.
However, in a way, Kyle was lucky. Due to just waking up, Kyle randomly chose the Repelling Charm, the least harmful spell among the most familiar ones.
If he had been a little less lucky, he might have encountered even more powerful curses.
"It's been a while, Kyle," Alastor Moody said, tapping his magical eye. "Who told you I was dead?"
"No one," Kyle shrugged. "But someone saw the dead leader of the Vagrant Wizards, the one you were impersonating... What was his name, Lexis?"
"Lenis," Moody corrected. "You're not very professional if you can't even remember your opponent's name."
"It doesn't matter," Kyle waved his hand dismissively. "I'm just an ordinary Ancient Runic Studies professor, not an Auror. Why should I remember the names of all my opponents? Besides, he's dead anyway."
Kyle sighed, "When I first heard the news, I thought it was you. But when I didn't see you and couldn't find you, I figured you must have been taken away by the Ministry of Magic along with the dead Death Eaters."
"That wasn't me, it was the real Lenis," Moody said calmly. "Lenis incited the Vagrant Wizards to betray the Death Eaters and dealt them a fatal blow from behind. It's reasonable that he faced retaliation."
"Oh, Merlin!"
At that moment, Kyle felt the ground shake slightly.
Hagrid rushed over from the pumpkin patch, holding a wooden spoon, and the pungent smell was already noticeable from a distance.
"Is that Mad-Eye?"
"By Merlin's beard, is this true? They all said you were dead!"
"Hello, Rubeus," Moody said. "Of course, it's true."
He didn't hide his intentions, and with just a few words, he convinced Hagrid that he had spread the news of his death to carry out Dumbledore's secret mission.
"Don't tell anyone else," Moody warned. "My mission isn't over yet."
"Don't worry," Hagrid patted his chest. "My lips are sealed. I won't tell anyone."
Kyle looked at Hagrid with unspoken words, sighing softly.
Hmm... Harry and the others probably wouldn't be interested in the Vagrant Wizards or Moody, unless someone specifically asked. Hagrid seemed to be quite good at keeping secrets... probably.
After a brief greeting, Hagrid decided to provide cover for Moody outside, while Kyle followed him into the cabin to continue their previous conversation.
"You killed Lenis, didn't you?" Kyle asked.
"Yes," Moody replied. "If someone investigated carefully, they would find that Lenis had done many illogical things recently. He made too many promises to his followers to betray the Death Eaters, many of which were impossible to fulfill... So he was killed by the Death Eaters."
"The Death Eaters?"
"Yes."
"What about the remaining Vagrant Wizards?"
"Some died, but not too many," Moody sighed. "I had hoped to let them take down the Death Eaters with them, but I overestimated Lenis' influence.
"And there's a fundamental difference between the Vagrant Wizards and the Death Eaters. The Vagrant Wizards have no faith; they are only loyal to Galleons."
"Lenis could lure them to betray the Death Eaters with false promises, but he couldn't keep them going crazy. Once they realized the danger, they chose to flee at the first opportunity."
"I only had time to send out the Death Eaters' attack route before the battle and take out some of the Death Eaters who were trying to sneak attack the castle from the Forbidden Forest."
"Isn't that enough?" Kyle looked at him.
Although the Vagrant Wizards were not top-tier fighters, they were still better than most of the Death Eaters who served as cannon fodder.
If these people had stormed the castle, there would have been even more casualties.
Alastor Moody's ability to achieve this much was already quite remarkable.
"I just feel I could have done better," Moody tapped his magical eye again.
Only then did Kyle notice the eye, and he asked in confusion, "Wait, isn't this supposed to be buried in the grave... Oh, you didn't dig it out, did you?"
"Of course not," Moody explained. "This is another one, a backup I made myself. But the materials are terrible, and it keeps jamming... Damn it, it's stuck again."
Moody poked at the eye, making it creak.
Kyle took a closer look and realized that the blue eye in Moody's eye socket was completely different from the previous magical eye. It was stiff and rigid, looking like a stone polished into a round shape.
It seemed that the problem with the eye wasn't just the materials; the craftsmanship of the creator was also a factor that couldn't be ignored.
Moreover, Kyle didn't think Moody, an Auror known for his strength, would use alchemy.
It was probably just a stone he had polished himself...
"Forget about your magical eye for now," Kyle couldn't stand the creaking sound anymore and changed the subject. "What are your plans after this? I happen to know someone from the Daily Prophet, and I can arrange a solo interview for you."
Kyle stroked his chin. "How about a hero hidden in the shadows, moving forward alone? After that, you can reappear before everyone."
"Kyle was surprised when Moody rejected his suggestion.
"No, I don't think it's necessary," Moody replied.
"I know you don't like the people from the Daily Prophet, but if you go out like this, it'll scare others, just like that man earlier... By the way, who was he?"
"The Head of the Department of Magical Catastrophes and the Office of Emergency Magical Catastrophes," Moody said, "I don't know him well, but I know he used to work for Cornelius Fudge."
"Oh, I see," Kyle said nonchalantly, then continued, "How about this, you don't have to go out yourself. Just tell me what happened during this time, and I'll take care of the rest."
"You misunderstand," Moody said, looking out the window at the distant Hogwarts Castle. "I think it's fine as it is."
"You mean you don't want to clear up the misunderstanding about your death?" Kyle asked.
"Yes," Moody nodded. "That's why I came to find you. Since Alastor Moody is already dead, there's no need to pretend to be resurrected."
"And I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Retiring in this manner is not a bad idea."
As he spoke, Moody opened the collar of his robe, revealing a long scar near his neck that was still bleeding. There were many scars on Moody's body, but he closed the collar as if he didn't feel any pain.
"I've almost died several times," Moody said calmly, as if he were talking about someone else.
"My wand is also broken," he added, holding up a wand with a broken tip, exposing the wand core.
"I think retiring in this manner is not bad either."
"I still think you should reconsider," Kyle said.
It wasn't that he didn't want Mad-Eye to retire; it was because of Moody's suspicious nature.
Before this, the Ministry of Magic had to deal with his problems an average of eight times a week. These problems included, but were not limited to, repairing magic-damaged trash cans, chimneys, pipes, street lights... treating Muggle neighbors who were scared and modifying their memories.
Alastor Moody, with his suspicious nature, was almost a walking disaster. Wherever he lived, he brought trouble.
Although it was a bit troublesome, the Ministry had gotten used to helping this legendary Auror with his daily life problems.
But what if this kind of trouble occurred again?
Kyle didn't think Moody could change his suspicious nature.
If an unaware Ministry employee were to visit and unexpectedly encounter the long-dead Alastor Moody... that would be a much bigger problem and harder to explain.
"I know what you're thinking," Moody said, looking up at Kyle.
"I'm doing this for your own good," Kyle shrugged. "As long as you have this suspicious habit, you can't keep it a secret."
"I've thought about it. A person like me shouldn't live in a peaceful neighborhood; it's just not suitable for me."
"That's true," Kyle said after a moment of thought. "How about St. Cackle's Village?"
"Although there are Muggles there, they live on the other side. You can stay with us."
"I'm glad you're willing to accept me, but I don't want to go."
"Why?" Kyle was puzzled.
"Because I've found a better place, a retirement paradise tailored for me."
Moody suddenly smiled, his scarred face contorting a little, which was a bit frightening.
"Where?" Kyle asked.
"Cornwall, the Vagrant Wizard Pier," Moody said with a distant look in his eyes. "I've fallen in love with that place; it gives me a familiar feeling. That's where I should retire."
"Wait," Kyle interrupted. "I understand your thoughts, but Lenis is already dead. How will you get back there?"
"But there are more vagrant wizards still alive," Moody said, as if he had made up his mind. He stood up and walked towards the door.
"The existence of vagrant wizards has always been a destabilizing factor for the British wizarding world, and it's one of the places with the most Dark Magic artifacts."
"I'll pass on some messages to you from time to time, but you don't need to worry about the specifics. You don't need to help me... or rather, don't get in my way."
"What if you're in danger?" Kyle asked.
"That would only happen if you did something," Moody said matter-of-factly.
Kyle pulled at the corner of his mouth, unsure of what to say.
"The magical wards on your door are quite good," Moody said, looking back at the wooden door as they stepped outside. "But they lack killing power."
"This is Hogwarts," Kyle said helplessly.
But at that moment, Moody had disappeared.
It wasn't Apparition; Apparition was not allowed at Hogwarts. He had simply vanished, just as he had appeared earlier, and Kyle had no idea how he did it.
...
(End of Chapter)
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