Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 952: The Two Silly Boys - Novel Cool

Chapter 952: The Two Silly Boys

Chapter 952: The Two Silly Boys

"What was that sound just now... Tell me, what was that sound..." Snape, who had finally regained his composure, struggled to stand up, leaning against a nearby tree and staring intently at Kyle... or more precisely, at something hidden behind him.

"There was no sound. You must have misheard," Kyle said calmly.

"I couldn't have misheard," Snape replied, trusting his own judgment.

Although he had been unable to stand up earlier, his body's instinct had made him turn around unconsciously when the sound occurred.

It was at that moment that he caught a glimpse of Kyle hiding something behind his back.

"It might have been an owl passing by," Kyle said without changing his expression. "You know, there are usually many owls delivering letters to Hogwarts, especially during this special time. People inside and outside the castle want to know about each other's situation, so there are even more owls."

"Then show me your hand..." Snape had intended to snatch it directly, but he was still not fully recovered. He had just moved his arm away from the tree, and his body was about to uncontrollably fall to the side.

Even so, Snape kept his eyes fixed on Kyle.

He remembered that when they were in the chest earlier, Kyle had given Grindelwald several photographs.

Although Snape hadn't seen the contents of the photos, he remembered the series. The sound he had just heard was remarkably similar to a camera shutter sound.

"Why don't you believe me?" Kyle said helplessly, bringing his hand out from behind his back and waving it in front of Snape.

"See, there's nothing here."

Snape looked at Kyle suspiciously and then stumbled around to his back, standing there with a frown.

Indeed, there was nothing—nothing thrown on the ground or hidden in his robe...

Moreover, he could clearly see that Kyle's hand had not touched the Changeling Lizard Skin Bag, indicating that he hadn't had a chance to put anything away.

Had he experienced an illusion or heard the sound of an owl? Snape wasn't quite sure.

The main reason was that the phoenix's Anti-Apparition Barrier was too stimulating, and his head was still buzzing. It seemed normal to hear a non-existent sound.

"What were you hiding just now?" Snape suddenly asked, seemingly trying to catch Kyle off guard.

"Huh?" Kyle blinked, feigning confusion, "What did you say?"

Snape stared at Kyle again, "Never mind, we should head back to the castle."

"Oh, that's weird," Kyle said, turning towards the castle.

Snape watched him for a while, confirming that he had no intention of turning back or hesitating, before following unsteadily.

"I guess he really did mishear it," Snape thought to himself.

But if he had walked faster, he would have seen the relief on Kyle's face.

Fortunately, he hadn't fully locked the chest earlier, allowing Snuffles to take the camera away in time.

After all, he was a top undercover agent who had been hiding near Voldemort for so many years, and his quick reflexes were impressive. Even in such a state, he still noticed the surrounding movements.

If Snape had discovered his actions, well, it seemed like it wouldn't have been a problem.

Kyle suddenly realized that even if Snape had noticed his movements, he probably wouldn't have been able to take the camera away in his current state.

The only trouble was that he might go to Kanna for help.

To be honest, Kyle wouldn't want to give up the photo if Kanna were to help Snape retrieve it.

The main reason was that the photo was too exciting and rare. It captured Snape writhing and crawling on the ground, and even vomiting into the Black Lake...

Once developed with Revealing Potion, the dynamic photo would definitely rank among the top three in his personal collection, second only to the irreproducible 'Barnyard Certification'.

Fortunately, Snape hadn't discovered it...

Unconsciously, Kyle quickened his pace and stopped at the entrance of the Hogwarts castle.

After Snape had finally caught up, stumbling with every step, Kyle interrupted him before he could say anything.

"I'll take care of things from here."

"Kanna should be helping Madam Pomfrey at the school hospital right now. You can find her there," Kyle said.

Snape looked deeply at Kyle, said nothing, and turned to leave.

"Remember to change your appearance," Kyle reminded him kindly, despite Snape's rudeness. "If you go to the school hospital looking like that, you'll most likely be kicked out by Madam Pomfrey, and you'll trigger the school's defensive alarms.

"You don't want Professor McGonagall to beat you up in front of Kanna, do you...?"

"Shut up. I don't need your advice on what to do," Snape said without turning back.

Watching Snape walk away, Kyle shrugged.

In truth, he wasn't trying to remind Snape; he just didn't want to make an extra trip to the temporary prison at the Ministry of Magic, which was said to be even worse than Azkaban.

At least in places with Dementors, one never had to worry about temperature or food spoilage.

The food in Azkaban had never gone bad... in every sense of the word.

He wondered how the Azkaban reboot project was progressing.

Kyle stood still for a while, until Snape completely disappeared into the courtyard at the corner of the castle, before he began to climb the stairs.

The castle seemed even emptier than before he was taken away, with only a few former Gryffindor Quidditch team members left in the Great Hall, catching up with each other.

Oliver Wood was talking to Harry, while Fred was laughing and chatting with Angelina Johnson.

As for Kyle knowing it was Fred and not George... wasn't it obvious? George had never asked Angelina to dance.

"Harry, look, it's Kyle!"

Sharp-eyed Hermione was the first to spot Kyle at the entrance of the Great Hall, and she quickly ran over.

"Thank goodness... when you suddenly disappeared, the professors were all worried sick."

"We've been looking for you everywhere, but we couldn't find you, neither in the school nor Hogsmeade."

"Oh, and your father seemed to have come too, but after hearing that you were taken away by a Phoenix, he left."

Hermione spoke quickly, like pouring out beans, talking non-stop.

Although many parts sounded vague, Kyle more or less understood what had happened during this period.

"Don't worry, you don't need to be so tense." Kyle said, "It's just that the Phoenix had a little temper, I was about to go explain to Professor McGonagall, you guys continue."

"Oh, Kyle, I'm so glad you're okay."

At this moment, Oliver Wood ran over excitedly, pushing Hermione to the side.

He looked at Kyle, rubbed his hands and asked, "Are you interested in joining Puddlemere United? We really need an excellent Chaser like you right now."

"Puddlemere United?"

"I'm now the official Keeper of this team." Oliver Wood said.

"Congratulations." Kyle said with a smile.

Oliver Wood was just in his early twenties, and it was already an impressive achievement to be an official player at this age.

After all, not everyone can be like Viktor Krum, competing in the Quidditch World Cup right after coming of age.

"But joining Puddlemere United is out of the question, I don't want to play professional Quidditch yet."

"That's a shame." Oliver Wood sighed, as they were truly in need of an excellent Chaser.

"Why don't you ask Angelina?"

"I did, she wants to join the Holyhead Harpies."

"Then there's nothing we can do." Kyle spread his hands.

After chatting for a while, Kyle was about to go to the Headmaster's Office, but suddenly he felt someone grabbing his robe.

"Hermione?"

Kyle looked back, "Do you have something else?"

"No, nothing." Hermione pursed her lips, looking a bit nervous.

"It's just, I have a question..."

"We've always been curious... no, it's not that we're curious, everyone is talking about it..."

"That's right, we also heard about it..."

Harry and Ron beside her seemed more nervous than her, and the three of them suddenly became hesitant, stuttering for half a day without being able to say a complete sentence.

"What do you want to ask?" Kyle was a bit impatient, urging, "If you haven't thought it through, just ask later."

Seeing Kyle turn around again, Hermione suddenly gritted her teeth.

"We just want to ask you, is Professor Dumbledore still alive..."

Kyle's footsteps paused.

To be honest, he felt a bit nervous.

Hermione's sudden question made him wonder if someone had opened Dumbledore's grave.

But soon, Kyle calmed down.

"Why do you think Professor Dumbledore is still alive?" he asked calmly, "You should have been there the day he was killed."

"I know this sounds absurd, but it's not impossible."

"Why?"

See the original text in 9@book/bar!

"Because of the Phoenix." Hermione said, taking out a thick book, "I've read 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', and it says that the Phoenix only listens to Dumbledore's commands."

"So, you suspect that Professor Dumbledore asked the Phoenix to take me away?" Kyle raised his eyebrows, feeling relieved.

However, interestingly, Hermione had guessed the truth, and in a sense, her observation was truly sharp, and her ideas were bold.

After all, not everyone would think that Dumbledore was still alive after seeing the Phoenix, as could be seen from Harry and Ron beside her.

Hermione should have told them her guess beforehand, but they didn't believe her, so they stuttered and were reluctant to speak.

Perhaps in their eyes, it was like asking why Snape's cauldron couldn't fry chicken, which seemed absurd.

Hermione might have felt the same way at first, but she still asked.

Believing in her own judgment? Or just being stubborn...

"No." Kyle said after a moment of silence.

"But the Phoenix..."

"I think you're mistaken." Kyle waved his hand.

The 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' that Hermione was holding automatically opened to the page with the Phoenix illustration.

"I suggest you read the content on this page carefully." Kyle waved his hand again, drawing a line under two lines of text.

"It says here that the Phoenix will appear when Dumbledore needs it... note, it's Dumbledore, not Albus Dumbledore, there's an essential difference between the two.

Hermione's expression grew increasingly bewildered as she read the contents.

"The owner of the Hog's Head," Kyle continued, "his name is Aberforth Dumbledore..."

"Dumbledore..."

"Yes, just as you suspected... He's Professor Dumbledore's brother."

"Oh, I see." Ron exclaimed, "He must have been the one who sent the Phoenix to take you away."

He turned to Hermione, a smug look on his face, "I told you, Professor Dumbledore couldn't possibly be alive. We've already seen his ghost in Hogsmeade."

Harry, standing beside them, remained silent, but his expression clearly echoed Ron's sentiment.

"Sorry," Hermione's face reddened slightly, "I misunderstood."

"It's okay. Not many people know that the owner of the Hog's Head is also a Dumbledore. It's understandable that you would think that way."

"And you're not entirely wrong," Kyle added softly, "As long as you remember Professor Dumbledore, he won't die."

"Yeah," Hermione managed a weak smile, feeling embarrassed, especially in front of Ron and Harry.

She couldn't help but feel silly for assuming Professor Dumbledore was alive when she saw the Phoenix.

Kyle didn't offer any further explanation, merely casting a disdainful glance at Harry and Ron, who seemed completely unbothered, as if nothing had happened.

Alright, fine. That's good...

...

This time, with no one stopping him, Kyle left the Great Hall and made his way up the stairs to the Headmaster's office on the eighth floor.

The Talking Portrait, upon seeing Kyle approaching from a distance, immediately stood up and jumped to the side.

"Is Professor McGonagall in there?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, she is."

"Do I need a password?"

"There are too many visitors coming to see the Headmaster, so the password has been temporarily removed."

"Oh..." Kyle clicked his tongue.

For a brief moment, he had thought that only he didn't need a password, but it turned out that no one did.

However, it made sense. Recently, there were likely to be many visitors to Hogwarts, and even the Talking Portrait found it bothersome, so removing the password for the Headmaster's office was indeed more convenient.

Kyle wondered if there might be other visitors inside at this moment as he climbed the spiral staircase at the back.

Fortunately, Kyle's luck held, and as he pushed open the oak door, the previous visitor was about to leave.

It was a wizard Kyle didn't recognize, with a potbelly and slight hair loss, resembling Professor Slughorn from a distance.

"Kyle, I heard from the portrait that you're back."

At that moment, Professor McGonagall walked over from her desk. "Disappearing from Hogwarts without a trace, I don't know how to explain it to Chris... But he seems to think you're not in danger and has gone back to work after taking a look."

Professor McGonagall's voice carried both concern and a hint of reproach.

Of course, this wasn't directed at Kyle, but at Chris.

When Kyle had disappeared, she was caught off guard and unsure how to face Chris and Diana, but Chris's attitude was nonchalant, as if he didn't care whether Kyle was in danger or not.

"This is probably because Chris knows that Professor Dumbledore isn't dead," Kyle thought to himself.

"Where did the Phoenix take you?" Professor McGonagall asked with concern.

"To a forest, probably a place Professor Dumbledore often visits," Kyle replied. He had originally planned to tell Professor McGonagall about Grindelwald leaving Nurmengard, but decided against it.

He thought it best to wait for news from Professor Dumbledore first, as Grindelwald might suddenly return to the tower later.

There was no need to cause tension by sharing this information now.

Upon hearing Kyle's explanation, Professor McGonagall found it strange but didn't think much of it.

The main reason was that Kyle's safe return had already added a considerable amount of credibility to his story.

Additionally, she wasn't familiar with the Phoenix, only knowing that it was closely related to Professor Dumbledore... Perhaps this was a unique trait of the Phoenix.

"It's good that you're safe," Professor McGonagall said, "By the way, if you plan to stay at Hogwarts, it's best to write a letter to Chris."

"I will," Kyle replied. "But Professor McGonagall, I have another matter to discuss this time."

"What is it?"

"It's about Snape."

Upon hearing that name, Professor McGonagall lifted her head and pursed her lips tightly.

"Do you know where that coward is?"

It was evident that Professor McGonagall's anger was rising, causing Kyle to abandon his initial plan of explaining everything first.

He walked over to a cabinet where the Pensieve was kept... Well, once was.

Kyle took a delicate, finger-sized glass bottle from the top of a finely crafted box at the cabinet... Yes, it was once.

"Kyle, what are you doing?" Professor McGonagall asked, "That's... Albus's memory."

"Yes," Kyle nodded, "This is the memory of Professor Dumbledore and Snape.

"I don't know how to explain it, but I think you should take a look."

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end

Report