At night in Hogsmeade, a burst of raucous laughter echoed from the Hog's Head Pub, the sound laced with a schadenfreude vibe.
Right after, Dumbledore walked out of the pub looking conflicted, his face so sour it was as if he'd just drunk expired Butter Beer.
"Kael, do we really have to do this?"
He eyed Kael beside him, weighing his words carefully: "Honestly, Voldemort needs time to recover, so we might not need to rush solving the Ministry of Magic problem.
"I'm sure you'll be able to come up with a more suitable plan during this period."
"Thank you for the compliment, Professor." Kael said calmly, "You're right, I already have a backup method."
"Let's hear it." Dumbledore's eyes lit up.
"How about Dementors suddenly rioting and attacking the Ministry of Magic?" Kael said with a straight face, "And then one or two just happen to wander into the Minister's office, and have a rather friendly chat with him.
"That way, we deal with people dragging their feet, and at the same time get everyone paying attention to Dementors—a win-win."
Dumbledore turned his head, silent for a long moment, before he said with a complicated expression, "Dementors won't riot, at least not yet."
"I never said they definitely would riot." Kael shrugged, "I'm just offering a possibility."
Dumbledore fell silent, simply walking forward, and only at the entrance of Zonko's Joke Shop did he finally speak again. His voice sounded a bit dry, "So you mean creating a false impression... I get it... but I've never done anything like this before, can't guarantee Fudge will buy it..."
"No worries, Professor." Kael chuckled, "It's not hard. You just need to occasionally interact with a few Ministers, like Lady Amelia Bones from Law Enforcement, or Mr. Barty Crouch... Either will do, and with Fudge's personality, he definitely won't sit idly by."
Dumbledore opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say more, but finally just shook his head silently.
He's starting to regret it a bit—if only he'd let go at the mountaintop back then, and gone all out to kill Voldemort one more time, regardless of the cost.
The two walked a bit further, and just as Kael was lost in thought, he suddenly felt someone grab his arm.
Then, amid the dizzying swirl, he was whisked away to the hallway of No. 12 Grimmauld Place.
Mrs. Weasley was startled by the sudden appearance of the two, nearly dropping her plate.
But she quickly realized what was happening.
To Apparate from outside into a house protected by the Fidelius Charm—besides Dumbledore, nobody else could pull that off.
Of course, Fred and George didn't count—they always Apparated inside the house, not from outside.
"You two—"
Before she could finish, there was another crisp sound.
After dropping Kael off, Dumbledore didn't even linger a second—he left almost immediately.
"What's up with Dumbledore?" Mrs. Weasley asked, puzzled. "He looked a bit off."
"Probably just hungry." Kael replied, "He barely ate all day."
"Oh, Merlin's beard, you two have been busy the whole day?" Mrs. Weasley promptly brought Kael into the kitchen, muttering, "Honestly, Dumbledore, why not stay for dinner?"
"Maybe he's got other stuff to do." Kael said offhandedly.
"He should still eat." Mrs. Weasley said, "Just wait a bit, dinner will be ready soon."
Kael nodded.
Truth be told, he was a bit hungry himself.
The Hog's Head Pub served a lunch that was clean enough, but the taste was pretty awful—the potatoes weren't fully cooked and were still hard inside.
There weren't many people in the kitchen at that moment, but within a few minutes everyone started coming in.
"Kael... When did you get back?" Ron couldn't help but ask, "Where were you today?"
"Hogsmeade." Kael replied,
"What were you doing there?" Ron wanted to ask more, but Mr. Weasley cut him off.
"Alright, Ron." He walked over from behind, "Dumbledore surely instructed him not to speak about it, so don't ask too much."
"Fine." Ron muttered.
Ten minutes later, Mrs. Weasley brought out a whole roasted chicken and fried fish.
But tonight, not many people came for dinner—just Tonks and Moody. Tonks looked exhausted, her hair straw-yellow and dry.
Due to the Auror missions, she hadn't slept for two days—and tonight it was her turn for night duty again, so her mood was predictably bad.
Lupin noticed this and, after thinking a bit, said: "Tonks, after dinner, you should get some rest. I can take your shift tonight."
"Really?" Tonks's hair instantly turned bright red, but she quickly remembered something, "But you did night duty yesterday, right? Are you okay doing two nights in a row?"
"I'm fine." Lupin said, "I can rest a bit during the day anyway."
"Thank you, then." Tonks let out a huge yawn, "I've honestly been worn out these past days."
"No worries." Lupin replied.
...
Over the next few days, Kael stayed in the library as usual.
Right up to the day before school started.
"You're heading back?"
In the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley couldn't help but ask, "Is Dumbledore looking for you again?"
The others subconsciously looked over as well.
"No." Kael shook his head, "I haven't seen him recently."
"Can't you stay one more day?" Mrs. Weasley said, "Tomorrow morning Sirius can take you all together to King's Cross Station."
"No thanks." Kael said, "I came here from the Ministry of Magic. My homework and books are still at home, and school starts tomorrow, so I need to go back and get them."
When Kael said this, Mrs. Weasley understood—if it's homework and textbooks, then yes, he should bring them back to school.
So, after breakfast, Mrs. Weasley took Kael out onto a street in front of Grimmauld Place.
Mr. Weasley was already waiting in his car.
"Hop in, I'll drive you back to the village." he said.
"No need, Mr. Weasley." Kael replied, "I can get back on my own."
"That won't do. The distance from Grimmauld Place to Ottery St Catchpole isn't short." Mrs. Weasley shook her head, "And these are unusual times—no telling where Death Eaters are hiding. What if you get attacked on the way?"
"They won't get the chance." Kael said, smiling as he opened the car door and climbed in, "Oh, and remember—keep this secret for me."
With a crisp sound, Kael used the cover of the car and vanished instantly.
This scene was seen by the others inside the house,
For safety, Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let everyone go outside, so they watched from the window.
And coincidentally, their angle provided a clear view of what happened inside the car.
"Apparition?" Ron blurted, "Kael is only starting sixth year, right? He already knows it?"
"Only you think he can't." Hermione retorted bluntly.
Harry nodded along, "I bet he learned this magic ages ago."
"At least a year ago." Sirius added, "Around this time last year, I saw him use it, and he was very skilled."
"Last year," Ron said, "that means he was just in fifth year..."
"Right, he could Apparate fluently at your age." Sirius said.
Maybe he felt like this was a bit discouraging to the trio, so he quickly added, "Of course, among your peers, you're all excellent, too."
"No wonder Professor Dumbledore only took him to Hogsmeade." Harry whispered.
Then he turned and asked, "Sirius, can you teach us Apparition?"
Ron and Hermione immediately looked over as well, their eyes full of hope.
"Can we? We want to learn too."
"Learning Apparition can be dangerous." Sirius said, "According to the rules, you're not allowed to learn it before sixth year."
"Please." Harry pleaded, eyes blazing.
"Don't look at me like that..." Sirius hesitated for a moment, then finally gave in, "Alright, alright, I'll do it. But remember—don't tell anyone, especially Remus."
"We promise!" the three said in unison.
"When will you teach us?" Harry pressed.
"Not enough time now." Sirius thought it over. "Wait till school starts—maybe on weekends, or during Christmas break."
"No problem."
...