Early the next morning, Kyle was jolted awake by a frantic pounding on his door.
The boisterous shouting of George and Fred echoed from outside.
"Kyle! Get up! We're heading to the Ministry!"
Kyle turned his head to glance at the wall clock, a look of pure bewilderment crossing his face.
Doesn't it start at ten in the morning?
It was only six. What was the point of pounding on his door this early?
Did they want him to flip his hand and treat them to a "Grindelwald Gas Stove"?
Despite his annoyance, Kyle eventually struggled out of bed. Being used to waking up early was one reason, but more importantly, the cacophony drifting up from downstairs made it impossible to roll over and go back to sleep.
It was clear that everyone was incredibly excited and agitated about the prospect of going to the Ministry of Magic for the Order of Merlin investiture ceremony.
After finishing his morning routine, Kyle swapped his casual clothes for the formal dress robes Konan had prepared for him.
Previously, the "Father-Worriers" had discussed whether they should all wear their Hogwarts school uniforms. They thought it might emphasize their youth and their status as students. After all, how many students in the history of Hogwarts had managed to earn such an honor before graduation? Their youth would surely make the crowd look upon them with even greater admiration.
But in the end, they decided it wasn't necessary. The achievements they had already reached were dazzling enough; they didn't need flashy gimmicks to seek attention.
Besides, dressing up might give George—who was still very much single—a chance to finally shed his "lone dog" status.
Kyle appraised himself in the mirror. The luxurious robes, styled like those of a medieval noble, didn't look the least bit gaudy. Instead, they projected an aura of nobility and majesty. Complemented by the innate, rebellious temperament of the Grindelwald family, he looked truly extraordinary.
However, Kyle felt like something was missing.
His gaze drifted over his reflection before finally landing on his sun-bright hair.
Ah, right! The hairstyle.
Gathering magic into the palm of his hand, Kyle's "hair-wax hand" brushed lightly over his head. In an instant, his hair was swept back into a sleek pompadour, with only a single stray lock left hanging over his brow.
Perfect.
Upon heading downstairs, Kyle found that most people were already dressed in their Sunday best, sitting around the table in small groups eating breakfast. He was actually one of the last to get up.
Kyle could understand their excitement. While a Second Class medal wasn't quite on the level of a Nobel Prize, it was still a prestigious national-level award.
When he saw Konan, Hermione, and Hannah all dressed up, Kyle's eyes instantly lit up. This was the first time he had seen the three of them in formal gowns.
All three girls possessed beauty far above the average. Even if Hannah's looks were slightly overshadowed by Konan and Hermione, with a bit of dressing up, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Needless to say, Konan and Hermione were on another level entirely.
However, mindful of the potential "shura field" of romantic tension, Kyle didn't dare look for too long. He simply committed their current appearances to memory before withdrawing his gaze.
He couldn't stare now, but once he got home, he could extract the memory and toss it into a Pensieve to look his fill.
Kyle felt a Jiraiya-like grin spreading across his mind.
Given that four wizards were being honored this time and their group of friends and family was quite large, it wasn't realistic to have them go through the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace one by one via Floo Powder.
While that was the most convenient method, the traffic at the Ministry's Floo Network hubs was too high and difficult to manage. Furthermore, there were several Muggles among the guests; if an accident occurred, it would be a disaster.
Therefore, the Ministry had thoughtfully sent special cars to the Leaky Cauldron to pick up the award recipients and their party. Dedicated Ministry staff were also waiting at the visitor entrance to greet them.
The Ministry had even used Undetectable Extension Charms to widen the visitor entrance—the red telephone booth on a London street—many times over. Otherwise, given the usual size, only two people could pass through at a time.
When Kyle and the others arrived at the hall specifically used for ceremonies and events, there were already over a hundred people there. Members of the Wizengamot and past Order of Merlin recipients, all dressed in various formal robes, were gathered in small groups chatting.
Generally speaking, a Second Class award ceremony shouldn't attract this much attention. Usually, you'd have a few Wizengamot members to present the medal and perhaps fifteen to twenty fellow recipients to show support.
A crowd of over a hundred like this was on par with the grand spectacle of a First Class award.
Perhaps it was because Kyle still bore the surname Dumbledore, or perhaps it was the rarity of four Second Class awards being handed out at once, but this ceremony had drawn an immense amount of interest.
As the "Father-Worriers" arrived, everyone in the hall cast friendly glances toward the four of them.
Everyone, that is, except for one person.
Snape, that stubborn tsundere, hadn't originally intended to come. Since the "hand-chopping incident" last semester, the relationship between him and Kyle had dropped to freezing point. So, when he received Kyle's invitation, his reply consisted of only one word: "Get out!"
However, he eventually buckled under the pressure of Kyle's relentless campaign—sending fifty owls a day for a non-stop letter-bombing offensive. He had been forced to accept the invitation.
But even though he was here, he wasn't going to give Kyle a warm welcome.
At this moment, having uncharacteristically washed his hair and changed into new clothes, Snape stood in a dark corner with a sour face, staring coldly at Kyle and the Weasley twins. He radiated an "unapproachable" aura so strong that not a single soul was within five meters of him.
Of the other three Hogwarts Heads of House invited, Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout both wore expressions of extreme joy—with the exception of Professor Flitwick.
This was because Kyle and Cedric belonged to Hufflepuff, while the Weasley twins were from Gryffindor. Only Flitwick's Ravenclaw House had come up empty-handed.
However, Flitwick didn't have a "resting bitter face" like Snape. At the moment, the professor—who possessed a bit of goblin blood—was all smiles as he chatted with Cho Chang and Cedric.
Cedric was Cho's boyfriend, making him, in a sense, a "son-in-law" of Ravenclaw. As the saying goes, "a son-in-law is half a son," so Cedric could be counted as half a Ravenclaw.
Besides Cedric, there was also Percy from Gryffindor.
Ravenclaw House had two recognized "beauties": one was Cho Chang, and the other was Penelope Clearwater. Penelope was not only beautiful but also academically excellent; otherwise, she wouldn't have been chosen as a Ravenclaw Prefect.
Over the past six months, Percy had been pursuing Penelope quite vigorously. Percy thought he was being subtle, but with Ginny—the little gossip expert—fanning the flames, it was common knowledge.
Although Percy wasn't a recipient of the Order of Merlin this time, he was the brother of two recipients. That status carried a lot of weight.
As long as Percy and Penelope worked out, then two sons-in-law added up to one full son. Rounded up, it was basically the same as Ravenclaw winning a medal.
There was no flaw in that logic.
Therefore, in the end, the only house that truly walked away with nothing was Snape's Slytherin.
Thinking about how there was someone even more miserable than himself, Professor Flitwick's heart was instantly at peace.
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