It wasn't until nightfall that Dumbledore returned from Britain.
During dinner, Kyle took the initiative to ask about Sirius Black. He was more concerned about whether Sirius had been caught yet; if he had, then their "Father-Fretters Alliance" would lose an opportunity for a group outing.
"Dad, what's the situation with Sirius Black?"
Dumbledore gave Kyle an annoyed look. You've never shown this much concern for me.
"The Ministry of Magic still has no idea how he escaped from Azkaban. They've decided to station Dementors at Hogwarts to protect the school's safety..."
"Dementors? Stationed at Hogwarts?" Hermione's voice was thick with disbelief.
Anyone at the Ministry with a functioning brain wouldn't have come up with the idea of sending Dementors to Hogwarts. Although Dementors fell under the Ministry's jurisdiction and guarded the prisoners in Azkaban, the relationship between them and the Ministry was less of a superior-subordinate dynamic and more of an unstable partnership.
Dementors were foul Dark creatures, shrouded in black cloaks, their bodies looking like something that had rotted in water. With their scabbed hands and corpse-like appearance, they were the embodiment of decay. They fed on every positive human emotion; wherever they passed, they sucked away all happiness.
Wizards had long struggled with how to deal with Dementors because these monsters were incredibly powerful and impossible to completely eradicate—until they discovered Azkaban, a "prime location" in the cold waters of the North Sea. Thus, the Ministry imprisoned criminals in Azkaban to serve as an all-you-can-eat buffet for the Dementors. In exchange, the Dementors promised not to leave the confines of the island. It was a "win-win" cooperation for the Ministry.
"Has Cornelius Fudge lost his mind?" Kyle was full of questions.
He gave Dumbledore a thumbs-up. "Dad, your decision to support Fudge's rise to power back then was truly 'brilliant.'"
Being mocked so sarcastically by his own son made Dumbledore feel a bit embarrassed. Hermione, Konan, and Alfred all watched the scene in silence, not daring to laugh out loud. After all, Dumbledore was recognized as the greatest Light wizard of the age. Kyle, being the son of Grindelwald, could joke with Dumbledore, but that didn't mean they could.
Grindelwald, however, had no such reservations. He looked quite happy seeing Dumbledore deflated.
"Albus, why don't you let me handle this trouble for you?"
Dumbledore glared at Grindelwald. "There is no need to trouble the Great Dark Lord."
He knew Grindelwald's "solution" would be nothing more than killing or kidnapping Fudge and then using Human Transfiguration to take his place at the Ministry. Just as he had infiltrated the MACUSA decades ago. Replacing a useless hack like Cornelius Fudge would indeed solve 99% of the Ministry's current problems.
But Dumbledore couldn't do that. Otherwise, what would be the difference between him and the last two generations of Dark Lords? He chose to ignore the old Dark Lord, who was clearly enjoying the chaos.
"I cannot change the decision made by the Ministry. Considering that the best way to deal with Dementors is the Patronus Charm, I think it's best if you all master this spell before the term begins."
Kyle tilted his head. "The Patronus Charm? When do we start?"
The Patronus Charm had always been known as one of the most powerful and ancient defensive spells in the wizarding world. Kyle had read about it in books long ago, but he had never gotten around to learning it. He usually relied on Protego and Finite Incantatem. This combination of defensive spells could block the vast majority of attacks he encountered, whether physical or magical.
But now that Dumbledore had mentioned it, mastering another defensive spell wasn't a bad idea.
"We can start after dinner. Miss Granger, why don't you join us?"
Hermione froze for a moment, then looked incredibly pleasantly surprised. "I can join too?"
Dumbledore wore a kind smile, but to Kyle, it looked more like the satisfied smile a mother-in-law gives a favorite daughter-in-law.
"Of course. Education should not be kept secret; its doors should always be open to those who thirst for knowledge."
The "Little Beaver" nodded excitedly, expressing her deep agreement with Dumbledore's words. More importantly, receiving personal guidance from Albus Dumbledore was something many wizards could only dream of. She shot an envious glance at Kyle. Being born into such a prominent family and receiving one-on-one guidance from both the Light and Dark Lords every day—this level of treatment was simply too good.
At the table, the conversation quickly shifted from the Patronus Charm to other matters.
"Speaking of which, third years at Hogwarts should be starting their course selections, right?" Grindelwald asked with the concern of a typical parent. He turned to Dumbledore. "I remember your school has an elective on Care of Magical Creatures. Have you considered hiring Newt Scamander to teach it?"
Kyle's face darkened. Seriously, why is Dad always so obsessed with tormenting poor Newt? Just because Newt was close to Albus-Dad back in the day? He's been nursing that bottle of vinegar for nearly seventy years—is he ever going to finish it?
Dumbledore had no intention of entertaining the old Dark Lord's bottomless spite and his tireless efforts to harass Newt. Since the topic had turned to course selection, he dropped some news for Kyle and Hermione:
"Professor Kettleburn, the previous Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of the last school year. Taking over his position will be Hagrid."
"Eh? Is that so?" Kyle was a bit surprised. He had exchanged letters with Hagrid a few days ago, but Hagrid hadn't mentioned it at all.
No, wait—Hagrid had clearly hinted at it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have suggested in his letter that Kyle buy a copy of The Monster Book of Monsters.
Hermione and Kyle looked at each other and silently added Care of Magical Creatures to their list of electives.
Aside from Care of Magical Creatures, they had five other electives to choose from: Alchemy, Divination, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, and Ancient Runes.
As for the "Muggle Art Appreciation" class co-founded by the four "Father-Fretters," it was exceptionally popular among the students. The teaching content was incredibly practical—it was essentially the magic control training program Kyle had pioneered. How could it not be practical?
Cough, to be precise, Kyle hadn't invented it, but that wasn't important.
With the help of "Tree Climbing" and "Water Walking," Hogwarts students were performing much better in spell-based classes like Charms and Transfiguration than in previous years. After seeing these results, Dumbledore had originally intended to make it an elective for students in their third year and above.
However, the "Father-Fretters" had declined the proposal. Teaching a regular course took up too much of their time, and their time was far too precious to be wasted like that.
In the end, Kyle suggested a compromise: before the official start of each school year, two weeks would be set aside for concentrated, standardized military training for the students.
This was the legendary "Military Training Week."
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