At a table by the window inside The Three Broomsticks, Kyle and Hermione sat opposite each other. The atmosphere between them was a bit subtle, and rather awkward.
Normally, when the two top students gathered, they always had an endless stream of topics to discuss.
Well, mostly related to magic, consisting of serious, proper study discussions.
But now, they just sat there facing each other in silence. Neither knew how to start talking, nor what they should even talk about.
Fortunately, Madam Rosmerta's arrival broke the awkward silence.
"Well now, what would you like to drink, Mr. Wayne?"
Kyle sighed helplessly. "Madam Rosmerta, could you please stop bringing that up?"
Back then, Kyle had used Transfiguration and makeup tools to disguise himself as an adult, using the alias 'Bruce Wayne.' He had managed to sneak into The Three Broomsticks with the other three members of the 'Father-Annoyers' to buy drinks.
But as soon as Grindelwald arrived, his identity was instantly exposed.
At the time, Dumbledore had been in such a rush to intercept Grindelwald that he didn't notice the record of the challenge Kyle had left behind in her pub.
When he finally remembered it later, Dumbledore, seeking to settle accounts after the fact, nearly broke Kyle's legs right on the streets of Hogsmeade.
Furthermore, having sold a large amount of alcohol to those four absolute menaces of underage wizards, Madam Rosmerta had blamed herself for a long time—especially after hearing that Kyle was a child from Dumbledore's own household.
Now, every time he came to The Three Broomsticks, Madam Rosmerta liked to mention that name, purely hoping Kyle would stay on his best behavior under the threat of Dumbledore breaking his legs.
"Two butterbeers, please," Kyle said, spreading his hands helplessly. "It's not like you'd sell any other alcoholic drinks to two minors anyway, right?"
"If you aren't afraid of Professor Dumbledore breaking your legs, I wouldn't mind selling you two bottles of vodka."
Madam Rosmerta winked at Kyle, her eyes full of playful mischief.
If Kyle dared to nod, she would dare to serve the alcohol to him.
Though whether she would tattle to Dumbledore afterward remained to be seen.
Kyle waved his hand.
No thanks, no thanks. My life is precious.
With Madam Rosmerta interrupting like this, the awkwardness between Kyle and Hermione dissolved quite a bit.
Watching two familiar figures run past the street outside the window, Hermione turned her head to look at Kyle.
"Kyle, do you think Harry and Ron... could they really be that kind of...?"
Though one of the two people who had just sprinted past now had hair reaching down to his waist, Hermione could absolutely never mistake him. That fellow was none other than Ron, the cross-dressing master.
"Which kind?"
"The kind like... Professor Dumbledore and Lord Grindelwald..."
Hermione's voice grew quieter and quieter as she spoke, her face flushing red.
Gossip topics this shocking were thrilling just to mention.
Kyle looked at Hermione, utterly dumbfounded, before bursting into laughter.
"How could the two of them be like that?" Kyle tried his best to hold back his laughter. "Harry likes Cho Chang. You can't tell me you didn't know that?"
"Cho Chang? But isn't she Cedric's...?"
Hearing such explosive news, the flush of excitement on Hermione's face spread even wider.
It had to be said that gossip would always be the most universally beloved topic for the masses.
While Kyle and Hermione were gossiping about the Savior and his best mate, Madam Rosmerta brought over two large, foaming mugs of hot butterbeer.
She didn't leave immediately, but paused by their table to listen with great relish for a moment.
"Madam, don't you need to tend to the pub's business?"
Seeing Rosmerta standing by their table acting like a giant third wheel, Hermione asked.
Hearing Hermione's words, Rosmerta glanced around the pub and sighed helplessly. "Actually, there isn't much to tend to."
If this were a typical Hogsmeade weekend in the past, the pub would be packed to the brim by now, rather than just barely having its seats filled like this.
"Those wretched Dementors came to search my pub a while back, scaring off more than half of my customers."
Kyle was a bit curious. "What were the Dementors searching the pub for?"
"Don't you know? A while ago, Sirius Black showed his face right here in Hogsmeade."
Sirius Black?
Hearing this name, Kyle froze for a moment.
With the entire wizarding world looking for him, this guy actually dared to sneak out and show his face over here in Hogsmeade?
The man really knew how to cause trouble for others.
Although their Father-Annoyers group caused trouble at a higher frequency and intensity than the Marauders ever did, at the very least, they didn't cause problems for innocent bystanders.
Kyle pondered whether he should find some time to just pack him up and send him back to Azkaban.
In fact, what Kyle didn't know was that Sirius secretly sneaking out to Hogsmeade had everything to do with him.
During last year's Quidditch match, Kyle had used a subsonic Bludger to blast Harry's Nimbus 2000 completely into splinters.
Kyle had offered compensation, but Harry felt too embarrassed to accept the money.
Yet afterward, when Harry found himself without a broom to use and wanted to buy a new Nimbus 2001, he suddenly felt a sharp pang of pain for his own wallet.
Although Harry was a bit of a wealthy young lord, he wasn't as adept at making money as the Weasley twins.
The money inside the Potter family vault at Gringotts would only dwindle with every Galleon spent.
Therefore, he couldn't bring himself to spend several hundred Galleons to buy a new Nimbus. Instead, he had been using a school-provided Comet, playing all the way until the end of the season.
Anyway, since no broom could help him win against Kyle, the "Demon of the Sky," Harry had completely given up and accepted his fate.
On the other hand, Sirius felt deeply for his godson. He had planned to buy the newly released Firebolt to gift to Harry, which was why he had stealthily sneaked into Hogsmeade.
And that was what led to him being spotted, drawing a massive horde of Dementors to thoroughly search Hogsmeade.
"Sirius Black appeared in Hogsmeade?" Hermione said thoughtfully. "Could he be coming after Harry?"
Hermione still didn't know the truth of what happened all those years ago. She still thought Sirius Black was that notorious, cold-blooded murderer.
Glancing at Madam Rosmerta, who had already turned and walked away, Kyle waved his hand. An invisible barrier instantly isolated their table from the rest of the pub.
"Actually, Sirius Black isn't what you think he is."
"Oh?" The young otter's voice was filled with curiosity.
Kyle explained the whole story to Hermione. However, after listening to it all, Hermione gave him a massive eye-roll.
"So... you told George and Fred about this right away, but I had to wait until now to find out?"
Hearing the slight grievance in Hermione's tone, Kyle knew immediately that the young otter was upset.
He didn't answer. Instead, he silently picked up his glass and took a large gulp of the butterbeer inside, using it to hide his guilty conscience.
Setting the glass down, Kyle cautiously tilted his head to check Hermione's reaction, only to find that Hermione had been staring intently at the corner of his mouth.
"What's wrong?"
"The corner of your mouth..."
The top half of the butterbeer was pure foam. With Kyle taking such a large gulp, it had left a ring of white around his mouth, looking just like Dumbledore's white beard.
Seeing this sight, Hermione naturally stood up, leaned across the table, and reached her hand out toward Kyle.
But just as her hand was about to touch Kyle's face, the young otter froze.
Looking at Kyle's face so close at hand, Hermione's mind went completely blank...
It was simply too close.
At this distance, she could even feel the gentle warmth of the air from Kyle's every breath.
Kyle's eyes were filled with laughter as he grabbed Hermione's hand.
The distance between the two of them grew closer and closer...
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