"Sirius, you cannot continue to live here," Professor Flitwick sighed.
Kyle agreed with this completely.
Although the Dementors had all been destroyed, meaning the news wouldn't leak to the Ministry of Magic through them, a massive commotion like the one at school tonight meant that, without a doubt, the students would definitely pin the blame on Sirius.
After all, the entire British wizarding world was currently focusing its attention on this "vicious and wicked former Death Eater."
Even if the two Heads of House went back and told the students that Sirius wasn't responsible for the disturbance, there was no guaranteeing that some thrill-seeking little Lions wouldn't sneak over here for an adventure.
Or worse, another pair of lovebirds with nowhere to release their raging hormones might come out here for a late-night tryst.
Therefore, it was best for Sirius to leave the grounds of Hogwarts entirely.
Sirius nodded; he wasn't someone who couldn't tell the difference between what was critical and what wasn't.
After asking the two Heads of House to keep a close eye on Harry for him, Sirius turned and left the tower without hesitation, walking toward the distant Whomping Willow—which had been replanted and was currently only a little over two meters tall.
Beneath the Whomping Willow lay a secret passage leading to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade village.
The Shrieking Shack was an old stronghold for the Marauders.
Since no one ever set foot there, the Dementors wouldn't go there to search.
Thus, Sirius would be very safe staying there, which was exactly where he was heading to hide out for a while.
After watching Sirius vanish into the dark night, everyone withdrew their gazes.
Kyle's attention drifted to the young couple lying on the ground, and he slowly drew his wand.
The green light of Avada Kedavra enveloped—
No, wait. It was Obliviate.
After a flash of light, the parts of their memories concerning Sirius were wiped clean.
When they woke up, the two of them would only remember being attacked by Dementors.
As for who saved them...
The answer was obvious. Who else could it be but the professors who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion?
Upon returning to the Great Hall of the castle, the four of them naturally became the center of attention for the entire school.
Kyle and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor table, while Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick walked straight to the staff table.
After the two professors quietly reported what had happened at the tower to Dumbledore, a thoughtful expression appeared on Dumbledore's face.
The students all held their breath, intently watching Dumbledore.
Not making the students wait long, Dumbledore walked to the front of the dais, his voice ringing loudly across the entire Great Hall.
Dumbledore briefly explained to the students what had just occurred at the tower, though he omitted the part involving Sirius.
The old man's voice carried a hint of fury.
With righteous indignation, he declared that he would demand an explanation from the Ministry of Magic on behalf of these two poor, attacked students.
If Kyle hadn't noticed that Dumbledore's eyes were completely unruffled, he might have actually believed the words of this old geezer, whose acting skills were off the charts.
Now that something like this had happened today, the Ministry no longer had any excuse to keep stationing Dementors at Hogwarts.
Furthermore, thanks to Sirius's timely intervention, the two students who had snuck out for a late-night tryst were merely frightened unconscious by the overwhelming swarm of Dementors, without suffering any actual harm.
The old man was probably secretly laughing with joy.
Of course, it was still necessary to put on the appropriate public stance.
At this moment, Dumbledore stood at the front of the staff table, delivering an impassioned speech.
If Kyle were to summarize it simply, the gist of Dumbledore's speech went something like this—
"A great wind rises, and the clouds fly high! Where can I find brave warriors to guard the realm?"
"Dementors! They must be eradicated at all costs! Doing nothing is out of the question!"
"Just think about it! You step out of the castle, out on a tryst, clapping your hands!"
"And suddenly, you get ambushed by Dementors!"
"Therefore! Days without Dementors are the only good days!"
Though Dumbledore didn't use those exact words, that was pretty much the underlying message.
After fiercely condemning the Dementors' actions, Dumbledore waved his hand. "Prefects of each house, please lead your fellow students back to your common rooms."
The students filed out of the Great Hall one after another, though there were naturally a few exceptions.
Kyle didn't leave; he knew Dumbledore definitely had something to say to him.
Seeing that Kyle wasn't leaving, Hermione stayed behind as well.
George and Fred, those two clueless fellows, originally wanted to stay behind too, eager to see if there was anything they could help with. However, Cedric dragged and pulled them away.
Kyle is taking his girl to meet the family elder; what business do you two have crashing that?
Once the other professors had also departed, Dumbledore stared at Kyle—or more accurately, at the pendant bearing the symbol of the Deathly Hallows hanging around Kyle's neck.
He asked softly, "You should have a way to summon the Acolytes, right?"
Dumbledore didn't hide this from Hermione when he spoke. After all, Hermione had already been to Nurmengard Castle and had met her future grandfather-in-law, Grindelwald.
Kyle nodded. As a direct descendant of Grindelwald, the future leader of the Acolytes, and the rising Third Dark Lord, how could he possibly lack a method to summon the Acolytes?
Every generation of Dark Lord had their own way of summoning their subordinates.
For instance, Voldemort's method of summoning the Death Eaters was through the Dark Mark tattoo on their arms.
As the First Dark Lord, Grindelwald's style was nowhere near as cheap and tacky as old Voldy's.
Grindelwald's method of summoning the Acolytes was a translucent black banner that swept across an entire city.
Grindelwald had taught Kyle this magic back during the summer break when they first acknowledged each other.
However, Kyle didn't know what Dumbledore was trying to achieve.
Could it be exactly as he suspected? The wizarding world had suffered under Cornelius for too long, and Dumbledore was preparing to launch a Beer Hall Putsch at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade?
Suddenly, the Acolytes sharpen their blades by night! The Emperor's star wavers as Mars burns bright!
A flash of excitement and eagerness gleamed in Kyle's eyes. If Dumbledore just said the word, he would immediately summon the black shrouds to sweep across all of London, launch a blitzkrieg on the Ministry of Magic, and capture Cornelius alive!
As if reading Kyle's mind, Dumbledore shook his head. "It is not what you think."
Then what is it? A look of confusion appeared on Kyle's face.
"I want to borrow a few people from you to help track down Peter Pettigrew."
Having spent the first half of his life fighting against Grindelwald and his Acolytes, Dumbledore knew full well that every single one of them was highly capable.
For a task like finding someone, it was best to entrust it to them.
"Borrow people? Don't you have your own..."
Kyle cut his words short halfway through; Hermione didn't know about the existence of the Order of the Phoenix yet.
Dumbledore didn't think these matters needed to be hidden from Hermione. His tone carried a hint of helplessness mixed with a touch of embarrassment, perfectly divided like a pie chart.
"The members of the Order of the Phoenix all have their own jobs; they cannot help."
Understood. So what you're basically saying, old man, is that the Acolytes are just a bunch of idle people with nothing better to do.
[Translator's Note: Dumbledore's speech heavily parodies a famous comedic dialogue routine from the Chinese satirical film Let the Bullets Fly.]
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