The Heartless Dumbledore

The next day, Kyle arrived at the Burrow early in the morning and used the fireplace to go to Diagon Alley.

It has to be said that anything related to dragons is expensive, and dragon blood is no exception. Just a small bottle cost Kyle twelve Galleon, which made him wince in pain.

I thought I'd found a great e-reader, but it turns out I have to pay for it... Thumbs down!

After leaving the pharmacy, Kyle went to the secondhand store and happened to run into Percy coming out of it.

He was also holding a book in his hand.

Because Mrs. Weasley was worried about Kyle coming to Diagon Alley alone, she asked Percy to come along. Coincidentally, he had also been wanting to buy the book he had seen that day.

It's that book, "How Prefects Gain Power".

Ever since Percy read this book in Diagon Alley, he felt as if he had found his direction for the future.

Whenever he closes his eyes, the "wise sayings" from the book keep replaying in his mind.

Moreover, with each scroll, he seemed to glean a new meaning.

So, to prevent himself from misremembering or missing any important information, Percy decided to buy the book... even if it cost him all his allowance.

Kyle, seeing Percy clutching the book with a pained expression yet clearly enjoying it, couldn't help but ask curiously, "How much did you spend?"

"Nine Galleon, that's all my allowance for the next two years!" Percy said. "It was supposed to be eighteen Galleon, but the shopkeeper saw I didn't have that much money and gave me a very good discount."

Kyle clicked his tongue.

Books at secondhand stores are generally half the price of those at Flourish and Blotts.

In other words, the original price of this book was thirty-six Galleon...

Kyle initially thought Lockhart's five- Galleon books were expensive enough, but he hadn't expected there to be even more outrageous items here...

Good heavens, one of them is more expensive than seven!

Lockhart is indeed too young!

Kyle didn't say anything, since it wasn't him who bought it anyway.

This time they didn't run into any acquaintances, and the two returned to the Burrow through the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron.

Mrs. Weasley had just prepared breakfast: corned beef sandwiches and fried potatoes.

Percy didn't come down for dinner; he grabbed two sandwiches and hurried upstairs to study the classics.

Kyle sat down next to Ron... who was struggling with a piece of bacon, his face almost scrunched up.

"You're back, Kyle."

Fred, rubbing his chin, asked, "What did you buy in Diagon Alley?"

"Dragon blood."

Kyle took out the small bottle, and a faint fishy smell immediately filled the air.

"Oh, this smells disgusting!" George pinched his nose. "Put it away quickly!"

Kyle shrugged. There was nothing he could do; that's how fresh dragon blood is. Besides, the bottle the apothecary gave him was pretty basic; the seal could only guarantee it wouldn't leak.

After putting the dragon's blood back into the leather bag, the surrounding fishy smell subsided considerably.

"Dragon blood isn't cheap," Fred asked. "Are you brewing some kind of Potions?"

"No, I have other uses for it." Kyle shook his head. "By the way, did I show you the parchment?"

"Speaking of which..." Fred suddenly stood up excitedly, "Kyle, you really are a genius!"

"The Ancient Runes formula you provided is fantastic!"

George eagerly pushed a whole plate of corned beef sandwiches in front of Kyle. "Just a small change, and all the problems are solved. The magic wand is a great success!"

"Don't tell me you're discussing those magical tricks again..."

Just then, Mrs. Weasley came over with a plate of sausages, giving Fred and George an unfriendly look.

"No, Mom!"

George quickly explained, "We're discussing Ancient Runes."

"That's right."

Fred also pulled out a piece of parchment covered with various symbols and formulas. "We're studying the practical applications of Ancient Runes patterns; this is homework assigned by Babbling."

Mrs. Weasley glanced at it and saw that the parchment was indeed written in Ancient Runes, and there were also large sections of the twins' handwriting.

"Sorry, Fred ... and George too."

Mrs. Weasley filled their plates with sausages.

Fred winked at Kyle.

"It's okay...but Mom, it's me, George!"

Kyle smiled, picked up the sandwich, and took a bite.

I must say, Mrs. Weasley's cured beef was incredibly dry and tough... almost like dried beef.

But the taste was still pretty good.

After breakfast, Fred took out his Broomstick:

"Kyle, how about we go play Quidditch again later?"

"Cedric is back, we can have an academy match."

Kyle glanced at them and decisively refused. Good heavens, a room Gryffindor. Ginny hadn't been sorted yet, but she probably wouldn't be able to escape either.

Five against two is one thing, but three of them are legitimate team players. Only a fool would play a college match against them.

"We can just give Ginny to you," George said generously. "She hasn't been sorted into a different department yet, so it doesn't matter where she goes."

"And Harry too," Kyle said.

"Don't even think about it..."

"Then forget it!"

After resolutely refusing the unfair match, Kyle left the Burrow.

He originally intended to go back and get some extra lessons from Riddle, since he had already bought the "Dragon Blood Membership" and couldn't just let it go to waste.

But this idea ultimately failed to materialize.

It had nothing to do with Fred and the others; it was mainly because Kyle had just returned to his room when a large, fiery red bird suddenly flew in and landed on his shoulder.

"Fawkes?"

Kyle looked in surprise at the phoenix on his shoulder.

Why are you here?

Fawkes flicked his tail feathers and tossed a box in front of Kyle... the one he had given to Dumbledore before the holidays.

"You brought it over?"

Kyle immediately forgot about Riddle, excitedly picked up the box, and looked it over.

"Thank you, Fawkes. Where's Professor Dumbledore?" Kyle said casually as he checked the box.

He should have kept quiet; the question made Fawkes instantly angry.

It let out a sharp cry, its wings flapping incessantly, as if gesturing something.

"You mean, he wanted to go to Austria for the magic conference by himself... that's why he sent you to deliver this to me?"

Kyle frowned slightly as he listened to Fawkes's words. If he remembered correctly, Nurmengard... was somewhere near Austria...

Fawkes nodded and continued flapping its wings angrily, as if condemning some fickle, heartless scoundrel.

But this was tough on Kyle; to be honest, it really hurt when the phoenix's wings hit him.

Kyle quickly grabbed a handful of herbs and comforted him, "It's alright, don't be angry. Eat something first, these are all fresh herbs... Let me tell you, you don't deserve to be angry over someone like that, he..."