The Escaped Dementor

Kyle's words plunged the entire Headmaster's Office into silence.

Dumbledore had seen his fair share of grand occasions, but now he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

The same goes for the portraits on the wall.

In the portrait, a gaunt male wizard looks at Kyle with a hesitant expression, his face constantly shifting.

He also has a portrait at the Ministry of Magic, and he often goes there to take a look and inquire about the latest developments in the Wizarding World.

Therefore, he did know a little about Cornelius Fudge... but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't connect the person who was keen on scheming for power and expanding his network with what Kyle had just said.

As for Phineas, he was even more direct.

"Albus ..." He said to Dumbledore in front of Kyle without any hesitation, "Check him out quickly, I think this kid must have been hit by someone's Imperius Curse."

Phineas also knew Fudge well; in his own words... "Milfitt was bad enough, but he's even worse."

Miliffy was Minister for Magic 150 years ago, and during her term she passed many unnecessary laws... such as the angle at which wizard hats should be worn.

Back then, wizards had to spend twenty minutes checking their clothes before going out to make sure there was nothing wrong with them.

But after meeting Fudge, Phineas suddenly felt that Milfitt wasn't so bad after all; at least she passed quite a few practical bills every year.

As for Fudge, after several years in office, the only thing worth mentioning is last year's Muggle Protection Act.

"Phineas ... I don't believe anyone in the school can use the Imperius Curse on a student," Dumbledore said calmly.

"Then why did he start talking nonsense?" Phineas said.

"I can have someone examine him," another witch suggested.

Dilys Derwent, the headmistress of Hogwarts two hundred years ago, was also a renowned healer; her portrait still hangs in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Dumbledore shook his head, ignoring their words, and looked at Kyle with interest.

"I knew you'd always surprise me... Would you mind telling me what you're thinking?"

"If the Minister for Magic were someone else, like Barty Crouch, Sirius would indeed have a much harder time overturning the verdict, but with Fudge as the only one... this matter is much easier to handle."

"But before that..."

He looked at Sirius, "Do you know of any Death Eaters who have been identified but haven't been caught yet?"

Sirius shook his head blankly.

Most of the people he knew had been his neighbors for twelve years, and the rest had all been exonerated... As for whether any had slipped through the net, he didn't have time to investigate.

"I do have some information on that," Dumbledore suddenly said. "Two Death Eaters have changed their identities and have been operating in the shadows, but they are not important figures."

"That's enough," Kyle said. "As long as we can confirm they're Death Eaters."

"Why are you asking this?" Sirius asked curiously.

"It's a gift," Kyle said matter-of-factly. "They did you such a big favor, you should at least bring something."

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, then seemed to have thought of something, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"I knew it, you always manage to surprise me!" he said again.

The next day, Dumbledore left the school, and Sirius disappeared with him.

Harry came several times to inquire about the situation, but he couldn't find anyone, which made him lose his appetite.

Kyle, however, ate quite heartily, and his appetite even seemed to have increased.

When Harry asked, he just shook his head, indicating that he didn't know where Sirius and Dumbledore.

Kyle genuinely didn't know.

He wanted to go with them, but Dumbledore wouldn't take him.

But this is for the best...

Two more days passed, and they still hadn't returned.

Kyle got up early that day, and after breakfast, he made an excuse and went to Hogsmeade through the statue of the hunchbacked witch on the fourth floor.

Today is the agreed-upon day; he's going to retrieve something from the Dementor.

Hogsmeade was peaceful.

Kyle searched for a long time before finally spotting a familiar figure in a black robe somewhere between Hogsmeade and the school...

It was Dementor, but he wasn't sure if it was from that night, since in his eyes all Dementor looked the same.

Kyle was about to go and ask, but just as he approached the Dementor, it darted away like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Kyle hesitated for a moment, then quickly gave chase. There was only one Dementor around, and he couldn't let it get away.

Although the Dementor can fly, it seems unable to leave this area and was quickly caught up by Kyle...

Kyle found it odd; this Dementor was smaller than the ones he'd seen before, and its robes were more tattered, the hooded cloak almost turning into a jacket.

"Why are you running..." Kyle said, "I need to ask you something..."

The Dementor didn't speak, but simply tightened the few remaining tattered robes it wore.

"Where is your leader...?" Kyle thought for a moment, then added, "Not someone from the Ministry of Magic."

The Dementor stretched out his hand, pointing towards the castle. Because he was missing a sleeve, his arm looked unusually unsightly in the sunlight, patchy with black and white, as if it had been sunburned.

"Is it over at the castle?" Kyle asked again.

The Dementor nodded.

Having received the answer, Kyle immediately headed towards the castle. Before leaving, however, he tossed the Dementor a dark blue cloth so it could mend its sleeves, as a way of thanking it for showing him the way.

This was prepared by Kyle as Quidditch World Cup souvenir, but since there was no black one, he had to make do with dark blue.

But Dementor probably wouldn't mind such a small matter.

Hogsmeade wasn't far from the castle, and a few minutes later, Kyle could already see the castle gates.

Two Dementor were guarding that spot.

This time, however, there was no need to ask. Upon noticing Kyle, one of the Dementor immediately floated over.

"You should have seen it, right? Dumbledore didn't cause you any trouble... So what did she say?" Kyle asked bluntly.

The Dementor was equally straightforward. "The old house's basement storage room... the portrait... behind the third brick..."

"Where is this old house located?"

"I don't know... she didn't say..."

"Okay." Kyle nodded, holding out his hand. "What about the things I gave you before?"

The Dementor reached out and took out an envelope and an empty bottle.

In exchange, Kyle gave it some chocolates.

"These are all things that can bring joy, consider it payment for the information. You can take these back to her... maybe you can even have an extra meal together," Kyle said with a smile.

The Dementor didn't quite understand, but he did understand the extra treat... so he put away the chocolates.

After doing all this, Kyle finally walked into the school gate.

However, he didn't go straight back to the castle. Instead, he found a secluded spot and used his wand to set the envelope on fire.

During this process, a faint, almost murmuring sound came from inside the envelope.

Gringotts... the vault...

Then Kyle took out the empty bottle again.

"Reducto!"

The bottle exploded, turning into a pile of fragments that mingled with the ashes of the envelope.

"Aguamenti!"

"Scourgify!"

With two consecutive spells, the ground instantly became spotless, leaving no trace.