Dumbledore's Invitation

A week has passed since the Weasley family left Ottery St. Catchpole.

To be honest, after getting used to Fred and George's constant chatter, Kyle is still a little unaccustomed to the sudden quiet.

Percy does come back occasionally, but no one knows what Fudge said to him, he seems like a different person lately, showing undisguised hostility towards anyone associated with Dumbledore.

Therefore, Kyle and he didn't have much to talk about; Kyle would rather spend that time thinking about how to deal with the Ministry of Magic later.

Soon, it was August 11th.

That afternoon, while Kyle was in his room reviewing the "Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery" and the "International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy," he suddenly heard a knock on the door downstairs.

Kyle looked up, somewhat dazed.

He hadn't heard a knock on the door in a long time since Fred and George went to Grimmauld Place.

Cedric?

Kyle thought to himself, then stood up and glanced out the window.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Kyle called out instinctively, looking at Dumbledore standing outside.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you'd been to Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Could I have a cup of tea?"

"Of course, Professor, please wait a moment."

A few minutes later, Kyle placed a cup of black tea in front of Dumbledore, and also took a jar full of sugar cubes and a plate of butter cookies from the cabinet behind him.

"Thanks."

As Dumbledore added sugar to his tea, he said, "First, I must apologize to you, Kyle. When I was explaining to the others what happened on the mountaintop that day, I forgot to ask them to keep it a secret."

"Somehow the news reached Fudge's ears, and the Ministry of Magic seems to have come to regard you as an enemy as well."

"It's alright, Professor." Kyle shook his head.

This matter couldn't have been kept secret for long anyway, and even he himself had no intention of hiding it; the Ministry of Magic would have found out sooner or later.

Moreover, the Death Eaters knew about this, and Kyle remembered that many of them had connections with the Ministry of Magic, making it easy for them to cause trouble for themselves.

"There's something else," Dumbledore continued. "I need to attend Harry's hearing tomorrow, and I probably won't have time to accompany you to your questioning... How about having Minerva go with you? I remember she and Ms. Hopkirk are old friends."

"No need." Kyle shook his head. "It's just a simple inquiry, there's no need to make such a fuss. I can go by myself, and my dad will come with me tomorrow."

"This was Minerva's own request," Dumbledore said. "You are still a student, and even on holiday, the professors have a responsibility to ensure you are not subject to any unfair judgment. She will be waiting for you in the Ministry of Magic's Great Hall tomorrow morning; remember to keep an eye out for her."

"Alright then," Kyle said. It was good to have Professor McGonagall with them; as Dumbledore said, professors wouldn't stand by and watch their students suffer.

"Did you come to see me just for this?"

"That's just the most important thing." Dumbledore a sip of his tea. "There's one more minor matter... I think you've already heard from Doge, haven't you? I'm going to hold a meeting in my own name to tell the truth to those who are willing to believe us, so that they won't be misled by false information."

Kyle nodded. "Mr. McPhail mentioned it in his letter."

"The meeting is on August 20th in Hogsmeade," Dumbledore said. "If you don't have any other plans, how about coming along?"

"Can I participate too?" Kyle asked curiously.

Those invited by Dumbledore must be renowned wizards in the Wizarding World. Could a fifth-year... no, I should say sixth-year student really get away with it?

"No one is more suitable than you." Dumbledore seemed to see through Kyle's thoughts and said with a smile, "I originally wanted to invite you directly, but I was worried that you might have other plans, so it was better to ask in advance."

"I would love to attend this meeting," Kyle said.

"Alright, I'll come pick you up then." Dumbledore stood up. "But I might have to go to Little Whinging now to prepare for tomorrow's hearing."

"Do you need help?"

"Thank you, but I'm just going to ask if anyone around has seen anything. It's not much trouble; one person is enough."

Dumbledore put down his teacup and said, "Thank you for the tea and snacks. See you tomorrow."

Having said that, he Apparition and disappeared.

Kyle was left alone in the living room.

He had originally intended to mention something else, such as matters concerning the Ministry of Magic or Fudge, but Dumbledore acted too quickly and left before he could speak.

Moreover, Kyle sensed during their conversation that Dumbledore seemed unusually busy, as if he were in a rush.

Although he spoke slowly, he drank his tea very quickly, finishing it in almost two sips.

He wasn't like this at school. For those sweet black teas that Kyle would crave a sip of black pepper to cut the grease, Dumbledore preferred to savor them slowly rather than gulp them down like he did today.

This also shows that he never intended to stay long in the first place.

But thinking about it, it's understandable. After all, it involves Voldemort, and he probably won't have much free time in the past month.

But there's no rush. We can deal with it when we go to Hogsmeade in a few days.

Kyle got up and went back to his room upstairs. He hadn't expected Dumbledore to actually invite him to the meeting; he had thought Dumbledore had come to recruit him into the Order of the Phoenix.

He didn't even mention the topic of the Order of the Phoenix.

It now seems that Dumbledore, like Mrs. Weasley, didn't want underage wizards to join them.

Chris didn't go home until it was completely dark, but he seemed quite happy, his steps were much lighter than before as he entered the house.

"Don't be nervous," Chris said with a smile. "I just went to the Leaky Cauldron, but old Tom told me that someone has already contacted him, and he has agreed to go to the Ministry of Magic and explain the situation to Mafalda tomorrow."

"Old Tom clearly didn't understand it either. He told me that before this incident, he had never heard of anyone being warned by the Ministry of Magic for using a spell at the Leaky Cauldron."

"That's good," Kyle said. "How will I get there tomorrow? Will I come with you? Or should I wait until the agreed time?"

"Come with me, I'll take you there," Chris said. "But a little earlier, your mother needs to see you. We need to go to the Department of Mysteries first, and then to the Office for the Improper Use of Magic."

"What's the matter? Do we still need to go to the Department of Mysteries?"

"To be honest, I don't know either." Chris shook his head and said, "Before I got off work, I received a note from your mother saying that I should bring you there as soon as possible, but that was it."

"But doesn't the Department of Mysteries have a mission?" Kyle asked. "Can we even get in?"

"It's not us, it's you," Chris said.

"She will only take you to the Department of Mysteries. After this is all over, I will take you for questioning."