The Blood Pact Forged in the Granary

Dumbledore and Grindelwald's relationship had grown increasingly close, and everyone in Godric's Hollow knew it.

In just a few short days, they had become inseparable. They were always studying magic together and discussing their ideals. If you saw only one of them on the road, there was no need to wonder—the other was surely nearby; you simply had not spotted him yet.

As for why they spent their time outside, it was probably because of Aberforth. He and Dumbledore had been arguing more and more often. People passing near the Dumbledore house at night could hear roars coming from inside.

Dumbledore seemed to feel guilty and never argued too fiercely with his younger brother. Put simply, he would neither fight back when struck nor answer back when insulted.

But Grindelwald was not nearly so patient. Because of this, he had nearly come to blows with Aberforth several times.

Fortunately, Dumbledore had stepped in each time and barely managed to defuse the conflict.

Kyle had learned all of this at the bar. He himself had not even stepped outside; every scrap of information had come from someone else.

After spending some time together, the people who came here had all learned that Kyle liked listening to stories... or rather, every wizard who studied the history of magic liked stories. When Bathilda Bagshot was young, for instance, she had always tried every possible way to pry old rumors from the adults around her.

But Kyle was different from Bathilda. He never cared what kind of story it was. Whether it was an unsubstantiated tale passed down from the past, a picture-book story, or neighborhood gossip that had happened just yesterday... as long as he enjoyed hearing it, he would wave a hand and treat the storyteller to a glass of the finest