The Plan Begins

A Memory Charm was not a Stunning Spell, after all. Once Kyle had brought Aberforth downstairs, he woke up soon enough.

But Aberforth clearly had no memory of what had just happened. Rubbing his forehead, he could not understand why he was lying on the living room floor, nor why his legs hurt so badly, as though someone had dragged him down the stairs.

But how could that be possible? Apart from himself, the only one in the house was Ariana, who was no different from an ordinary girl. It could not possibly have been Ariana who dragged him downstairs, could it?

Aberforth shook his head, assuming that he had fallen asleep on the sofa, then accidentally tumbled off and hit the injury he had gotten in the woods earlier.

Because of the noises at night these past few days, he had not been sleeping well. He had been groggy all day, so it was not strange that he might suddenly fall asleep on the sofa.

Aberforth got to his feet and staggered toward his room upstairs, quietly cursing his irresponsible older brother. If Dumbledore had been there too, he would not have had to work so hard... at the very least, he would not have had to take care of Ariana alone day and night like this.

At that thought, Aberforth's cursing grew louder.

Throughout the whole process, his voice was recorded by a small ear-shaped object in the corner.

Kyle sat concealed outside, holding the other half of an Extendable Ear and listening to Aberforth curse Dumbledore from beginning to end.

It had to be said, the resentment was truly immense. If not for the fact that they shared the same surname limiting Aberforth's vocabulary, he probably would have cursed even more viciously.

Only after seeing Aberforth enter