Butler Man Alfred

At the border of France, Italy, and Switzerland, in the Alps.

Amid layers of snow-capped mountains stood an ancient castle in silent grandeur. Its towering spires proclaimed its majesty, while its imposing gates and round arched windows exuded elegance and luxury.

To build such a magnificent castle amid the tourist-filled Alps without Muggles discovering it clearly required the help of magic.

An old man and a child appeared before the castle gates.

Sensing their arrival, the castle's heavy doors opened soundlessly on their own.

Alfred von August, the butler who served the Grindelwald family, stood waiting in the spacious Entrance Hall, dressed in a perfectly tailored butler's uniform.

"Master Gellert, dinner is ready." The old butler gave a slight bow, then looked at the little boy beside Grindelwald, whose appearance was nearly identical to Gellert Grindelwald in his youth. "This must be young Master Kyle."

Grindelwald nodded at the old butler. "Alfred, take us to the dining room."

The moment Kyle heard that the old butler's name was Alfred, he suddenly felt a deep sense of dissonance.

That feeling became even stronger when Alfred called him young master.

Earlier today, he had used the alias "Bruce Wayne" at the Three Broomsticks Bar.

Touching the wand tucked inside his sleeve, Kyle felt that he probably hadn't ended up in the wrong setting... right?

The magnificent old castle embodied the utmost extravagance of the mortal world.

As he walked through the broad, empty Entrance Hall, Kyle carefully examined the surrounding decor.

It was not as if he had never seen a castle before. Hogwarts itself was a castle, but Hogwarts did not belong to him alone, even if his dad—no, his mom—was Hogwarts' Headmaster.

The castle he was in now was different. Its ownership belonged entirely to his Dark Lord father.

What belonged to his father belonged to him. There was nothing wrong with that logic.

Compared with all the wealth possessed by his Dark Lord father, the gold Galleons he had seen in Gringotts' underground vaults were truly just the tip of the iceberg.

What a waste of all that effort he had spent memorizing the layout and guard placements, preparing to pull a job at Gringotts.

After passing through the magnificent Entrance Hall and walking down a vaulted corridor, Butler Man Alfred led the two of them into an even grander space—the castle's dining room.

The lavish dining room glittered beneath the candlelight, displaying the classical grandeur of a European royal court.

Kyle sat at the long dining table, dining with the father he had only recognized less than an hour ago, without the slightest restraint.

Picking up the golden goblet filled with crimson wine, Grindelwald stared into the glass and abruptly spoke.

"Before dinner begins, I think you need to explain something. What was that record at the bar about?"

Kyle's body suddenly stiffened.

"Thirty glasses of vodka with an alcohol content over eighty percent." Grindelwald swirled the wine in his hand. "Hmm?"

"Well... I can explain..." Kyle's voice grew weaker and weaker.

Only now did Kyle realize that this body was only eleven years old. Although his Taijutsu training had brought his height close to 1.6 meters, he was still only... well, nowhere close to his height in his previous life.

Though his height made him look about thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen, his actual age was still only eleven.

Given the strict control over underage drinking in Europe and America, Kyle, a seasoned drunkard, suddenly felt that wandering alone outside had been pretty good.

At the very least, no one had been there to stop him from drinking.

Grindelwald narrowed his eyes dangerously. "It seems Albus's education has some serious problems."

Perhaps because they had only just recognized each other, Grindelwald gave up on pursuing the matter further.

After lightly warning Kyle that he was not allowed to drink so much again in the future, he began enjoying the delicacies before him.

The dining table suddenly fell silent.

Though they were father and son, they had not seen each other for many years and had very few topics to discuss.

Their only shared topic was drinking, but would Kyle dare discuss that with Grindelwald?

The scene of a loving father and filial son could play out at the table at any moment.

Grindelwald, meanwhile, simply did not know how to interact with his child.

He had once been the First-Generation Dark Lord who had dominated Europe.

His eloquence had captivated countless wizards.

His personal charisma had earned him thousands upon thousands of loyal followers.

His vast knowledge had allowed him to master most of the magic in this world.

Unfortunately, that vast knowledge did not include how to deal with a troubled child, especially when that troubled child was his biological son.

And his charisma as the leader of the Wizarding Supremacist Party was equally useless—you could not expect a child who had been separated from his father since birth and had even wandered the streets to feel much affection for a father who had suddenly appeared.

As for his ability to beguile people with words, it did not seem particularly helpful when it came to coaxing children.

Fortunately, Alfred, the perceptive old butler, was present in the dining room and could ease the awkwardness between them.

With Butler Man's mediation, the atmosphere at the table eased considerably.

Kyle also opened up a little and began voluntarily telling the two of them about his life over the years.

From the orphanage in New York, to discovering his special abilities, then leaving the orphanage and living alone for five years, being found by Dumbledore, and meeting several very interesting friends at Hogwarts...

As Kyle chattered on, a faint smile unconsciously formed at the corner of Grindelwald's mouth. He occasionally asked Kyle a few questions, and the atmosphere became quite harmonious.

Seeing this scene, the old butler wore a knowing smile as well.

After dinner, Kyle and Grindelwald sat facing each other in Grindelwald's study.

"I know you have many questions." Grindelwald held a cup of hot tea in his hands as he spoke softly.

Kyle pondered for a while. "What I want to know is, since you were able to leave that prison called Nurmengard long ago, why didn't you come looking for me all these years?"

Grindelwald fell silent for a moment. "I thought your body would never develop a soul. It was not until some time ago, when I saw your name in The Daily Prophet."

Kyle suddenly understood. Grindelwald was referring to the Forbidden Forest attack in February.

"Was it because of a flaw in the magic?"

Grindelwald slowly nodded. "In order to create a perfect descendant, I used Dark Arts to repeatedly modify your embryo... But perhaps I pursued perfection too much, to the point that..."

"In the end, that embryo... though it possessed extraordinarily vigorous life force and inherited both my and Albus's magical talents, it did not develop a soul. It could only be considered an empty shell."

Kyle was somewhat dazed. If not for him, a transmigrator, taking over this body, it might have remained in a vegetative state forever.

There was no point dwelling on such matters, and Kyle quickly put them out of his mind.

Kyle looked up at Grindelwald. "Can you tell me about your past? For example, what happened between you and Professor Dumbledore..."

He was still more interested in gossip.

Grindelwald smiled, then slowly began recounting his past with Dumbledore.