Chapter 111: Dumbledore’s Crooked Nose
News of Oren's disappearance quickly spread throughout the wizarding world. The Daily Prophet portrayed him as a deranged dark wizard of the utmost evil, devoting an entire page to his wanted poster. The rest of the paper praised the Ministry of Magic for successfully rescuing two students during the operation—though few actually read that part.
Many parents wrote to the school, requesting an early holiday. What if Oren was still lurking in the Forbidden Forest? The idea of leaving their children at Hogwarts unsettled them. Dumbledore agreed, and arrangements were made for the students to leave early on the Hogwarts Express that day, with report cards to follow by owl in the coming days.
In just a single day, Hogwarts lost a third of its student body, and the castle felt strangely empty. Yet Kyle remained, as did Cedric and a few others. Chris returned from his travels and, after a long journey, finally arrived at Hogwarts. He looked Kyle over multiple times before he let out a sigh of relief. Taking Kyle to an empty classroom, he spoke in a stern tone.
"I told you not to get involved in this!"
"It was an accident," Kyle replied honestly. "I'll be more careful next time."
Chris, clearly unsatisfied, lectured him at length. Kyle, however, didn't argue. He simply nodded, accepting his mistake with a calm demeanor.
As they left the classroom, they happened to see Newt coming out of Dumbledore's office. Chris asked Kyle if he wanted to return together, but Kyle declined, saying he wanted to take the train back with his friends. Chris considered this for a moment, then agreed.
The next day, Kyle didn't expect Diana to show up as well. Unlike Chris, Diana went first to the Forbidden Forest, then directly to the Headmaster's Office on the eighth floor. No one knows what transpired after that, but soon after, students noticed unfamiliar faces in some of the portraits along the castle corridors—figures who claimed to be former Heads of Hogwarts. And most notably, the gargoyle on the eighth floor was gone.
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