Chapter 557: Nicolas Flamel’s Letter
Diana was once an Auror?
To be honest, this revelation genuinely surprised Kyle. He instinctively doubted Professor Moody's memory, but after a moment's reflection, he realized it was plausible.
Kyle recalled his visit to Diagon Alley the year he received his Hogwarts acceptance letter. The Leaky Cauldron, usually lively and crowded, fell eerily silent the instant Diana walked through the door.
It was clear that her role as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries couldn't have caused such a reaction. After all, very few people even knew what that entailed—it was a closely guarded secret.
"Auror..." Kyle murmured, the word lingering on his lips as he turned back toward the classroom door. Without further thought, he walked with Kanna toward the staircase.
For the next two weeks, Kyle continued his Saturday sessions in the Headmaster's office, studying under Dumbledore. This arrangement left those in the know envious of his opportunity.
As Easter approached—the final extended break before the school year's end—the workload for fifth years grew heavier, with the O.W.L. exams looming on the horizon. The professors' demands escalated, and students were using more parchment in a single day than they had in an entire week earlier in the year.
Kyle, however, was an exception. His time studying with Dumbledore exempted him from most of his assignments, leaving only his Potions and History of Magic homework to complete. Unsurprisingly, even Dumbledore couldn't excuse him from Professor Snape's assignments. As for History of Magic, not even Dumbledore's influence carried weight with Professor Binns.
This arrangement saved Kyle considerable time. According to Mikel, Professor McGonagall had been assigning daily scrolls of homework, prompting him to stockpile parchment and ink every trip to Hogsmeade just to keep up.
The day before the Easter holidays, which fell on a Saturday, anyone outside the castle might have noticed golden-red flashes of light emanating from the windows of the Headmaster's office.
Inside, the office was unrecognizable. It had been magically expanded to an immense size, and Dumbledore had somehow conjured a lake as large as the Black Lake within the room. Embers burned on the lake's surface, and the heat in the room was stifling, akin to standing inside a furnace.