"But why don't you tell him yourself?" Kayson asked.
"After I was imprisoned in Nurmengard, until I appeared at Hogwarts, we hadn't seen each other for… forty-seven, maybe forty-eight years. He's been avoiding me, you understand." Grindelwald explained.
"It seems Dumbledore must have had a suspicion about Ms. Ariana's death. The reason he didn't want to see you was because he didn't dare to hear the exact answer from your mouth." Kayson nodded, suddenly enlightened.
"But I remember the portraits in the Headmaster's office saying that Dumbledore went out every Christmas. Before, I didn't know what he was doing, but after I knew about your existence, I even thought he went to find you."
Grindelwald shook his head: "He's as hard-hearted as they come. How could that be?"
"...What about Aberforth?" Kayson asked again.
"No one in the Dumbledore family shies away from responsibility. Aberforth, though not bright, wouldn't blame his own mistakes on his brother, Albus... But I heard their relationship isn't very good now..."
"That's normal. For Aberforth, not directly pointing at Albus's nose and calling him his sister's murderer is already considered very gentle."
Grindelwald sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. The long conversation had put him in his element, so much so that he waved his hand and a bottle of wine flew over from the wine cabinet.
"Do you mind if I take a souvenir?"
Kayson touched his chin, a bit bewildered: "You mean you came empty-handed, and sometimes you even want me to give you a souvenir?"
"This is an exchange. I'm exchanging it for a security flaw in your office, for example, it can't restrict the instant movement of a Portkey." Grindelwald said, then vanished with a hum.
Kayson's mouth twitched, and he decisively opened the restriction on the infused ender pearl.
It was understandable for Dumbledore to come to his office; he was the Principal and had the privilege of Hogwarts' rules. He wasn't affected by Hogwarts' Apparition restriction.
But Grindelwald, that old man, also learned from him and made a Portkey for his own office. That was too abstract.
And why couldn't he just tell him directly? Why did he have to beat around the bush and pretend to be Dumbledore?
Kayson pondered for a good while and still thought it was due to idleness. He should find a mine and throw Grindelwald in there to mine for two months, and he'd behave.
Of course, a greater possibility was that the mine, along with Grindelwald, the machinery, and the ore, would all be blown sky-high by that old man.
"Sigh… they're all old magic monsters." Kayson sighed and took a bottle of wine from the wine cabinet, pouring himself a glass.
Ding-dong...
The crystal ball on the desk lit up. Kayson leaned over and tapped it. Four Little Wizardss from Gryffindor... perhaps objectively speaking, they couldn't be called Little Wizardss anymore. With the arrival of the third year, Harry and the others had all shot up.
However, he still called seventh-year students Little Wizardss, so he had no intention of changing his address.
Soon, the four arrived at the office area by boat. It was then that Kayson noticed their interesting seating arrangement: Harry and Neville were sandwiched in the middle, while Ron and Hermione sat on either side.
When talking to anyone else, they maintained their usual smiling demeanor, but when they looked at each other, there was a hint of mutual dislike.
"Wow, what's up with Hermione and Ron?" Kayson asked.
"Um... obviously, they had a fight... It seems to be because of Hermione's pet Crookshanks and Ron's pet Scabbers. One of them is a cat, and the other is a mouse, so... uh-huh." Harry said, shrugging helplessly.
Sirius, who was napping on the second floor, suddenly opened his eyes. Although he hadn't heard anything, to be honest, he felt it was very necessary to go downstairs now... It was a gut feeling.
Harry watched Sirius wag his tail and walk down. He was about to open his arms for a happy hug when he saw Sirius walk straight towards Ron, lie on Ron, and sniff around.
"A cat and a mouse, your pet setup is quite classic, to be honest." Kayson said with amusement.
And Sirius, who was diligently checking if Scabbers was hiding on Ron this time, sniffed even harder.
"Right, Scabbers is so scared of that stupid cat that he doesn't dare to leave the dorm anymore. He trembles in the matchbox I made for him every day. He doesn't even dare to go to the dining hall now." Ron complained bitterly.
"That's a cat, Ron. Cats catching mice is their nature." Hermione retorted.
"I know cats catching mice is their nature, but as Crookshanks' owner, can't you restrain him? I put my Scabbers in my hand and he still tried to pounce on me. If you don't want to bring a cage for your cat, please bring a leash for your cat... OK?"
After Ron finished speaking in one breath, he looked longingly at the bottle of wine on the coffee table. He was already thirteen, in his adolescence. Humans at this age are annoying and always like to try new things.
So.....
"Want to try?" Kayson saw Ron's longing and asked with a smile.
"Can I?"
"For you Little Wizardss, I strongly advise against trying it." Kayson took the wine glass away, turned, picked up a teacup, and poured himself some tea.
"Alright, Professor." Harry and Ron seemed a bit disappointed. It looked like they were quite curious about the taste.
After the five experienced a harmonious teacher-student opening chat, Harry, Neville, and Ron tacitly moved aside, leaving the stage to Hermione.
And Hermione, as expected, started immediately: "Is Professor Trelawney a ****?!"
Kayson, halfway through his tea, almost sprayed it out of his nostrils.
"Cough, cough, be civil, Hermione, be civil. Just say what's on your mind."
Hermione calmed herself down and let out a long breath: "Professor, I should have listened to your advice. I shouldn't have been so foolish as to go to that damn Divination Class."
Kayson nodded. He wasn't usually one to comfort people, but having been a teacher at Hogwarts for three years, he knew exactly what to do when encountering an emotional Little Wizards.
Just don't say anything; let the other person finish speaking first.
This can also be applied to listening to adults confide. Of course, if the person opposite is an enemy who wants to insult you...
My personal suggestion is to strike first.
Whether verbally or physically.
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