A moment later, Kyle and Grindelwald were alone at a table.
A magical sheen enveloped them, confining their voices within the barrier.
As for the other three, Grindelwald had shooed them away.
Kyle had never imagined that meeting his biological father would be so dramatic.
At the time, he had still been reeling from the shock of his drinking record being broken, so much so that he almost overlooked the fact that Grindelwald had the exact same eyes as him.
And because Kyle was disguised, coupled with Grindelwald being a bit tipsy from the alcohol, he hadn't recognized him in his daze.
The two had almost missed each other completely.
"So, Albus didn't tell you everything?" Grindelwald, who had already used magic to purge the alcohol from his system, raised an eyebrow after hearing Kyle's story.
Kyle put down his Butterbeer. "Everything?"
Grindelwald gave a wicked smile. "For example, his relationship with you."
"Aren't you two... close friends? So I should call him uncle?"
"Uncle?" Grindelwald chuckled lightly.
"In fact, we weren't just close friends. We were much closer than you think," Grindelwald said with a breezy expression.
Kyle: ...
Closer than close friends... what was that?
Considering the country they were in was the infamous "Rotten Country," then...
Holy...!
Were the Dark Lord and the White Wizard... really like that!?
Grindelwald idly toyed with a silver pendant in his hand—a symbol made of a triangle, a circle, and a vertical line. "Actually, you weren't born naturally."
"I know." Kyle nodded, unfazed. Looking at the age difference between him and his father, no one would think a man over a hundred years old still had the ability to create a person through normal means.
Grindelwald looked at Kyle's face gently. "I created you with magic."
"So, in Muggle terms, I'm a clone?"
Grindelwald shook his head. "You have a mother. Her name was Vinda Rosier, one of my former followers. Though, after my defeat, I don't know where she was taken."
Hearing Grindelwald's words, Kyle felt a little sad.
The old Dark Lord sensed the young Dark Lord's mood and decided to change the subject. "Don't you want to know how you were born?"
Kyle's attention immediately snapped to that.
"I used my genes as the dominant base, and on that foundation, I added some of Vinda's genes..."
Still sounds like cloning.
"...After magically growing the embryo, I placed it inside Vinda's body."
The magical version of surrogacy?
Kyle felt his worldview taking a serious hit.
A smirk curved Grindelwald's lips. "Later, I added a portion of the Dumbledore family bloodline to the embryo..."
Wait! If that's the case...
"Then... I... I... my relationship with Professor Dumbledore is..." Kyle stammered.
Noticing the figure who had just appeared at the shop's entrance, Grindelwald mouthed his words clearly, "I think... you can call him... Mother."
Dumbledore, who read his lips, felt his cheek twitch violently.
Following Grindelwald's gaze, Kyle turned his head and saw the white-bearded old man striding toward them with a grim face. He unconsciously repeated Grindelwald's words: "Mo... Mother?"
The first thing Dumbledore heard as he stepped into the soundproof barrier was Kyle's call for his "old mother." His already dark face began to radiate a black aura of pure resentment.
"I am not your mother," Dumbledore glared at Kyle, his tone tinged with a hint of pity. "Your mother, Vinda Rosier, passed away from melancholy not long after giving birth to you."
Hearing Dumbledore's words, Kyle was dazed for a short while before he recovered.
He didn't feel any particular grief, having never met her, but there was still a trace of regret.
Dumbledore sat down next to Kyle, staring daggers at Grindelwald. "What you did back then was only to obtain the Dumbledore family's phoenix bloodline!"
Grindelwald smiled. "Legend says a phoenix will appear for a Dumbledore in their time of need. To have the help of such a legendary creature... it's quite an enviable thing."
Facing his old lover who had personally sent him to Nurmengard, Grindelwald held no great resentment.
On the contrary, he was in a very good mood.
Dumbledore, sitting beside Kyle, stated flatly, "I cannot let you take Kyle."
Grindelwald raised an eyebrow. "That's not for you to decide. I think Kyle should choose for himself."
"I think so too." Sandwiched between the two, Kyle weakly raised his arm.
Dumbledore: Death stare, fixed——————
Kyle: (#゜Д゜;)
A wand with several knobby protrusions twirled slowly between Dumbledore's long, thin fingers.
Cowed by Dumbledore's intimidation, Kyle silently scooted his chair a little closer to Grindelwald.
"He must stay at Hogwarts."
Grindelwald leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, a mocking look on his face. "Hogwarts isn't the only magical school. Durmstrang is a fine choice, too."
Their expressions seemed calm, and their tone of voice sounded peaceful.
However, Kyle, stuck in the middle, could feel the air gradually growing scorching hot.
"Um... I want to go to Hogwarts."
Grindelwald: Death stare, fixed——————
Considering he had a band of mischievous friends at Hogwarts, Kyle didn't really want to go to that school Grindelwald mentioned, Durmstrang.
Hearing Kyle's words, Dumbledore shot Grindelwald a triumphant smile.
"But I want to live with you during the summer holidays," Kyle added, looking at Grindelwald.
It sounded as if something had just shattered.
Dumbledore: Why... But I was first! I was the one who found Kyle wandering alone, who brought him into the fantastical... Why has it become like this... But I was first... magical world...
Kyle's eyes sparkled as he looked at Grindelwald.
Kyle believed that as the former first-generation Dark Lord, Grindelwald certainly wouldn't restrict his research into fascinating, combat-oriented Dark Arts, unlike Dumbledore.
This time, it was Grindelwald's turn to wear a triumphant smile.
Dumbledore silently watched the father and son, who had only known each other for half a day but were already on such good terms. His expression couldn't help but darken.
Kyle's personality was already the lawless sort.
He hadn't even officially enrolled, having only been at the school for just over four months, and the number of rules he had broken already rivaled Dumbledore's own count from his third year at Hogwarts.
Furthermore, knowing Grindelwald as he did, if Kyle stayed by his side, his old lover would definitely pass on his ideology to Kyle...
Dumbledore could already foresee the scene of Kyle becoming the third Dark Lord.
At this thought, a weariness rose in Dumbledore's heart.
He was already over 110 years old. Having witnessed the rise and fall of two Dark Lords, he truly hoped a third one wouldn't come along to torment him.
Grindelwald grinned. "Albus, you lost this time."
Dumbledore frowned. "Gellert, don't forget, Kyle still has to return to Hogwarts."
Hearing this, Grindelwald scoffed. "So what?"
He then stood up and extended his hand to Kyle. "Let's go."
"Right now?" Kyle glanced over at Cedric and the other two, who were craning their necks trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
He hadn't even said goodbye to his friends, and he hadn't packed his things.
Dumbledore sighed wistfully and waved his hand at them in dismissal.
Seeing that Grindelwald's hand remained outstretched, clearly eager to leave and unwilling to linger in front of Dumbledore for even a minute, Kyle figured the couple's conflict ran deep.
Kyle waved to Dumbledore. "Goodbye, Mom!"
Veins instantly bulged on Dumbledore's forehead. Seeing this, Kyle immediately grabbed Grindelwald's thin hand. With a loud CRACK, the two of them vanished on the spot.
Dumbledore stared at the suddenly empty table with a complex expression, his tight grip on his wand finally loosening.
So annoying. Why wasn't I the one who magically fused the genes to create the embryo back then?
If it had been me, I would have just fused my genes and Grindelwald's, and made him the mother!
Instead of now, with Grindelwald and Rosier's child... I look like the third wheel who broke them up.
————
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