At the junction of France, Italy, and Switzerland—the Alps.
Nestled within layers of snow-capped mountains, an ancient castle stood silently. Its forest of spires proclaimed its solemnity, while the imposing gates and circular arched windows revealed its grace and opulence.
To build such a magnificent castle in the Alps, where tourists came and went, without being discovered by Muggles, clearly required the aid of magic.
Two figures—one old, one young—appeared at the castle's main entrance.
Sensing movement, the heavy castle doors swung open silently and automatically.
As the butler serving the Grindelwald family, Alfred von August, dressed in a well-tailored butler's suit, was already waiting in the spacious entrance hall.
"Master Gellert, dinner is ready." Bowing slightly, the old butler looked at the boy beside Grindelwald, whose appearance was almost identical to a young Gellert Grindelwald. "And this must be Young Master Kyle."
Grindelwald nodded to the old butler. "Alfred, take us to the dining room."
Upon hearing that the old butler's name was Alfred, Kyle suddenly felt a profound sense of incongruity.
This sense of dissonance deepened, especially when the man addressed him as "Young Master."
Earlier that day, he had used the alias "Bruce Wayne" at the Three Broomsticks.
Touching the wand in his sleeve, Kyle felt that he surely hadn't walked onto the wrong movie set... right?
Inside the magnificent old castle, the luxury was absolute.
Walking through the wide, empty entrance hall, Kyle carefully observed the surrounding decor.
It wasn't that he hadn't seen a castle before; Hogwarts itself was a castle. But Hogwarts didn't belong to him alone, even if his dad—ah, no, his mom—was the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
But the castle he was in now was different; its ownership belonged entirely to his Demon King father.
What belonged to his dad belonged to him. The logic was sound.
Compared to the total wealth of his Demon King father, the few Galleons he had seen in the underground vaults of Gringotts back then were truly just the tip of the iceberg.
To think he had even memorized the terrain and guard layouts along the way, planning to pull a heist at Gringotts.
Crossing the magnificent hall and walking down a vaulted corridor, "Butler-man" Alfred led the two into another, even grander space—the castle's dining room.
The resplendent dining room shone under the candlelight, displaying the classical grandeur of a European royal court.
Kyle sat at the long dining table, sharing a meal with the father he had only acknowledged less than an hour ago, without the slightest bit of restraint.
Picking up a golden goblet filled with bright red wine from the table, Grindelwald stared at the liquid within and suddenly remarked:
"Before dinner begins, I think you need to explain something: what is with that bar tab record?"
Kyle's body suddenly stiffened.
"Thirty glasses of vodka, over eighty proof," Grindelwald swirled the wine in his glass. "Mm-hmm?"
"That... I can explain..." Kyle's voice grew weaker as he spoke.
Kyle only just realized that his body was only eleven years old. Although his height was nearing 1.6 meters due to his Taijutsu training, it was only a little short of his past life's height... okay, actually, it was still far off.
Even though he looked about thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen due to his height, his actual age was ultimately only eleven.
Given the strict controls on underage drinking in Europe and America, as a seasoned alcoholic, Kyle suddenly felt that wandering alone hadn't been so bad.
At least no one was there to stop him from drinking.
Grindelwald narrowed his eyes dangerously. "It seems Albus's education has some serious issues."
Perhaps because they had only just reunited, Grindelwald decided to drop the matter.
He simply gave Kyle a light warning that he was not allowed to drink that much in the future, then began to enjoy the delicacies before him.
The dinner table suddenly fell into silence.
Although they were father and son, they hadn't seen each other for many years and had very little to talk about.
Their only shared topic was drinking, but did Kyle dare discuss that with Grindelwald?
The table would turn into a scene of "benevolent father and filial son" in minutes.
As for Grindelwald, he didn't know how to interact with his own child.
He was once the "First Generation" Dark Lord who dominated Europe.
His eloquence had mesmerized wizards.
His charisma had won him thousands of loyal followers.
His profound knowledge allowed him to master the vast majority of magic in this world.
Unfortunately, this profound knowledge did not include how to deal with problem children—especially when said problem child was his own biological son.
And his charisma as the leader of the Acolytes was useless here—you couldn't expect a child who had been separated from his father since childhood, and who had lived on the streets, to have much affection for a father who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
As for his demagogic eloquence, it seemed of little help in coaxing a child.
Fortunately, Alfred, the observant old butler, was in the dining room to alleviate the awkwardness between them.
With "Butler-man's" mediation, the atmosphere at the table softened considerably.
Kyle also opened up a bit, voluntarily telling them about his life experiences over the years.
From the orphanage in New York to discovering his special abilities, then leaving the orphanage to live alone for five years, being found by Dumbledore, and making a few interesting friends at Hogwarts...
Listening to Kyle's rambling, the corners of Grindelwald's mouth couldn't help but curve upward. He asked Kyle questions from time to time, and the atmosphere became quite harmonious.
Watching this scene, a knowing smile appeared on the old butler's face.
After dinner, in Grindelwald's study, Kyle and Grindelwald sat opposite each other.
"I know you have many questions," Grindelwald said softly, holding a cup of hot tea.
Kyle concentrated for a moment. "What I want to know is, since you could have left that prison called Nurmengard long ago, why didn't you come looking for me all these years?"
Grindelwald was silent for a moment. "I originally thought your body would never develop a soul. It wasn't until recently, when I saw your name in the Daily Prophet."
Kyle suddenly understood. Grindelwald was referring to the attack in the Forbidden Forest back in February.
"Was it because of a magical defect?"
Grindelwald nodded slowly. "To create a perfect heir, I used Dark Magic to adjust your embryo multiple times... but perhaps I pursued perfection too much, to the point that..."
"In the end, that embryo... although its vitality was extremely vigorous and it possessed the magical talent of both Albus and myself, it did not birth a soul. It was merely an empty shell."
Kyle felt a bit dazed. If he hadn't transmigrated and taken over the nest, perhaps this body would have remained in a vegetative state forever.
There was no point dwelling on these questions, so Kyle quickly tossed them to the back of his mind.
Kyle looked up at Grindelwald. "Can you tell me about your past? For example, the history between you and Professor Dumbledore..."
He was still more interested in hearing the gossip.
Grindelwald smiled, then slowly began to recount the past between him and Dumbledore.
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