Chapter 973: Chapter 973: Sincerity Between Wizards
By the time Kyle left the Three Broomsticks, it was already afternoon. Rosier had departed from Hogsmeade even earlier.
Although failing to strike an extra deal seemed to leave her a bit disappointed, anything Grindelwald had personally promised was not something she would treat lightly.
All Kyle had to do now was wait patiently.
When he returned to Hogwarts, the afternoon exams were just beginning. He didn’t even need to go back into the castle—he could already see students gathered near the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
It was the Care of Magical Creatures exam... one of the least-attended, with only about a dozen students, but nearly all of them wore cheerful smiles.
Their task was simple: within the allotted time, locate the Thestrals inside the enclosure and lead them to a designated location—without physically touching them.
Normally, this would be a challenging assignment, since most Hogwarts students couldn’t see Thestrals and had to rely on what they’d learned to deduce where the creatures might be.
And the enclosure used for N.E.W.T. exams was enormous—roughly the size of three Quidditch pitches. Most students had to rely on solid knowledge and practical experience just to find signs of a Thestral in that kind of open space.
Even guiding the creatures to the target area required a great deal of patience.
But now, things seemed different.
Kyle watched Seamus Finnigan stroll casually up to a Thestral and lure it toward the destination with a fresh cut of beef. The whole process took just a few minutes.
Justin Finch-Fletchley and his friend Macmillan were doing much the same.
Put simply, this exam had become so easy that all it took was a walk through the enclosure to earn a certificate.
"Bloody hell, why did we drop Care of Magical Creatures?"
Farther off, Ron and Harry stared longingly at the scene, eyes full of regret.
They had come looking for Hagrid, only to stumble across the exam by accident.
It might as well have been a gift-wrapped certificate... and a perfect one, no less.
Unfortunately, they’d dropped the course earlier due to a heavy workload, and as such weren’t eligible to sit the exam.
"This was one of my only chances to get an Outstanding..." Ron looked like his heart was breaking.
"Hagrid hinted at this, remember? When we came to explain things to him, he mentioned the N.E.W.T. exams."
"Don’t be ridiculous, Ron," Hermione said sharply. "You think the exam looks easy because after the war, everyone can see Thestrals now. But when we spoke to Hagrid, that was ages ago. There’s no way he could have predicted a war would break out before exam time."
Even so, her tone was hardly cheerful.
If she had kept Care of Magical Creatures, she would have been eligible for eleven certificates—and this exam clearly required little to no revision time.
The three of them waited nearby until the test ended before finally going to speak with Hagrid.
Meanwhile, Kyle returned to the castle with Tiberius from the Examination Authority. His task, as before, was to ensure the students’ safety.
Though Thestrals were relatively gentle magical creatures, they were still carnivores.
...
Over the next few days, the exams continued steadily and in order.
By Wednesday, the younger students’ final exams had begun, plunging all of Hogwarts into its busiest period. Professors and students alike were fully occupied.
That morning, an owl flew into the castle along with the usual mail delivery and dropped an unsigned letter in front of Kyle at the High Table in the Great Hall.
He opened it, skimmed the contents, then walked over to Professor McGonagall, whispered something in her ear, and quickly left Hogwarts.
...
Meanwhile...
While the professors and students at Hogwarts were busy with exams, the British wizarding world had suddenly grown unusually lively over the past few days.
And it all started with a Death Eater who narrowly escaped death.
Although Voldemort was gone, rumors spread that he had left behind a hidden treasure—stored somewhere in his former stronghold.
After Voldemort was defeated in his assault on Hogwarts, that treasure was supposedly discovered by a Death Eater—entirely by accident.
The man attempted to flee Britain with it, but was captured at a dock in Cornwall by a wandering wizard.
On him, the wizard found a strange, talking diary and an old, weathered map.
Under the effects of Veritaserum, the Death Eater confessed that the diary contained all of Voldemort’s powerful spells, and the map led to something even more mysterious.
According to him, Voldemort’s rise to power as the Dark Lord had everything to do with a legendary place—where he’d allegedly learned incredibly powerful magic, including the method of crafting Horcruxes.
That place was called Nurmengard.
As this story began to spread, the name of Gellert Grindelwald—the dark wizard who had thrown Europe into chaos seventy years ago—resurfaced in the public consciousness.
Wielder of the most powerful wand, Dumbledore’s lifelong rival, and once the schemer behind a world order ruled by wizards through control of the International Confederation of Wizards.
For a man like that, knowing how to make a Horcrux didn’t seem far-fetched at all.
But after a vicious internal squabble broke out among the wandering wizards, the map vanished.
Now, everyone was searching for it.
...
"Kyle, are you sure this is a good idea?" Alastor Moody, who had been enjoying his retirement, stood in a dense patch of forest, frowning slightly.
"It’s not just would-be Horcrux makers looking for that map anymore. Plenty of others just see it as a golden opportunity. If someone gets caught up in this mess..."
"Relax. I know what I’m doing," Kyle replied, stowing his wand and carefully examining the map before him.
He’d made his first fortune selling maps—it was something of a traditional craft for him, and it still held up just as well as ever.
"Don’t forget, the map’s in our hands. We get to decide who finds it. As for the opportunists... let them treat it like a treasure hunt."
"Who exactly are you planning to give it to? This whole setup caused a huge stir..." Moody couldn’t help but grumble. "All of Britain’s in chaos over this, and here I am—supposedly retired—getting dragged back into it.
"And I’ll say this now: Britain can’t afford to lose more wizards. If they haven’t done anything too serious, just let them go."
"Who are you, and what have you done with Mad-Eye Moody?" Kyle took a step back and stared at him in mock shock.
"The real Mad-Eye would never say something like ’let them go.’"
"Last war changed things," Moody muttered, rubbing his forehead, unfazed by Kyle’s dramatics.
"There weren’t many wizards in Britain to begin with. Hundreds gone overnight—you can’t imagine the pressure that put on the Ministry."
"They were just Death Eaters."
"But their families were wizards too," Moody said quietly. "You must’ve realized it. Even if it was just cannon fodder, Voldemort wouldn’t have chosen Muggle-borns."
"And now that the wizarding population’s shrinking, it’s drawing more attention from outside. Cornwall’s been a lot busier lately."
Kyle knew exactly what Moody meant by "busier"—more and more foreign wizards trying to enter the country through less-than-legal means.
"Just a suggestion," Moody added. "I’m retired, after all."
"It’s fine," Kyle said with a wave of his hand. "I never intended to target locals. Those people are just part of the show—there to make the map seem more believable."
"If we don’t show any movement, no one else will buy it."
Since the last war, the British wizarding world had been scrubbed nearly clean—and that was good. If they pushed any harder, it might all fall apart.
Truth be told, if it hadn’t been for a certain loudmouth leaking the story, he never would’ve agreed to work with Rosier.
"Others... So, who are you planning to give the map to?"
"No idea," Kyle said.
"You don’t know?" Moody looked stunned.
"The actual execution will be handled by another partner of mine."
Kyle held up the piece of parchment in his hand and gave it a shake.
"My only responsibility was to create the map. Everything else—how to make sure it ends up in the hands of the right person, who the map’s rivals should be—that’s all her job."
"I won’t interfere or micromanage. That was part of the deal from the start."
"Will she really pull it off?" Moody sounded doubtful. "Those people aren’t fools. Can your partner really trick them? What if someone starts to suspect..."
"That won’t happen," Kyle said with certainty, shaking his head.
"I don’t like working with her, but I have to admit—she’s powerful. Top-tier, honestly. She doesn’t make promises lightly, and she almost never fails."
"And the only times she has... were when her opponent was Dumbledore."
"Albus?" Moody stared at Kyle in disbelief. "Just who is your partner?"
"I’m afraid I’ll have to keep that to myself, Alastor," Kyle replied.
Moody was quiet for a while, then said nothing more.
Just as he’d said before—he was retired. No need to keep feeding that old curiosity.
Besides, he trusted Kyle.
"Then why did you come to me this time?"
"Just doing a bit more promotion," said Kyle. "Come up with a few plausible or implausible stories—make Knockturn Alley or Cornwall Pier a little livelier these next few days."
Moody’s lips twitched. He wanted to tell Kyle that he was no longer the leader of the wandering wizards, that his abilities and status were limited, and that keeping things running as they were was already a struggle.
But just as he was about to speak, he thought of the "partner" Kyle had mentioned—and the high praise Kyle had given her.
Moody’s competitive streak flared up. He nodded firmly.
"No problem. Leave it to me!"
"I knew you wouldn’t let me down." Kyle smiled.
He glanced at the time.
"I’ve got something else to take care of—we’ll talk next time."
With a crisp pop, Kyle Disapparated.
Only then did Moody slowly realize that he might’ve taken on something big.
Spreading a completely fabricated rumor wasn’t difficult. The hard part was staying hidden while doing it.
At this point, he was just an ordinary wandering wizard, without anyone he could call on. Asking the Ministry for help was out of the question.
That meant everything had to be done by himself. What he’d already managed had been exhausting enough—running to multiple places in a day—and things were only going to get worse from here.
Moody stood rooted to the spot. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but it felt like Kyle had played him.
Surely not... He shook his head.
He was an old Auror—he still had some instincts left. It must’ve been all this time spent among the wandering wizards lately. He’d become as reckless as they were without even realizing it.
Too reckless...
Moody let out a sigh.
...
Elsewhere, Kyle reappeared at the entrance of the Three Broomsticks.
Almost at the same moment, Rosier arrived.
"He’s very satisfied."
"What?"
"What you brought him—he’s very satisfied," Rosier repeated.
"Of course he is. I picked that stuff out carefully. If he wasn’t satisfied, he’d just be nitpicking."
Rosier gave Kyle a complicated look, but her expression soon returned to normal.
She didn’t waste words and simply held out her hand. "Hand it over. As a reward, you don’t need to handle anything else—I’ll take full responsibility from here."
"This Grindelwald’s idea?"
"It’s mine," Rosier said casually. "What, you don’t trust me?"
"I trust you." Kyle promptly handed over the freshly made map.
"Best to let professionals handle professional matters. I’ll stay out of the way."
"Huh..." Rosier let out a cold laugh. "Why does it sound like you’re insulting me?"
"I’m not, really—I meant it as a genuine compliment."
"You’re way too modest." Rosier glanced at the map. "If you can put together something like this, you’re far more professional than I am."
She curled her lips into a faint smile. "Honestly, if you’d been born seventy years earlier, I would’ve found a way to eliminate you... couldn’t have someone like you threatening my position."
"Then I guess I’m lucky," Kyle said with a smile.
Rosier smiled back and tossed him a piece of parchment.
"What’s this?"
"A list," Rosier replied. "Consider it a little bonus."
"Those foreign wizards?"
"No." Rosier shook her head. "Since I’ve agreed to take over, you don’t need to know about them. This is a separate matter."
"Things haven’t exactly been quiet in Britain lately. These few have had the biggest impact. If they disappear, your Ministry should have a much easier time."
"If it’s inconvenient for you, I can handle it myself. No charge."
"No need to trouble you. We’ll take care of it ourselves." Kyle tucked the parchment away.
"Oh, thank you."
"You’re welcome."
With that, Rosier vanished into the middle of Hogsmeade’s street.
Originally, Kyle had planned to head to the forest near Nurmengard and hide the Horcrux blueprints beneath the base of that tall tower.
But now that Rosier had taken over everything, it didn’t seem necessary anymore.
Besides, she knew the full plan. For her, creating a fake set of Horcrux blueprints would be no trouble at all.
She really was a professional.
In the end, honesty between wizards was the better path.
He hadn’t cut corners—he’d put real effort into creating an album for Grindelwald—and it had saved him a lot of trouble.