Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Kyle Apparated to Hogsmeade Village and quickly made his way toward the school.

The gates were wide open, and by the time he stepped inside the castle, he hadn't run into Filch or that cat of his, Mrs. Norris.

Following his memory, Kyle headed to a corridor on the eighth floor.

"Hey, Kyle, is that you?"

Just as he climbed the stairs, someone called out to him in a hushed voice.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were hiding around a corner, waving him over.

Kyle did a quick mental check of the timeline. By now, his other self should have already used the Time-Turner to travel back, so there was no need to worry. He walked over without hesitation.

"What are you doing here?"

"That's what we should be asking you," Ron muttered under his breath. "Didn't you graduate? What are you doing back at school?"

"I'm here to watch the fun," Kyle said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He glanced behind the three of them.

Wow—over a dozen people were crammed into that tiny corner. Some of the latecomers didn't even have space to peek out.

So many of you came to eavesdrop… Gryffindors really aren't afraid of getting detention, huh?

As for how Kyle knew they were from Gryffindor—well, the red-and-gold scarves around their necks were a dead giveaway. You couldn't get more obvious than that.

"What a coincidence, we're here for the same reason," Ron drawled.

"So? Did you find out anything?"

"Nothing," Harry said with a shake of his head. "All we know is that Professor McGonagall and that Minister Bones have been arguing for a while. We rushed over right after class."

"We only got here a few minutes before you."

"Then forget it. Go have fun." Kyle instantly lost interest in chatting.

"You're seriously just here to watch the drama?" Hermione gave Kyle a suspicious look, clearly doubting his story.

After all, who would go to the trouble of returning to Hogwarts after graduation just to watch an argument?

"What else? You don't think I came back to visit you lot, do you?" Kyle replied without even looking back.

Hermione still found it odd, but just then, the bell rang.

"Oh no, we're going to be late!" The group of students jolted in alarm and scattered in a rush.

The trio disappeared with them.

Skipping class just to sneak a peek at an argument… no wonder Gryffindor was at the bottom of the House rankings.

He had glanced at the hourglasses in the Great Hall earlier—Gryffindor's had the fewest gems. After this group tardiness, their last-place standing was probably locked in for good.

But Kyle didn't have any classes to worry about.

This part of the corridor was still a bit far from where Professor McGonagall and the others were. He could hear voices, but only bits and pieces—not enough to make anything out clearly.

He moved a little closer.

This time, the voices came through clearly.

"Minerva, I'm not looking to cause any trouble. I just want to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore."

"That's right. We need to understand what he's thinking."

"Albus must have his reasons."

"Yes, we should trust him."

"At the very least, let's find somewhere else to talk. This is a school. It wouldn't look good if the students saw us."

...

The hallway was abuzz with voices.

Besides Professor McGonagall and Minister Bones, quite a few others had gathered.

Scrimgeour had come straight from the funeral, along with several older wizards from the Order of the Phoenix.

People were talking over one another, and no one was willing to back down. Professor McGonagall's lips were pressed into a firm line, and Minister Bones, standing opposite her, looked just as resolute, her face pale and tight.

Fortunately, she seemed to remember where she was.

"All right, Minerva," Minister Bones said, lowering her voice. "You know I've always respected Headmaster Dumbledore, but I truly can't understand how he's managed to stay so calm through all of this."

"The Death Eaters are inciting dark wizards to revolt in Knockturn Alley, capturing wizards in Brighton for magical experiments, rounding up drifters in Cornwall to release the Hebridean Black dragons, and planning a massive assault on Gringotts…"

"He hasn't shown up once. Do you know how many Aurors and Hit Wizards have died trying to contain this chaos? Even Alastor Moody is dead now!"

Kyle froze as he listened to Bones.

Suddenly, it hit him—while Moody's funeral may have been the spark that set Minister Bones off, the powder keg had been building for much longer.

He recalled the freshly dug graves he'd seen in the cemetery. Clearly, more had happened in the wizarding world than he was aware of.

Barty Crouch Jr. had gone to Cornwall to recruit stray wizards for the Death Eaters.

Voldemort had personally traveled to the Hebrides to retrieve dragons—those magical war machines.

But what about the rest of the Death Eaters? What were they doing?

When Voldemort was resurrected last time, more than a dozen Death Eaters had answered the call. Anyone marked with the Dark Mark must've been one of his trusted inner circle… at least they were, sixteen years ago.

And with the fanatics still imprisoned in Azkaban, the numbers could only be higher.

Even if Kyle and the Order of the Phoenix had taken some of them down over the years, at least half were likely still alive.

There were five people standing behind Voldemort on the Hebrides, and even counting Barty Crouch Jr., that only made six. So where were the others?

If nothing else, Kyle hadn't seen Oren, the up-and-comer among the Death Eaters.

Where had he gone?

It couldn't be that even Voldemort had something to do while the others were lounging around at home.

No—these Death Eaters must each have their own tasks, scattered across the wizarding world like Barty Crouch Jr. Kyle just hadn't discovered them yet… He was only one person. He couldn't possibly keep track of everything.

Maybe those seemingly calm days had just been a facade. Beneath the surface, the undercurrents had long been stirring.

If that was true, then Mr. Weasley wasn't wrong—Amelia Bones had done a decent job as Minister.

She had kept the Death Eaters' influence to a minimum and bought the wizarding world a brief but precious moment of peace.

...

Professor McGonagall pressed her lips together, at a loss for words.

If she were the Minister of Magic, she might have come to the school to find Dumbledore, too.

But the problem was—the Headmaster genuinely couldn't show up.

"Amelia, that's not quite fair," said Dedalus, a member of the Order of the Phoenix who had hurried over.

He was an old wizard as well, and had once taken part in relocating Harry's aunt and uncle.

"You-Know-Who wasn't personally involved in the things you mentioned. I believe this is just a clash between their core forces."

"Dumbledore may not have been involved directly, but the Order of the Phoenix didn't just sit on their hands. Bill and Charlie were both involved in the situations you brought up."

"And Mad-Eye—he retired from the Auror Office. He went to Cornwall on behalf of the Order."

The Order of the Phoenix...

Amelia Bones frowned slightly.

To be honest, back when she was still Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she hadn't had strong feelings about the group that fought the Death Eaters. She'd even thought they were admirable—brave, fearless, and a great help to the Ministry of Magic.

But once she became Minister, that feeling had gradually faded.

Although their goals were aligned, the two sides remained separate. The inability to operate under unified command introduced all kinds of instability.

And the very existence of the Order of the Phoenix also signaled Dumbledore's distrust of the Ministry. That wasn't a good sign.

Scrimgeour shared her view.

"I know what you're thinking," said the old wizard Dedalus, glancing at Bones. "But if you haven't forgotten Cornelius Fudge, then you should understand why the Order of the Phoenix is necessary."

"But I'm not Cornelius!" Bones said sharply.

"Fudge also believed everything he did was right—and that it was for the good of the Ministry," Dedalus replied calmly.

Listening nearby, Kyle rubbed his forehead.

Didn't Mr. Weasley say they came here to calm things down?

So why did it feel like the tension had only gotten worse after that? Dedalus' words practically screamed distrust toward the Ministry.

Of course, it was understandable. The Ministry really had done its fair share of dragging things down.

Over the past two years, it had mostly been the Order of the Phoenix handling things—cutting down Voldemort's followers, securing the giants, settling issues with the werewolves. Even dealing with the Dementors had been paid for by Sirius; the Ministry just provided the location.

And if it weren't for the Order and Harry forcing Voldemort into the open, the Ministry might still be putting on a happy face and pretending nothing was wrong.

All of that was true—but Fudge, the one responsible, was already dead.

Now they had Amelia Bones, a tough, decisive witch in charge. Bringing all this up again only made things awkward.

But Dedalus didn't seem to realize that and continued.

"As for what you said about Gringotts—that's entirely on the goblins themselves. They tried to strike some sort of deal with the Death Eaters, but they forgot that Death Eaters don't keep promises."

"You mean that even if the Death Eaters break into your vault, we should just turn a blind eye—is that it?" Bones asked, struggling to contain her anger.

"I don't have a vault at Gringotts."

Whether it was distrust of the Ministry or something else, Dedalus—who was supposed to help mediate—ended up clashing with Bones instead.

This left Professor McGonagall in a difficult spot. She didn't know which one to defuse first, until she happened to glance sideways—and saw Kyle standing in the hallway, watching the commotion.

Professor McGonagall was dumbfounded.

What in the world? Hadn't Kyle already gone to the Headmaster's office? When had he circled back?

She was still waiting for "Dumbledore" to come and break the tension. Real or not, he needed to get them into the Headmaster's office at least. Letting them argue like this in the open—what kind of example was that?

She had noticed earlier that several curious little Gryffindors had already wandered over to see what was going on. Though her glare had kept them from getting too close,

there was no telling if one of them might get bold. If they overheard something they shouldn't and word got out, the entire school would be thrown into chaos.

"Just like I don't trust the Ministry, I don't trust goblins either. I'd rather stuff my gold into my socks than give it to them."

"You—!"

Dedalus and Bones were still locked in argument.

Off to the side, Kyle caught Professor McGonagall shooting him increasingly frantic looks—and suddenly remembered.

Right. He was supposed to be impersonating the Headmaster right now.

He'd nearly forgotten.

Kyle slapped a hand to his forehead and turned to head toward the Headmaster's office. With Bones focused on Dedalus, she probably wouldn't notice him…

He had only taken two steps when he stopped again.

Meeting McGonagall's puzzled gaze, Kyle gave a shrug, offering no explanation.

"And you said Dumbledore hasn't done anything—what, are we supposed to believe it was the Aurors who drove You-Know-Who off the Hebridean Islands?"

"I'm afraid not, Dedalus. That wasn't me either."

Accompanied by a familiar, aged voice, Dumbledore walked out from the direction of the Headmaster's office.

Professor McGonagall stared at him, then looked to Kyle, completely stunned.

This was Dumbledore… himself?

He was back?

That couldn't be. Wasn't he stranded in 1899 due to a temporal backlash?

How had he come back?

Did Kyle get his hands on a Time-Turner without her knowing?

Her thoughts were spinning, but with others present, she had no choice but to take a deep breath and swallow her questions.

Kyle hadn't moved. The reason he'd stopped earlier was, of course, because he'd seen Dumbledore walking down the corridor in the distance.

It seemed that once the timeline had returned to normal, Dumbledore had wrapped things up on his end—just in time to return and walk in on all this.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, I... the Ministry of Magic needs an explanation." Bones didn't know what the three before her were thinking, but as soon as she saw Dumbledore, she stepped forward immediately.

Her tone, however, was noticeably softer than before.

Dedalus' words had been hard to hear, but in a way, they were true.

During the Death Eaters' recent actions, You-Know-Who hadn't appeared once. It was understandable that Dumbledore would remain on guard.

The only confirmed appearance of You-Know-Who had been on the Hebrides Islands, where clear signs of a fierce battle had been found.

Scrimgeour hadn't seen who drove You-Know-Who away, but it was most likely Dumbledore—after all, everyone in the wizarding world knew that You-Know-Who feared Dumbledore above all.

Which meant the excuse Bones had relied on no longer held up.

What still weighed on her—what she couldn't accept—was the Ministry's rising casualty rate among Hit Wizards and Aurors.

"Don't worry, Amelia, I'll explain everything," said Dumbledore. "Whatever doubts you have, I'll clear them up."

He gave a somewhat sheepish glance toward Professor McGonagall, who stood with her head lowered.

"Let's talk in my office. I imagine you wouldn't mind a cup of red tea. Rufus, come along as well—there are some things I'd like to discuss with you."

With that, Dumbledore led Bones and Scrimgeour away.

Kyle had been hoping to ask him a few things too—like what he and Ariana had been doing lately—but this clearly wasn't the right moment.

So he wisely chose to stay quiet.

"Professor McGonagall, now that everything's settled, I'll just—"

"It was you."

"What?" Kyle looked at Professor McGonagall and gave her a perfectly polite smile.

"The Headmaster business," McGonagall said, lips pressed tightly together. "I believe I've warned you more than once how dangerous it was. But you didn't seem to take that seriously."

Her voice was calm, but for some reason, Kyle felt a wave of panic. The pressure she gave off was somehow even more intense than the real Headmaster's.

"Yes... Nicolas gave me the Time-Turner," Kyle admitted, choosing his words carefully. "He believed I was the only one who could bring Professor Dumbledore back. I didn't have a choice."

That's right—it was all Nicolas' doing. Kyle was just... caught up in it.

"When?"

"Just now. He was waiting for me in the Headmaster's office," Kyle said.

McGonagall's brow creased slightly.

She had been planning to head to Devon to wait for Nicolas Flamel once she'd gotten Bones off her back.

She hadn't expected Flamel—who rarely ever left his home—to come to Hogwarts of his own accord, and at the exact moment when she couldn't get away.

She didn't believe for a second that was a coincidence.

Still, at least things had turned out well.

Kyle had returned unharmed. Dumbledore had come back too.

"No wonder I saw two of you," McGonagall finally understood. "One more question—when did you return? Was it the Headmaster who drove You-Know-Who off the Hebrides Islands?"

"No." Kyle shook his head. "We came back two months ago, but the Headmaster had other matters to attend to. He left again shortly after."

"Two months ago?"

"That was the day he used the Time-Turner—the same day Lupin and Tonks got married."

McGonagall's expression cleared.

That explained Dumbledore's handwritten letter. But a new question arose just as quickly.

"So the wizard who drove You-Know-Who away from the Hebrides... really wasn't the Headmaster?"

When Dedalus had mentioned it earlier, McGonagall's first thought had also been Dumbledore. But at the time, she'd believed him to still be stuck in 1899 and had dismissed the idea.

"Well..." Kyle gave a sheepish grin. "That was me."

"You?" McGonagall's eyes widened. "You ran into You-Know-Who—and drove him off...?"

"Um..." Kyle scratched his head. "I wouldn't say I drove him off, exactly. I just... got lucky, used a few tricks."

"And in the end, I ran first. He probably left the islands because he was chasing me."

The more McGonagall heard, the more alarmed she became. Her breathing grew heavy.

"Why didn't you contact the Order of the Phoenix?"

"There wasn't time," Kyle said, looking completely innocent. "Professor Dumbledore had vanished, and someone had to step up. Honestly, thinking back on it now... it was terrifying."

Yes—where had Dumbledore gone?

The moment Kyle brought it up, McGonagall realized it too.

Kyle had risked his life to pull him out of a time loop, and the man had just up and disappeared?

"You left a freshly graduated student to face You-Know-Who?"

McGonagall turned to look toward the Headmaster's office, her anger spiking so quickly she forgot all about Kyle having blatantly broken their agreement and recklessly used the Time-Turner.