Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

At night in Godric's Hollow, Dumbledore and Grindelwald had eloped… well, more precisely, they'd made a secret Blood Pact in the barn and dashed off together—but "eloped" was the simpler way to put it.

Meanwhile, on the roof of the Dumbledore family home, a teenage girl was clambering out of the attic window, using both hands and feet to reach the rooftop.

"What was that thing you were wearing earlier?" she asked curiously as she walked up beside Kyle. "I couldn't see you at all."

"It's a Cloak of Invisibility," Kyle replied. "Also called an Invisibility Cloak. A little magical item that makes others unable to see you."

He took the cloak and draped it over Ariana's shoulders. The girl gasped in amazement.

"Ah! I really disappeared!"

She quickly covered her mouth, glancing nervously toward a nearby window. Only when she confirmed there was no movement did she exhale in relief, her eyes returning to the half of her body that had vanished.

"What's wrong?" Kyle turned his head slightly as well. If he was right, that window belonged to Aberforth's room...

"It's nothing," Ariana said quickly, shaking her head. In a hushed voice, she added, "We should keep our voices down. Otherwise we'll wake my brother Aberforth—and he's scary when he's angry."

"It's fine," Kyle said with a smile, pulling a Screaming Book from his pocket.

It was a product from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, modeled after the gimmicks found in the Restricted Section of the library. The moment he opened it, a piercing shriek burst out from the pages.

Ariana jumped in fright and turned to rush back into the attic.

But then she noticed that the light in Aberforth's room hadn't come on—the same Aberforth who normally woke at the slightest sound.

Ariana suddenly looked uneasy.

"Don't worry, he's fine. He just can't hear anything from up here," Kyle said quickly.

"Can't hear?" Ariana turned to him, puzzled. "But Aberforth has really good ears."

"Muffliato," Kyle explained in a low voice. "It's a simple but handy charm. You could learn it too."

As he spoke, Kyle kept his eyes on her.

At the word magic, a faint black mist began to rise from Ariana's shoulders. Even in the dark, it was clearly visible—but she didn't seem aware of the change.

"I… I could too?" Ariana asked hesitantly.

"Yes. You're a witch. Of course you can," Kyle said softly, his voice laced with a subtle persuasion.

This time, Ariana's eyes flashed with resistance. Her expression grew dazed, and the black mist thickened, spreading down her arms.

As the mist drifted and touched the roof tiles, the tiles crumbled instantly to powder.

That was the Obscurus.

Kyle tensed.

All Obscurials, without exception, instinctively rejected their magical nature. They resisted using magic, and even resisted being called witches or wizards—rejecting all related topics on a subconscious level.

Right now, Ariana had reached the brink. Kyle was certain that if he said even one more word about magic, the mist would break through her body's restraints and tear him apart.

But that had been his intention. And now, he had the answer he needed.

Since arriving in Godric's Hollow, Kyle had wanted to see Ariana for himself.

She was Dumbledore's deepest burden… the one thing he would still return for, even after giving up on the wizarding world and Voldemort. That said everything.

If Kyle did nothing, Dumbledore would never leave willingly—not even if Kyle had come to save him.

This encounter hadn't been planned, and the setting was far from ideal. But in a way, it was perfect.

There was no one else around. Even the ever-perceptive Dumbledore and Grindelwald had left. Only Aberforth was still nearby—and he was just starting his fifth year.

If Kyle wanted to, he could do anything now without Aberforth ever knowing.

Once Grindelwald returned, getting near Ariana again would be a much more difficult task.

So, after a brief deliberation, Kyle had said what he did.

From that simple exchange, he discovered Ariana's condition wasn't as dire as he'd feared—in fact, it was far better than expected.

Before coming here, Kyle had done his homework on Obscurials, even writing to Newt for guidance.

Newt had an Obscurus in his suitcase and had studied them for years. According to him, Obscurials were prone to magical outbursts whenever exposed to anything related to magic.

But Ariana was different. The first time Kyle mentioned magic, she only showed mild resistance—and remained fully conscious. If he had changed the subject then, nothing would've happened.

Even the second time, when he pushed things a little further by directly calling her a witch, Ariana managed to suppress her emotions and hold the Obscurus back.

If this continued—if she ever came to fully accept who she was—Ariana could gain complete control over her Obscurus. It would no longer be a threat, but a power she could wield.

Of course, that was easier said than done. So far, there was only one known person capable of something like that...

Well—not yet, technically. At this point in time, that person hadn't even been born.

To be precise, that would be something that happened decades later—but interestingly enough, the person who could control an Obscurus also bore the surname Dumbledore.

Obscurials were already incredibly rare, and for two of them to be "Dumbledores"… could that really be a coincidence?

The black mist around Ariana grew thicker. Kyle shook his head, pushing the thought aside. With a subtle flick of the wand behind his back, faint magical runes began to shimmer in the air around them.

Then, with his other hand, he took out a piece of candy and offered it to Ariana.

"I was just rambling earlier. Want some candy? It's really sweet."

There was no response. Ariana had slipped into a kind of unconscious state—probably focusing all her strength on suppressing the Obscurus—and couldn't hear him at all.

But Kyle didn't need her to.

He opened a small box. A yellow candy bee buzzed into the air, then darted straight into Ariana's half-open mouth.

The sweet, fruity aroma of raspberry spread quickly. And miraculously, the black mist surrounding Ariana began to dissipate. The dull, unfocused look in her eyes gradually cleared.

This method of calming an Obscurial's outburst was also something Newt had shared—and it was even recorded in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

According to his theory, most Obscurial eruptions were triggered by emotional overload. But sweet things, particularly candy, could help soothe the reaction—especially since most Obscurials were children. In those cases, sugar worked wonders.

Of course, this only applied if the Obscurus hadn't fully manifested. Once it had, even emptying an entire candy shop wouldn't help.

Soon, the black mist faded completely.

"This is so good," Ariana said happily, eyes squinting in delight. She seemed to have completely forgotten what had just happened. "Aberforth brings me these little bees every time he visits. They're my favorite.

But he doesn't come home very often, so I try to save them as long as I can."

"It's alright. This time, you can eat as many as you want," Kyle said with a smile, pulling out more and more candy until the little rooftop was scattered with colorful boxes.

Ariana's eyes went wide. She had never seen so much candy in her life. Even her beloved brother Aberforth only brought back two or three boxes during each school holiday—and even when she rationed them, they never lasted more than a month.

But with what Kyle had just given her, she could eat candy for half a year.

"I… I can't accept this…" she said softly.

Even though she was overwhelmed, Ariana's gentle nature made her shake her head and decline Kyle's generosity.

"It's fine. Just think of it as a gift," Kyle said, smiling as he packed all the candy into a bag enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm. Then, with a simple toss, he sent it straight through the window and into her attic room.

He'd noticed something just now—while Ariana reacted strongly to mentions of magic, she didn't seem to reject magical objects themselves. When she'd first seen the Cloak of Invisibility, she hadn't reacted at all.

Maybe it was a matter of perception. Magical objects looked no different from ordinary ones on the surface… or maybe it was just that she'd been kept inside for so long that she didn't really understand what she was seeing.

Kyle couldn't say for sure. He didn't know enough about Obscurials. But he could always ask Newt once he returned.

"...Thank you," Ariana said softly.

It was the first time someone besides Aberforth had given her a gift—and candy, no less.

For a girl who had spent her whole life locked away at home, candy was the most precious thing in the world.

"You're welcome," Kyle said with a gentle smile. It was just candy—he could always get more.

"Do you know my brother?" Ariana asked suddenly.

"Which one?"

"Albus." She glanced toward the barn. "Weren't you just watching him?"

"You knew he was there?"

"I can see him—he's with another boy," Ariana said. "They've been spending a lot of time in that barn lately. I can feel it. Albus has been really happy. Are you their friend too?"

"Sort of," Kyle said after a moment's thought. "But the Albus I know… might not be quite the same person you're thinking of."

Ariana tilted her head, clearly confused by what he meant.

He was Albus Dumbledore—how could he not be the same person?

Kyle didn't explain. Trying to make a young witch understand how a Time-Turner worked would probably take all day—and she still wouldn't get it.

Luckily, Ariana didn't dwell on the question. She was just glad to have someone to talk to, someone who had given her such precious candy. But even so, a faint unease lingered in her heart.

Ariana looked at Kyle, as if mustering all her courage, and asked, "Aren't you... afraid of me?"

"Why would I be afraid of you?" Kyle paused, caught off guard by the question, and answered with one of his own.

Ariana blinked, then gently shook her head. Her voice was soft and timid. "I don't know... but a lot of people are. Aberforth says I'm not allowed to leave the room—he says I'll scare people, and they might lock me away in a horrible place... No one ever comes to see me. You're the first."

"Hmm... maybe I'm just braver than most," Kyle said vaguely.

He knew Aberforth wasn't wrong.

If an Obscurial was discovered, they'd be taken straight to St. Mungo's and placed under heavy supervision—no leaving, no visitors. Aside from lacking Dementors, it was practically the same as Azkaban.

But no one could claim that was unjustified. Obscurials were dangerously unstable. Once they erupted, the destruction they caused was catastrophic.

There was a brief silence... and then a dark window nearby suddenly lit up.

Ariana flinched.

"Aberforth's awake. If he finds out I left the attic, he'll be so angry." She began scrambling back inside in a hurry.

Halfway through the window, she suddenly paused. Reluctantly, she took off the Cloak of Invisibility and placed it carefully on the eaves.

More than the candy, she loved the cloak—the magic of being unseen. With something like that, maybe she could go outside someday and finally see the world.

But it wasn't hers. No matter how much she wanted it, she knew she couldn't keep it.

"Will you come back?" Ariana asked carefully. She enjoyed having someone to talk to. Her brothers were always too busy, and Kyle was the first stranger in years who'd taken the time to talk with her.

Kyle was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Satisfied, Ariana smiled and pulled her head back inside.

A few moments later, Aberforth's voice rang out from below.

"Who's there?!" He stuck his head out the window, wand in hand, glaring outside—only to find the rooftop empty.

"Bloody Kneazles again. Why can't they go hunt somewhere else?" he muttered, cursing under his breath as he slammed the window shut.

Only when the lights went out again did Kyle step out from the shadows.

The reason Aberforth had heard anything at all was because he'd secretly canceled the Muffliato Charm.

Kyle hadn't dared say too much to Ariana. Even during their brief conversation, he'd found himself wondering again and again if there was something—anything—he could do.

But the truth was, Ariana's death was a fixed point in time. It was because of her death that Dumbledore had finally come to his senses and realized what needed to be done.

In other words, if Ariana lived, there was a good chance Dumbledore would've continued down the same path as Grindelwald.

Maybe he'd awaken eventually. But when? And at what cost? No one could say. And by then, the man who became Headmaster Dumbledore might never come to be at all.

So Kyle was torn—on one hand, how to bring Dumbledore back safely; on the other, how to preserve the course of history. Two paths, completely at odds, tangled his thoughts into a knot.

He didn't dare continue the conversation tonight. The only thing he could do was end it here and wait until he saw Dumbledore again.

If his guess was right, Dumbledore should be arriving soon, now that the Blood Pact had been completed.

As for why he'd promised Ariana he'd come back… Kyle wasn't even sure himself. It had just slipped out—and now that he thought about it, he kind of regretted it.

Oh well. First things first—he needed sleep.

Rubbing his temples, Kyle turned away and made his way back to the Valley Bar as fast as he could.

...

The next morning, Kyle was woken by shouting from downstairs. Aberforth was raging—hurling the most vicious insults he could at Dumbledore and Grindelwald for leaving without so much as a word.

Even the bar owner, who for the first time had offered him a glass of mead, couldn't calm him down.

Kyle slipped past him and stepped outside the bar.

During the day, he stayed in the barn. With Dumbledore and Grindelwald off to the southern highlands, the place was empty—perfect for waiting in peace, without fear of being discovered.

Unfortunately, he waited all the way until nightfall, and still, Dumbledore didn't return.

The following days were the same. During the day, Kyle would station himself in the barn. At night, he'd return to the attic rooftop of the Dumbledore home, where he and Ariana would talk.

Most of the time, it was Ariana doing the talking—sharing little stories about her two brothers, while Kyle simply sat and listened. When it was time to leave, he'd make just enough noise to stir things up.

Poor Aberforth got woken up every single night. Eventually, he got so fed up he stormed off into the nearby woods, determined to teach those blasted Kneazles a lesson—or at the very least, make them understand that running around on rooftops at night was extremely rude.

The result?

Well... he may have overestimated himself and underestimated the Kneazles.

He charged in full of fury and limped back out, clearly on the losing end of that encounter.

Still, the good news was: that night, the "Kneazles" didn't visit their rooftop again.