Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 790: The Battle in Godric’s Hollow

Where was Dumbledore…? Apart from Ron, everyone else had the same question in their minds. They distinctly remembered seeing Dumbledore and even speaking with him, so why had he suddenly vanished?

But aside from Kyle, no one could provide an answer.

The moment the Death Eaters appeared, Kyle tensed up immediately. He ignored Harry and Hermione’s argument, not even sparing them a glance, and instead focused intently on scanning the Death Eaters before him.

A few seconds later, he let out a small sigh of relief.

Thankfully, they were all wearing masks… A standard feature of Death Eaters. And if they were just Death Eaters, that meant the most troublesome person wasn’t here.

In that case, there was nothing to worry about.

By the time Kyle snapped back to reality, the battle had already erupted in full force. Spells flashed in every direction, and under the relentless assault, the protective enchantments around them only held for a brief moment before collapsing entirely.

Now, everyone was exposed to the Death Eaters. The sky seemed cloaked in thick, swirling darkness as the masked figures descended from above, their sheer numbers allowing them to surround each person with ease.

Harry had the most enemies on him.

Hermione had just tried to pull him away when she was abruptly cut off. Spells came at them from all directions, making it nearly impossible for her to focus on Apparating.

Left with no other choice, Hermione made a split-second decision—she shoved Harry aside and flung herself in the opposite direction, barely dodging an incoming curse by a hairʼs breadth.

Ron, however, was a second too slow. A curse struck him in the shoulder.

With a pained cry, Ron clutched at his shoulder as blood gushed from the wound, soaking through his robes.

”Ron! Ron! Are you okay?!” Hermione’s voice trembled with worry, but her words were quickly drowned out by an even louder explosion.

She tried to reach him, but Death Eaters descending from above blocked her path.

”Expelliarmus!” Harry shouted, swinging his wand.

He successfully disarmed one Death Eater, but with so many enemies, such a small victory barely made a difference.

”Kyle!” Cedric shouted. ”Go help Harry! I have to assist Lupin and Tonks—they won’t hold out much longer!”

”No, you stay here!” Kyle suddenly appeared in front of Ron, his wand flicking as a silver shield materialized, blocking all incoming spells.

At the same time, the ground surged upward like a tidal wave, carrying Harry and Hermione away from the Death Eatersʼ encirclement.

In just a moment, the immediate crisis for the three was temporarily averted.

”Go to Cedric.” Kyle cast a glance at the disheveled trio before turning back. ”Iʼll handle this—just protect yourselves!”

With that, Kyle disappeared once more.

”Apparating in the middle of battle?!” Hermione gasped as she regained her composure. ”That’s way too dangerous!”

”Forget that—we should be worrying about ourselves.” Cedric arrived at their side, his expression grave. ”And you don’t need to worry about Kyle. He mastered that spell back in fifth year… Protego!”

He cast a Shield Charm, blocking an incoming spell from the side before swiftly countering with a Stunning Spell.

Harry and Hermione quickly launched their own attacks, forming a defensive circle with Cedric around the injured Ron.

Meanwhile, Kyle had already reappeared in the thick of the battle—right where Lupin and Tonks were.

The two of them were barely holding out against the onslaught from Bellatrix and seven or eight Death Eaters. If it weren’t for Sirius’s timely intervention, they might not have lasted even a few seconds.

”Aguamenti Arrow!”

A jet of water shot from Kyle’s wand, twisting and morphing midair into sharp arrow-like projectiles before streaking toward the densest cluster of Death Eaters.

Screams erupted as the sudden attack forced a brief pause in the relentless barrage of spells.

Seizing the opportunity, Kyle cast a Transfiguration Spell beneath Lupin and Tonks, using the same method he had employed to save Harry—flinging them out of the encirclement.

”You again!” Bellatrix hissed, clutching her arm where Kyle’s ”arrow” had grazed her. Her eyes burned with fury. ”How dare you ruin my plans!”

”Yeah? And what are you gonna do about it? Kill me?” Kyle spread his hands mockingly.

”As you wish!” Bellatrix shrieked, raising her wand high. A flash of green light shot straight toward Kyle.

But with a sharp pop, he vanished from the spot, narrowly dodging the Killing Curse. The next moment, he reappeared behind Bellatrix.

”Ventusempra!”

A fierce gust of wind howled through the battlefield, its cutting edge far sharper than his previous water attack—and covering an even larger area.

In an instant, several nearby Death Eaters collapsed as though they had been sliced down like stalks of wheat. Agonized screams filled the air as blood sprayed out, quickly dispersing into a fine mist that splattered across the surrounding Death Eaters.

”Tch…” Kyle frowned, slightly dissatisfied with the outcome.

This was his modified version of Sectumsempra. The expanded range was an improvement, but the raw power wasn’t quite there—it could only carve through a single row of enemies at a time.

If someone happened to have a convenient human shield, they could avoid the worst of it entirely.

”Thereʼs still room for improvement,” Kyle muttered, shaking his head.

Bellatrix had only just regained her senses, and she could hardly believe what had happened. In just a single exchange, half of her forces had been wiped out?

”You must die!” Bellatrix made her decision in an instant. While Kyle was still engaged with the other Death Eaters, she swiftly raised her wand, sending a beam of red light streaking toward him.

The spell was fast—almost instantaneous. It was a sneak attack, and Bellatrix had timed it perfectly. She was certain Kyle wouldnʼt be able to dodge, not even with Apparition.

But Kyle made no attempt to avoid it.

Just as the red light was about to hit him, the same silver shield from before materialized again, effortlessly reflecting the curse back toward an unsuspecting Death Eater. The unfortunate man didnʼt even have time to react before his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious.

By then, Kyle had already returned to Lupin’s side, standing shoulder to shoulder with Sirius.

What surprised them most was that Bellatrix didn’t immediately launch another attack.

She just stood there, suddenly frozen, her entire body rigid.

”This is impossible!” she shrieked, staring at Kyle. ”Impossible! How can you use the Dark Lord’s magic?!”

She remembered vividly—during the battle in the Ministry of Magic’s atrium, when Voldemort had clashed with Dumbledore, the Dark Lord had used the same shield-like variation of the Shield Charm to block Dumbledore’s spells.

Bellatrix had always believed it was magic only Voldemort could wield. And yet now, she was seeing it again—on Kyle, of all people.

Why Kyle? How could it be Kyle? She couldnʼt accept it.

With a sudden, wild scream, she began flinging curses at him in a frenzy, her attacks completely erratic.

For some reason, Kyle didn’t retaliate. He just stood there, smiling at Bellatrix. And every time a spell neared him, the silver shield reappeared, effortlessly deflecting the attack onto a random Death Eater nearby.

Kyle was so amused that he nearly laughed out loud. But the more entertained he became, the more unhinged Bellatrix grew. She cast spell after spell, and each one found an unlucky Death Eater instead.

That only made Kyle happier.

It was a perfect cycle—he simply stood still while the Death Eaters around him were systematically taken out by their own leader’s attacks.

Only when the remaining Death Eaters finally realized what was happening did they scramble away from Kyle and Bellatrix, retreating to a safer distance. Kyle sighed, almost regretfully.

Meanwhile, Sirius had taken advantage of the chaos to rescue the injured Tonks and Remus. Now, having secured them, he rushed back.

”Where’s Dumbledore?” he asked Kyle as he approached. ”He was at the wedding this afternoon, wasn’t he? Why did he suddenly disappear?”

”Professor Dumbledore had some urgent matters to attend to,” Kyle replied, not even turning to face Sirius as he casually sidestepped a streak of green light.

The Killing Curse—a spell so uniquely sinister that its raw magical force, combined with the caster’s malice, could overwhelm the Shield Charm. Kyle wasn’t entirely sure if his defenses could withstand it, so he preferred not to take any chances.

His reaction, however, caused Bellatrix’s eyes to gleam with realization. It was as if she had suddenly come to her senses. She let out a piercing scream, summoning the Death Eaters around her.

At least twenty hooded figures immediately converged, forming a massive circle around Kyle, Sirius, and the others.

”Avada…”

Under Bellatrix’s command, a storm of green light erupted, illuminating the sky in an eerie, deathly glow.

”It’s over!” Lupin clutched Tonks’ hand in despair before turning to Kyle. ”Get out of here! Leave us behind!”

There was no way to escape this. So many Killing Curses fired at once—it was impossible to dodge them all. Even if they avoided the first wave, they wouldn’t survive the second, or the third… Without reinforcements, it was only a matter of time before they were hit.

But Kyle was different. Lupin had noticed earlier—Kyle could Apparate freely in battle.

For any other wizard, this situation would be a death sentence. But for Kyle? He could slip out of the encirclement in the blink of an eye.

That was what truly separated the strong from the weak—only a handful of wizards could Apparate effectively in combat.

Unfortunately, aside from Kyle, no one else here had that ability. They could only buy themselves a few more seconds by constantly shifting positions.

The only silver lining was that the Killing Curse wasn’t as easy to cast as other spells. It required precision, power, and intent, which meant it couldn’t be fired as quickly in succession.

For now, that brief delay was the only thing keeping them alive.

”I canʼt do it,” Kyle shook his head.

”Listen, Kyle, this isnʼt the time for stubbornness!” Sirius urged, his voice tense. ”You need to go—if this keeps up, weʼre all going to die here.”

”No, I really canʼt,” Kyle shook his head again, then added, ”I mean it literally. The Killing Curse carries too much malice. Under these conditions, Apparition is nearly impossible—even Dumbledore wouldn’t be able to pull it off.”

”Then weʼre doomed!” Sirius felt a wave of despair wash over him.

He wasn’t worried for himself—he had come to terms with the possibility of dying twenty years ago—but Kyle was different. With the talent he had displayed, his future was limitless. He shouldn’t meet his end here.

”Moony, get ready to go all out,” Sirius gritted his teeth. ”No matter what, we have to get Kyle out of here!”

”No problem,” Lupin said calmly, already thinking the same thing as Sirius.

Without needing to speak, the two of them, along with Tonks, moved to Kyle’s side, taking defensive stances, ready to shield him from the Killing Curses.

Three people—three chances. With Kyle’s abilities, he could definitely escape the encirclement.

”Relax,” Kyle said. ”We have reinforcements.”

”Reinforcements?” Tonksʼ eyes lit up. ”Youʼre right! The Ministry must have received word by now. With Aurorsʼ speed, they should be here soon.”

”No, no, Iʼm not talking about Aurors,” Kyle shook his head.

”Not Aurors? Then who? Dumbledore?”

”Close enough,” Kyle said, glancing upward. ”Oh, here it comes. Just a heads-up—get ready to feel like a Bludger.”

A Bludger? What?

Tonks barely had time to process what he meant before a golden-red figure suddenly appeared above them.

Fawkes swooped down, extending his talons to grasp Lupin and Tonks by their shoulders.

At the same time, three Killing Curses streaked toward them with terrifying speed.

But in the next instant, the deadly green light merely passed through a sudden burst of flames—Lupin and Tonks, who had been standing there just moments ago, vanished into the fire.

”Good, made it in time,” Kyle sighed in relief, grabbing Sirius by the shoulder. ”Get ready—”

”Huh?” Sirius turned his head in confusion—only to find himself in an entirely different location.

From a distance, he could still see the remains of the wedding decorations and the house that hadn’t been completely destroyed, but there wasn’t a single Death Eater in sight. Judging from their surroundings, they were at least a mile away.

”Apparition!” Sirius was stunned. ”But you just said—”

”Yeah, I canʼt use it,” Kyle nodded. ”But I have tools.”

He held out his hand, showing Sirius a simple, unassuming ring on his finger.

It looked so snug against his skin that it might as well have been drawn on. If one weren’t paying close attention, they wouldn’t even notice it.

It was a magical artifact—one that allowed three uses of Apparition—a birthday gift from Diana back in his first year.

The best thing about such an artifact was that it functioned regardless of external interference. As long as there wasn’t an Anti-Disapparition Jinx in place, it worked freely, unaffected by the malice of the Killing Curse.

”A magical artifact?” Sirius blinked.

”What? If youʼre not strong enough, you rely on gear. Pay to win—what’s wrong with that?” Kyle shot him a look of mild disdain. ”And you call yourself a Black? Do I really need to explain something this simple to you?”

Sirius felt his face heat up.

Kyle had a point. If you couldn’t win by raw power, using magical artifacts was perfectly valid. Even someone like Godric Gryffindor had gone to goblins to forge an indestructible sword—such things were common in the wizarding world.

The same logic applied to Invisibility Cloaks and broomsticks—magical tools created for convenience.

Aside from being expensive, there were no downsides.

And if there was one thing the Black family didn’t lack, it was Galleons.

”Or,” Kyle continued, raising an eyebrow, ”do you think using magic tools is dishonorable? Hoping for a fair duel with the Death Eaters?”

”Of course not!” Sirius shook his head quickly. ”I just didn’t expect you to have something this rare… The Black family has never had an artifact that can store Apparition. If word got out about this, people would fight to get their hands on it.”

Kyle shrugged indifferently.

A teleportation ring… yeah, that was a good enough name for it. While it might not be as famous as the legendary Deathly Hallows, it certainly wasn’t far off.

But now wasn’t the time for discussions.

Kyle’s gaze shifted to the distant horizon, where small dark figures were approaching. ”Looks like the Death Eaters have spotted us. They’ll catch up soon. You’d better leave while you can.”

Sirius snapped back to attention and immediately turned to run back.

”No, you need to leave first—I still have to rescue Harry and the others!”

”There’s no need.”

Kyle stepped in front of him. ”What do you think Fawkes was doing while we were surrounded by Death Eaters? Having dinner?

”The fact that he came to us means that everyone else—including Harry—has already been taken to safety. Lupin and Tonks were the last ones.”

”As for where exactly Fawkes sent them, I don’t know. But one thingʼs for sure—they’re far away from here.”