After eavesdropping for a while, Kyle had a pretty good idea why Narcissa and Snape were here.
Narcissa wanted Draco Malfoy to return to Hogwarts—or more precisely, to be placed under Dumbledore's protection.
Every wizard knew that Dumbledore was unusually forgiving toward his students. As long as they hadn't crossed a certain line, he would always offer them a second chance.
Take Draco Malfoy, for example. If it had been any other headmaster, just the fact that he let Death Eaters into Hogwarts would've been enough to get him executed ten times over.
But Dumbledore not only spared Draco's life, he even saved him from being consumed by Fiendfyre atop the Astronomy Tower. In the end, Draco got nothing more than a slap-on-the-wrist expulsion.
Back then, Narcissa and Lucius had felt grateful—relieved, even—that their enemy had been so merciful.
But now, things had changed. They had a new enemy—someone unpredictable. Someone who had killed seventy Death Eaters in under an hour.
Not even the most ruthless Death Eaters had ever racked up a body count like that.
So now they were panicking.
If Draco ever ran into Kyle, there was a good chance he'd end up like Bellatrix. After all, once you were part of the Death Eaters, you didn't get to decide where you went or what mission you were assigned.
And with Voldemort being who he was, it was only a matter of time before Draco was sent straight into Kyle's path.
Their only hope of keeping Draco alive was to shove him back into Hogwarts—under Dumbledore's protection once again.
So Narcissa turned to Snape, now the Head of House at Hogwarts, hoping he could pull some strings.
Tsk.
Having pieced everything together, Kyle narrowed his eyes.
The whole thing made him out to be some kind of vicious villain, when in reality, he hadn't taken a single innocent life. His magical record was as clean as a blank page.
And yet Narcissa Malfoy dared to slander him like this.
That alone made Kyle a little annoyed. He ran his hand over the latch on his suitcase, seriously considering letting the Nundu out for a breath of air—just to spice things up for the folks inside.
"Maybe you should be thanking Kyle..."
Just then, Snape's voice through the Extendable Ears made Kyle drop the idea.
"The Dark Lord has been displeased with Lucius for a long time, ever since he started screwing things up again and again. If Bella hadn't acted on her own this time, you'd have been discarded already."
Being discarded by the Dark Lord meant one thing: you'd lost your value. And that usually left you with two options—get hit with a Killing Curse, or be sent on a suicide mission.
Like the one where Draco was ordered to assassinate Dumbledore.
If he succeeded, great.
If he failed, then Dumbledore would kill Draco himself—punishing Lucius in the process and giving Voldemort a way to spit in Dumbledore's face.
What Voldemort didn't expect was that Dumbledore would be so forgiving—actually sparing the one responsible for orchestrating an attack on the school.
Then again, Voldemort didn't care all that much. The lives of ants weren't worth his attention. All he wanted was for Draco to keep making assassination attempts.
Dumbledore's compassion actually worked to his advantage.
But then came the incident at Godric's Hollow. Voldemort had lost one of his most effective pawns—Bellatrix—and the Death Eaters had taken heavy casualties. Only then did he temporarily back off from sending Draco to his death.
He still needed someone to carry out his orders. And while Lucius Malfoy had screwed up more times than he could count, without a better tool, he would have to do for now.
"This may sound a little harsh," Snape said slowly, "but your sister saved your lives... with her own."
Narcissa's sobs grew louder.
"I... I know... but I... I really had no other choice."
"Severus... Draco is your godson... please... save him..."
Her voice was barely coherent, so broken it seemed like she might faint at any moment. Even Kyle, standing outside the door, felt a twinge of sympathy.
He hesitated, wondering if he should open the door and tell her that he had no intention of killing Draco Malfoy. But judging by Narcissa's emotional state, she probably wouldn't be thrilled to see his face right now.
"There might be a way," Snape said, now sounding a little impatient. "But it's definitely not sending Draco back to Hogwarts."
"Everyone knows who he is now. Even if Dumbledore agrees, do you really think the other parents would let a Death Eater stay at school?"
"Then why did you even ask me to come here?!"
Unlike the tearful Narcissa, the hot-headed Draco wasn't in the mood to show Snape any respect. He snapped angrily, "You dragged me here just to tell me I'm doomed?
"Ha! How considerate of you, dear Head of House."
"Don't do this... Draco... don't..." Narcissa tried to calm him down, but it clearly wasn't working.
"Mum, can't you see it? He's laughing at us!
"Let's go. Even if Kyle kills me the moment I step out that door, I don't need his help."
There was a sudden rush of footsteps.
"Stop!" Snape barked coldly.
But Draco, still fuming, wasn't listening. Kyle saw the door crack open from the inside and quickly moved to hide.
A second later, the door slammed shut again.
From the Extendable Ears came the sound of scuffling—Snape had clearly grabbed Draco and dragged him back inside.
"I told you, there is a way—but whether you go through with it is up to you."
"We're willing!" Narcissa cut in before Draco could speak. "As long as Draco survives, we're willing to do anything."
"Then give it a try. But make sure the Dark Lord doesn't find out—go see Dumbledore in person… Wait, Draco, what's that in your pocket?"
His pocket?
Kyle's heart clenched.
Had they discovered the Extendable Ear he slipped into Draco's pocket during the scuffle just now?
Before he could react, the wall beside him was suddenly sliced open by an invisible blade, and something shot past his head, neatly cleaving a wooden barrel in two.
"Sectumsempra... Snape, you bastard!"
Kyle cursed inwardly, but didn't stop—he turned and ran at full speed.
At that moment, the door was yanked open and Snape stormed out, face thunderous. He scanned the empty street around them, his expression like stone.
"Damn it," he snapped, whipping his head toward Draco Malfoy, "You idiot—you didn't even realize someone was tailing you!"
"That's impossible… No way…" Draco's voice shook with panic. "I checked carefully on the way here—no one was following me!"
"No one? Then what the hell is this?" Snape hurled the crushed 'ear' in his hand at Draco in fury.
"A listening device. If I'm not mistaken, our whole conversation just now has been overheard." Snape's voice was icy, his teeth clenched. "You'd better pray the person tailing you isn't a Death Eater—otherwise, we're all dead."
The last time Snape had been this furious was when he caught Kanna kissing Kyle.
But it was different then—he'd just been angry, and only wanted to use Sectumsempra to give Kyle a haircut. This time, there was a creeping fear he couldn't suppress.
If Voldemort found out what they had said—especially that last line—not one of them would live.
Even if he was desperate for people, Voldemort would never tolerate anyone harboring disloyalty.
With that thought, Snape sharply flicked his wand. A faint ripple spread out rapidly in all directions.
But as it passed a certain corner, the ripple seemed to hesitate.
"There!"
A flash of red light shot forward—but hit nothing.
"Invisibility Cloak... It's Potter! It has to be Potter!" Draco cried out beside him. "That damn Scarhead—"
He didn't get to finish before he caught Snape's expression—cold and devoid of any emotion.
"Potter does have an Invisibility Cloak, I've seen it," Draco quickly lowered his voice. "It must have been him following me."
"Did you swap brains with a troll?" Snape said coldly. "Potter's in Transfiguration class at Hogwarts right now. What makes you think he'd leave school just to tail you to Knockturn Alley?"
Draco froze.
Right—he'd been expelled from Hogwarts, but Harry Potter hadn't. At this time of day, he should still be in class.
"I'll hold things down here. The two of you—go back, now. As fast as you can. Find a way to contact Lucius!" Snape took a deep breath. "Tell him that if anyone seems desperate to meet the Dark Lord—no matter the consequences—he must kill them on the spot… That might be the only way we get out of this alive."
"What are you still standing around for? Go!"
Snape's shout snapped the pale-faced Narcissa out of her daze. She grabbed Draco and bolted down a narrow alleyway.
She was already rattled by the incident—far too shaken to Apparate. If she wanted to contact Lucius, she'd have to leave the area and reach the nearest Borgin and Burkes shop to use the Floo Network.
Watching her flee, Snape cursed under his breath, even more irritable now.
With teammates like this, it was only a matter of time before they dragged him down too.
Still…
Snape glanced at the broken listening device on the ground.
Draco's outburst had triggered a thought.
Not Potter… No. Two others.
Fred and George… That kind of magical device screamed Weasley twins.
Snape remembered—they had a joke shop in Diagon Alley, full of items that flagrantly violated school rules.
He frowned.
Given the Weasleys' meddlesome nature, if they saw an expelled Death Eater like Draco Malfoy wandering alone through Diagon Alley, they'd definitely intervene.
More importantly, no Death Eater would ever step foot in the Weasleys' shop—those anti-Voldemort displays in the windows were reason enough.
So was it them tailing Draco?
Very likely.
For reasons he couldn't explain, Snape let out a breath.
Good. As long as it wasn't Death Eaters, the situation was still manageable.
With that in mind, he looked again at the corner scorched by his earlier spell. But unfortunately... the moment they realized they'd been spotted, the intruders fled. His curse had been a second too late.
Now...
Snape swept his wand again. The same ripples spread out—but found nothing. Clearly, the interlopers had already escaped the spell's radius.
"Damn it!"
He swore, then sprinted toward Diagon Alley.
No matter what, he had to check the Weasleys' joke shop. If the ones tailing them were Fred and George, that was fine. But if they weren't…
Snape narrowed his eyes and picked up the pace.
...
Meanwhile, in another alley, Narcissa was pulling Draco along as they stumbled forward in a panic.
But in the very next moment, someone appeared out of thin air in front of them.
The man looked like he was out for a stroll, a pleasant smile on his face—but when Draco saw who it was, his eyes flew wide open in shock. His body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"K-Kyle..."
"Surprise." Kyle smiled. "What a coincidence—are you here to stroll around Knockturn Alley too?"
At the sight of that familiar face, Draco instinctively recalled the brutal scene he had witnessed in Godric's Hollow. Cold sweat broke out across his forehead in an instant.
In that moment, Malfoy truly wanted to slap himself. He'd just been mouthing off earlier—he hadn't actually expected to run into Kyle.
"What are you—"
Narcissa, already overwhelmed, had just opened her mouth when a sudden Stunning Spell struck her squarely. She collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Stupefy," Kyle said at a leisurely pace.
"Mum!"
Draco Malfoy's eyes instantly turned red. In that moment, anger overtook fear. He yanked out his wand and aimed it at Kyle.
"It was me who wanted to kill you... She had nothing to do with it. Let her go..."
"You think I'm an idiot?"
Kyle shrugged. "Filch might be a Squib, but he's not dumb enough to let you sneak that opal necklace into school. So, who got it there?"
"I... I had my ways," Draco said stiffly. "It was all me. My mother knew nothing. If you want someone, take me."
"Well, at least you've got some spine." Kyle smiled, lifting his left hand with a flick. "Still, it's better if she doesn't know what happens next... might just save her life."
The vines on the wall to the left suddenly burst into rapid growth, thickening to the width of a wrist in seconds. They slithered like snakes and wrapped around Draco before he could react.
Then they tightened, binding him firmly to the wall.
"Kyle, what are you—what are you doing—"
"Shh. Don't speak." Kyle raised his wand and pointed it at Draco's forehead. In the boy's terrified gaze, he spoke softly.
"Legilimens."
Draco's eyes went glassy, and his memories began flashing like a film reel. He could see them—and so could Kyle.
"The Dark Lord got that furious?"
"Tch. And here I thought she was one of his loyal followers. He really just discarded Bellatrix like that? What are you all sticking with someone like that for?"
"Oh... didn't expect you'd been put under the Cruciatus Curse. And you actually survived. Not bad."
Kyle sifted through Draco's memories, searching for clues about Voldemort's next move.
But maybe Malfoy's status was too low—Kyle didn't find anything useful. After being punished on some flimsy pretense, Draco hadn't seen Voldemort again.
Kyle lowered his wand.
At this point, Malfoy looked like he'd just been dragged out of a river—drenched in cold sweat.
"You... what do you want...?"
"It's not about what I want. It's about you." Kyle stared at him. "Do you want to live?"
"You should just kill me." Draco lifted his head, eyes filled with searing hatred. "Otherwise I will kill you. I swear I'll kill you!"
"In your current situation, I'd say keeping your emotions in check would be wise. Getting worked up like that could get you killed." Kyle casually shifted his wand toward the unconscious Narcissa.
"Wait—Kyle, I was wrong. I shouldn't have threatened you. I—"
"Obliviate."
A flash of white light. Narcissa seemed to stir slightly.
"If the Dark Lord finds out you two saw me, that won't end well. Best if she remembers nothing."
Kyle stowed his wand. "Anyway, what were you saying just now?"
"I..." Draco was completely thrown off.
He had thought Kyle was here to kill them, but now it didn't seem that way.
If Kyle had wanted to, he wouldn't have gone to all this trouble.
"What do you want?"
"Finally cooled down?" Kyle gave a nod. "It's simple. The Dark Lord's been too quiet lately, and I want to know what he's planning. So I need a Death Eater to relay some information."
"As for a reward," Kyle paused to consider, "how about getting you back into Hogwarts when it's all done? Your mother would probably like that."