After returning to the castle, Kael threw the rowan tree branches he had picked up into the common room and began to busy himself again.
To save time, Kael finished all his homework in just two days and left the task of processing the rowan tree branches entirely to Cedric and others.
After all, they had done it once last year and were very familiar with the process, so there should be no problems.
After giving instructions for everything, Kael seemed to vanish, not even showing up in the auditorium during meal times.
No one could find him, and no one knew where he was. He would only make a brief appearance in the common room just before curfew every day, then disappear again early the next morning.
And so it went on until the start of the term.
Having breakfast that day, Cedric looked at the sleepy Kael and asked curiously, "Where on earth have you been these past few days? No one in the entire castle could find you."
"The eighth floor..."
Kael yawned and said, "There's a special room in the corridor there, right across from the tapestry of the troll. It can turn into any room you need without worrying about being discovered by others."
"I've been there these past few days."
"Is there really such a magical place in the castle?" Conna exclaimed in surprise.
"This is Hogwarts after all..."
After a moment's thought, Cedric said, "I've heard about a mysterious room on the eighth floor, unpredictable and ever-changing. Some people see a luxurious bedroom upon entering, while others see a storage room piled with junk... Everyone sees something different.
And I remember Fred and George also said that they once hid from Filch in a broom closet on the eighth floor, but when they tried to find it again, it was gone.
That broom closet must be the room you mentioned."
"Yes, that's the Room of Requirement."
As Kael ate a piece of toast, he said, "At that time, they wanted to hide, so the room turned into a broom closet, but if you want to practice magic, it will turn into a spacious classroom."
"That's amazing..." Cedric's eyes lit up and he asked excitedly, "Can I check it out? Can it turn into a Quidditch training field, where I can practice catching the Golden Snitch?"
"I want to go too," Conna quickly said, "I've always wanted to find a place where no one would bother me to practice potion-making."
"Sure, as long as you mentally think about what you want and walk back and forth in the corridor three times, you can see the door."
Kael thought for a moment and reminded, "But... if someone is in there, the place can't be used unless you're going into the same room."
Cedric's eyes grew brighter, and finally, he was so eager that he even skipped breakfast and ran straight to the eighth floor.
"Aren't you going?" Kael asked Conna, who was drinking pumpkin juice.
"Didn't you say only one person can use it at a time?" Conna shook her head and replied, "Let him go first. I can use those empty classrooms. There's no rush."
"By the way..."
Suddenly, Conna remembered something and continued, "A few days ago, a new Gryffindor student came looking for you several times."
"Gryffindor?" Kael frowned.
The first thing that came to his mind was the trio, as apart from them, he didn't know any other new Gryffindor students.
"Yes, a girl named Hermione Granger," Conna looked up slowly and said, "And she seemed pretty angry... You didn't tell her about using the Killing Curse for the sorting ceremony, did you?"
"Of course not. As soon as I arrived at the castle, I went straight to Professor Sprout's office and didn't even see the new students, okay?"
"Besides..." Kael glanced at Conna and mumbled softly, "Do you think everyone is as naive as you, believing everything they hear..."
Before he finished speaking, a roasted potato flew over.
Kael casually caught the "projectile" thrown by Conna, peeled it, and took a bite.
"So, did Hermione say what she wanted from me?"
"No," Conna glared at him, puffing her cheeks and said, "But Fred and George said she's strongly opposed to the Exam Pass Charm you created, so she probably came to find you because of that."
"Oh..." Kael nodded knowingly.
That was most likely Hagrid accidentally spilling the beans, and with Hermione's current personality, it's normal for her to be opposed.
But Kael didn't pay much attention to it, since he didn't have to worry about Gryffindor's issues; that was Fred and George's problem.
After breakfast, the two went to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom together.
After this semester began, Professor Quirrell's face looked even worse than before, completely devoid of color, terrifyingly pale.
Many people gradually started to believe that he was indeed cursed by an Inferius and stopped making fun of his stutter. These days, when they encountered Professor Quirrell on the road, they would even give him an encouraging smile.
Even Fred and George did the same.
One day when they were gathering in the Room of Requirement, Fred lamented, "To dare to be a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor even after being cursed by an Inferius, Quirrell is the true Gryffindor."
"His courage is thicker than that ridiculous scarf of his."
"And there's the constant smell of garlic all year round..." Cho shivered and said, "If it were me, I'd probably have gone mad long ago."
Cedric glanced at the twins, laughing, "I remember you guys used to pelt him with snowballs, didn't you?"
"We're very remorseful about that..." George said, feigning seriousness, "If Professor Quirrell survives the year, we'll apologize to him."
"Why wait until the end of the year..." Cho asked confusedly, "Can't you do it now?"
"What if he has another identity?" Fred waved his hand, "Don't forget he's the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. No one can guarantee he doesn't have an ulterior motive before the year ends."
"Just like last year's Oren..."
George gave Kael a meaningful look and said, "What a great professor, humorous and engaging in class, amiable out of it, yet it was all a facade."
"We were so trusting of him, willing to ruin our relationship with Ravenclaw to defend his image as a professor..."
"But it was all a lie; he broke our hearts..."
Fred and George grew increasingly emotional, on the verge of bawling their eyes out and hugging each other.
Kael shook his head with a smile, thinking the two simply liked Oren because he didn't assign much homework.
Despite Quirrell now looking like he might collapse any second, barely able to walk properly, he hadn't eased up on the assignment requirements at all and was quite strict in checking them.
Two feet in length, not a bit less than that, and writing larger characters wasn't allowed.
...