Ron also knew Kael's grades, and he remembered them well.
Because of this, Fred and George got quite a few beatings during the holidays; whenever they heard the word "grades," they would immediately run away.
Even Percy had reduced the number of times he went out, almost always returning to his room to read right after meals.
That was the only holiday without pranks, and without having to constantly listen to Percy boast and nag.
"But Hermione..." Ron thought for a moment and said, "I remember Kael had one point deducted, right? Technically, he didn't score full marks."
"Does it make a difference?" Hermione pursed her lips and said, "I asked Professor McGonagall, and she said the only point Kael lost was for writing thirteen uses of Dragon Blood instead of twelve."
"Dragon Blood has twelve uses?" Ron blurted out, "I always thought it was thirteen. Haha, looks like Kael is just like me."
"Ha, did you think that you only needed to write down a number in the exam?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and said impatiently, "Kael wrote down all the uses of Dragon Blood in full detail, but added an extra one at the end.
I bet he did it on purpose!"
"But why..." Harry frowned and said, "Isn't it good to get full marks? Why would he deliberately get one wrong?"
Hermione shook her head. It wasn't just them who couldn't figure it out, even Professor McGonagall couldn't.
"Who would possibly think of using Dragon Blood as food... it's too farfetched, obviously deliberate."
"I'm quite far behind compared to Kael." Hermione ruffled her hair and said, "Didn't you notice? Recently, he's hardly been at the Auditorium for meals.
And Digory, the top of the third year, too... I bet they are seizing every moment to read."
"Think about it, even someone who scored full marks is working this hard. How can I not review?"
With that, Hermione lowered her head and continued flipping through the book she had already read countless times, "Thousand Magical Herbs and Mushrooms."
She knew there were many areas in which she couldn't measure up to Kael, like on the train when Kael effortlessly defeated Malfoy's gang, something she couldn't do.
Also, on Halloween, when the Troll that petrified her with fear was dealt with by Kael within seconds.
Lastly, those amazing Quidditch gadgets... let's not even mention the ones worth a hundred Galleons; even the regular ones sold to others she couldn't reproduce.
Or if she could, they looked extremely crude, far less exquisite than theirs.
These she could live with, but when it came to exams, Hermione stubbornly refused to admit defeat.
Meanwhile, in Hufflepuff's common room.
"Kael, the exams are coming up soon, are you sure you don't need to review?"
"No need." Kael, who was playing with the Niffler, said without looking up, "It's not O.W.L.s, just end-of-term exams. I can pass easily, why waste time reviewing."
"What, am I bothering you?"
"No, not at all." Conna shook her head and said, "I was just curious about what you've been busy with lately, not even having time to eat."
"I just haven't been going to the Auditorium." Kael said, "Our match with Slytherin is coming up. To be on the safe side, I think it's safer to eat here."
In two days, the last Quidditch game will finally begin, and who knows what Madam Hooch was thinking, scheduling the last match a week before exams, and Professor McGonagall even agreed.
First up is the Hufflepuff and Slytherin match, while Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are scheduled after the exams.
"Slytherin, having lost two games in a row, will stop at nothing to win."
Kael shook his head and sighed, "Harris ended up in the Hospital Wing after eating a piece of chocolate given by a Slytherin girl a few days ago, and he's still there now."
"How can they do such things..." Conna frowned, angry, and said, "So you're not going to the Auditorium for fear that they might poison you too?"
"No." Kael shook his head and said, "Slytherin's little tricks are too crude; they can only fool honest people like Cedric and Harris.
What I'm worried about is Snape poisoning me."
"What are you saying..." Conna playfully punched Kael and said, "Professor Snape wouldn't do that."
"Alright, I misspoke..." Kael said, rubbing his arm that suddenly hurt, and quickly corrected himself, "It has nothing to do with Professor Snape; I'm just being cautious."
Seeing his actions, Conna suddenly blushed and whispered, "Don't worry, we'll definitely win the championship."
Kael smiled without speaking.
The championship was in the bag; as the only team that had won two games, Hufflepuff was nearly four hundred points ahead of the second place.
With such a high score, it would be hard to lose even if they wanted to.
So Kael wasn't concerned about winning or losing; it was just that their methods were hard to swallow.
Besides, Kael didn't want to end up like Harris, being dragged into the Hospital Wing by a crowd because of severe vomiting; that would be social suicide.
Harris was fine; he would be in seventh year next year, one more year till graduation.
But Kael still had five years to stay in the castle; social suicide would be catastrophic.
So no matter what, the Auditorium was out of the question before the match.
...
Two days later, the final Quidditch match finally began.
This game was like a beam of light, illuminating the young wizards' tedious exam review lives.
On the day of the match, Harry and Ron got up early, momentarily forgetting about the exams and eagerly ran to the Quidditch Pitch.
Although Hermione complained that they shouldn't be distracted by a match at this time, she still followed along.
"Forget the exams, Hermione... at least for today."
From the stands, Ron laughed and said to Hermione, "This is the last match of the year, look, here comes the Hufflepuff team."
When Harris walked out of the tunnel and appeared on the field, a wave of cheers erupted around them.
Just discharged from the hospital yesterday, he still looked pale, but his eyes were resolute.
In the stands, Harry watched the Hufflepuff players with mixed emotions.
As much as he wanted to see Slytherin fail, Hufflepuff was already three hundred and ninety points ahead of Gryffindor, and if they won today's match, that number would certainly increase.
At least four hundred points... can they really catch up?
On one side was the arch-enemy; on the other, the championship, making it difficult for Harry to choose who to support.
"Wait..." At that moment, Hermione suddenly exclaimed, "Kael didn't come to the match!"
Harry was dumbfounded and quickly looked at the players again.
Hermione was right; Kael really wasn't there, Hufflepuff had put in a substitute Chaser this time.
"He must be preparing for exams..." Hermione said regretfully, "I shouldn't have come!"
...