"Thank you, Fawkes, I'll treat you to some Mandrakes later, take your pick!"
Kael's voice echoed in the corridor outside the Headmaster's Office.
Fawkes chirped happily, didn't even glance at Dumbledore, and fluttered out.
It seemed like just a moment later, the Headmaster's Office was left with a lonely old man, and the sound of something breaking.
...
"Here, try this."
In the auditorium, Kael handed Conna a cup of tea with milk and sugar cubes.
Conna took a sip, and her eyes immediately lit up.
"How is it?"
"Delicious!" Conna nodded repeatedly and took another big sip.
"Of course it's good, this is the Headmaster's treasure." Kael shook a silver tea canister in his hand.
This canister was also a good Magic Item, similar in function to the box Nicolas gifted him earlier, and its material was precious, just like Gryffindor's Sword, made from Goblin's special secret pure silver.
Kael roughly estimated that a canister of this size needed about ten thousand Silver Sickles to be repeatedly refined to be made, quite valuable.
"Did the Headmaster give this to you?" Conna took another sip, amazed at Kael's ability to get such good things from the Headmaster.
"No, he wouldn't be so generous." Kael shook his head and said plainly, "I snatched it."
"What? Snatched it?" Conna choked a bit, her hand holding the cup paused, looking at Kael incredulously.
"Yes, snatched it." Kael said, "But don't worry, go ahead and drink, it's fine. I helped him solve a big problem, he had to show some gratitude."
"And, he tacitly agreed."
Kael's words weren't unfounded.
From the eighth floor to the auditorium wasn't a short distance. If Dumbledore wanted, he could have easily caught up with Kael.
But he didn't, he didn't even chase out of the Headmaster's Office. Otherwise, this canister would have been snatched back long ago.
...
With Kael's assurance, Conna felt more at ease, but she still found it hard to believe as she looked at the cup in her hand.
Being bold enough to openly snatch something from Headmaster Dumbledore and then proudly show it off, Kael might be the first... Conna thought.
...
Time quickly moved into December; unknowingly, snowflakes began drifting outside.
As Kael expected, Dumbledore didn't come to reclaim his tea canister, and of course, Kael hadn't seen him at Hogwarts either.
Perhaps, it was just like Dumbledore said in the Headmaster's Office, he had many things to do.
Kael recently has been casually observing Draco Malfoy.
But he behaved no differently than usual, aside from routine classes, he just caused trouble for Harry, as if only after a quarrel with Harry was his day complete.
Besides Malfoy, Kael had to deal with another person... Slughorn.
Who knows where he got the news, but finding out the Ministry of Magic had canceled the Floo Network with Hogwarts, Kael's previous excuse for refusing dinner parties was no longer valid.
So, various invitations would be delivered from time to time.
Though Kael tried his best to find other excuses, he couldn't resist Slughorn hosting five dinner parties a week, so reluctantly, he had to attend a few.
Called dinner parties, they were actually just a few people sitting around Slughorn, listening to him talk about which of his former students had achieved something, or who sent him gifts.
Then, according to the routine, everyone would exclaim in awe, just like that every time.
In comparison, the dinner seemed to be the least important part, Kael attended several times, and each time he returned, he headed straight for the kitchen.
No choice, there was nothing much to eat there.
He was fairly fortunate, as the Hufflepuff Common Room was closer to the kitchen, so he could grab something anytime.
But Harry and Hermione weren't so lucky, as Slughorn ended each dinner party right at curfew, they had no time to detour to the kitchen.
Fortunately, Ron could pack some food from the auditorium for them to roast by the fireplace afterward; though the taste wasn't as good, it's better than nothing.
...