Kael and Conna returned to the castle not long after.
After they left, Hagrid sat in his wooden hut and pondered until evening. At last, he decided to follow Kael's advice and send Fluffy to the Forbidden Forest tonight.
Although he felt reluctant, there was no other choice. Firstly, this was to make Fluffy feel a little better.
If Fluffy was happy, then he would be happy too.
Moreover, he thought about it—Kael was right. The situation outside is indeed tense now.
Earlier, when Professor Oren from Defence Against the Dark Arts came to the Forbidden Forest to find teaching materials, he also complained to him that after today's Daily Prophet was published, the Ministry of Magic, to show their concern for the issue, had dispatched almost all Beaters to search for those unidentified Fantastic Beasts.
He couldn't even buy any teaching materials and had to come to the Forbidden Forest to catch them himself.
Hagrid remembered that Professor Oren almost exploded with anger at the time, cursing Fudge in the Forbidden Forest as a fool.
Back then, Hagrid found it amusing, but now thinking back, he regretted not joining in to curse as well.
Because he bought Fluffy in a bar, and there were quite a few people around at that time.
Although those people had no clue what he was buying, if any of them happened to be caught by the Beaters, they would definitely claim he bought a Fantastic Beast to get themselves off the hook.
After all, from their perspective, they'd gain prestige if they guessed correctly, and if not, they didn't lose anything, so why not?
So for Fluffy's safety and to avoid troubling Dumbledore, he had to send Fluffy away.
Those Beaters wouldn't search the Forbidden Forest, would they?
Of course, if they wanted to, Hagrid certainly wouldn't stop them.
No need for that.
Deep in the Forbidden Forest, there are even Werewolves and Manticores, so what's strange about having one more Three-Headed Dog?
On the other side, Kael, who had returned to the castle, was sitting in a corner of the common room, picking through a pile of Wiggentree branches.
"I meant to ask you earlier," Conna said, curious about Kael's actions, "What are you doing with those dry branches? There's plenty in the kitchen; you can go and get them anytime."
"It's not the same; these are Wiggentree branches," Kael explained. "The Wiggentree is a magical rowan tree that can protect those who touch its trunk from Dark Creatures."
Conna blinked. Of course, she knew this, but what did it have to do with Kael picking branches?
Branches, trunk... those are two separate things.
"I... forget it; you'll know someday."
Kael picked out a straight stick and set it aside, then casually asked, "By the way, how do you know there are branches in the kitchen? Have you eaten there before?"
Given how close the kitchen is, Kael had been there, but every time he got near the door, that group of House-elves would surround him.
The stoves were further inside, and the only way to see them clearly was to sit at those long tables.
With the enthusiasm of those House-elves, if you didn't eat there, you pretty much couldn't get inside.
Because halfway there, they'd hang an entire cow on you.
"I'm not; I didn't; stop talking nonsense..."
For some reason, Conna's face turned red, and she stammered, "I was just curious and went to have a look in the kitchen!"
"Oh, I see."
Kael didn't mind, continuing to sort through the Wiggentree branches. After he finally tidied them up, he realized Conna had gone back to the dormitory at some point.
And only he was left in the common room; Kael then remembered that tomorrow was the weekend. After a bit of tidying up, he too went back to the dormitory.
He had no intention of staying up late.
For Hufflepuff, tomorrow was a big day because the Quidditch match would start, and the first match was against Slytherin.
The next day.
To cheer for their house team, the little badgers were up before eight. After breakfast, they put on their tidy uniforms and, carrying the banners they had made, headed to the Quidditch Pitch on time.
Kael was one of them, but after breakfast, a chubby ghost suddenly floated in front of him.
"Hello, Kael. I hope I'm not interrupting your breakfast."
"Hello, Friar," Kael politely replied, "Would you like to join us for the Quidditch game? Hufflepuff has a high chance of winning this year."
"No thanks; in fact, I prefer Gobstones," the Fat Friar said a bit regretfully. "Unfortunately, Hogwarts canceled that game decades ago."
"Sorry, Friar," Kael quickly said, "I hope I didn't ruin your mood for today."
"Not at all, child," the Fat Friar chuckled, "The best part of being a ghost is there's nothing worse than this, so you don't need to worry at all.
But you may be a bit late for the game because Dumbledore is looking for you. It's in the Headmaster's Office on the eighth floor; the password is 'toffee nut cream.'
Dumbledore looking for me?
That surprised Kael a bit; he curiously asked, "Friar, do you know why the headmaster is looking for me?"
"That I don't know," the Fat Friar shook his head. "I'm just passing along a message."
"Alright, I'll head there then. Goodbye, Friar."
After bidding farewell to the Fat Friar, Kael headed straight to the eighth floor.
Since the headmaster was looking for him, he certainly had to go. Hopefully, it wouldn't delay watching the Quidditch match.
Although he'd never been to the Headmaster's Office before, due to his familiarity with the map, Kael quickly found the incredibly ugly stone beast.
"Toffee nut cream," Kael recited the password.
Then the stone beast jumped aside, and the wall behind it split into two, revealing a spiral staircase.
The staircase moved slowly upward, like an escalator.
Kael stepped on it and followed it to a great oaken door with a Griffin-shaped knocker.
Feeling a bit apprehensive, Kael knocked on the door, and the knocker seemed to come to life, flapping its wings to gently open the door.
One must say, true to the headmaster's office, this method of door opening was far better than knocking on a barrel.
Kael walked into the Headmaster's Office, curious as he glanced around.
The spacious, circular room was filled with curious little sounds, and odd silver instruments were placed on the table, spinning and emitting small puffs of smoke.
Kael had no idea what these things were for, but they definitely weren't humidifiers.
Near the wall was a stone basin carved with strange symbols, and beside it stood a huge mirror.
The mirror was very imposing, reaching up to the ceiling with a gleaming golden frame supported by two claw-foot legs.