Because of what happened at the Dueling Club, in the days that followed, everywhere Kael went he attracted all sorts of looks.
That statue wielding a giant axe had left too deep an impression on everyone.
When people mentioned the Dueling Club, the first thing they thought of wasn't Lockhart making a fool of himself the entire time, nor all those flashy spells, but that stone axe raised high in the air.
This was also the first time they'd truly witnessed Kael's strength...
How to put it... it was just so straightforward—no wonder he could win a Merlin Order Medal as a second-year.
Compared to Kael, the other "Merlin Order Medal" was just ridiculous—Lockhart's sorry performance had almost become a universal joke.
Besides, Professor McGonagall had somehow heard about what happened at the Dueling Club.
So, in one Transfiguration Class, she went against her usual self and asked Kael all sorts of questions, and for each one he answered correctly, she awarded Hufflepuff ten points.
By the end of the class, Kael had gained Hufflepuff a total of sixty points... minus the fifty Snape had deducted, and they were still ten ahead.
All things considered, what happened at the Dueling Club didn't really affect Kael's life much—in fact, it even gave his reputation a nice boost.
But for someone else, it was a different story.
Harry Potter.
According to Mikel and Ryan, after Kael and the others left, Snape called him and Malfoy up on stage.
No one knew if Snape was giving his own House some private tutoring, but somehow Malfoy also managed to cast Serpensortia.
Faced with a similar black viper, Harry's way of handling things wasn't nearly as smooth as Kael's, and instead, he accidentally revealed his talent for Parseltongue.
Normally, that wouldn't have been a big deal, but at a time like this, it was different.
Everyone knew the Chamber of Secret was left by Salazar Slytherin, and Parseltongue was exactly the famous talent of this founder.
Now, almost everyone saw Harry as the so-called Heir, believing he was the one behind the attacks on Filch and Professor Charity Burbage.
But there were some who didn't think so...
"Harry Potter trying to use a monster to 'cleanse' the school? Don't make me laugh."
Out on the grounds beyond the castle, Fred said with a grin, "Speaking Parseltongue doesn't make you Slytherin's heir. Don't forget, he's a Gryffindor."
"And his best friend... Granger, she's a Muggle-born wizard," George said. "He's not going to try and kill his own friend, right? We know Harry—he'd never do something like that."
"We believe it's not him too."
Kael said, "It's a pity most people can't see that, and they don't believe us either."
"It's really strange though, why can Harry speak Parseltongue?" Cedric wondered. "I thought both his parents were Gryffindor."
"Who knows..."
The group crossed the grounds and arrived at Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
"Oh, Kael, you're here."
Hagrid was waiting at the door, and when he saw them he greeted them warmly—though the instant he saw Fred and George, his smile faded a lot.
"I have to warn you again..."
"The Forbidden Forest is dangerous, don't go sneaking in!" Fred laughed, "Hagrid, that makes a hundred times you've told us that."
"And we haven't been to the Forbidden Forest in ages," George added. "The most we've done is look for Kneazles nearby—and only at the edge, in places where it's not against the rules."
"I hope that's true." Hagrid let out a breath, "What I mean is, there's already enough trouble at school without you lot wandering into the forest."
"But I'm glad you're here to help... Come in, quick."
Hagrid brought everyone inside the hut—six people and Hagrid made the place feel a bit crowded.
Hagrid brought over a huge tray of Rock Skin Cakes; everyone took a piece, but no one actually wanted to eat it.
After all, they'd all experienced what those cakes could do—they weren't going to risk their teeth.
Seeing Hagrid bringing out a plate of weirdly colored sandwiches, Kael hurriedly asked, "Hagrid, what did you want our help with?"
"I was hoping you could help put a few charms around the chicken coop and the edge of the Forbidden Forest."
Hagrid set the sandwiches aside, grabbed a limp rooster off the shelf, "Second one this term. There are bite marks on the neck, probably a fox or a blood-sucking beast..."
Kael walked over and looked at the rooster's neck.
The wounds were odd, as if they'd been torn at—not even clear what kind of creature had done it.
"The Headmaster already gave his permission."
Hagrid said, "At first I wanted to... err, get a professor to help me, but they're all busy, so I had to ask you lot instead."
Fifty years ago, when Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts, they also snapped his wand.
Although Dumbledore later repaired it and hid it in that red umbrella, officially, he still wasn't allowed to use any magic.
That's also why he'd come to Kael—the chicken coop was in such an obvious spot, the spells had to be justified.
Besides, there were other places that needed the same—and the work load was, well, a bit much.
"It's just the Beast Repelling Spell—no big deal, I've used it at home," Fred stuffed the Rock Skin Cake in his pocket, jumped to his feet, and started heading out.
"By the way, you said the chicken coop—anywhere else?"
"Oh, the edge of the Forbidden Forest."
Thud—Fred lost his footing and fell right off the stone steps by the door.
"Hagrid..." He picked himself off the ground, looking incredulous, "Do you have any idea how big the Forbidden Forest is?"
"Of course... I know."
Hagrid scratched his head, a little embarrassed, "You don't have to do all of it, just the side facing the castle."
Fred didn't say anything, only let out a long sigh—even just the school's side of the forest was huge.
Now he finally understood why the professors were "too busy"—given such a huge area, he wouldn't have had time either if he were a professor...
"As thanks, I can help you find Kneazles."
"Deal!" Fred and George nodded without a second thought.
"Oh, and the rest of you..." Hagrid looked at the others, "If there's anything you want, just tell me."
"I'm all right," Kael said. "But Hagrid, why did you suddenly want to put a Repelling Charm around the Forbidden Forest?"
Hagrid's eyes darted a little, "Nothing really... I'm just worried some animal from the Forest will wander into the castle."
From the way he looked, Kael seemed to get it.
It was probably all those Chamber rumors that reminded Hagrid of the Eight-eyed Giant Spiders in the Forest... it was because of them he'd been expelled all those years ago.
Putting Repelling Charms on the edge—maybe he was just worried they'd come out at a time like this.
But honestly, that just wasn't "Hagrid" at all.
As far as Kael knew, Hagrid would never do something so much trouble—he'd just trust Aragog to behave.
If not for everything matching up, and the Rock Skin Cakes tasting exactly the same, Kael almost would've thought someone was impersonating Hagrid with Polyjuice Potion.
"Hagrid, you know, right?"
Once outside, Kael said to Hagrid, "The Beast Repelling Spell is really just a household charm for things like caterpillars, mice, foxes—small animals like that... It doesn't even affect gnomes."
"I know." Hagrid nodded. "But it's better than nothing."