"Animagus... No wonder she can write so many exclusive stories."
On the way back, Conna couldn't help but say, "After all, beetles are so common, and no one would suspect anything. She must've used that to eavesdrop on a lot of people's secrets."
"That's for sure." Kael nodded.
Rita Skeeter was so nervous just now, probably just because she knows too much...
Or, if word got out that she could turn into a beetle, a lot of guilty people wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably.
Like those names she just mentioned.
As for Ludo Bagman, Kael could guess—eight out of ten, it's got something to do with Galleons.
Back at the Quidditch World Cup, Mr. Weasley bet a Galleon on Ireland to win, and he still hasn't been paid the prize money.
But Mr. Weasley himself didn't take it too seriously or ever ask Bagman for it. In his words, he just counted it as paying for his ticket.
But as for those other two names she mentioned... the story between Fudge and Dolores Umbridge, Kael hadn't a clue.
Come to think of it, a Minister of Magic and a Senior Deputy Minister—their secrets must be seriously juicy.
Honestly, Kael was pretty curious. If he got the chance, he really wouldn't mind poking around for some gossip.
Of course, that would have to wait until they dealt with Hagrid's situation first...
"By the way, Kael, how did you know Rita Skeeter was that beetle..." As they came to the kitchen corridor, Conna asked curiously.
"Super simple..." Kael pointed at his robe. "Because I hang around Norbert a lot, my clothes always end up smelling like Fire Dragon, so, normally, no insect would ever land on me... Unless it was an Animagus."
"And if you paid close attention, you'd notice that beetle's markings looked a lot like Rita Skeeter's hairstyle."
"I know that one," Conna said. "Professor McGonagall mentioned Animagi who transform always keep some wizard features, like when she turns into a cat, there's spectacle markings around her eyes."
"Exactly." Kael nodded. "But honestly, most people never notice, especially when the animal's tiny—and even if you did, it'd be tough to figure out which person it was connected to..."
When they got back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, there were already a lot of people there, everyone sitting on comfy armchairs, chatting and playing Wizard Chess—the whole common room was buzzing with noise.
Kael had never experienced such a lively Christmas holiday; for a moment, he actually felt a bit out of place.
"Where did you guys go just now?" Cedric walked over. "I was just talking with Cho about how we could help Hagrid get back on his feet. Do you have any ideas?"
"Maybe we don't need to bother anymore." Kael exchanged a look with Conna, then grinned and explained to Cedric what had just happened.
And when he heard Rita Skeeter was an Animagus, Cedric looked totally shocked, too.
"So that's it. Good thing you caught her," Cedric said. Then his brow furrowed. "But the thing is, are you sure that Rita Skeeter will say something nice about Hagrid in the paper?"
Maybe it was just psychological, but as he said that, Cedric glanced around, as if making sure there weren't any bugs nearby.
"I'm sure she'll do it." Kael shook his camera.
After all, he'd already hinted—he'd only keep quiet and not expose the photo of her transformation if he was in a good mood.
And whether he was in a good mood or not... well, that would depend on what the next day's Daily Prophet had to say about Hagrid.
Kael believed Rita Skeeter was smart enough to get the hint. Otherwise, she couldn't have written so many infuriating stories and still bounced around for this long acting like nothing happened.
"Great, you're all here!" At this moment, Fleur and her sister Gabrielle came over too.
Ever since Professor Sprout agreed to let her move in, Fleur discovered this place was even better than she'd imagined.
At first she only moved here because of Conna, but she'd ended up making a bunch of new friends... genuine ones.
Later, Gabrielle joined as well, and before long, they hardly spent any time in the Beauxbatons carriage unless they absolutely had to.
This time was no exception—Christmas had just ended, and they'd already rushed back.
"Kael, how's your research on those stones going?" Fleur plopped down into a chair and asked, "The second task is coming up soon. Have you figured out their secret?"
At that, Cedric and Cho both turned to look over, too.
"Nope." Kael shrugged, unconcerned. "Believe it or not, ever since the first task ended, I haven't even touched those stones. They're probably still dumped in some random corner somewhere."
"Wait, what?" Fleur looked surprised.
If it were anyone else, like Krum, she definitely wouldn't believe that—she'd just think he was hiding clues on purpose.
But Kael... honestly, come to think of it, she really hadn't seen him take out any stones. In his free time, he was always hanging out with Cedric or playing Wizard Chess with his two roommates.
"What made you suddenly want to ask about this?" Kael said. "There are two whole months before the next task. Is there any need to panic?"
"It was Ms.Maxime." Fleur hesitated a bit, then decided not to hide it and said straightforwardly, "She told me you might already know something about the stones and that you left school with a professor to prepare for the task."
"She must be talking about Professor Black." Kael paused, then explained, "We left school for some personal business; nothing to do with the tournament."
"I believe you." Fleur nodded. "But Ms.Maxime insisted I ask, so here I am.
But, Kael, are you really not planning to look into the stones? We have time now, we could check them out together."
"Yeah, we can help too." Conna chimed in, and Cedric nodded right away.
"Uh, I'll pass. You guys study them if you want," Kael waved them off. "Actually, I think making things a little tougher is good—otherwise, if the tournament's too easy, it's no fun at all. Cedric, up for a game of Wizard Chess?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the whole common room went dead silent.
The people chatting stopped, the ones holding chess pieces just froze—with their piece in mid-air and eyes all snapping to Kael in disbelief.
Especially Fleur.
She rubbed her ear, as if she'd misheard, and asked word for word, "Did you just say... the tournament is easy?"
"Yeah," Kael replied casually, still setting up the board. "It's pretty easy, don't you think?"
"Sorry, but I really can't agree," Fleur said through gritted teeth.
It was hard to describe the look on her face... In short, it was pretty awful—if Half-Veela could transform, she'd probably sprout a beak and feathers any second now.
She'd nearly been driven insane by the Bludgers in the second task and only managed to clear it by wringing out every bit of Magic Power she had and smashing most of them.
The third task with the Fire Dragon was even worse... She'd been whipped by the Hungarian Horntail's tail and had her arm broken on the spot. Her meticulously maintained hair was also scorched by Dragon Flame—about a third of it gone.
If she hadn't dodged fast enough, she'd probably have been the first Champion not to finish the task.
And Kael? He calls this kind of near-death tournament easy?
Is he even human?
Fleur took a deep breath, barely managing to hold back the urge to curse him out. Then she stood up without a word, spun on her heel, and stormed off.
Even though she knew Kael had breezed through the tasks—almost got perfect scores—saying the tournament was easy so bluntly was just too much...
Fleur secretly vowed in her heart, if she ever asked Kael about the stones again, she'd be a Leprechaun—the ugliest one, at that.
...
"What happened to her?" Kael asked, watching Fleur's retreating back, confused.
"Uh... well, the thing is..." Cedric stammered. "Sometimes, you could try saying things a bit more tactfully. She had to work really hard to get through those three tasks, you know."
"Oh... sorry, I forgot." Kael slapped his forehead. "You think it's too late to apologize now?"
"I'd say better not." Cedric smacked his lips. "She's not likely to listen to anything you say right now—or she might just punch you."
"Good point." Kael scratched his head.
...