After being kicked out of the classroom by Professor Snape, Kael didn't rush to leave. Instead, he pressed his ear to the door again under Conna's curious gaze.
However, he only heard a buzzing sound, as if there was a large swarm of Billywigs flying inside.
This was the effect of the Muffliato charm.
"Really, is there no trust at all anymore?" Kael muttered softly.
He knew that he probably wouldn't hear any explosive news today.
With no choice, Kael could only leave the underground classroom with Conna, and he voiced his conjecture as they walked away.
"That's unlikely..." Conna hesitated a bit. "But why would Professor Snape use a memory charm on Umbridge?"
Even though she knew that Snape could be quite harsh when dealing with professors he didn't get along with, like Lupin or Sirius, he had never used violence.
Even when confronting Sirius, they merely insulted each other without resorting to physical altercations, let alone backstabbing.
After all, they were all professors, and this was Hogwarts; they would never go too far, even if they were truly angry.
"It should be true; you must've noticed too, right? The questions Umbridge asked were exactly the same as last time. This shows that she doesn't remember she had been here before."
Kael glanced back at the increasingly distant underground classroom. "As for why Professor Snape did that, maybe Umbridge said something over the line... It's nothing unusual when it comes to her."
Kael originally wanted to wait a little longer, curious to see if Snape would use the memory charm on Umbridge this time.
But since no one came out of the underground classroom, and with Professor Sprout's Herbology class next, he could only suppress his curiosity for a while and head towards the greenhouse outside the castle with Conna.
During dinner at the auditorium, the atmosphere felt peculiar. Some people seemed to be anticipating something, exhibiting unusual excitement.
Fred even accidentally lit a Filibuster Firework, sending a lion-shaped spark running and jumping across the auditorium ceiling, scaring some lower-grade students who screamed and ran around, knocking over several cups of pumpkin juice.
Fred paid the price for his actions by losing twenty points, taken by an angry Professor McGonagall.
However, unlike them, Cedric at the Hufflepuff table, who had been tense for several days, was surprisingly calm now.
"Not nervous anymore?" Kael asked.
"It's quite strange, actually." Cedric ladled a spoonful of corn chowder. "I couldn't eat at lunch because I was so nervous, but then I suddenly felt fine after class just now.
"We've prepared for a long time, thought of every possible situation, and made corresponding preparations. So why should I be nervous?"
"It's good you think that way." Kael said.
He noticed that Cedric and Harry were showing two different states. Harry had been acting normally for the past few days, but now he was sitting in a daze, not eating anything, and not even the accidental fireworks from Fred could catch his attention.
Cedric, though, appeared more relaxed the closer they got to the moment.
"Are you going to the Room of Requirement today?" Cedric asked. "All those who confirmed to participate in self-studying Defense Against the Dark Arts have already signed the magical contract at noon.
"Under the influence of magic, they can't disclose anything about the Room of Requirement, so you don't need to worry about Umbridge finding out."
"If that's the case... alright then." Kael nodded.
In truth, he was also curious about what Cedric would do, and besides, it didn't matter even if Umbridge found out.
Kael had to admit, even though that Professor Lockhart wasn't a very reputable person, he did teach him a very useful spell, especially for situations like this, which could solve a lot of troubles.
At seven-thirty, Kael, Conna, and Cedric left the Hufflepuff Common Room and headed to the Room of Requirement.
"I asked earlier, and the house-elves can't bring us to the eighth floor; we'll have to go in batches."
Cedric glanced at the fruit-painted portrait at the end of the corridor and said, "Unless there's permission from the headmaster, they can't use magic in front of students."
"Why not just tell Professor Dumbledore?" Kael suggested.
"You must be joking." Cedric glanced at him. "What we're doing tonight will break at least ten school rules. There's no way we can tell the headmaster; he definitely wouldn't agree."
"That's not necessarily true." Kael said. "You're doing this for learning, right? I bet the headmaster wouldn't mind giving you a bit of privilege."
"Well... let's forget it." Cedric hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.
As a typical Hufflepuff, he had a bit of a headmaster filter for Dumbledore and never imagined confessing the violation of school rules to him.
To have such a thought and actually do it, Kael might be the only one at Hogwarts.
When they reached the eighth floor, a door had already appeared opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.
Cedric stepped forward, knocked three times, and then pushed the door open to enter.
Inside were Hermione, Harry, Ron, Fred, and George.
Upon seeing Kael come in with them, Ron's face darkened, and just as he was about to say something, he saw Fred and George excitedly welcoming him.
"I knew you would come, mate." Fred said.
"Your plan may be important, but it'd be such a pity to miss something this intriguing."
"This... weren't you..." Ron stood there dumbfounded, feeling like his brain wasn't working.
Weren't they at odds?
They hadn't been talking to each other, but they've made up so quickly?
Yet, Hermione, who was holding a book, showed a look that said, "I knew it."
She had long guessed that Kael and the others had a plan; only Ron was too naive to see it.
"But this is the first time we found out you're actually defending us..." Fred patted the dazed Ron.
"Yeah," George laughed, "makes us embarrassed to prank you later..."
Even if Ron was slow, he realized he'd been tricked by now.
He was Fred and George's brother, yet they kept everything from him and watched silently as he embarrassed himself, saying nothing...
How could they do this!
Ron felt betrayed, his face burning with anger, and he swore to himself that he would never meddle again!
Watching Ron's angry face, Fred and George laughed even harder.
Meanwhile, Kael was looking around.
The room was filled with books related to Defense Against the Dark Arts, ranging from simple to complex, suitable for any year.
Additionally, there were some special magical tools on the shelves. Though they were basic, like peeping mirrors, demon-seeking pointers, and revealing mirrors, they could offer significant assistance.