To be honest, Lucius came here out of anger this time. He always thought that this is Hogwarts, and no matter what, Kael would hold back a bit and not dare to do anything to him.
But within just a few minutes, his anger dissipated and was replaced by an inexplicable fear.
The special sweet smell just now made him feel drowsy, like he hadn't slept for a whole day.
He didn't know what it was, perhaps some kind of special magic potion, given that Kael was also outstanding in Potions. Plus, with the collections in the Hogwarts Library, it was not difficult to concoct some strange potions.
But what Lucius was sure of was that if he had delayed a little longer in throwing away the wand, no one knew what would have happened.
Especially since this was the Forbidden Forest, hiding countless fantastic beasts. Fainting here would definitely be a very dangerous thing... like that mysterious low growl just now.
He suddenly remembered, the gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid, who was keen on taming various dangerous fantastic beasts, and was also on good terms with Kael.
Perhaps it was his assistance just now.
"What should I do?"
Lucius steadied himself and asked bluntly, "You know, what happened during the vacation was not my intention, and I had no choice.
But I can give you a large sum of Galleons as compensation, to repair our relationship. How about twenty thousand Galleons, plus two shops in Diagon Alley."
"That's an enticing offer." Kael clicked his tongue, "But I can't accept it."
"This is the highest price I can offer," said Lucius. "Too much has happened recently, especially what happened at the Quidditch World Cup, I've already spent a large sum of money."
"Don't misunderstand, Mr. Lucius. It's not that the money is too little, it's that I really can't accept it," Kael said. "Draco and I are friends. If I wanted to target him, there wouldn't be any need to wait until now, would there.
"I just wanted to help Fred and George a bit. Their attack on Draco had its reasons, and the punishment of being banned from matches was somewhat too severe."
"So, you're really just doing this because of the two kids from the Weasley family?" Lucius asked suspiciously.
"What else?" Kael said calmly.
"Alright, I'll go find Dolores." Lucius breathed a sigh of relief, "You're right, some conflicts between classmates are normal, and I also heard that Draco was indeed rude first, they shouldn't bear all the responsibility."
"That's right." Kael smiled, "You see, it's simple, isn't it?"
"Yes." Lucius smiled too, but it was a forced smile. "Then I'll go find Dolores now..."
"No rush." Kael waved his hand, "Professor Umbridge is currently inspecting Professor Hagrid's class, she might not have time."
"I see, then I'll wait for a while..." Lucius picked up the wand on the ground, "You should go back to class."
"It's fine, I've taken leave, and this class is quite boring anyway."
Kael had no intention of leaving. He glanced at Lucius and suddenly asked, "By the way, Mr. Malfoy, I wonder if you've heard about Professor Dumbledore wanting to compete for the position of Minister of Magic."
Lucius's hand trembled, and the wand he just picked up fell to the ground again. He quickly grabbed the wand and said, feigning calmness:
"Really? I haven't heard that."
"No matter, you know now." Kael said with a smile, "Can you do me a small favor?"
"What?" Lucius's eyelids visibly twitched.
"Help Professor Dumbledore..."
"That's impossible!" Lucius couldn't help but raise his voice before Kael finished speaking.
The current situation was exactly what Voldemort wanted to see the most. If Dumbledore became the Minister of Magic, he wouldn't be able to continue hiding.
If he really helped with this favor, he would probably be killed by Voldemort immediately.
This is not a small favor, this is asking for his life.
"Fudge is the most suitable Minister." Lucius said righteously, "Dumbledore is still more suited to being the headmaster."
"Is that so? Is that what you think?" Kael shook his head, "That's truly a shame, who would've thought you'd forget about the diary so quickly, tsk tsk..."
"What do you mean!" Lucius gripped the wand, his voice trembling.
"Is it hard to understand?"
Kael said, "You haven't forgotten that thing was a Soul Artifact, right? And there's no need for me to say how important that is to You-Know-Who.
"As a result, because of your involvement, the diary was destroyed. Do you think You-Know-Who will let you go?"
"What's this Soul Artifact, I don't understand what you're talking about." Lucius's eyes wavered slightly.
Though he said that, from his uncontrollably trembling arm, his mind was far from as calm as it appeared.
"Is that so?" Kael nonchalantly spread his hands, "If that's the case, then I can only wish you luck, Mr. Malfoy."
"It's just a pity for Draco." Kael said wistfully, "I wonder if You-Know-Who will spare him on account of your unwavering loyalty."
Lucius still said nothing, but there was a trace of struggle in his eyes.
He understood Voldemort, that he was a truly, emotionless Dark Lord, ruthless to both enemies and his own followers.
But Lucius had no choice, prolonging his miserable life or holding onto unrealistic fantasies... at least for now, he was still useful and wouldn't be killed by Voldemort right away, and there was a slight chance of redeeming himself by performing meritorious deeds.
Though the possibility was slim... at least it was better than nothing.
"Oh, right."
Kael continued as if he didn't see Lucius's refusal, "For Draco's sake, I'd still advise you to not get too close to Minister Fudge lately, otherwise when Professor Dumbledore does become Minister, he might come after you."
Lucius suddenly lifted his head, staring directly into Kael's eyes as if trying to gather more information.
But he saw nothing.
At this point, a commotion of voices could be heard gradually approaching from afar.
Class was dismissed.
The voices got closer and closer. They could even see the silhouettes not far away gradually growing larger.
"I'll go find Dolores..." Lucius said hoarsely.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Malfoy." Kael said, reminding him again: "Remember what I said, stay away from Minister Fudge for now."
Lucius didn't answer, he just turned and left the Forbidden Forest, heading toward the castle... Clearly, he intended to wait for Umbridge in the castle rather than going directly into the Forbidden Forest to find her.
Kael, however, did not leave, instead, he used the Disillusionment Charm on himself.
Soon, students who had finished class left one after another, and no one noticed him.
It wasn't until Professor Umbridge and Hagrid also left that Kael lifted the Disillusionment Charm and stepped out from behind a tree.
He took a box out of his Transfiguration Lizard Skin Bag, unlocked it, and held it in his hand.
A dark figure shot out of the bushes beside him and jumped straight into the box.
After doing all this, Kael closed the box again and put it back into the bag.
"Oh, my goodness!"
However, at this moment, a surprised exclamation suddenly came from behind him.
Hagrid, for some unknown reason, had returned to the Forbidden Forest. At this moment, he was running towards him at a fast pace.
But after he ran up, he suddenly froze.
"Kael... is it really you?"
"Of course it's me, Hagrid." Kael said, "Did someone else come to the Forbidden Forest?"
"Ah, no." Hagrid shook his head, then suspiciously asked, "Just now... did you see anything?"
"Was I supposed to see something?" Kael asked.
"I don't know if it was a hallucination." Hagrid said hesitantly, "But I just seemed to have seen a Nundu. It was truly beautiful."
"I think you were seeing things." Kael said with a smile, "How could there be a Nundu in the Forbidden Forest? That's a very rare fantastic beast."
"I saw things?" Hagrid scratched his head, then looked around again.
"Yes, I've been here the whole time and didn't see any Nundu." Kael said confidently, "You probably got agitated by Umbridge."
"I suppose you're right." Hagrid, who hadn't found anything, seemed a little disappointed, "That Umbridge is indeed very annoying. She's always picking at my mistakes, even when I haven't done anything... I really don't know why Professor Dumbledore didn't send her away from the school.
"By the way, have you found your stuff?"
"I found it." Kael said, "My Niffler ran away just now, and it took a lot of effort to find it. Sorry, Hagrid."
"No worries, that's how Nifflers are, always mischievous." Hagrid waved his hand, "And for you, Thestrals are definitely not a challenge, aren't they."
...