That morning, Kael went to the Hospital Wing.
After being thoroughly beaten up, Malfoy had been carried here by his teammates after the Quidditch match.
By the time Kael arrived, Malfoy was propped up in bed, munching on some candy he'd bought from Honeydukes.
His face had already recovered, looking no different from before, but as soon as he noticed Fred and George coming in, he quickly tossed his Pepper Imps aside and pretended to be miserable, lying there moaning.
"What are you doing here!"
Beside him, Pansy Parkinson stood up and shrieked, "Get out! If you're here to beg for forgiveness, forget it…"
"Oh, Fred…" George lifted an eyebrow, "Did you hear that noise? God, it's awful."
"I bet it's a Tebo, their cries sound just like that—so disgusting it makes you want to puke," Fred said. "But I really don't get why Madam Pomfrey would keep such hideous creatures in the Hospital Wing."
Fred and George's banter nearly drove Pansy mad—her sour face twisted with rage.
Before she could reply, Fred shouted, "Madam Pomfrey! Lee Jordan's been throwing up—we don't know why…"
As soon as he finished, Madam Pomfrey rushed out of the partition, asking,
"What happened? Did he eat something bad?"
"We don't know," George shook his head, "He insists he won't come to the Hospital Wing. Could you go and have a look?"
"Refusing to come to the Hospital Wing—ridiculous!" Madam Pomfrey said angrily. "He didn't drink anything at the Hog's Head, did he? I've said it before, places like that shouldn't be anywhere near the school… And you two shouldn't go there either!"
Despite all that, she still grabbed two vials of Magic Potion from the shelves and hurried off.
Fred quickly followed her, "He's in Gryffindor common room—I'll take you there, Madam Pomfrey."
George lingered for a moment, glancing at Kael, his eyes hesitant, as if he wanted to say something.
But Kael gently shook his head.
George sighed, kept silent, and jogged to catch up with Fred.
Once they'd left, only three people remained in the Hospital Wing.
Kael, Pansy, and Malfoy lying on the bed.
Malfoy looked uncomfortable, watching Kael like Harry eyeing Snape.
"Why haven't you left yet?" Pansy marched over, full of herself, and shot at Kael, "Go tell your filthy friends, they…"
"Thud…"
She didn't even finish before collapsing onto the floor, leaning against the table, drifting into a deep sleep.
"Looks like she's really been looking after you—she's exhausted herself," Kael said with a grin.
Malfoy stared at Kael in terror. He knew Pansy's sudden state was definitely Kael's doing, but dared not say a word.
Especially as he watched Kael walk closer and remembered the things his father said during the holidays—his fear reached new heights.
"You… what do you want!" Malfoy's voice trembled, "This is Hogwarts… Dumbledore's here… If you try anything with me… you won't get away with it."
"Oh, so you know Professor Dumbledore now? I thought you only knew Umbridge."
Kael sat down where Pansy had been, and casually grabbed a box of Chocolate Frogs from the nearby mountain of candy.
"You know…" Kael slowly peeled the wrapper, "Of course you know. Your father did something over the holidays targeting me—caused me a lot of trouble.
"But I was generous enough to forgive him. Since term started, have I caused you any headaches?"
"It wasn't my fault… it was Professor Umbridge… really…" Malfoy stammered, "She just wanted to teach the Weasley brothers and Potter a lesson… because they wouldn't listen to her…"
"But you were eager to help, weren't you?"
"I… I can forgive them… I'll go ask Professor Umbridge to be lenient…"
"Forgive who?"
"The Weasley brothers…" Malfoy said, "They… can keep playing…"
"Tsk, see, I said you were reasonable, but no one believed me." Kael smirked and handed him the Chocolate Frog.
Malfoy didn't want it at first, but Kael just frowned a little, and Malfoy hurriedly took it, trembling.
If his father hadn't lied, Kael standing here had actually killed Death Eaters.
That's precisely why Malfoy had been dodging Kael all year—before school started, his father warned him over and over to stay as far away from Kael as possible.
"I won't press the issue anymore," Malfoy continued.
"On behalf of Fred, George, and Harry, thank you for your magnanimity," Kael said.
Malfoy relaxed just a bit.
But then Kael spoke again, "Too bad it's not up to you. Professor Umbridge wants Mr. Lucius Malfoy to drop the accusations."
"I can convince my father!"
"Oh, you definitely could—but you don't have to go to all the trouble." Kael took out a pre-written letter from his pocket and handed it over.
"Sign your name here. I reckon Mr. Lucius will recognize your handwriting."
Malfoy instinctively glanced at the parchment.
"Dear Mr. Malfoy:
"Since our last meeting at the Ministry of Magic, I've been wanting to thank you. But with classes so busy, I just couldn't find the time.
"The reason I'm writing today is about my friends, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Harry Potter, who had a minor dispute with Draco during a Quidditch match.
"Here's what happened…"
What followed was a full recap of everything that happened on the Quidditch Pitch.
Malfoy skimmed it—all the dialogue, the Weasley brothers' reactions—everything was accurate, not a single change.
"In the end, I'd like to say: both sides were at fault, but banning them from play is a bit too harsh a punishment.
"(P.S.: Draco has already generously forgiven them)"
The language on the parchment was sincere and polite—it looked like an utterly normal letter.
Then Kael handed Malfoy a Quill, pointing to the blank space beneath the last sentence.
"Just sign your name right here."
Malfoy did as told, scrawling his name awkwardly at the bottom.
When he finished, Kael took the letter and quill back, and said with a hint of meaning, "So, is there anything wrong with it?"
"N-no," Malfoy hastily shook his head, "It's all true."
"Then why are you shaking?" Kael smiled. "If anyone saw this, they'd think I was some evil Dark Wizard. But I'm just here to have a reasonable chat."
"Ah, right." Malfoy nodded vigorously, "I only… shivered because it's cold."
"Oh, is that so?" Kael took out his wand and tapped the fireplace in the corner. Instantly, the flames blazed higher.
"Don't mention it—just doing my part." Kael stood up, apparently ready to leave.
"Oh, almost forgot." Kael suddenly shouted, "Kaka!"
A House-elf popped into the Hospital Wing clutching a huge camera, and before Malfoy could react, snapped a picture of them both.
"What are you doing!" Malfoy yelled, panicked.
"Relax, I just wanted a photo—proof I came to visit you," Kael said, glancing at the House-elf.
"Thanks for helping me out, Kaka."
Just that one unremarkable sentence, and Kaka the House-elf was so excited he started jumping about.
"It's Kaka's honor, sir!"
"Don't be so formal." Kael waved a hand, grabbed a fistful of candy from behind him, and handed it over. "Thanks for the photo—call it my return gift."
Kaka didn't want it, but Kael forced the candy into his tea towel anyway.
That only made the House-elf more thrilled—both big ears turning a bit pink.
"You can head back now," Kael said. "If I need help, I might call for you again."
"Kaka is always happy to help, sir!" the elf boomed, then vanished from the Hospital Wing.
Then Kael left too, though he stopped at the door.
"Oh, and one more thing—tell your friend: Madam Pomfrey doesn't allow sleeping on the floor."
This time, Malfoy clearly saw Kael's finger flick, and then… the unconscious Pansy stirred, groggily climbing off the floor.
"What happened?" She looked at Malfoy, then glanced at Kael's receding figure, still dazed. "What did that guy just say?"
Malfoy, just now breathing easy, didn't even bother to look at her. "Oh, he said you're not allowed to sleep on the floor."