After entering December, the weather became increasingly colder, and one morning, people suddenly discovered that the Black Lake had already formed a thick layer of ice.
Snowflakes danced outside the window, hitting the window with a series of crackling sounds.
Christmas was just around the corner.
As usual, Hagrid brought in twelve tall Christmas trees by himself to decorate the auditorium, and the railings of the stairs and corridors were newly adorned with holly, filling the entire castle with a festive atmosphere.
"This won't do!"
In Herbology Class, Kael directed a glove to jump around on the table with his wand, while saying gloomily, "I need to come up with a new excuse to escape from Slughorn; I don't want to go to his dinner party ever."
"Is it really as boring as you say?" Conna asked curiously, "From the last ball, it didn't seem that bad."
"Back then, there was a crowd, and we could hide from him, but at the dinner party, there are only seven or eight people, and you can only sit there."
Kael sighed, "Let's put it this way, some people really like it, like Slytherin's Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bagnold, and Gryffindor's Cormac McLaggen... They enjoy their membership in the Slug Club and wish there were dinner parties every day.
"But for me... I'd rather spend half a day in detention with a professor."
"Then go to Professor Snape." Conna suggested again, "You can just say you got detention with me."
"Uh... even if I don't like it, it hasn't come to that." Kael refused politely, "I'll think of another way."
Ultimately, for him, detention with Snape and Slughorn's dinner party were quite comparable; it's hard to say which is better.
He should come up with another plan.
The easiest way would definitely be to find the headmaster; if Dumbledore wanted to, he could certainly find the most suitable excuse.
But the problem is, right now, he's more concerned with avoiding Dumbledore; how could he possibly deliver himself right to him...
If the headmaster's not an option, professors could work too.
Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall... talking to them and finding any reason for a day's detention shouldn't be hard.
But the problem is, it can work a few times, but if Kael goes to them too often, he'll feel embarrassed.
So what else can he do?
I really don't know whose mouth is so quick to tell him that the Floo Network between the school and the Ministry of Magic has been canceled.
...
Kael rubbed his wand and then suddenly shook his head... forget it, not thinking about it anymore.
The most urgent thing now is to come up with an excuse to muddle through tonight's Christmas ball; everything else can wait.
After class, Kael left the greenhouse and immediately returned to the castle, planning to find Professor McGonagall to see if she could give him detention this afternoon.
But just as he ran up the steps, he saw a familiar figure standing in the hall.
Wearing a purple-red long robe, a silver long beard, and with a phoenix perched on his shoulder... Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for him deliberately.
Kael didn't stop for a moment, decisively turned around, and was about to run out of the castle.
But the next second, Dumbledore appeared in front of him again, calm as if he had never moved at all.
Conna was startled; she looked at Dumbledore's previous position, seemingly confused about how he disappeared and then reappeared elsewhere in an instant.
"No need to doubt, it's Apparition." Kael explained in a low voice, "Remember? Teckros mentioned before that the headmaster can temporarily remove the castle's restrictions so we can practice Apparition at school."
"Whenever?" Conna asked, "Wouldn't the magic covering the entire castle be very complicated?"
"It's not as complex as you think, Miss Prince." Dumbledore, hearing their conversation, came over and patiently explained, "These restrictions are not separate magic spells but come from the castle itself; the headmaster has special permissions, but the only requirement is that it must be within the castle."
Conna nodded in realization.
Then Dumbledore glanced at Kael, and the smile on his face quickly disappeared.
"It seems you really don't want to see me."
He spoke in a calm tone like he had never known Kael before, with a hint of grinding teeth in his voice.
"How could that be, Headmaster Dumbledore..." Kael's eyes wandered, and he unconsciously shifted toward the auditorium entrance, "Um... did you need something from me?"
The auditorium was crowded; although uncertain if it would help, it gave Kael a little sense of security.
Dumbledore looked at him for a moment, shook his head, and said, "It's not me, it's Nicolas."
"Nicolas?"
"Yes." Dumbledore said, "Nicolas is inviting you to his estate for Christmas this year, if you're willing... it's still the same as last time, you know the process, so I won't repeat it."
Dumbledore seemed quite unwilling to see Kael; he spoke only when necessary and prepared to leave immediately after speaking.
"Wait, Professor." Kael hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stepped forward to stop him and asked, "Can I bring someone along?"
"You can." Dumbledore continued walking forward without looking back.
So straightforward?
This made Kael curious.
He hurriedly chased after him, "Professor, aren't you going to ask who I plan to bring along?"