"Of course not, I just happened to be passing by, and I wanted to say hi to you, after all, I'm about to graduate..."
"No need." Phineas rudely interrupted Kael, pointing towards the door, "Leave quickly, or you won't be graduating... Furthermore, for maliciously breaking into the Headmaster's Office, Hufflepuff will lose a hundred points... oh sorry, I forgot you don't have a hundred points to lose, then eighty-seven points will be deducted!
"Congratulations, thanks to your impulsiveness, Hufflepuff has become the only house with zero points."
Phineas chuckled mischievously, his face was even more irritating.
"It's alright, as long as you're happy, Headmaster." Kael said with a smile, turning to leave the Headmaster's Office.
He didn't expect Phineas as a headmaster to be a hundred times worse than his portrait self, blatantly looking down on Hufflepuff without any attempt to hide it at all.
Is this really the attitude a headmaster should have?
Kael glanced back at the door of the Headmaster's Office, squinting his eyes slightly.
Eighty-seven points, right, he remembered... It's fine, he could settle this account slowly once back.
Thanks to Phineas, Kael also found out the exact current time.
The seventh-year exams would be taking place, it should be June 1899, and according to the information he previously gathered, Dumbledore's target should be in August, which means he is two months early; he will definitely appear.
It's alright, the timing is just right.
Kael strolled leisurely down the corridor, observing the surroundings as he walked.
He had seen two different periods of Hogwarts, the one he's from, and Hogwarts from a thousand years ago.
This counted as the third one... Hogwarts from a hundred years ago, also the one he felt most ill at ease in.
Because it was exam time, everyone was busily idle, walking swiftly yet cautiously not to make too much noise, not even chatting with each other. Even if a lower-year student tried to speak, someone would promptly hush them.
"Filch would probably like this," Kael thought, unable to help quickening his pace, intending to leave this place first.
This period of Hogwarts was a bit too stifling, no wonder Phineas was known as the least popular headmaster.
Kael passed a row of classrooms and a group of students waiting at the entrance for an exam, just about to go downstairs when he suddenly heard a witch's voice behind him.
"Next, Albus Percival Dumbledore, it's your turn for the Transfiguration exam."
Kael immediately stopped in his tracks, motionless.
He turned around and saw a handsome boy emerge from the crowd.
This Dumbledore was about seventeen years old, younger than him, looking youthful, with short auburn hair, full of vigor.
"I'm here." He waved his hand, saying politely, "Thank you, Ms. Marchbank."
"I've heard about you, Hogwarts' prodigy student." The middle-aged witch, who was the future Professor Marchbank, nodded with a smile.
"But remember, I won't decrease the exam difficulty because of your reputation. On the contrary, I'll increase it slightly."
"No problem," young Dumbledore replied confidently, "I'm sure I can pass your test, Professor."
With that, he strode into the classroom.
Professor Marchbank seemed to sense something, instinctively turned her head, and saw Kael staring at them.
She glanced down at her list, then at the queue of people, frowning, "Why is there one extra person, who are you?"
"Ah, I'm a sixth-year student," Kael hurriedly said, "just curious about the exam content, so I came to take a look."
"I see," Professor Marchbank nodded.
"So can I take a look?" Kael asked, "To see the exam content up close."
"Certainly not, during a N.E.W.T exam there can be absolutely no disturbances." Professor Marchbank replied sternly, "There's nothing to be curious about, you..."
"It's alright, Professor Marchbank," Dumbledore, who had just gone in, popped his head out, "It's just someone watching, they won't affect me. Letting lower-year students observe the exam process could help them gain some experience too.
"Besides, this is a Charm application exam, he couldn't help me cheat, could he?"