After doing all this, Oren turned his head just in time to see Kael throwing the broomstick.
"You always manage to surprise me."
"You've said before..." Kael smiled, "Always have a broomstick handy, it can save your life."
"Hufflepuff earns fifty points." Oren also smiled, "That's the highest score I can give."
He didn't bother with Conna, who had already left, and let her disappear from sight.
"Kael, you didn't seem surprised at all just now, or did you already know that rat was an Animagus?"
After Conna left, Kael felt much more relaxed, moved his somewhat stiff shoulders, and nodded, "I did have some suspicion."
Ever since Conna had said that Poke was sick, he had been suspicious.
Then during the Quidditch match, he had noted down the names in the common room at the time using the Marauder's Map.
Among those names, there was one not on the Hufflepuff roster.
However, at that time, Kael still only had his suspicions. After all, it was a bit hard to believe that there were two rat Animagi in the castle.
What if someone had just gone to visit Hufflepuff that day? That's not impossible either.
So Kael had been looking through the rosters of the other three houses lately.
So far, he had only not checked Slytherin's yet.
But... it's not needed anymore.
"Since you knew, why didn't you say anything?" Oren raised an eyebrow and said, "Aren't you worried about that little girl's safety?"
"Then why did you bring us to the Forbidden Forest?" Kael shrugged, "This is Hogwarts, would she dare?"
Oren chuckled softly, "It seems you're even smarter than I thought."
Then his expression quickly turned cold, and he said to the witch slumped on the ground, "If you kill that boy, you can live."
It's about to start?
Kael smiled slightly, touching the ring on his hand.
But the next second, Oren's voice rang out again.
"You probably have some means of escape, but I advise you to wait. Remember, I have a Swooping Evil. Guess where it might be right now."
Kael's pupils constricted, "You..."
In that brief moment of distraction, the Witch of Consumption's charm was already upon him.
Kael hurriedly leaned back, avoiding it, albeit in a less than graceful manner.
The deep purple charm struck the tree behind him, instantly corroding a large section of the trunk.
"Ten minutes."
Oren placed an hourglass on a nearby stone, speaking to himself, "Ten minutes before the Swooping Evil returns, good luck."
Ten minutes, right, fine!
Kael gritted his teeth, seeing a large fireball coming at him, he turned and ran deeper into the Forbidden Forest, hoping to use the dense foliage to evade the witch's charm.
It's not fair.
While sprinting through the woods, Kael cursed silently.
Why was it that Harry Potter encountered Quirrell, who's naturally countered by him, or the dim-witted Lockhart, but for him, it was Oren, with a mind even trickier than a honeycomb coal?
Why!
...
Meanwhile, seeing several of her charms miss, the Witch of Consumption became anxious, chanting spells even faster.
Because Oren's earlier comment was also meant for her, if Kael survived ten more minutes, it would be her who perished.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Inverted Golden Bell!"
"Corrosive Acid Liquid!"
...
Kael was running ahead, the witch was desperately pursuing him from behind.
But as she ran, her foot suddenly slipped as if stepping on water, losing her balance entirely and tumbling uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Kael halted, swiftly turning around and pointing his wand at a large tree next to the witch.
"Debilito!"
The tree crown quivered, and the once straight tree instantly softened, its trunk falling like noodles under gravity, crashing towards the witch.
The Softening Charm only makes objects soft, but their weight remains unchanged.
Seeing the trunk of the massive tree fall towards her, the witch's face turned white with fright as she scrambled to escape.
Kael waved his wand, and several branches levitated from the ground, then twisted into sharp stone cones flying towards the witch.
The witch saw Kael's move, shouting in rage, "Protego..."
"Boom!"
At that moment, accompanied by a fierce roar, the tree finally crashed down.
A multitude of birds were startled by the enormous sound and scattered in all directions.
After the dust settled, a deep pit appeared on the ground.
The witch was lying in the pit, howling in pain.
Her arm was pinned beneath the tree, a stone cone pierced her leg, completely losing her ability to resist.
The fight started quickly and ended even faster, even leaving Oren a bit in disbelief.
The witch was useless, but she was still an adult wizard who had learned the Animagus, wasn't she? Was it over just like that?
If Kael had used a slew of high-level charms, Oren could have accepted it.
The problem was, Kael had only used five charms in total, and they were all the simplest kind.
Two Softening Charms, a Levitating Spell, Basic Transfiguration Technique, a Locomotion Charm—these are things nearly any young wizard could cast, right?
...
Kael wasn't very surprised, considering he had spent two weeks finishing the Duel Master's biography, he must have gained something from it.
Setting traps, utilizing the terrain, pummeling the drowning dog—these are just basic dueling skills.
Besides, the witch was really bad anyway, look at the spells she used...
Besides the Corrosion Spell, Inverted Golden Bell, and Petrificus Totalus, which are all below third-year level, the only slightly challenging one was the fifth-year Explosive Spell.
Additionally, her brain didn't work very well; just a bit of acting, and she was hooked. Kael even started to suspect whether she bought her Animagus form.
Of course, if such a place that sold them existed.
"Expelliarmus."
Kael walked over, putting the short wand into his robe pocket.
"Pa, pa, pa... Another fifty points for Hufflepuff." Oren clapped, pointing his wand at Kael, "So, do you need me to give you some time to escape?"
"Professor Oren..." Kael stood still, puzzled, "Why do you have to go against me? Even if I took a Billywig from you, it's not such a big deal... I can repay you with ten more."
"..."
Oren's hand holding the wand trembled slightly.
"It's not about that," he said through gritted teeth. "It's because you're Chris's son. If it weren't for him meddling back then, I wouldn't be in this position today... Wait, you're stalling for time?
Seriously, are you hoping the Ministry of Magic fools can save you?"
"I am indeed stalling for time, but not for someone to rescue me." Kael looked straight at Oren, "I have another question. Why do you think I let Conna leave?"
"For the sake of friendship?"
"Partly," Kael shrugged, "also, I have some things on me that aren't suitable for her to see."
"What th... Ah!"
Oren suddenly screamed, feeling like he had been bitten on the leg by something, and then instantly lost all sensation.
"Expelliarmus!"
A red light shot from Kael's wand.
Oren, enduring intense pain, rolled forward to dodge Kael's Disarming Spell, and simultaneously saw what had bitten him earlier.
Two round cabbages.
"Damn it!" Oren gritted his teeth, "Why are there Chomping Cabbages from Z Country in the Forbidden Forest!"
"I brought them, of course," Kael cast another Disarming Spell and said, "Hogwarts is too dangerous. Even Hagrid could be schemed against. I'm just a young wizard with no real strength, carrying something for self-defense makes sense, right."