"I'm sorry, Professor Oren."
Kael stood still, "Freshmen aren't allowed to go to the Forbidden Forest. I think we should head back to the castle first."
"Following rules is good, but sometimes it's not necessary to be too rigid, Kael." Professor Oren said with a smile, "That would make you miss a lot of interesting things."
"No way." Kael shook his head and said, "If Professor McGonagall found out, we'd be expelled."
"It's not that serious, Minerva is just trying to scare you all, besides, I'm here, don't worry."
Professor Oren placed one hand on his waist and the other towards the Forbidden Forest, "Come on, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, I allow you to join me in the Forbidden Forest today to broaden your horizons."
...Alright, no need to guess anymore, Kael felt he already knew who the person with the Swooping Evil was.
After all, if one doesn't have a secret identity, how dare they come to Hogwarts to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?
Kael had indeed suspected Oren, or rather, when he saw the news months ago in the newspaper, he started to doubt this annual professor.
But after subtly asking Professor McGonagall, he learned that Oren had taken office in July, while the group smuggling Fantastic Beasts only entered the country at the end of August.
There's nearly a two-month gap between these events, Professor Oren could perfectly say he has an alibi.
How exactly did he manage that...
Kael grumbled inwardly, but this time, he chose not to voice his objections.
Because Professor Oren's hand on his waist was right over his wand, needing just a twitch to draw it.
It was this action that confirmed for Kael that he was indeed "You-Know-Who".
This was blatant intimidation.
"Alright." Kael shrugged and said, "Since the professor permitted it, then let's go."
"Wise choice." Professor Oren raised his eyebrows.
After taking two steps, Kael seemed to suddenly remember something, and turned to Conna saying, "Oh, I just remembered the jerky prepared for Fluffy wasn't brought along, could you please fetch it? It's on the table in the common room, you'll see it as soon as you enter."
"Um... alright."
Though Conna found Kael's words a bit odd, she didn't think much of it and turned back towards the castle.
Professor Oren kept silent, it appeared his target all along was just Kael.
Seeing this, Kael breathed a small sigh of relief. At least Conna would be safe...
Just then, an unexpected situation occurred.
The rat named Poke suddenly jumped out of Conna's pocket and started racing towards the Forbidden Forest.
"Poke... come back!"
Conna screamed, and without thinking, she chased after it.
The incident happened so suddenly that Kael didn't have time to stop her and Conna had already dashed into the Forbidden Forest chasing Poke.
"I...!"
Kael's eye twitched, but nothing could be done now, to prevent Conna from encountering any danger in the Forbidden Forest, he had no choice but to chase after her.
The Forbidden Forest was densely wooded, impossible to catch up with a rat here.
Soon, Poke was out of their sight.
Once catching up, Kael grabbed Conna and stopped her from going further.
"You need to head back!"
"But Poke..."
"No time to worry about that rat now, head back to the castle!" Kael tugged on Conna's arm, just as he was about to forcefully pull her back, he turned and saw Professor Oren behind them.
"I must criticize you, Kael, you shouldn't be so rough with a Little Witch, it's quite ungentlemanly."
Professor Oren said calmly, "Let's go, let's help Miss Prince find her pet together."
Kael frowned, just about to speak, but Professor Oren had already walked over, bent down and said with a smile, "Don't waste any more time now, it's a magical rat, it'd be such a waste if it ran away."
From Kael's angle, he could clearly see the tip of his wand already pointed at Conna.
"You're right." Kael took a deep breath and forced a laugh, "I'll follow your lead."
"Good boy."
With Professor Oren leading the way, the three of them started heading deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
Along the way, Professor Oren seemed truly intent on finding the rat, constantly observing the surroundings.
When encountering some aggressive Fantastic Beasts or spiders, he would dutifully drive them away.
Nobody knew how long they walked until Professor Oren suddenly asked, "Kael, Minerva mentioned your Transfiguration Technique grades are excellent, have you considered learning Animagus?"
"I haven't, professor." Kael maintained his composure, "Animagus is a very advanced form of Transfiguration Technique, requiring a lot of foundational and advanced knowledge as well as precise control over Magic Power, I'm still far from ready."
"Oh?"
Professor Oren used his wand to move a fallen tree blocking their path, teasing, "Seems you're quite aware of Animagus."
"Professor McGonagall demonstrated it in the first class," Kael said, "I found it fascinating, so I searched for some related materials in the library."
"Yes... a Charm that can turn someone into an animal is indeed fascinating, many Wizards walking on the fringes of light dream of learning it." Professor Oren lowered his voice, "Animagus allows them to do certain things much more conveniently.
Because no one would suspect a cat, an insect, or a... rat.
This is why the Ministry of Magic demands every Animagus to register their identity, but few are willing to do so.
Of course, that's the right choice.
If you learn Animagus in the future, I'd advise against registering."
Professor Oren now seemed like he was giving a classroom lecture, gently sharing advice with Kael.
"Professor, it's still a bit early for you to be telling me this."
Kael squinted his eyes and said, "I've just begun studying Transfiguration Technique, I might only be eligible to learn Animagus after fifth grade."
"No, I think you'll be ready by next year."
Professor Oren glanced at Kael from the corner of his eye, "One's talent and capabilities are hard to hide, especially for someone like you, a Young Wizard without much experience.
Though your performance in my class appears average, I've noticed your control over Magic Power is quite precise, and the Charm you cast is markedly stable.
In other words, if other Young Witches' Charms are akin to cotton threads, yours resemble steel wires.
Even if you consciously reduce Magic Power output, it merely turns the steel wire thinner, but essentially, it changes nothing.
Cotton thread and steel wire are fundamentally different things, anyone with a bit of insight would recognize it at first glance."
"You probably haven't realized this yet."
Professor Oren chuckled suddenly, "Us professors have mentioned you more than a few times in our private conversations, and even shared your clumsy performances in class with each other.
Oh, and we even placed a bet, guessing how long you can hide it.
Except for Aurora who didn't participate, Minerva and Filius pegged you for third year, Pomona said fifth year, and Severus... well, his guess was vague, let's just say seventh year."
Kael felt as if struck by lightning, an intense shame surged within him instantly.
Dammit, he always thought he hid it well.
......