After saying goodbye to Cedric, Kael left the castle and headed towards the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid was standing in his vegetable patch by his cabin, watering pumpkins the size of wheels.
"It's Kael, come in and have a seat."
The two walked into the cabin, and Hagrid happily brought Kael some Rock Skin Cake and a teapot.
"How's the new school year going?"
"Not bad." Kael didn't touch the Rock Skin Cake, he only took a sip of tea and said, "It's just that the weekly classes are more than last year."
"Yes, second-year studies are indeed heavier than the first year," Hagrid said with a smile. "But if it's you, there should be no problem. Yesterday when Harry came here, he even mentioned you."
"Potter?"
Kael was a bit surprised. He remembered that he didn't have much interaction with Harry, except for meeting him in the corridor the last time; they hadn't been alone together.
Back then, he had given Harry a magical map and a package of pet snacks, thinking that Harry shouldn't say anything bad about him.
"Harry said, thanks to the map you gave him, he hasn't been late these days," Hagrid said with a chuckle.
Thinking about Harry sitting in the cabin yesterday talking to him about those funny things happening at school made Hagrid so happy he couldn't keep his mouth closed.
But that little guy is too curious, always asking about the Philosopher's Stone, which is giving him a headache.
The Philosopher's Stone is a secret that Dumbledore repeatedly emphasized, and as the tightest-lipped person at Hogwarts, Hagrid certainly couldn't let this slip.
But at the same time, he didn't want to deceive Harry, so he could only find various reasons to fend it off.
It was quite a dilemma, and it was quite taxing on the brain.
"I see..."
Kael nodded without asking more questions.
He reckoned Harry probably just mentioned it while chatting with Hagrid, like casually talking about what he ate last night, without any particular intention.
If he came a few days later, Hagrid might have forgotten about it.
Seeing Kael not speaking, Hagrid picked up the copper pot next to him and poured him another cup of tea, while he couldn't help but think:
This is what chatting is all about—relaxed, happy, and most importantly, no need to use your brain.
"Try this." Hagrid handed over the plate with the Rock Skin Cake and said with a smile, "I just baked it yesterday, still crispy. By the way, where are your friends, why didn't they come along?"
"Sorry, I just had breakfast, really can't eat anything else."
Kael politely refused Hagrid's suggestion to help change his teeth and said, "They're selecting new Quidditch players recently, Cedric and the others have all gone to the pitch."
"Ah… Quidditch."
Hagrid suddenly realized, "Time flies, and it's time to change new players again. I remember you like Quidditch too, right?"
"Yes." Kael nodded and said, "I've already signed up, but I'll have to wait until next week to participate in the tryouts."
"I believe you will definitely make it."
"I think so too," Kael said with a smile, "And maybe Potter will make it into the team this year too."
"Harry? That's impossible," Hagrid shook his head and said, "First-year students are not allowed to participate in Quidditch, that's the rule."
"That's true, but Gryffindor desperately needs a Seeker this year."
Kael said, "If Potter has inherited his dad's ability, Professor McGonagall might bend the rules to accept him."
"James…" Hagrid thought for a moment and suddenly realized, "Oh, right, James was indeed an excellent Seeker; he led Gryffindor to win several Quidditch Cups back then."
Thinking of this, Hagrid couldn't help but burst into laughter.
If Harry could really join the Quidditch team in his first year, he would surely be very happy.
After all, who wouldn't love Quidditch?
But soon, Hagrid thought of something and couldn't laugh anymore.
If Kael and Harry both joined the team, then when Hufflepuff and Gryffindor played against each other, who would he cheer for…
Hagrid's face gradually crumpled into a ball as he tugged at his beard in agony.
Kael had to call him three times before Hagrid came back to his senses.
"What were you thinking about just now, so absorbed?"
"Nothing, nothing, I just suddenly remembered I haven't finished watering the pumpkins yet," Hagrid lied.
He had already decided to cheer for both houses at the same time, clapping for whoever scored, but that was certainly not something he could say aloud.
Hagrid went back to watering the pumpkins, and Kael also went outside but didn't return to the castle.
His friends, including Mikel and Ryan, had all gone to the Quidditch pitch. There was no point in going back.
Kael looked around, found a flat spot, and began pulling things out of his leather pouch.
Portable stove, cauldron, herbs… soon, there was a pile on the ground.
"Kael, what are you going to do?" Hagrid asked curiously.
"I'm brewing some magic potions, or more precisely, pet potions."
Kael lit the stove with his wand and placed the cauldron on it.
Seeing that Kael was preparing to brew pet potions, Hagrid was initially interested, but after watching for a while, he turned back to the pumpkin patch.
He couldn't understand, just couldn't understand.
Hagrid was baffled as to why Kael couldn't just pour in all the powders at once, but instead had to add them in three times with varying intervals.
He wanted to remember the whole process, but just keeping track of those intervals gave him a headache.
The things he just remembered disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Hagrid decisively gave up on his plan to secretly learn a trick or two and went back to watering pumpkins.
Focused on tending to the fire, Kael didn't notice Hagrid's odd behavior. He held his wand, occasionally stirring the potion in the cauldron.
Brewing magic potions is a delicate task, even the simplest one could be ruined by a moment's carelessness; he didn't want to start over.
Time slowly passed.
By the time Hagrid finished watering all his pumpkins, Kael was almost done too.
He poured some dark green powder into the cauldron, then stirred counterclockwise with his wand.
The orange liquid in the cauldron gradually turned red.
The red color was very beautiful, clear and translucent, without a speck of impurity, like melted rubies.
Kael extinguished the fire under the stove, and when the cauldron had cooled, he carefully poured the potion into a pre-prepared bottle.
Not too much, not too little, just right for one bottle.
"Is this the pet potion?" Hagrid asked curiously, looking at the bottle.
"Yes," Kael handed him the bottle, smiling. "But to be precise, it's a special rat potion."