Many were disappointed to hear that the club would only open once a month... They had initially thought it would be once a week.
But before they could say anything, Professor McGonagall gave them a look, and everyone immediately shut their mouths and silently walked out of the auditorium.
Kael and the others walked along the corridor, and after they turned a corner, Cedric suddenly asked:
"Do you think if I go to Professor Lupin, he'd agree to let me face a Dementor alone?"
"I don't know." Kael shook his head and said: "But if you really want to, you'd better go find him soon. By tomorrow, the Dementor might not be in the castle anymore.
You know, neither Headmaster Dumbledore nor Professor McGonagall likes those guys... The one in the auditorium is purely used as a teaching tool."
"That's true." Cedric patted his head, "I'm not waiting for tomorrow, I'll go now..."
With that, he started running back.
The others separated at the stairs and returned to their common rooms.
Kael noticed that Conna had been quiet and her expression looked quite conflicted, as she occasionally glanced back towards the auditorium.
"Do you also want to find Professor Lupin?" Kael asked.
Conna nodded and then shook her head.
She really wanted to have her own Guardian God soon, but didn't want to face the Dementors... Or rather, her original intention of learning this charm was simply to not be affected by the Dementors.
There were some things Conna really didn't want to experience a second time... Like her Animagus rat from her first year.
She had almost forgotten about it, but when the Dementor appeared on the Quidditch Pitch last time, she remembered the "grandiose transformation" in the Forbidden Forest, and felt so upset that she couldn't eat for several days.
Now she felt like kicking any rat she saw, it was almost a psychological shadow.
Conna shook her head again and found any random excuse: "I'm just worried about Cedric, do you think he'll succeed?"
"He probably will." Kael said, "But the premise is that the professors agree."
Cedric was just short of the last step, and if he couldn't take it himself, letting someone else give him a kick might be a good idea.
The Dementors just happened to suit this job, and they kick quite far.
The two entered the common room and found a spot by the fireplace to sit down.
It was already very late, but there were still many people here, everyone was enthusiastically discussing things that happened in the club without any intention of sleeping.
Conna glanced at Kael roasting sausages in the fireplace and quietly asked:
"Besides Dementors, is there another way to help learn the Patronus Charm?"
"There is." Kael replied while turning the sausages with the fire tongs, "Guardian Gods can influence each other. A real Guardian God can evoke and deepen those happy emotions, making the process of learning this charm much more effective."
Conna blinked, "Then why didn't you tell Cedric before?"
"He didn't ask." Kael said matter-of-factly, "I thought he liked Dementors."
"Who would like those things..." Conna said speechlessly.
"You never know, everyone has a little quirk." Kael turned the fire tongs again and continued, "And most importantly, this method is more suitable for beginners to simplify the process. Cedric is already past this stage and at the last step.
If he can't find the trick, even a hundred Guardian Gods surrounding him every day would be useless. In this situation, Dementors are of a much greater help to him than Guardian Gods."
"What about me..." Conna quietly asked, "Will this method work for me?"
"It will." Kael said, "It's too late today, how about tomorrow, we'll go to the Room of Requirement."
"Okay." Conna responded softly.
By then, the aroma of roasted sausages had attracted quite a few people, and the two didn't continue the topic.
The Patronus Charm was already a high-difficulty charm, and after two hours of training, many people were hungry.
The rich aroma of roasted sausages made them salivate.
Some people left the common room immediately, and when they returned, they had a lot of food in their hands.
Bread, pumpkin juice, pies... And whole roasted chickens and large chunks of meat.
This was one of Hufflepuff's advantages.
Others could only sleep with an empty stomach, whereas they could enjoy a sumptuous late-night meal in a short time.
And they didn't have to worry about getting caught wandering at night.
The kitchen was right next door, unless a professor or Filch was guarding the door, they were unlikely to be caught.
Soon, the sausages were also done.
Kael grabbed a fork and handed a slightly charred sausage to Conna.
Conna's eyes lit up, and she took a bite.
"How is it, is it cooked?"
"Mmhmm." Conna nodded repeatedly, "Tasty."
"That's good." Kael finally took one for himself too.
Conna blinked, feeling like something was off, but the continuous aroma from the tip of her nose made her quickly forget about it.
A little while later, Cedric returned.
As soon as he walked in, he was hit in the face with various aromas.
"Is there more, give me one too!" He went to Kael's side and unceremoniously snatched a sausage, then took some baked bread from another table.
"Done so quickly?" Kael asked.
Cedric shook his head, "No, I just came back."
"Because of Professor McGonagall?" Conna said, "She still doesn't agree to let you face Dementors?"
"No, when I went, Professor McGonagall had already left, it was that Professor Lupin seemed a bit unwell."
Cedric said, "I was waiting at the auditorium entrance until everyone left, just about to go in, when I saw Professor Snape handing him a large cup of potion, saying he needed it."
"Is Professor Lupin sick again?" Conna asked.
Just this half-semester alone, Professor Lupin had taken two leaves, once where Professor Snape substituted, and once where Professor McGonagall substituted.
And according to Cho, their Ravenclaw also missed a few Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
"Probably... He drank all the potion."
Cedric said, "And observing carefully, his complexion indeed looked worse than usual. I felt that it might not be appropriate to have him contact Dementors at this time, so I just came back."
"It's alright, you can go find him in a few days." Kael said, "Or wait until the club starts next month."
"Looks like that's the only option."
Cedric put down his pumpkin juice, thoughtfully, "Don't you find it strange, why didn't Professor Lupin go to Madam Pomfrey...
I mean, she was there too, and should be more professional than Professor Snape."
"Maybe Madam Pomfrey had other things to tend to." Conna said.
"Perhaps..." Cedric took another sip of pumpkin juice, speaking quietly.