By the time December arrived, two weeks before the holiday break, the sky finally cleared up, becoming a bright, dazzling white.
This period can be said to be the calmest days at Hogwarts, with no Sirius Black and almost no sight of Dementors on campus... Dumbledore's fury made them stay far away from the school gates.
It's been about a week since the last Quidditch match ended, during which Kael suddenly discovered something interesting.
He has been meeting Harry noticeably more often than before.
This is somewhat unusual.
Although they can be considered good friends, their usual activities are quite different.
Besides the necessary classes and meals, Kael spends most of his extracurricular time in the library or the Room of Requirement.
But Harry is different. He prefers visiting Hagrid and playing Wizard Chess with Ron in the warm common room, only occasionally showing up in the library when he's rushing to complete assignments.
So usually, the two could only see each other during meals in the auditorium...
But these last few days, it seems they keep running into each other in various places.
Just like now, Kael had just stepped out of the Charm class, only to face Harry who was running over from the other side of the hallway.
"What a coincidence, Kael, you're here for class too?" Harry greeted as he always did.
Kael moved his lips, suddenly at a loss for words.
What kind of question is that? What else would he be doing other than attending class, coming to have tea and chat with Professor Flitwick? He'd like to, but fears Professor Flitwick wouldn't agree.
"Yeah, here for class." Kael thought for a moment and said, "Um... what brings you here?"
"I just finished class too, just passing by," Harry said, his eyes constantly glancing at the crowd behind Kael as if casually asking:
"Which house are you having class with this period?"
"Slytherin," Kael replied.
Upon hearing the name, Harry's gaze immediately returned, as if everything was fine, and he walked past them.
"I still need to find Ron. See you next time, Kael."
"Goodbye."
Watching Harry disappearing swiftly around the corner, Conna asked puzzledly, "Where's he off to...
Besides, isn't Charm class the only class on this floor today? How did he pass by here?"
"He probably made a special detour," Kael said with a laugh.
He used to wonder too, but after running into each other so many times, Kael could more or less guess Harry's purpose.
Yesterday, when they had class with Ravenclaw, they ran into Harry again.
Back then, he followed them to the auditorium, constantly finding various topics along the way, and didn't seem to have Ron in mind.
Then today with Slytherin, he suddenly remembers he has a friend?
What Harry is after is almost obvious by now... no one else but Cho, surely.
"Now this is getting interesting." In Conna's puzzled gaze, Kael chuckled twice and turned to walk down the stairs.
"You seem to know something," she caught up with him to ask.
"Want to know..."
"Yeah yeah." Conna nodded repeatedly.
"Hey, I'm not telling you."
"..."
Conna chased Kael all the way to the entrance hall.
Near the auditorium, there was a crowd around the bulletin board.
Cedric and Cho were also there; as Kael walked over, they were just squeezing out from the crowd.
Seeing them, Kael couldn't help but chuckle again.
"What's up with you?" Cedric frowned, "Laughing for no reason, drank the wrong Magic Potion?"
"Nothing really, just thought of something happy." Kael put away his amused thoughts and shifted the topic, "What does it say up there?"
"Oh, it's Professor Lupin's Patronus Charm Club."
Cedric didn't dwell on it further and laughed, "The headmaster has agreed, it's scheduled for six in the evening on the first day of school."
"Isn't that a month away? Isn't it too early?" Conna seemed a bit disappointed, "I thought we'd have classes next week."
Last year Lockhart's Dueling Club announcement was posted here, and it started just days after...
Initially, she thought it'd be the same this time, but ended up with empty joy.
"I guess it's because of the task Professor Lupin assigned us."
Cho walked over and said, "The announcement says that everyone who wants to join the club must think of something particularly joyful in this period.
Professor Lupin didn't specify the reason, just that the more joyful memories you have, the easier it will be to learn the Patronus Charm.
The month is for us to prepare."
"Joyful things..." Conna murmured.
At this moment, Ron and Hermione squeezed out from the bulletin board too.
"Why do we have to think of joyful things..." Ron asked puzzledly, "Does it have anything to do with learning a charm?"
"Of course it does; at least for the Patronus Charm, it's the most crucial process," Hermione explained, "Books say the Patronus Charm is about materializing those joyful memories, transforming them into a substantive state."
"Oh, that sounds really troublesome..." Ron frowned, internally considering opting out.
Honestly, he hasn't seen Dementors in school for quite a while; learning the Patronus Charm doesn't seem that important.
Hermione continued elaborating on how challenging the charm is, and what to pay attention to...
Ron pouted, not wanting to discuss the matter with Hermione. He glanced around and quickly noticed Kael and his group.
"Hey, Kael, have you seen Harry?" Ron waved.
"He's upstairs looking for someone." Kael resisted the urge to laugh aloud, saying calmly, "Didn't you have class together?"
"Yeah, but Harry ran off right after class, not telling me where." Ron grumbled, "I feel he's been acting a bit odd these days..."
The group soon arrived at the auditorium.
On the way, Conna was deep in thought about Professor Lupin's request.
She considered many things but wasn't sure if they'd work. Finally, during meal time, she suddenly looked up and asked, "Kael, what did you think about when you learned the Patronus Charm?"
Others nearby also looked over, apparently equally curious about the question.
"The moment I received my acceptance letter from Hogwarts." Kael picked up a roast potato and smiled.
Cedric nodded beside him; watching the owl deliver the acceptance letter is indeed a moment that brings joy.
He had also used that memory when practicing the Patronus Charm before, but perhaps due to feelings not being strong enough, the effect wasn't very noticeable.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"Yeah."
Kael nodded and said, "Also the first time Fred and George got a beating."
"They made a big mistake and Mr. Weasley gave them a good beating, hung them on trees. It was so tragic, almost the whole area of Ottery St Catchpole could hear their screams.
"Even though that was almost a decade ago, I still laugh whenever I think of it... it's a pity there wasn't a camera to capture their expressions back then."
"Uh..." Cedric gave a dry laugh.
Whether it was due to his home being somewhat distant from the Shabby Residence or being too young then, he entirely had no memory of such an event.
Cedric turned to glance at the Gryffindor table.
He was curious if Fred and George knew Kael used their experiences to learn the Patronus Charm...
But most likely they don't know; otherwise, they'd definitely be after Kael for revenge.
...