Conna was detained by Snape, which was just like going home, literally going home.
But it was different for him.
Kael believed that Snape wouldn't mind giving him some special treatment during detention.
For example, picking out unusable flobberworms from a big barrel without gloves... it was said that Harry earned this detention after his first Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, and spent the whole night in the dungeon classroom.
Kael thought that Snape definitely wasn't short of flobberworms, especially when he was in detention. Snape might even spend money to buy a new barrel of them.
So it was better for him to think of another way, and besides, compared to being detained by Snape, occasionally attending a gathering wasn't so bad.
However, an excuse presented itself soon enough.
On Friday afternoon, Kael received a letter from the Ministry of Magic, written by Fudge, asking him to go to the Ministry as soon as possible to discuss something.
It was right after Potion Class, and Kael only showed the name at the end of the letter to Slughorn, who immediately fell silent.
"Oh, go on, go quickly..." Slughorn said, eyes twinkling, "If the Minister has written to you, it must be something good."
"That's not necessarily..." Kael thought to himself.
When there's good news, Fudge doesn't think of him, it's most likely that Fudge is trying to salvage his worsening reputation without coming up with any good ideas.
Ever since Lady Amelia Bones was attacked by Death Eaters in the Ministry, people's trust in the Ministry of Magic had been sharply declining.
And it's understandable... if the Ministry can't even protect its own people, how can it protect others?
But Kael didn't have any particularly good ideas either. The most effective way he could think of was for Fudge to resign and let someone more capable become the Minister.
For example... Dumbledore.
Unfortunately, neither Fudge nor Dumbledore would agree to that.
Kael dawdled to the entrance of the Defense Against Dark Arts office... not Snape's office, as it was filled with too many of his things, and some potion materials had strict environmental requirements, making it difficult to move places, so he was still in the original dungeon classroom.
Kael came to what was once Umbridge's office, where she had previously set up a Floo Network directly to the Ministry of Magic.
Although she had long left the school, quite a few standout students from Hogwarts had been given exceptions for early recruitment by the Ministry, so this line was kept open for their convenience during internships on weekends.
Only, Dumbledore had placed an armor guard at the door, and only those who knew the password could enter.
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean!"
Kael said the password, and the armor guard creaked as it turned around, moving aside.
It was truly a guard arranged by Dumbledore; even the passwords belonged to the same series as those in the Headmaster's Office. Thankfully, Honeydukes had a wide enough range of products; otherwise, it might have run out.
The gaudy decorations and cat plates in the room had been moved away, leaving just a bare table and a few scattered chairs, which looked much better.
Kael lit the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder from a small bucket nearby, tossing it in.
But strangely, the flames did not change color, and instead, a head popped out, Kael could clearly see the neatly trimmed mustache of the person.
Although unsure of what happened, Kael wasn't overly surprised. He just took the letter he had received out of his pocket and said:
"I need to go to the Ministry of Magic."
The person in the fireplace glanced at the letter and Fudge's signature on it.
"Sorry, this Floo Network has already been sealed."
They said, as if ignoring Fudge's signature, officially: "According to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's orders, all of Hogwarts is under high alert, except for the Headmaster's Office fireplace, all other Floo Networks are completely closed, and this one is no exception.
"After this, this fireplace will be completely sealed. No one can use it."
"Alright." Kael said, taking another look at the letter in his hand, "What about this then, the Minister wants me over promptly."
"You're still a student..." the person continued with no expression, "There's no need to involve yourself in other matters."
After speaking, the person disappeared.
The only sound left in the room was the crackling of the burning fire.
Kael took another look at the letter in his hand and casually tossed it into the fireplace, then found a random chair to sit on, watching the parchment burn to ashes in the flame.
He guessed it was probably because of the Amelia Bones incident that the Floo Network got closed...
Though he wasn't sure how those Death Eaters got into the Ministry of Magic, it did suggest another possibility.
They could use the Ministry of Magic fireplaces to enter Hogwarts through this Floo Network.
Dumbledore probably thought of this and insisted on sealing the fireplace.
Yet, Kael was quite pleased with this outcome... escaping Slughorn's invitation and not having to face Fudge at the Ministry, it was perfect.
A minute later, Kael extinguished the flames and walked out of the classroom again.
Not a bad excuse; next time Slughorn invites him, he can just say he needs to go to the Ministry of Magic. After all, it's not like Slughorn could verify if he went or not.