"Ha, who would have thought Malfoy actually did something good," said Ron. "Though he might not be too happy about it... huh, where's Malfoy?"
He glanced around, but there was no trace of Malfoy nearby, which made Ron a bit puzzled.
Given Malfoy's personality, he would definitely brag about his contribution next to Kael or go to the professor to claim credit for extra points. So why didn't he follow us?
Kael also glanced behind but said nothing.
In fact, just as Tonks rushed over, Malfoy had quietly slipped into the surrounding crowd and disappeared.
The group quickly returned to the school grounds.
"Do you think he was the one behind this?" Ron speculated.
Although there was no evidence, blaming Malfoy for everything bad had become a habit for him, rendering evidence unnecessary.
"I don't know," Harry pondered. "But I think I've seen that Opal Necklace before."
"You've seen it?" Ron looked at him in surprise, and Hermione also turned her gaze toward him.
"Yes," Harry nodded. "It was in a box at Borgin and Burkes four years ago, remember? It was when I first used Floo Powder, took the wrong fireplace, and accidentally ended up there.
"The box said it had taken the lives of a dozen Muggles, so I paid special attention to it and remember it clearly."
"So, someone bought it from that store?"
"Probably."
"The necklace from Borgin and Burkes..." Conna looked at Kael and asked, "Who do you think it could be?"
"Who knows." Kael squinted his eyes. "Maybe someone intended to use that Opal Necklace against me but had a last-minute change of heart."
"Change of heart... Malfoy?" Conna blurted out.
She knew very well that Kael wouldn't say such things for no reason, he must have discovered something.
The only person fitting these conditions was the suddenly appearing Malfoy.
Although the path was crowded with people, they didn't occupy the whole path, they were just by the roadside.
Malfoy could have walked past normally if he wanted to return to the school, but instead, he deliberately detoured and pushed Hermione, who couldn't possibly block his way.
Coincidentally, Hermione bumped into Katie, making the package fall to the ground.
If all of this wasn't intentional, it would be quite a coincidence, wouldn't it?
Conna gazed at Kael, hoping to get some answers from him.
"Ah, who knows," Kael said with a smile, shrugging. "But given the current situation, I should thank Malfoy, after all, he saved me."
"Oh, come off it," Conna said. "Don't think I didn't notice, you already used the Iron Armor Spell before you reached out."
"Since I already spotted traces of the Imperio Curse, I wasn't about to foolishly touch that unknown package," Kael said. "The facts proved me right, didn't they?"
"Professor McGonagall is here," came Hermione's voice from the front.
Kael looked up to see Professor McGonagall hurrying down the stone steps through the increasing rain and snow to meet them.
"Tonks told me you all witnessed the incident with Katie Bell, please come to my office upstairs immediately."
"She wasn't attacked!" Ron said loudly. "She was trying to give Kael that deadly Dark Arts item."
"We'll discuss that later," Professor McGonagall said, looking at Fred and the floating box beside him. "Mr. Weasley, what is this?"
"It's the thing Katie touched," Fred said. "I brought it back so no one else would get it."
"Very well," Professor McGonagall said, looking a bit tense. "That was very considerate of you."
"It's what I should do," Fred said earnestly.
At this moment, Filch, holding the Secret Detector, eagerly walked towards Fred.
"No, Filch, they're with me, no need to check," Professor McGonagall quickly said.
Filch's face darkened rapidly.
"Oh, Mr. Filch," Fred raised an eyebrow, "perhaps you don't know yet, but I work at the Ministry of Magic, specifically handling dangerous Dark Arts items. You shouldn't hinder me."
Filch breathed heavily, feeling for a moment as if the Ministry of Magic had gone mad, letting a Niffler guard the vault.
"Oh, and Mr. Filch..."
George shifted his gaze to the Secret Detector in Filch's hand. "I suspect this thing's origins are questionable; there might be some hidden Dark Magic on it. If you can't provide its place of purchase and detailed information, I must confiscate it.
"You know, it's our job."
"No hard feelings," Fred added.
Filch's face paled, clutching the Secret Detector tightly to his chest.
This thing had been in Hogwarts for who knows how long, there wasn't any detailed place of purchase now...
Even if there was, after so many years, that place would likely have long changed hands.
In contrast, Fred and George had smug looks on their faces. They had been interrogated by Filch more than enough during their school years; little did they know that after graduation, the tables would turn.
They had to admit, it felt wonderful.
"Come on, Filch, hand it over," Fred urged. "We need to check it. It's a requirement from the Ministry of Magic."