"You've missed several of my small dinner parties already, that won't do. You must come and see, Miss Granger really enjoys these gatherings." He directly took the empty seat at Harry's table.
"How about tomorrow night, you surely don't have other plans, do you?"
"I... I..." Harry stammered, unable to find words, while frantically thinking of a way to excuse himself from the invitation.
Since last time when he was surrounded by seven or eight people doing homework, Harry had been avoiding Slughorn. Compared to those dinner parties, he'd rather handle a big bucket of Flobberworms.
"Sorry, Professor." Kael said calmly, without changing his expression, "The Ministry of Magic has too many things going on."
He pointed at Fred and George, "See, even if it's the weekend trip to Hogsmeade, they catch up with me asking for work reports."
"You work for the Ministry of Magic?" Slughorn looked at the Weasley brothers and asked.
Though they didn't understand what Kael was implying, Fred and George caught on immediately and nodded along.
Slughorn's attitude changed instantly, greeting them warmly, but that was the extent of it.
"I'm afraid I can't either." Conna said similarly, "Professor Snape has put me in detention for a... a month, I can't go anywhere during this period."
"What?" Slughorn exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat, "How could Severus do such a thing, does he not know how talented you are in Magic Potions?
"Detention for a month, my goodness, how can he bear it... no, I must go talk to him."
With that, Slughorn left the Three Broomsticks in a hurry, leaving his freshly brought honey wine untouched.
"What on earth is going on, is that the new Professor of Potions?" Fred asked curiously, evidently having heard about this year's faculty changes at Hogwarts.
"Yes, Horace Slughorn, a professor who loves hosting dinner parties." Kael gave a brief introduction of what he'd done, along with his well-known Slug Club.
It astounded the both of them; they hadn't expected the professor to be so... peculiar.
"By the way, doesn't he know about Conna and Snape's relationship?"
"Apparently not." Kael said, "But that's just as well for getting Conna out of those dull dinner parties."
If Conna doesn't want to go, she could be stuck in detention all semester, and even Dumbledore wouldn't be able to help, let alone Slughorn.
"Ron..." George turned his head and said meaningfully, "I noticed he didn't invite you, coincidence? Or was it an oversight?"
Ron's face turned crimson once again.
In fact, Slughorn had never really paid attention to him; every time they met, he'd only talk to Harry, as if Ron were just an insignificant ornament.
"I'm actually envious of Ron." Harry said, diverting attention, "Those dinners are nothing short of torture."
"Yeah." Hermione nodded in agreement, "They're really not enjoyable at all."
Ron's expression improved a little, though he muttered something under his breath that no one quite heard.
Afterwards, they chatted for a bit more and, after finishing their Butter Beer, Kael and Conna prepared to leave.
Harry and his friends were of the same mind.
The weather outside was getting worse; rather than stay out, the warmth of the common room seemed much more inviting.
They stood up and headed towards the door.
At this moment, two Gryffindor girls from a nearby table also stood up.
"Wait a minute, Kael."
As they exited the pub, the girls called out from behind.
"What's the matter?" Kael turned back to ask.
He recognized one of the girls as Katie Bell from Gryffindor, also a member of the Quidditch team.
"This is for you." Katie walked over, extending a package.
Kael was a bit puzzled, as he couldn't recall having any dealings with her.
However, when he set his eyes on the package, he suddenly furrowed his brows.
Fred and George reacted the same way beside him.
Having worked in a department that specialized in tracking Dark Arts Items and counterfeits for so long, they immediately spotted the problem with the package.
The dark magic reaction was too obvious, without any disguise. It was clear that whatever was inside was dangerous.
The two were about to say something, but Kael stopped them.
He shook his head slightly, then looked at Katie.
"Who gave this to me?"
Katie didn't say anything, she just stiffly nodded, her movements unnatural.
"Imperio!" A terrifying thought flashed through Fred's mind.
Damn it, someone used the Imperius Curse on a Hogwarts student!
Meanwhile, after hesitating for a moment, Kael began to slowly reach for the package.
Fred's heart went into his throat; he wanted to warn Kael but quickly realized it was unnecessary, then ran towards Tonks who was following them not far away.
George stayed put, watching tensely, his hand already in his pocket, ready to draw his wand.
But just as Kael's fingers were about to touch the package, a hostile voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Out of my way, you filthy Mudblood!"
It was Malfoy. He had just stepped out of the Three Broomsticks too, oddly without his usual entourage.
The least anyone expected, he nastily shoved Hermione who was in front.
Hermione, caught off guard, stumbled into Katie.
Katie, hit by her, dropped the package she was holding to the ground.
...