Katie Bell was sent to St Mungo's that afternoon.
Although Kael dispelled the dark magic from the opal necklace in time, preventing her from being seriously harmed, she was indeed hit by an Imperio curse.
For damage caused by this Unforgivable Curse, St Mungo's is more professional. Besides, the Hospital Wing can't provide an environment for her to rest peacefully.
As Katie left the school, what happened to her in Hogsmeade also spread throughout the school, though the details remained unclear to everyone. Except for those few present at the time, no one knew that the opal necklace's intended target was someone else.
Meanwhile, Malfoy became famous, and the sudden increase in points for Slytherin and Hufflepuff led to much speculation.
At this time, news came out that these points were awarded to Draco Malfoy.
However, being at the center of the whole affair, Malfoy himself wasn't very happy.
"I've said it many times, I don't know what happened!" Malfoy sharply said to Zabini during dinner, "I just went to Hogsmeade to mail a letter, I have no idea about any ridiculous attack there."
"But others say..."
"Others also say you're a brainless fool, are you?" Malfoy impatiently interrupted him.
"And think about it, even if I was there at the time, do you think I'd actively help a Gryffindor?"
"Of course not," Zabini blurted out.
The Malfoy he knew would only clap and cheer if he saw a Gryffindor student hit by dark magic.
"That's right," Malfoy said, "I wouldn't help a Gryffindor fool!"
He still seemed angry, cutting his steak hard with the knife making a grating sound as if it were about to cut through the plate.
"In that case, why would Professor McGonagall add points for you?" Pansy was still a bit puzzled.
"Those points weren't added for me, not at all!" Malfoy shouted loudly, then suddenly stood up and left the auditorium.
"Sorry Draco, wait for me." Pansy, startled, quickly reacted and hurried after him.
"Look at him..." At the Gryffindor table, Ron glanced at the angry Malfoy leaving, muttering softly, "It's like he sees getting points as a punishment, really hypocritical. I'd bet he's secretly delighted."
"You're right," Harry agreed, nodding.
In his mind, Malfoy was someone who loved to show off... when his mom sent him a packet of fancy candy, he wanted the whole school to know, let alone getting twenty points all at once.
According to Malfoy's usual way, even if the points weren't really for him, he'd still claim credit for them.
"There must be something fishy about him," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Do you think he gave Katie that opal necklace?" Ron asked quietly.
"Probably not," Harry thought and said, "That opal necklace was originally meant for Kael. If Malfoy was behind all this, why bother doing it this way? Don't forget, it was because of Malfoy that Kael didn't touch it."
"Maybe he didn't plan to do it that way," Ron said, "Perhaps he wanted to celebrate early and accidentally ruined his own plan."
"That's impossible," Hermione said, "No one would be that stupid, and I feel like he intentionally pushed it towards Katie."
"You mean Malfoy did it on purpose?" Harry frowned.
"It's just a feeling," Hermione said, "I can't be sure."
As the group debated whether Malfoy had anything to do with the necklace, Kael also received a message from the Fat Friar.
Dumbledore had returned and wanted him to go to the Headmaster's Office.
"I knew it, with something this big happening at the school, he definitely wouldn't stay away," Kael said, finishing his steak and bidding farewell to Conna before heading alone to the Headmaster's Office.
He knocked on the door, and a voice from inside let him in.
Dumbledore was sitting there, looking particularly tired, and Snape was there too, with that familiar opal necklace on the table between them.
"Oh, our lucky boy is here," Snape drawled as he saw Kael walk in.
From his tone, it seemed he regretted that Kael hadn't personally touched the necklace.
But Kael pretended not to notice the underlying meaning in Snape's words and gave him a standard fake smile.
"Thanks to you, Professor."
Snape snorted, but said nothing more.
"Severus is just concerned about you, Kael, he just doesn't know how to express it," Dumbledore interjected harmoniously.
"If I've done anything to make you feel that way, I assure you I'll correct it promptly," Snape said impassively.
This time, both Dumbledore and Kael tacitly ignored him.
"It seems you've thwarted Tom's plans enough times for him to find you intolerable," Dumbledore said, looking at the opal necklace on the table, "His desire to get rid of you even surpasses Harry."
"Obviously," Kael shrugged.
At the time in Hogsmeade, he and Harry had only been separated by Hermione, yet Katie handed the package to him without hesitation, not even glancing at Harry.
It's fair to say, this treatment made Kael a bit flattered... How did he deserve to be prioritized over the famous Savior?