However, Professor Flitwick remained calm, waving his hand to signal everyone to stay quiet.
"Aguamenti!" he announced loudly, "A very important spell. While it's not considered difficult, it truly tests a wizard's comprehensive abilities and is one of the most frequently appearing spells in the N.E.W.T. exams. I recommend you become well-versed in it.
"You all remember the spell, right? Aguamenti, don't forget it."
Professor Flitwick stood atop a podium made from stacked books, loudly explaining the precautions for the Water-Making Spell, but few around him were paying attention; it was a spell from the sixth-year curriculum that they had long since learned.
In fact, ever since seventh year began, especially after Christmas, in the second half of the semester, with the N.E.W.T exams approaching, professors have primarily focused on review rather than teaching anything new.
While Professor Flitwick was speaking, those nearby were discussing topics of interest to them, and the buzzing noise in the classroom never ceased.
"You know, Draco Malfoy has taken a leave of absence."
Kael sat behind two Slytherin students and could clearly hear their conversation.
"What's wrong with him?" Another Slytherin replied indifferently, "Couldn't have been a Death Eater attack, right?"
"How could it be? Don't forget his father is..." The first Slytherin suddenly lowered his voice, and Kael couldn't catch the rest of the sentence.
"Anyway, he's practically like a Death Eater himself, and he's a pure-blood; how could he be attacked?"
"Then why did he take a leave of absence?"
"No idea, maybe he got scared," the person sneered, "Don't forget, he is a Malfoy, the smartest in the wizarding world; it's not surprising he might take a leave."
"But the Quidditch finals are coming up; losing a main Seeker means certain defeat for us, doesn't it?"
"There's no helping it; he might have already left the school by now. It's not like we can drag him back. Besides, we're trailing by a whopping six hundred points, so even if he didn't take leave, we likely wouldn't win."
"Yeah." The other sighed, "Why don't we Slytherins have Firebolts..."
Soon, their conversation turned to Quidditch, and Kael stopped listening.
Kael didn't find anything odd about Malfoy's leave of absence, considering he had already exposed his identity last night on the tower...
Wait!
Kael suddenly furrowed his brows.
He considered a possibility: could the Death Eaters' dawn raid on the Hospital Wing be targeting Malfoy?
In Kael's mind emerged a scene: deep in the night, a masked wizard breaking into the Hospital Wing, attempting to rescue Malfoy from his hospital bed, with Snape resisting forcefully, eventually getting injured due to inadequate strength, allowing the antagonist to succeed.
This could also explain why there were only two hospital beds behind the curtains in the Hospital Wing.
As for who this masked wizard was, it's open to speculation. It could be a Death Eater, perhaps even the real Snape, or maybe even Dumbledore.
Kael's fingers gently tapped on the table.
Malfoy is already exposed, and both Dumbledore and Voldemort are aware, which is currently the only way to protect him.
After all, even the magnanimous Dumbledore wouldn't possibly allow someone bringing Death Eaters into Hogwarts to remain at the school.
Even if his heart is as vast as the Black Lake and truly unconcerned, what about Voldemort?
The Death Eaters suffered severe losses this time, and if Malfoy faced no punishment, the suspicious Voldemort would surely suspect him of betrayal, leaking information to Dumbledore in advance.
For Voldemort, he doesn't need evidence, just suspicion, and Malfoy is doomed... He's already in sixth year and can't stay at Hogwarts forever.
Being rescued from Hogwarts is undoubtedly the best outcome, especially with Snape, a known Death Eater, taking action. It all appears fair and reasonable.
Moreover, when Kael encountered Lupin and Tonks outside, they only mentioned sending Alecto to the Ministry of Magic, without a word about Malfoy.
"Tsk tsk." Kael couldn't help clicking his tongue.
"What's up?" Conna asked curiously beside him.
"Nothing," Kael replied, "just thinking that Dumbledore really has his hands full."
"Indeed." Conna nodded, not suspecting anything, "On my way to class earlier, I saw Aurors from the Ministry of Magic. They looked quite anxious, probably haven't rested all night."
"That's normal, given that such a big incident occurred. They probably couldn't sleep even if they wanted to."