Even though he himself didn't care about the professor's reprimands, that feeling was different, something he had never experienced before, making him quite excited and curious, and even a bit addicted.
Now, the one offering him advice, Kael, was about to graduate.
"Don't worry, there might still be a chance," Kael said with a smile. "Remember to keep the remaining stock well, don't throw them around, or you'll be out when you really need them."
"Haha, I trust you," Peeves said, straightening his body and, to the disbelief of those around, slightly bowing with unprecedented elegance to Kael.
Kael bowed back.
"Look, is that Peeves?" Ron asked incredulously on the stairs, his voice inadvertently cracking.
He had never seen such a Peeves... so polite?
But Ron's confusion didn't find an answer, because Hermione and Harry were equally baffled. As students most frequently tormented by Peeves, they knew better than anyone just how annoying the ghost could be.
In their first year, it was Peeves's shouting that led them to accidentally stumble into the place guarding the Philosopher's Stone and encounter the Three-Headed Dog, Fluffy.
Honestly, had they not run fast enough, they might've ended up as a midnight snack for the Three-Headed Dog.
Every time Harry wandered at night, he would encounter Peeves, and Hermione had been pelted with ink bottles by him while doing her homework.
"What on earth did Kael do?" Ron asked again.
"I don't know," Harry shook his head, "but surely it wasn't something simple."
He carefully recalled the recent happenings at school but couldn't find a match.
"Could it be from a while back?" Harry murmured to himself, unable to fathom any interaction between Kael and Peeves.
"Forget it, let's not worry about that for now." Hermione sniffed the strong acid smell wafting up from below, covered her nose with her sleeve, and tugged the two to a different spot.
"Harry, you mentioned your holiday plans before."
"I want to search for other Horcruxes," Harry said, lowering his voice. "Based on Slughorn's memory, Voldemort has surely split his soul into seven parts. Including himself, there should be six Horcruxes.
We've found three so far: the Diadem, the Golden Cup discovered by Kael, plus the Diary from the second year, we're halfway there.
"I plan to use this holiday to find the remaining three Horcruxes."
"Oh, good idea," Hermione said. "So what are your thoughts? How do we find them?
"You know, the library has no clues related to Horcruxes."
"Of course, I know," Harry said mysteriously, "but just because this library doesn't have them, doesn't mean other libraries don't."
"Other libraries..." Ron frowned, "You mean Flourish and Blotts? Don't joke, I don't want to spend the whole holiday stuck in Diagon Alley."
"No, not there." Harry shook his head, "Remember? Sirius's house has a private library."
"You mean the basement one?" Hermione immediately guessed.
"Yes," Harry said, "I only remembered recently, Kael spent some time there. I suspect he found Horcrux-related clues in one of the books."
"Are you sure?" Hermione sounded skeptical.
"Not sure, but it's worth a shot," Harry said. "That's our only lead to find Horcruxes. If Kael indeed discovered something there, the three of us can surely find it too."
"Alright!" Hermione agreed without much hesitation. Maybe she simply wished to read books.
In any case, they planned their holiday accordingly.
…..
Whether due to the Death Eaters' activities or Dumbledore's absence from school, this year's holiday started earlier than previous ones.
Traditionally, everyone expected to leave school on the seventh day after exams, but by the third day, the Hogwarts Express was already stationed at Hogsmeade Platform.
"Line up, everyone." Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick stood at the castle gate, directing the students to board carriages to the station orderly.
"Report cards will be sent to your houses by owl around mid-July."
A sprinkle of cheers erupted from the crowd, seemingly pleased to receive their report cards this way rather than carrying them personally.
Yet more students remained silent, wishfully hoping to stay in school until the holiday ends.
Regrettably, neither Dumbledore nor any other professors could stick around to watch everyone, all having their own matters to attend to.
Just then, no one noticed a carriage at the back quietly deviating from the line, arriving at an open stretch before the Quidditch Pitch.
Kael and Conna dismounted from the carriage, glancing around.
Someone was already waiting ahead, their golden hair shimmering in the sunshine.
"Honestly, Kael, you should've contacted me sooner."
Fleur Delacour walked to Kael's side, looking at him with a rather displeased expression.
"If you had told me a week ago that Conna was going to France, I would've had ample time to arrange everything perfectly.
"Yet surprisingly, you only told me this yesterday afternoon."