But now the problem is, Dumbledore definitely has to stay at the school, he can't just leave the students and become some kind of combat adviser.
What Kael didn't expect was that Fudge actually had thoughts of closing the school… It's not impossible to have such thoughts, after all, everyone wants Dumbledore's protection, including Kael himself.
But no matter how much one thinks about it, it's absolutely impossible to say it out loud, especially not from the mouth of the Minister of Magic.
"How did you respond to him?" Kael asked.
"Of course it's impossible," Dumbledore said without hesitation, "The school will only go on break, it will never close."
"Did Fudge agree?"
"I think he still wants to make another attempt," Dumbledore said, "Fudge is not someone who easily changes his mind, but the school is my bottom line. No matter what, it won't be closed."
"He won't drag us down, will he?" Kael was a bit worried.
To be honest, Fudge's greatest role was in the early days of Voldemort's return, getting the wizards of the Magic Realm to accept the news. Fudge is always adept in such matters.
But once Voldemort stepped into the spotlight from the shadows, his usefulness diminished greatly.
On the other hand, even after being attacked and injured, Amelia Bones, who resolutely announced on the newspaper her commitment to fight the Death Eaters to the end, certainly seems more suited for the role of Minister.
"Don't worry about that," Dumbledore said, waving his hand calmly, "The current Ministry of Magic is no longer his one-man show, and even for his own safety, he won't make any irrational decisions."
"Let's hope so." Kael said.
Dumbledore looked up at the time, "Do you have any other questions? If not, I might have to head to Grimmauld Place; we have a very important meeting at eleven o'clock. We agreed on it yesterday."
Kael also looked up; it was already ten fifty.
"One more, Professor."
"Then ask quickly," Dumbledore said, "but I can't guarantee how detailed my answer can be. You know, this meeting is very important, I can't be late."
"Was Malfoy rescued early this morning?" Kael said directly.
Dumbledore paused slightly, seemingly surprised by Kael's question.
"Where did you hear that from?"
"Hogwarts has no secrets," Kael shrugged and briefly summarized the information he heard and his speculations.
Dumbledore fell silent once again, and after about a minute, he finally spoke:
"I don't want to lie to you, yes, Mr. Malfoy was rescued. He has already left the school.
"But Kael, I must say he was actually forced into this; Voldemort forced him to make such a move, or he would kill Lucius and Narcissa.
"As far as I know, out of guilt and anxiety, he even broke down crying in the school's bathroom. He had no choice."
Listening to his words, Kael was increasingly puzzled.
"Wait, Professor," he interrupted Dumbledore, with an odd expression, "You're not suggesting that it's me who doesn't want to let him go, right?"
"Ah..." Dumbledore cleared his throat with a dry cough, although he didn't say anything, Kael saw that was exactly what he meant; earlier, he was speaking pleasantly on Malfoy's behalf.
"I was really just curious," Kael explained, "I've never thought about doing anything to him; there's no need."
"Really?"
"Of course, Malfoy wasn't pointing a wand at me, why would I hold it against him?" Kael said.
Upon hearing this, Dumbledore seemed to slightly relax.
"Ah, yes, he was rescued," Dumbledore said, "it's all because I was too engrossed in talking to Fudge and didn't expect the Death Eaters to return to Hogwarts."
"Are you sure it's the Death Eaters?" Kael looked at his calm-faced expression, "Not Professor Snape?"
Dumbledore seemed to have gotten burned by the hot tea, his hand shook, spilling a lot.
"Of course not, Severus was the one responsible for guarding Malfoy; he got injured."
"Oh, then I might have overthought," Kael said, "but he's indeed popular, to the extent that Death Eaters would risk returning to dangerous Hogwarts to rescue him.
"He's also quite lucky; if he had stayed at school, he definitely would have been taken back to the Ministry of Magic. If it then got confirmed that he was connected to the Death Eaters' attack on Hogwarts, he probably wouldn't be able to return."
"But isn't returning to Voldemort more dangerous?"
"That depends on the situation too. This time it should be Antonin Dolohov leading; even he fled in panic, so why would Voldemort trouble a yet-to-grow-up Malfoy.
"He'll just hold it against me."
As he said this, Kael watched Dumbledore without blinking.
"Yeah, who's to say otherwise." Dumbledore seemed somewhat guilty, slightly turning his head to avoid eye contact with Kael.
Then he quickly put down the tea, stood up, and said, "Alright, that's enough for today, I really need to attend the meeting. You should hurry back to class."
Before Kael could say anything more, he disappeared directly from the office.
Kael glanced at the time; there were still a full three minutes until eleven o'clock, and Dumbledore using Apparition to go to No. 12 Grimmauld Place might not even take three seconds.