Christmas was approaching, but the atmosphere in the castle was far from cheerful.
Nearly Headless Nick and the Bloody Baron were both attacked, turning the already tense and uneasy atmosphere into true panic.
Even ghosts could not escape... what dreadful power could possibly harm the already deceased.
The students did not want to stay at the school for another moment, and those who had previously decided to stay were hastily changing their plans with the professors.
Everyone was scrambling to book seats on the Hogwarts Express, hoping to go home for Christmas.
In the days leading up to leaving school, Harry became completely isolated, no matter where he went, people kept their distance while keeping him within sight.
Everyone was afraid he would release the monster in the Chamber of Secret again.
"Ignore them, Harry."
During one meal, as Ron packed several chicken legs into his bag, he said, "Those people know nothing, you have the Invisibility Cloak, if you really want to sneak off somewhere, they would just stand there dumbfounded."
"Yeah, maybe I could use the Invisibility Cloak to give them a scare." Harry tugged at his mouth, forcing a smile.
"That's a good idea," Ron said, "Especially Macmillan, if you suddenly appeared behind him, he probably wouldn't dare follow you anymore."
"Don't give bad ideas, Ron, Harry's already in enough trouble." Hermione placed a plate of pudding in front of Harry.
"Just wait a few days, the Polyjuice Potion is almost ready, we can get something out of Malfoy soon, and then the truth will come to light."
"Let's hope so." Harry took a bite of the pudding.
The tangy orange flavor did lift his spirits a bit.
Beside him, Ron packed a piece of toast into his bag.
"I've been meaning to ask, what are you doing with all this food?" Harry asked, puzzled. "If it's snacks you're short of, I have some candy..."
"It's not for me, it's for Scabbers."
Ron sighed, "He's lost a lot of weight lately, I wanted to give him a bit of a boost."
"Don't you have Rat Tonic?"
"I ran out yesterday." Ron pulled out an empty bottle.
"Wasn't that supposed to be a year's supply?" Hermione frowned, "Using it all now, really no problem?"
"Not only isn't it a problem, it's not enough." Ron said, "Maybe Scabbers is getting old, the tonic's effect is clearly much weaker than last year."
He turned to Hermione, asking, "By the way, does the Potion Book have a brewing method for Rat Tonic?"
"No!" Hermione's expression stiffened.
She really wanted to take a look at Ron's brain structure... What kind of person would think that contents locked in the Restricted Area's Potion Book were teaching how to make Rat Tonic.
But Ron hadn't noticed Hermione's look at all, his head was bowed, muttering, "Maybe we could check that room on the eighth floor... It has everything."
"Good luck with that..." Hermione replied perfunctorily.
...
Finally, the semester ended and the castle became much quieter.
On Christmas day, Kael woke up early and began opening the pile of gifts by his feet.
There were noticeably more books sent this year, with the number of books nearly matching that of candy and snacks.
Fleur Delacour sent a crystal music box from France, which preserved all the songs from the Unicorn band.
This was a band from France, quite famous in the Magic Realm.
Dumbledore and Conna both sent gloves.
The headmaster continued his style from last year, using Fawkes' feathers for some embellishment, they matched perfectly with the socks as a set.
But Kael just glanced at them and put them together with the pair of socks he had never worn.
Too striking...
Conna's craftsmanship had improved a lot, the gloves were very comfortable to wear.
After finishing opening gifts, Kael walked out of the dormitory.
The whole common room was empty, not a soul in sight.
Conna had also been taken back by Snape this year, leaving only Kael in Hufflepuff.
Cedric originally wanted to stay to accompany him, but Mr. Digory sent five letters in one day, forcing him to abandon the idea.
But this was fine too.
He stayed because he wanted to investigate the Diary, fewer people made it easier.
But Gryffindor was much livelier.
All the Weasleys chose to stay, including Ginny and Percy.
The Weasleys went to visit Bill, not wanting to travel so far.
It's worth mentioning, Mr. Weasley was promoted because he excelled in a surprise inspection.
So a week before Christmas, he officially took over as head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office... Although the work was no different, his monthly salary increased by ten Galleons.
...
Kael simply had some sandwiches in the common room before heading to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor.
But strangely, the door seemed welded shut today, no matter how much effort, it wouldn't open.
Until ten minutes later, Hermione walked out from inside.
When she saw Kael at the door, she suddenly became nervous.
"Kael, what, what are you doing here?"
"Of course, I'm preparing to use this Room of Requirement." Kael stated, "You're doing the same, aren't you?"
"So, that's what it's called, Room of Requirement?" Hearing it wasn't related to the Polyjuice Potion, Hermione finally breathed a sigh of relief. "A very fitting name."
"You didn't know?" Kael laughed, "Depending on the need, it transforms into a corresponding room, hence the name."
"We discovered it by accident." Hermione explained, "At the time, we were looking for a place to brew... practice potion-making, and suddenly this place appeared with a door filled with cauldrons and Potion Books.
But all the books regarding the castle or maps make no mention of this place... We spent a long time figuring out its appearance pattern."
"This belongs to Hogwarts' hidden chambers, it has special magic protection and cannot be mapped," Kael said, "You definitely won't find it on a map."
"No wonder..." Hermione nodded, but seemed to think of something and grew nervous again. "But why are you waiting outside?"
"Are you also looking to practice potion-making? Because I'm inside, you couldn't get in?"
She couldn't help but feel uneasy. If Kael just happened to need the potion room, and only Polyjuice Potion wasn't brewed yet, he'd see it immediately upon entering, wouldn't he?
"No, it has nothing to do with that, I'm not planning to brew potions here either," Kael shook his head, "But since it only has one door, it can only correspond to one room, if someone's inside, others can't use it, naturally."