Faced with Kael's proposal and the eager eyes of the students, Professor Lupin hesitated for a long time but finally agreed.
"I'll give it a try if the headmaster agrees."
Kael was right. Learning another charm is always a good thing, and he had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, before today's class, Harry had also come to him about this matter.
Teaching one is no different from teaching a group.
And the Patronus Charm has another characteristic: the light it emits can provide additional happiness to those around, which means that the more people, the easier this charm is to learn.
"But..."
Before the students could cheer, Professor Lupin quickly raised his voice and added, "It still depends on whether the headmaster agrees, and as for the timing, I'm afraid it will have to wait until next term. I have a lot to do before the holiday."
The students didn't mind at all... as long as they could learn it, and with only a little over a month until the Christmas break, they could wait that long.
After class, everyone left the classroom cheering, eager to share the news with more people.
"This is amazing."
During lunch, Cedric said excitedly, "I've tried to learn this charm before, but I've always struggled with it, no matter how hard I tried, it only produced a cloud of smoke.
I was considering asking Professor Lupin about it, but now it seems I don't need to. It's just a bit long, having to wait another month."
Many others shared his sentiment, and over the next period, people became more excited about Christmas. Not only for the two-week holiday but also for the upcoming "Patronus Charm Club."
By the end of November, the second Quidditch match began.
Due to Harry's damaged broom, their rematch with Slytherin was postponed to the next term, so this match followed the original schedule.
Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw.
After replacing half of their veteran players, Hufflepuff's chances of winning had become the lowest among the four houses.
This was evident from the number of supporters in the stands.
Kael, riding his broom, took a quick glance...
Previously, during the matches, most of the stands were adorned with yellow flags representing Hufflepuff, but now there was only a small patch left on the Hufflepuff stand, appearing like a lone island in a sea of blue.
Ravenclaw was the opposite. They found two talented Chasers last year, filling their last gap. After a year of training and matches, they were beginning to show their potential.
In the Gryffindor section, Fred and George were enthusiastically waving a large blue flag. Noticing Kael's gaze, they hurriedly pulled out a yellow one from behind and started waving it too.
But how should I put it... the quality of this flag was noticeably rougher, looking like they had just torn an old bedsheet before setting off.
The preferential treatment was too obvious, Kael thought, tugging at the corners of his mouth.
But there was no time to think about that now. He caught the Quaffle tossed by a teammate and started flying towards the opponent's goal.
...
This time, the Dementors didn't cause any trouble, but the match didn't last long either.
Twenty minutes later, Cedric, with his outstanding cornering speed, caught the Golden Snitch before Cho, earning Hufflepuff the final victory.
There was an excited cheer from the stands.
"Did you see that, Harry? Speed in the corners is real speed."
Wood shouted at the top of his lungs, "After the rematch, we'll be facing Hufflepuff, so that's what you need to focus on training next..."
Harry nodded, saying nothing.
His gaze was fixed on Ravenclaw's Seeker.
"She's called Cho Chang, right? What a charming girl..." Harry felt his heart pound.
Especially the quick and slick Starfish Inversion she performed to dodge the Bludger, which excited Harry to the point of blushing.
He felt his heart racing and was eager to speak a few words to Cho, or maybe exchange some Seeker tips.
"When do we play against Ravenclaw?" Harry asked.
"Not for a while," Wood said, "We'll probably face them in March. I have to say, Ravenclaw is a formidable opponent this year, their Chasers..."
Wood was chattering on about player analyses, but Harry didn't hear a word of it... he didn't even notice Ron tugging at his sleeve.
"March... that's too long," Harry mumbled.
He suddenly remembered that Cho and Kael were good friends... perhaps he could find a reason to meet before the match.
Buying something is a good excuse.
Kael and his friends always managed to come up with interesting little gadgets, which Harry typically bought from Fred and George, but there was no harm in changing it up...
On the field, as Cedric shook hands with Cho, he suddenly felt a clutch at his heart and instinctively looked up to the sky.
Thankfully, there were no Dementors, it must have been an illusion...
"What are you looking at?" Cho asked.
"Nothing..." Cedric quickly shook his head.
Cho let go of his hand and said, "You won this time, but I won't lose next time."
"I'll be waiting," Cedric smiled, "Your team is really strong this year."
It wasn't mere flattery.
Although they won the match, they only led Ravenclaw by one hundred points.
This meant that before catching the Golden Snitch, Ravenclaw was fifty points ahead of them.
It was the first time Hufflepuff lagged so much in base scoring.
But there was nothing to be done; after Harris graduated, the two new Chasers couldn't keep up with Kael's pace, and most of the time, it was up to Kael to score alone.
Naturally, he became the main target, and throughout the match, two Bludgers kept circling him, almost knocking him off his broom several times.
The situation was exactly the same treatment Harris used to endure.
Afterwards, they returned to the locker room, changed out of their uniforms, and headed towards the castle together.
Trailing behind, Cedric watched Cho, hesitating for a moment before speaking, "By the way, it's nearly time for the Hogsmeade visit. How about we go to Madam Puddifoot Tea House together? We've never been there."
"Sure," Cho said, "Let's also invite Kael and Conna..."
"Kael doesn't really like tea; he only likes lemonade," Cedric murmured softly.
"What were you saying?" Kael, walking in front, seemed to hear someone mention his name and turned back to ask.
"We were discussing plans for the next Hogsmeade visit," Cho said, "Do you know the date?"
"Around Christmas, I think. We'll go once more," Kael replied, glancing at Cedric, whose expression seemed a bit unnatural.
His intuition told him something was on Cedric's mind.
...