When everyone passed through the archway and returned to the cave outside, the sky had already brightened.
The morning sunlight dispelled the cold and darkness, casting golden ripples on the sea surface.
A flock of seagulls landed on the rocks not far away, curiously observing Fawkes on Kael's shoulder, but when Kreacher started wailing again, they all got frightened and flew away.
The group waited outside for ten minutes before Dumbledore, responsible for the aftermath, finally came out.
He didn't explain what he did during those ten minutes, and no one else asked.
"I need to take Regulus away," he said, "Severus should have a way to restore him back to being human, instead of his current state."
"I'll go too!" Sirius immediately said.
Although he didn't get along with Snape, he was willing to do anything for Regulus.
At worst, he would just remain silent when Snape mocked him.
"I think it's best if you don't go." Dumbledore looked at him, hesitating to speak.
He thought if Sirius went, Snape might not even open the door for them.
"Well…" Sirius also understood what he meant and couldn't help but mutter, "Can't we send someone else, like Madam Pomfrey?"
"No," Dumbledore shook his head, "She's more skilled at treating the living."
"Then… alright." Sirius sighed, bowing deeply to Dumbledore. "I'm counting on you for Regulus."
Then he turned to Kreacher, who was still sobbing:
"You go with Professor Dumbledore to see that person, and if you lack any materials, tell me right away.
Also, no matter what unpleasant things he says during this time, even if he mocks Regulus, you must pretend as if you didn't hear it. That's an order!"
This time, Dumbledore didn't oppose, believing that if it was just following a House-elf, Snape wouldn't mind.
Before leaving, he looked at the nonchalant Kael as if wanting to ask something, but ultimately shook his head and said nothing.
"Bang!"
Fawkes took them away in a burst of fire.
After they left, Sirius sat on a rock, looking up at the sky with an unprecedentedly relaxed expression on his face.
"I'm kind of afraid to go back."
He jokingly said to Kael, "I'm sure as soon as I get back, Lupin will definitely give me a good thrashing.
Though I hate to admit it, I really can't beat him now, magic or no magic."
"Well, you insisted on coming, it's normal to get beaten." Kael walked up to him, "And he's right. Without Professor Dumbledore, we'd probably be looking for two people.
And I'm sure Snape would be happy to concoct a potion for you."
"Yeah, if that happened, he'd be thrilled."
Sirius lay on the rock and suddenly said, "Thank you."
"What?"
"Because of me, you lost a life-saving item," Sirius said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Fawkes likes to eat herbs," Kael said quietly.
"I got it." Sirius chuckled, "Leave it to me."
He stood up from the rock, "It's getting late, let me take you back."
"No need." Kael waved his hand, "I can go back by myself, no need for you to escort me."
"So, you're not planning to return to 12 Grimmauld Place with me?"
Sirius's expression stiffened, and he was hoping Kael would help mediate, perhaps Lupin would go easy on him for the sake of an old student.
Otherwise, he would surely be beaten to death.
"Of course, I've been out all night, I must go home first… see you next time."
Without acknowledging Sirius's increasingly grim face, Kael vanished with Disillusionment after saying that.
Sirius looked at the empty cave, nearly crying, already predicting his fate.
Darn it, why did Kael Disillusionment away, he… wait a minute…
Sirius was suddenly dumbfounded.
Kael, a student not even in his fifth year, using Disillusionment?
...
On the other side, after returning to Ottery St Catchpole, as soon as Kael walked in the door, he saw Chris and Diana having breakfast.
Both were quite surprised to see Kael back so early.
"Why are you back so early? Didn't you have a good stay at Sirius's?"
They had already known about Sirius and Peter's situation, and last night, when Kael went to 12 Grimmauld Place, he had also written a letter saying he would stay there for the night.
"No," Kael shook his head, taking a seat beside them. "It's just that his place might get a bit chaotic soon. I wanted to avoid getting caught up in it, so I came back early."
Having been busy all night, Kael was already hungry, and he couldn't resist grabbing a piece of toast and stuffing it into his mouth.
Diana added some fried eggs and sausages for him.
Only after Kael was full did she speak, "What happened? Didn't you say Sirius was wronged?"
"That's unrelated," Kael explained, "He just did something that made Lupin really angry, so he's definitely going to get a beating. I thought just watching would be quite awkward."
Both nodded and didn't ask any more, as if it was a very normal matter.
"They often bicker and roughhouse, just like when they were in school," Diana laughed, "Especially after Remus became a Prefect, he often got driven mad by him."
"Actually, I didn't have a good impression of him back then," Chris added, "But when I heard Sirius betrayed Potter, I found it quite unbelievable… Everyone knew it was impossible, their relationship was as close as Fred and George, always inseparable.
Yet, it turned out to be true."
"By the way, Dad," Kael asked, "When will Sirius's hearing begin?"
"I don't know." Chris shook his head, "I wanted to ask you, has Fudge really found out about this?"
"Of course, I was in the Headmaster's Office at the time, I heard it all clearly," Kael said. "He seemed very eager to help clear Sirius's name."
"Then why is there no information from the Ministry?" Chris was puzzled.
"What's strange about that," Diana said beside him, "Don't forget what's happening in August."
"The Quidditch World Cup!" Chris realized immediately.
The Quidditch World Cup had always been under Crouch's responsibility, and as long as this year's matches were exciting enough, his prestige would reach an unprecedented height.
Fudge probably planned to bring up Sirius's case at that time.
So long as an innocent person was imprisoned for twelve years without trial, this mistake would be enough to ruin the reputation Crouch had built over the years.
"Haha…" Chris couldn't help but chuckle.
Fudge's move was truly brilliant, almost effortlessly solving the potential challenge from Crouch.
The three chatted a bit more before Chris and Diana prepared to go to the Ministry of Magic.
"So early?" Kael looked at the clock. "There are still two hours before the Ministry's regular working hours."
"It's been like this recently, with two grand events to prepare for, the Ministry is too busy. Oh, by the way."
Just as he was walking out the door, Chris turned back with a mysterious grin and said to Kael, "You should read more books and practice your charms… it might be helpful for you."