At the school feast, everyone, be they students or professors, were enjoying the delicious food while talking about their holiday experiences, except for Kael.
Because he doesn't like eating overly sweet things, but needed to maintain the Dumbledore persona, he could only use the excuse of having eaten his fill in the afternoon to sit there watching.
You can't imagine how torturous this was, especially when the aroma of steak and fried meat wafted by, Kael felt like someone had started a concert in his stomach.
But he couldn't show it, so he forced himself to hold on, and if he really couldn't stand it, he had to pretend to be indifferent and take a few bites of pudding.
He held on like this for an entire hour.
Finally, the last piece of orange pudding on his plate disappeared, and the noise in the auditorium gradually quieted down.
Kael knew it was time for him to act again.
Honestly, by this point, he had gradually gotten used to the Dumbledore identity, and he wasn't as nervous as he was at the start.
Kael stood up, and the auditorium immediately fell silent.
"I know everyone has eaten their fill, drank enough, and you're eager to return to your warm beds in the dormitory for a good night's rest.
"But before that, please allow me to take some of your time; at the start of this term, I need to point out a few things to note."
Professor McGonagall, who was beside him, turned her head in surprise.
The demeanor and tone were so similar, for a moment she even thought this was the real Dumbledore.
But Kael didn't notice this; he was currently looking at everyone below the stage.
"Let me think, first is the game activity everyone's most concerned about. Some people have suggested that in this tense situation this year, it might be best to cancel Quidditch, so everyone can focus on study..."
Upon hearing this, the auditorium instantly erupted.
"Oh, no way!"
"They can't cancel Quidditch!"
"I still want to compete for the Quidditch Cup!" Harry was not feeling well at all.
He would be graduating next year, so if Quidditch were canceled this year, it would mean he wouldn't get a single Quidditch Cup.
If they were beaten by other teams, though unwilling, there was nothing they could do; they'd feel sad for two days and then get over it.
But he couldn't accept not getting the cup because the competition was canceled.
"No way, Quidditch can't be canceled." Ron was also very agitated, almost jumping out of his seat.
Among the trio, Hermione appeared the most normal; she wasn't part of the Quidditch team and wasn't very interested in this kind of activity, so whether it was canceled or not didn't matter to her.
"However..." Kael, undeterred by the noisy crowd, continued.
His voice echoed in the auditorium, and at the same time, everyone immediately closed their mouths and looked over in unison.
"However, I believe that the darker the times we face, the more we need to seek things that can bring joy, to let happiness drive away the clouds.
"So I have decided that the Quidditch matches will go on as usual, and player tryouts will be held during the second week of this term. Students wishing to join the team, please contact Ms. Hooch."
"Oh!"
"That's great!"
Cheers rose like waves, rushing towards the magically enchanted ceiling, and it seemed the clouds covering the moon had indeed parted slightly.
"Don't get too excited, hear me out first." Kael raised his voice, "Additionally, I've decided that this year's Quidditch will require all players to use school-provided brooms."
The cheers suddenly diminished.
"That's not fair!" Ron practically shouted, "Everyone knows Harry has a Firebolt; this isn't fair to us."
His voice was loud, and Kael heard it, as did all the professors.
Professor McGonagall furrowed her brows, her gaze sharp as a sword looking towards her house's direction.
With just a glance, Ron shrunk back into his seat, but from his increasingly red face, it was clear he was still unconvinced.
Not just him, the entire Gryffindor, including Hermione, was also dissatisfied.
Hermione wasn't much interested in Quidditch, but winning the championship would still be a form of house honor, and now being targeted without reason was unacceptable.
"Some of you might wonder why I've made this change." Kael's expression remained unchanged as he continued calmly, "Because this year's competition has some small changes… Firstly, the winning team will earn two hundred points for their house!"
"How many?" Hermione's angry expression was still on her face, but her voice changed as she instinctively said, "It used to be one hundred points."
One hundred was already a lot, and now it suddenly doubled, which was too much.
Put simply, at the end of the school year, whichever house earned this two hundred points could directly shift the House Cup rankings, potentially leaping from fourth to first place.
Of course, that's if they're not too far behind.
She still remembered a previous year's Gryffindor, ending the school year with only eight points, while first place Hufflepuff had six hundred eighty-nine, even their extra was higher than theirs.
In such a situation, even adding three sets of two hundred points would be useless.
However, that was an exception, it shouldn't happen again… well, hopefully.
"Harry, Ron, you guys need to muster up!" Hermione said solemnly, "As long as we win the Quidditch championship, we've got a good chance at taking the House Cup."
The two responded, but their enthusiasm wasn't very high.
They valued Quidditch more than the House Cup; if they could, they would rather forgo the points to use the Firebolt.