Hogwarts: I Am an Exemplary Wizard-Chapter 533 - 531: Is That Even Human Speech?

"Animagus... No wonder she can write so many exclusive articles."

On the way back, Conna couldn’t help but say, "After all, beetles are so common and won’t arouse any suspicion. She must have used this to eavesdrop on many people’s secrets."

"That’s for sure." Kael nodded.

Just now, Rita Skeeter looked so nervous, probably because she knew too much...

Or if news of her being able to turn into a beetle gets out, many people who have done bad things will be on edge.

For example, those names she just mentioned.

Kael could guess Ludo Bagman, mostly because of the Galleons.

During the Quidditch World Cup, Mr. Weasley bet a Galleon on Ireland winning, and he hasn’t been paid the winnings yet.

But Mr. Weasley didn’t care much about it himself and never asked Bagman for it, saying he considered it as the cost of the ticket.

But as for the other two names she mentioned... Kael was not clear about the story between Fudge and Dolores Umbridge.

Think about it, a Minister of Magic and a Senior Deputy Minister, their secrets must be explosive.

To be honest, Kael was quite curious. If he had the chance, he would try to find out more, enjoy some drama.

Of course, the premise is that Hagrid’s matter needs to be resolved first...

"By the way, Kael, how did you know Rita Skeeter was that beetle..." As they walked into the kitchen corridor, Conna asked curiously.

"It’s simple..." Kael pointed at his robe, "because I often deal with Norbert, my clothes inevitably carry the scent of a Fire Dragon, so normally insects wouldn’t land on me... unless it’s an Animagus.

"Also, if you look closely, you’ll notice that the markings on the beetle resemble Rita Skeeter’s hairstyle."

"I know that." Conna said, "Professor McGonagall mentioned that animals transformed by Animagus always retain some characteristics of the wizard, just like her cat form, there are markings of glasses around its eyes."

"That’s right." Kael nodded, "But generally, very few people notice this, the smaller the animal, the less likely it is to be noticed, and even if they notice, it’s hard to link it back to the corresponding person..."

When they returned to the Hufflepuff Common Room, it was already bustling with people sitting on soft armchairs, chatting or playing Wizard Chess, and the room was lively.

Kael had never experienced such a lively Christmas holiday and even felt a bit out of place.

"Where have you been?" Cedric came over. "I was just discussing with Cho about how to help Hagrid cheer up. Do you have any ideas?"

"Maybe there’s no need for that." Kael and Conna exchanged a glance and then smiled as they explained what just happened.

Upon learning that Rita Skeeter was an Animagus, Cedric was quite surprised.

"I see, good thing you found her out." Cedric said, then frowned slightly, "But the question is, are you sure that Rita Skeeter will say good things about Hagrid in the newspaper?"

Perhaps it was just psychological, but Cedric unconsciously glanced around when he said this, as if checking for bugs.

"I believe she will." Kael shook the camera in his hand.

After all, he had already hinted that he would only help concealing the photo recording her transformation if he was in a good mood.

And his mood depended entirely on the report about Hagrid in the next issue of the Daily Prophet.

Kael believed Rita Skeeter was smart enough to understand his meaning. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to keep jumping around unscathed after writing so many infuriating articles.

"Great, you’re all here." Just then, Fleur and her sister Gabrielle came over too.

Since receiving Professor Sprout’s permission to move here, Fleur suddenly found it even better than she had imagined.

She initially moved because of Conna, but unexpectedly, she made quite a few new friends here... genuine friends.

Afterwards, Gabrielle also came, and gradually, unless necessary, they rarely returned to the Beauxbatons carriage.

This time was no different. Just after Christmas, they couldn’t wait to come back.

"Kael, how’s your research on those stones going?" Fleur sat down on a chair and asked, "The second task is about to happen. Have you discovered any secrets within the stones?"

Hearing this, Cedric and Cho also looked over.

"Nope," Kael shrugged, "Believe it or not, I haven’t touched those stones since the first task ended, they’re probably still lying around somewhere."

"What did you say?" Fleur was a bit surprised.

If it were someone else, like Krum, she would definitely not believe such a statement, assuming he just didn’t want to share information. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

But Kael... honestly, it seemed she hadn’t seen Kael take out the stones, and in his free time, he was always playing Wizard Chess with Cedric or those two roommates.

"Why did you suddenly remember to ask about this?" Kael said, "There’s still two months until the second task, is there a need to rush?"

"It’s Ms. Maxime." Fleur hesitated a bit and then frankly said without hiding, "She told me you might have discovered clues about the stones and said you left school with a professor to prepare for the task."

"She must have meant Professor Black," Kael thought for a moment and explained, "We left school to handle some personal matters, unrelated to the competition."

"I believe you," Fleur said, "It’s just Ms. Maxime insisted I ask, so I came.

"But Kael, aren’t you really going to look into those stones? We have time now; we can research together."

"Yeah, we can help too," Conna added, and Cedric immediately nodded in agreement.

"Ah, I’ll pass, you guys can study them," Kael said, "I think it’s good to add some difficulty, otherwise if the competition is too simple, it wouldn’t be interesting... Cedric, want a game of Wizard Chess?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire common room went silent.

The people chatting stopped, the ones playing chess held their pieces, forgetting to place them on the board, and everyone turned their heads, looking at Kael with disbelief.

Especially Fleur.

She rubbed her ears, as if not hearing clearly, and asked word by word, "Did you say... the competition is simple?"

"Yeah," Kael, arranging chess pieces, said casually, "It’s quite simple, don’t you think?"

"I’m sorry, but I don’t see it that way," Fleur gritted her teeth and said.

It’s hard to describe her expression now... Overall, it was quite unpleasant, and if Half-Veela could transform, she might just grow a pointed beak and feathers the next second.

She was nearly driven crazy by those Bludgers in the second task, and only by exhausting all her magic and smashing most of the Bludgers did she barely pass.

And the third task with the Fire Dragon was even worse... being whipped by the tail of a Hungarian Horntail broke her arm on the spot, and nearly a third of her meticulously maintained hair was burned off by the Dragon Flame.

If she hadn’t dodged quickly, she’d likely be the first Champion to fail to complete the task.

And Kael’s experience... such a perilous competition, simple?

Are these words from a human?

Fleur panted heavily, barely suppressing the urge to swear, then stood up without saying a word and turned to leave.

Though she knew Kael breezed through the tasks and almost got full marks, saying it’s simple so bluntly was a bit too infuriating...

Fleur silently vowed that if she ever approached Kael for advice on the stones again, she’d be a Leprechaun, the ugliest one at that.

...

"What’s up with her?" Watching Fleur’s departing back, Kael asked, puzzled.

"Well... I think..." Cedric stammered, "Sometimes you could say things a bit more tactfully, considering she put a lot of effort into passing those three tasks."

"Oh... sorry, I forgot." Kael patted his forehead, "Do you think it’s still okay if I go apologize now?"

"I think it’s best not to," Cedric clicked his tongue, "She probably won’t listen to anything you say, might even punch you."

"That’s true." Kael scratched his hair.

...