Hogwarts: I Am an Exemplary Wizard-Chapter 602 - 600: Change and the New Prefects

In the following days, Kael stayed there.

Besides the library, the food was also an important reason; Mrs. Weasley’s cooking was far better than the bread and smoked sausages at his home.

During this time, he met many people.

For example, there was Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt from the Ministry of Magic, the seemingly clumsy Dedalo Digor, and the rather unpopular Mundungus Fletcher.

Of course, these people were just as interested in Kael and were surprised by his presence there.

However, Kael didn’t explain much, only occasionally during meals, mentioning that he was friends with Harry.

As for other times, he would stay in the underground library, a place rarely visited by anyone else, including Hermione.

Because Kreacher was always watching, it was hard for her to focus on reading, so she generally asked Sirius to bring the books out for her to read in her room.

Regarding this behavior, Ron found it hard to understand... he couldn’t figure out, why read when it’s clearly vacation time.

Harry, on the other hand, thought reading more at this time would surely be beneficial and tried to join the two.

But his enthusiasm lasted only a day, and the book he had picked out was soon tossed to the corner of the table.

It couldn’t be helped, as even the slightest disturbance outside would distract Harry... he really couldn’t focus on reading.

Especially after the Hogwarts letters were delivered, he lost interest completely.

That day’s deliver brought a new booklist via owl post, along with a surprise.

Hermione had become a Prefect, and her badge was placed inside the envelope with the booklist.

Harry didn’t find this surprising; among the fifth-year students, no one was more suitable than Hermione. She was bound to become a Prefect.

What Harry, and everyone else, didn’t expect was that the male Prefect would be Ron.

"Ah, a house full of Prefects." Fred’s exaggerated exclamation nearly echoed through the entire house, "Isn’t that great?"

"Except for the two of us." George said.

"And don’t forget Ginny."

"Hey, I’m only in fourth year." Ginny protested, "Maybe next year they’ll send me a badge too."

"Only fools think like that." Fred said, though his tone was a bit sour.

Had it been any other time, if Mrs. Weasley heard him say that, she would surely have scolded him, but not today.

Looking at the Prefect Badge in Ron’s hand, she was overjoyed and promised Ron a new broom.

Although broomsticks are expensive, as long as it wasn’t some particularly excellent one, just a new broom, they could afford it by saving a bit.

"We can buy a broom too," George mumbled, "And buy it ourselves."

"Indeed." Fred added.

Hermione, after a brief shock, also congratulated Ron, then looked to the other side of the table.

It seemed everyone forgot that there was another person in this house who wasn’t a Prefect.

"Harry?" she stepped out, hesitantly saying, "How are you?"

"Fantastic, Hermione." Harry said, his enthusiasm slightly exaggerated, "Congratulations on becoming a Prefect, and of course, Ron as well."

After saying this, he pretended to pack his things to avoid letting Hermione see his face.

It was hard for Harry to describe his feelings at that moment.

He didn’t want to admit he was jealous of Ron, jealous that he became a Prefect, but when he got the news, he did feel a bit upset.

Harry felt he wasn’t worse than Ron, or in some respects, maybe even slightly better.

For example, Quidditch; he was a great flyer and also the youngest member of the school team.

"But I never led the team to win the Quidditch Cup." Harry thought to himself.

Moreover, whether it was adventures they had at school or the things they did, most of it was accomplished as a trio.

Harry didn’t want to be jealous or disparage Ron just because Ron surpassed him in something for the first time.

So he tried to convince himself that perhaps Ron was the more exceptional one, and his Prefect position was well-deserved.

Remember the vacation from earlier that year, it was Ron who arrived at the Order of Phoenix first, then him... perhaps back then, Dumbledore had already made his choice.

This did not put Harry at ease; instead, he felt worse and forced a smile all day.

But Kael knew none of this; he was still in the library.

"Advanced Black Magic Unveiled" contained a complete introduction to Soul Artifacts, along with partial methods for creating them.

To be honest, the magic wasn’t as difficult as Kael imagined, and he had confidence that if he wanted to, he could make this very book into his own Soul Artifact by just grabbing any Death Eater.

But this wasn’t Kael’s goal; his initial motivation for researching Soul Artifacts arose after seeing the Longbottoms.

The reason he persisted had partly to do with them, but more so, because he wanted to change something.

This change wasn’t merely to save one or several people... after all, he’d already achieved that when the train left Hogwarts for vacation.

Because Cedric survived and would soon return to Hogwarts for his seventh year.

Kael wanted to bring about greater change, even alter perceptions within the Magic Realm, such as reducing the Unforgivable Curses from three to two.

The Crucio Curse is considered unforgivable because it causes irreversible harm to the soul, but if his idea succeeds, then after some modifications, might it count as a counter spell?

Kael wasn’t sure, but it was worth a try.

However, the issue now was that while the records on Soul Artifacts in "Advanced Black Magic Unveiled" sufficed for personal use, they fell far short for modifying the method to apply it to an unconscious person.

The inability to actively guide souls is the biggest problem.

So Kael had Kreacher help find some other books about souls; he’s been researching this lately.

...

It wasn’t until six in the evening that Kael finally emerged from the library.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, he saw a bright red banner hanging above the dining table.

It read... Congratulations to Ron and Hermione on becoming Prefects.

Oh, right, they’re in their fifth year now, Kael thought to himself.

Mrs. Weasley was cheerfully setting the table; it’s the first time Kael had seen her so happy the whole summer, not even Mundungus’s arrival could dampen her good mood.

A lot of people came back today, Mr. Weasley, Moody, Kingsley, and Tonks were all there.

And Bill, who was still dressed in his usual quirky attire, greeted Kael warmly.

Kael didn’t ask why he was there... there was no need.

Finally, there was Dumbledore, but he arrived later, only showing up in the hall halfway through dinner.

"Dumbledore..." Mundungus was the first to stand, quickly returning a silver table knife from his sleeve to the table.

"Looks like I came at just the right time." Dumbledore seated himself at the table and grabbed a roasted potato.

"How did that thing go, Dumbledore?" Moody asked, turning his head.

"Quite smoothly," Dumbledore nodded, then he looked up at the banner over the table.

"Oh, I nearly forgot today is the day for announcing the Prefects." He raised his glass and said, "Congratulations to you both."

"Th-thank you..."

Ron and Hermione seemed a bit shy in front of Dumbledore.

Harry felt even more complicated, though he really wanted to know why Dumbledore didn’t pick him as Prefect, he didn’t have the courage to ask.

It wasn’t until he heard from Sirius during the conversation that his dad wasn’t a Prefect either, that he felt much better.

And Fred and George finally found some kindred spirits, discovering that many people present weren’t Prefects, including Tonks, whom they thought was excellent.

The meal ended in laughter, a rare atmosphere during recent times.

After dinner, Dumbledore stopped Kael, who was about to go to his room.

"Do you remember what we talked about before?" he asked.

"Of course, Professor," Kael said, "Is the meeting about to start?"

He had been in the library so much lately, he momentarily forgot what day it was.

"Tomorrow," Dumbledore said. "I was thinking of going to Ottery St Catchpole, but it’s fortunate you’re here.

"If you don’t have other plans, how about six o’clock tomorrow, I think we should go early."

"No problem, I’m ready anytime," Kael replied.

"That’s perfect then."

While they talked, they didn’t notice several heads huddled together on the staircase outside.

"What are they talking about?" Ron curiously asked.

"Seems like they’re attending some meeting," Fred said, holding an ear-shaped object, "The time’s tomorrow morning."

This piqued everyone’s interest.

Though they’ve had meetings almost daily lately, it was the first time Dumbledore would be attending.

Just as they wanted to hear more, the kitchen door suddenly opened, startling them to shrink back, trying to hide on the staircase.

Dumbledore walked out, paused for a moment before continuing on his way as if nothing had happened.

"Great, he didn’t notice us," Ron said triumphantly.

"I wouldn’t be so sure," a voice came.

"He didn’t," Ron said confidently, "We hid really... quickly..."

As he spoke, he suddenly realized something was off.

The voice was too familiar, one they heard at every school feast—Dumbledore’s.

Ron broke out in a cold sweat.

Subconsciously, he looked toward the source of the voice, that ear-shaped object in Fred’s hand.

Once again, Dumbledore’s voice came through it.

"Quite an impressive invention, very useful. But I believe you all should be heading to bed now.

"Molly mentioned earlier that she doesn’t want you staying up too late; surely you don’t want to see her angry, do you?"

"You’re right, Professor," George replied promptly, "We were just testing a new invention... we’ll head to our room now."

"By the way, Professor, thanks for the praise," Fred added, "It’s our new invention, and it’s only two Galleons at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes."

"Of course, there’s a decent discount for Order of Phoenix members."

You have to hand it to Fred and George, they’ve seen a lot. Instead of being flustered like Ron, they took the opportunity to promote their product.