Hogwarts: I Am an Exemplary Wizard

Chapter 936: Chapter 748: The Trio’s New Goal—Searching for the Soul Artifact

"I’m really sorry, Kael..." Harry suddenly said after leaving the Headmaster’s Office.

"What?" Kael looked at him puzzled, not quite understanding what he meant.

"About that Golden Cup, I was the one who told Dumbledore that it was with you." Harry explained quietly, "But at first, I really didn’t know it was the Hufflepuff Golden Cup; I thought it was just an ordinary gold cup."

"So what?" Kael looked at him, "You were right. It really was with me, so there’s no need to apologize."

"I made you lose that important cup." Harry said guiltily, "I’ve seen memories about the cup, it’s an incredible Magic Item, left by the four founders of Hogwarts, even Voldemort is fascinated by it."

"If I hadn’t said that unnecessary comment, Professor Dumbledore wouldn’t have taken it away from you, and you could have kept it until graduation."

"Oh, that." Kael shook his head, saying casually, "It’s okay. Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I’d have found an opportunity to tell Dumbledore myself."

"And besides, you heard him just now, didn’t you? He won’t keep it forever; he’ll return it to me soon."

Hearing Kael’s words, Harry felt a bit relieved. Actually, he started feeling guilty when he heard Dumbledore wanted to keep the cup, and he didn’t pay attention to what was said afterward.

"Honestly, I kind of hope Professor Dumbledore doesn’t give it back to me." Kael muttered softly, while stroking Fawkes’ golden-red feathers.

Harry only then noticed that the Headmaster’s Phoenix was being hugged by Kael. Strangely, it seemed very compliant, showing no sign of resistance.

Are Phoenixes really this gentle?

Instinctively, Harry reached out his hand, wanting to touch Fawkes... or perhaps he’d wanted to do so for a long time.

As expected, in the next second, Harry was pecked.

"Ouch!" He cried out in pain, withdrawing his hand at lightning speed.

Unlike an owl, a Phoenix’s peck wasn’t something one could just rub away. As Harry looked down, he saw a rapidly swelling bump on his hand, resembling a burn from a scorching hot iron, causing a burning pain with the slightest movement.

"Looks like it doesn’t like me." Harry said, teeth gritted.

"No, Fawkes is just a bit shy." Kael said, "If a stranger suddenly reached out to touch your hair without asking, you’d give them a punch too. It’s normal."

"Is that so?" Harry blinked, suddenly finding it very reasonable.

Phoenixes aren’t ordinary Fantastic Beasts; they’re very intelligent, almost as smart as Wizards, so maybe it wasn’t so strange for them to care about manners.

But looking at the new bump on his hand, Harry had lost any desire to touch the Phoenix again, looking enviously at Kael.

It hurt too much; he didn’t want to try a second time.

The two continued walking forward like this, with Harry deliberately lagging behind, occasionally looking up at Kael.

He suddenly felt a strange sense of defeat; such an important thing as a Soul Artifact was found by Kael so easily, as if picking up a stone from the ground.

While all Dumbledore asked him to do was inquire about a memory from Slughorn, which seemed so much simpler than searching for the Soul Artifact, he still had no clue.

He didn’t even know where to start.

Harry had tried using Ron’s method before, straightforwardly asking after a Potion Class.

But the result was just one sentence from Slughorn... "You planned this, didn’t you!"

And then he slammed the door in anger.

For several days afterward, Slughorn wouldn’t say a word to him. Harry had been wanting to find an excuse to patch up their relationship.

That’s why he immediately thought of going to Slughorn upon learning Ron was affected by a Love Potion.

It’s considered a pretty good reason anyway.

Then everything unfolded as it did afterward.

Though the incident somewhat eased their relationship, Harry still didn’t know what to do.

Finally, when they were near the Fat Lady’s portrait, Harry couldn’t help but ask, "Kael, that Honey Wine you gave to Professor Slughorn in the Hospital Wing, where did you buy it, was it at the Three Broomsticks?"

"That... certainly not." Kael looked at Harry, "I remember you’re not seventeen yet, so stick to Butter Beer."

"No, not for me." Harry quickly shook his head, "I saw Professor Slughorn likes it, and thought maybe buying a bottle could help with what I need to do next."

"You won’t find it for sale; the Honey Wine was transformed from the Hufflepuff Golden Cup." Kael thought for a moment, "Alright, if you’re in a hurry, you can go back now to ask Professor Dumbledore for a bottle.

"If you’re not in a hurry, you can wait a few more days."

"I’m not in a hurry, I’m not in a hurry!" Harry quickly said, not wanting to go back to Dumbledore.

"Alright then."

The two separated as usual along the passage beside the Fat Lady’s portrait.

However, Kael didn’t head straight back to the common room because he couldn’t walk around the castle holding a phoenix, even if it was nighttime.

So Kael just found an empty room to put Fawkes into a box to keep Norbert company.

The next day.

The atmosphere in the school always becomes unusually somber after the weekend. Unlike the lively Auditorium of yesterday, today most people seemed exceptionally gloomy while eating, yawning repeatedly.