Because of what Dumbledore announced at the feast, people couldn't help but think of those Fire Dragon Badges that appeared on the train, and Kael once again welcomed a wave of visitors.
Early the next morning.
"It's really useful."
In the hallway, a young Gryffindor wizard vowed to his companion, "If the headmaster hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known that there are Dementors at the entrance of the school..."
"I didn't feel much, just a bit cold, completely different from on the train... And Potter is wearing it too, I saw him just now in the common room."
The two chatted all the way to the auditorium, and the companion was convinced.
Although two Galleons is expensive, if it's really that magical, it's not impossible.
But when they arrived at the auditorium, they found a crowd already gathered by the Hufflepuff table, forming a long line that stretched to the door.
All these people were here to buy things.
"I wish I'd bought it on the train."
At the end of the line, a little witch complained to her friend, "I was right there, but I thought the Dementors wouldn't come to school."
"Who would've thought..." her friend sighed as well.
On the other side, Kael handed a badge to a young Ravenclaw wizard, while Cedric expertly took two Galleons and put them in the nearby bag.
Kael yawned, knocked on the table, and ordered himself a glass of lemonade.
Although he was woken up early by people, seeing so many Galleons lining up to jump into his pocket made this little inconvenience seem less important.
"It's really magical..." The young wizard who just got the badge said in surprise, "It's still warm, the Fire Dragon is really awesome!"
Kael shook his head beside him, without saying a word.
This had nothing to do with the Fire Dragon; last night, he stayed up all night adding a small Warm-Up Charm to these badges.
To save time, he didn't use any complex alchemy, just "pasted" the charm onto them... like the outer pepper shell of Pepper Imps.
As for those sold on the train, Kael didn't ignore them; he found someone to help spread the word that as long as they brought them back, they could be "upgraded for free"... emphasizing after-sales service.
Though the "pasted" charm doesn't last long, it's enough.
Even so, he worked until five in the morning to finish... Then by six, people started knocking on their dormitory door.
Since they came to deliver Galleons, Kael couldn't complain, but Mikel and Ryan had to get up early too.
By eight, all the hundred and fifty badges he brought back from Romania were gone.
...
"They're really all gone."
After Kael handed out the last badge, he picked up the empty box to show it.
The little witch who had just reached the front of the line looked extremely disappointed.
"Just wait a few more days." Kael comforted her, "There will be new ones coming."
"How long?"
"Not sure." Kael thought for a moment and gave a safe answer, "About a month."
Ladon had already had a hearty meal of dragon liver and potion last night and set off with his letter.
But the journey from here to Romania isn't short, and it also depends on when Charlie has time; a month is the minimum.
After breakfast, Kael, pleased, was about to go to his first Charm Class, but as soon as he stepped out of the auditorium, someone called him from behind.
"Hermione, what's up?" Kael glanced behind her, "Where are Harry and Ron?"
The three of them were usually always together, but oddly, today it was only Hermione.
"They went to the West Tower." Hermione said, "I wanted to ask you something, so I didn't go with them."
"You want to ask me something? Is it about the badge?" Kael held out his hand, "No problem, hand it over, I'll add a Warm-Up Charm for you."
"No, it's not about that."
Hermione shook her head, fumbled inside the collar of her robe, and pulled out a thin, long gold chain with a shimmering little hourglass hanging from it.
"It's because of this!"
"Time Turner?" Kael frowned, "Did you choose all the classes too?"
"Yes, so Professor McGonagall helped me apply for this." Hermione nodded, "But she told me that using the Time Turner might lead to some bad consequences, asking me to carefully consider it.
So, I wanted to get your opinion... You used a Time Turner last year, didn't you?"
"Why do you say that?" Kael asked.
"I heard you chose all the classes last year too." Hermione said confidently, "And that time on the eighth floor, you said you came up via a secret passage, but that was fake, wasn't it?
There should've been two of you then, one in the auditorium, and one on the eighth floor."
"It's true when you put it that way."
Kael smiled, "What do you want to ask?"
"I don't know if I should use it." Hermione looked at the Time Turner in her hand, conflicted, "Being outside the protection of time... is the result really as serious as Professor McGonagall said?"
"Serious, but also not serious." Kael thought for a moment and said, "Actually, if it's used only within the school and time doesn't exceed a day, the impact is negligible... unless there's a powerful wizard targeting you specifically."
Kael's tone was especially heavy when he said the last sentence.
After pausing for a moment, he continued, "But this isn't likely to happen, after all, we're just ordinary students, those from the past are unlikely to know us."
"So it's okay?" Hermione said excitedly.
"It's just a small chance, not impossible, 100 and 99.9 are completely different concepts."
Kael said, "So my opinion is the same as Professor McGonagall's; don't use it, that's the safest."
"But..." Hermione said hesitantly, "can't I attend all the classes?"
"You can, but it's not necessary." Kael shook his head, "Some classes aren't that important, I gave up Numerology and Muggle Studies."
"But they're interesting."
"That's only how you see it now, and choosing more classes means your focus will be divided, and in the end, you'll know a bit about everything but only have scratched the surface."
"Here's what..."
Kael checked the time, "It's a bit early for class, you can try asking Professor McGonagall if you can use my method from last year.
Attend just one of the conflicting electives, and once you've listened to all the courses, decide whether to use the Time Turner."
...