"He's not alone," said Mrs. Weasley without turning her head. "Besides, Ginny and Kael are here."
Ron paused, turning to look at Harry.
But Harry was just looking down and gnawing on his bread, not catching Ron's plea for help.
However, from Kael's perspective, Harry's behavior seemed a bit too ostentatious, as if he wasn't really against the decision, or perhaps he didn't necessarily need Ron to accompany him.
Kael was certain the reason wasn't himself, as he and Harry didn't have much to talk about... unless Harry wanted to learn Occlumency again.
"I, I still have homework to do," without the support of friends, Ron thought of another excuse, "Right, I haven't finished my homework yet, if I go to the Ministry of Magic, I won't have time to do it."
"The holiday has gone on for so long and you still haven't done your homework?" Mrs. Weasley looked at Ron incredulously, "Then why were you fiddling with wizard chess today?"
"I... I planned to do it tomorrow," Ron stammered, "I'll definitely do it tomorrow."
"No, you're going to the Ministry of Magic," Mrs. Weasley's tone was firm, as if she had made up her mind.
"Stop making excuses, I'm well aware that you won't think about homework until term starts, so instead, go do something more meaningful.
"You have until three days before term starts, that should be enough time for you to catch up on your homework."
"But..."
"It's settled!"
Without waiting for Ron to say more, Mrs. Weasley decided directly: "Tomorrow you're going to the Ministry. Fred, George, you keep an eye on him."
"Alright, Mum!"
"No problem."
"Leave it to us!"
Fred and George, who initially had sour faces, suddenly beamed with smiles.
Though the tedious work is unpleasant, if their little brother is involved, it'll be fun.
Having experienced a day at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, they know full well how busy it is, and as their workload increases, office organizing will become even more tedious, ensuring Ron's holiday will be quite fulfilling.
Thinking of this, they couldn't help but grin with satisfaction.
It's all for Ron's good.
…
After supper, the self-aware Kael quickly got up before Mrs. Weasley left the dining room and hurried back to his room upstairs.
Then he took out his wand and cast the Anti-Shock Spell and Muffliato on the door, nodding in satisfaction before sitting down at the desk.
Now that Fred and George had other work, they probably wouldn't have time to research items suitable for Aurors, so the task fell on him.
Fortunately, it wasn't too much trouble.
Fred was right; nothing is completely safe in the Magic Realm, insiders, Legilimency, Polyjuice Potion... all these could turn confidentiality into a joke.
So, the focus still lies on concealment, and once you know the direction, the rest becomes much simpler.
Kael took out a button and started engraving Magic Text on it.
Meanwhile, outside, several people were knocking relentlessly on his door, with increasing force.
The oak door rattled as if someone were playing Exploding Snap in the hallway, yet the room remained silent.
"No use," Fred said, rubbing his sore palms, "That bastard must have used magic on the door, what we're doing is pointless."
"What do we do then, just give up?" George asked grudgingly.
Then he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the lock.
"Alohomora!"
No response.
Of course, this was anticipated, as Kael, knowing they would return to knock, preemptively used magic to block the sound, so there's no way he didn't think of the Unlocking Charm.
"Give up? Not a chance!" Fred pounded the door again, hissing through gritted teeth, "This time he's lucky, but the place isn't that big. He can't hide from us forever. We'll catch him eventually."
"Exactly," George nodded.
"So, what do we do now?" Ron asked from the side.
He followed Fred and George since, in a way, Kael was responsible for him being tasked with going to the Ministry.
"What else can we do, go back to bed!" Fred said irritably, "We have to get up early for work at the Ministry tomorrow."
"I suggest you get up early, just to make sure you have time for breakfast."
"You'll definitely regret skipping that step."
With that, the two headed back to their room, leaving behind a rather desolate silhouette.
"What do they mean by that?" Ron asked, his voice trembling.
To be honest, he already regretted it from the start; he shouldn't have gone for supper. If he hadn't shown up at the dining room, maybe Mrs. Weasley wouldn't have thought of him and wouldn't have sent him to the Ministry.
"I don't know either," said Harry, who had come along.
"Why didn't you help me just now," Ron complained, "If you insisted I stay to keep you company, maybe Mum wouldn't have sent me to the Ministry."
"I wasn't paying attention," Harry said, his gaze flickering, "and to be honest, I'm not that fragile that I need someone to accompany me.
"Moreover, I'd actually like to switch with you; I'd prefer to do something, even if it means being too busy to eat, just as long as I don't have to stay here."