It was midnight.
Inside Katelyle's little house.
Dumbledore and Severus Snape returned one after the other a few minutes after Katelyle came back.
There was a trace of pleasure and ease in Snape's expression. He was no longer wearing his usual stern face.
The moment Katelyle saw this, he understood why Snape was smiling. With a grin, he asked, "After holding it in for so long, does finally making a move like this feel satisfying?"
Snape nodded, casually found a seat, and said, "Those filthy rats weren't as weak as I imagined. But that only made it more interesting."
"Kate, they've already learned some Elemental Magic. Someone has been teaching them Elemental Magic."
After hearing Snape, Dumbledore agreed. "Of the people I encountered, all six had learned Elemental Magic. Although they had only mastered the basics, this is not a good sign."
Katelyle was not particularly surprised. "That isn't impossible."
"If they've learned it, then they've learned it. Elemental Magic was always meant to have a place in the wizarding world as part of my plan."
"They may have learned Elemental Magic, but unfortunately, these people won't use it for anything good."
Dumbledore and Snape fell silent for a moment, then said nothing more.
After staying only briefly, Dumbledore and Snape both left.
Katelyle did not dwell on it. He washed up and went to sleep.
Tonight's operation had been prompted by those people spending the past half year trying to infiltrate Hogwarts and secretly learn Elemental Magic.
If that was all they had done, Katelyle might have pretended not to see it.
After all, he had no control over what these students would ultimately do after graduation.
All he could do was help a limited number of people when they were occasionally worth helping, and let more people become