"You've never even written an alchemy syllabus, but you're so invested in this one," Dumbledore said, looking at the lesson plan and then giving Kasenhis a long.. meaningful look.
The syllabus, in simple terms, was Kasenhis's attempt at ideological education for the pure-blood students—a mix of legitimate alchemy knowledge and a generous helping of personal agenda.
Not aiming to turn every pure-blood wizard into a Weasley-level Muggle-lover—just hoping they'd stop treating Muggles like walking NPCs.
"You plan to start a whole separate class for this?" Dumbledore asked with a drawn-out tone.
"Do I look like the kind of guy who'd go that far?" Kasenhis replied. "I just plan to pay more attention to those pure-blood students during my regular classes and in my free time. If I can nudge them away from extremism while their worldview is still forming, I'll count that as a win. That's my step from zero to one."
"…That's a good idea," Dumbledore nodded.
"Yeah, well, seems like no one else was willing to do it but me, haah," Kasenhis said, stretching as he stood to leave.
"If you ever have more ideas, come talk to me. I'd be glad to offer advice," Dumbledore quickly added.
"Got it."
Dumbledore watched as Kasenhis vanished in a flicker of violet light, leaving the office with a soft hum. Then the headmaster slumped into his chair, a little exhausted.
He'd said a lot today—for the first time, he had shared a piece of his heart with Kasenhis.
A remarkably gifted and capable individual, Kasenhis had managed to unleash his innate alchemical talent purely from a belated magical surge—and he wielded it with such flair.
Dumbledore's first instinct, naturally, had been to find a way to keep someone like that within arm's reach.
He had even mentally prepared himself for the possibility that, should Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts program be halved, he'd have to cut alchemy too—just to make space.
But Kasenhis had surprised him—he was an excellent teacher. And wildly popular, at that.
At this point, Dumbledore couldn't help but feel a wave of relief. First, because Hogwarts had gained another formidable asset. Second, because he'd helped guide a naive young wizard onto a better path.
And third, because he'd been present the day Kasenhis clashed with that Ministry employee, Lester.
Had he not been there when Kasenhis knocked Lester out cold and then seriously considered performing a DIY "physical Obliviate," the Ministry—with its spineless diplomacy outward and iron-fisted overreach inward—absolutely would not have let it go.
The outcome would've been predictable: a nonstop stream of Aurors and hit wizards eventually overwhelming Kasenhis and throwing him into Azkaban.
And in Azkaban… the once kindhearted Kasenhis would've been broken down by Dementors, morphing into a true Dark Wizard. As time passed, his magic would've only grown stronger.
Eventually, a new Dark Lord would rise—one born not from prophecy, but from prison bars.
"Thank Merlin, none of that happened," Dumbledore exhaled deeply, relieved. All was well.
He sipped his milkshake with a soft sigh.
Haah~
So smooth. So sweet.
..
Meanwhile, back in his office, Kasenhis was watching Lupin drift joyfully across the icy floor in a little boat—utterly absorbed in chasing after the happy Bruce, who was sailing just ahead of him.
Kasenhis looked on in mild exasperation at Lupin's futile efforts. The happy dog, it seemed, had a natural gift for piloting—the little boat he was riding had even been specially upgraded by Kasenhis himself.
Lupin trying to catch up? Yeah, not happening.
"How's it going? Need a hand?" Kasenhis called from the edge of the icy track.
"I refuse to believe I can't—ugh, fine. Help me out."
Rolling his eyes, Kasenhis summoned his Arcane Arts spellbook, which hovered beside him before shooting out a streak of crimson binding magic. It hit Bruce's boat squarely, stopping it in its tracks.
It took Lupin a while to finally catch up, panting like crazy, as he lifted Bruce out of the boat, cradling him like a sack of potatoes.
Sirius looked up into Lupin's face, instinctively wanting to lick him—only to suddenly remember he technically wasn't supposed to know Lupin yet.
Must resist...
Hold it in...
"Lend me your monocle for a sec?" Lupin asked, still eyeing Sirius with a scrutinizing gaze. "This guy looks exactly like how Sirius did back then."
Kasenhis didn't know what Lupin was trying to confirm, but he casually removed his enchanted monocle and handed it over.
Lupin held it up, looking through it at Sirius, now just a foot away.
[Beast]
"It's really not him? But it looks so much like him," Lupin muttered.
"Looks like who?" Kasenhis asked, slipping the monocle back into place.
"Like.. Like Sirius Black. You might not know, but he's an Animagus—that's a type of advanced magical transformation. A human wizard who goes through a complicated ritual to take on an animal form," Lupin explained.
"So... Sirius Black's Animagus form looks the same as this big black dog?" Kasenhis asked.
"Yeah." Lupin nodded.
"...Does that ritual require a wand?" Kasenhis continued.
"Skilled Animagi can transform without one. Sirius was definitely skilled."
Kasenhis nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm.. So that's how he escaped Azkaban, huh."
"Why didn't you tell Dumbledore earlier?" he asked.
"I... I was afraid of disappointing him," Lupin replied bitterly.
"Disappointing him? What would he be disappointed about?"
"I lied to him. I hid the fact that Sirius was an Animagus all this time. Wouldn't that be enough to disappoint him?" Lupin said with a wry, bitter smile.
"Sometimes I really can't follow your train of thought," Kasenhis said, hands on hips, looking at Lupin with a deadpan stare.
"But at this point—Sirius Black's escaped from Azkaban and is out to kill Harry—you still plan on keeping it from Dumbledore?"
Lupin shook his head. "I just haven't figured out how to tell him yet."
"You might as well just go talk to him face-to-face already," Kasenhis sighed. Only now did he truly understand what Dumbledore meant earlier when he described Lupin's endless hesitation and internal conflict.
"Mm-hmm. I'll go now… and after that, I won't be coming back. I'll head straight to Privet Drive and keep an eye on Harry," Lupin nodded.
Once Lupin left the office, Kasenhis finally slumped into a chair with exhaustion.
The upcoming third year looked like it was going to be just as much of a headache as the last two. First off, there was Sirius Black, constantly posing a danger to Harry and every young wizard in Hogwarts.
Then there was the whole "Dementor-themed Hogwarts" plan cooked up by the Ministry and Dumbledore after a random brainwave...
Speaking of Dementors, maybe he could put them to some good use—like helping motivate the kids to study alchemy harder under their soul-sucking supervision?
And of course, there was that thing he'd blurted out to Grindelwald—about helping him patch things up with Dumbledore.
Lastly, there was the matter of ideological education for the pure-blood Slytherin students.
"Ugh.. This term's not going to be easy either," Kasenhis sighed, shrinking deeper into his chair as the rustling sound from his coat pocket caught his attention.
He pulled out the crumpled Daily Prophet from his pocket and tossed it casually to the floor, where it landed perfectly under the nose of the dozing Sirius.
The front page of the newspaper featured the Weasley family's big lottery win and a photo from their trip to Egypt.
Also captured in that photograph… was a little rat with a missing toe.
_________
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