HP: Alchemy? Nah, It's Crafting

○( ＾皿＾)っ Many thanks to Keith J and LoneWolf_3000 for their Patronage!♥♥

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Soon, Kasenhis knocked off the two pieces of obsidian and released all four of them.

The twins emerged completely unscathed, as expected. The Patil sisters, on the other hand, stood right in front of Kasenhis, looking sheepish.

"Now, let's talk. Why were you skipping class?" Kasenhis asked, crossing his arms.

"Professor, we weren't skipping class. We took leave," Parvati explained.

"Where's the leave note, then?"

"Here."

Kasenhis took the leave note and glanced at it.

"A sick leave… followed by magic practice?"

"...Well, it's just that Professor Snape is... too intimidating. We'd honestly rather endure Professor Quirrell's garlic stench," one of the Patil sisters admitted hesitantly.

"But Snape's professional competence is undeniable, far better than Quirrell's. He even signed this leave note. Just make sure not to deceive your professors like this again," Kasenhis said as he handed the note back to the sisters.

"Professor, where should we go next?" the Patil sisters asked, still eager to continue their magic practice in the empty classroom.

...

After this, Kasenhis decided to finally drop his "patient" facade. He strutted back to his office and collapsed into his recliner, exuding an air of utter relaxation.

"Now this... this is the life," he muttered contentedly. "Truly."

"Professor, want some water chestnuts?" Cedric asked, holding a few freshly washed ones from a basin.

"No, no, I've had enough for one day. You enjoy them. I'm fine just relaxing here with a book," Kasenhis replied with a dismissive wave.

The pleasant atmosphere seemed destined to last forever—until Hermione finished her class. She and her companions came charging toward the office at a speed that would have baffled Einstein.

Bang, bang, bang!

Bang, bang, bang!

A loud, terrifying knock echoed through the office, causing Kasenhis to sit bolt upright in his chair.

"What's going on? One of you, check it out," he said, gesturing toward the door.

"No need to check. It's probably Granger and her lot... Wait, where's our potion?" George Weasley rummaged through his pocket and quickly pulled out an empty bottle of Polyjuice Potion—one missing the critical hair ingredient.

Without hesitation, Kasenhis yanked out one of his own hairs and tossed it into the bottle.

"I'm giving you the opportunity of a lifetime—Hermione personally feeding you water chestnuts. Pick someone quickly. I'm outta here."

Throwing on his coat, Kasenhis vanished from the office with a thunderous boom.

Left behind, the remaining three quickly settled the matter of who would take the potion.

It wasn't even a contest—George was too fast. Before Cedric could react, the potion was poured directly into his mouth.

"Be a bro."

"Take one for the team!"

The Weasley twins spoke in unison as they pinned poor Cedric to the bed.

Meanwhile...

"That's the gist of it. Shamelessly, I sold out the three of them and decided to crash here for a bit. Got any novels around?" Kasenhis asked casually.

"Second row on the bookshelf," Dumbledore replied, smiling as he stirred his coffee with a teaspoon. "But I've enchanted them. You won't see the covers—you'll have to pick a book based on instinct. It's like a lucky draw."

"Most people use magic to make life easier, but your magic always seems to... encourage you to savor life," Kasenhis remarked, unusually tactful.

"Thank you for putting it so kindly. The last few people who found out about my methods just looked at me with what I can only describe as pity. I've no idea why," Dumbledore said, sounding amused but slightly exasperated.

"Well, I have an Idea." Kasen said but then shook his head, "Nevermind."

"Hmm... The Count of Monte Cristo? Never got around to reading this one," Kasenhis mused, pulling a book at random.

"Well, you're lucky. The last time Filius came here looking for a book, he ended up with An Introduction to Advanced Mathematics."

"Poor guy. I just want to pass the time and fast-forward to curfew. The enthusiasm of these young kids is a bit overwhelming, you know," Kasenhis said bitterly.

Dumbledore shook his head and took a sip of coffee. "You don't realize how many people envy you."

"Hmm... now I suddenly feel a bit proud. What should I do about that?"

"Perhaps... go back and embrace the students' enthusiasm?" Dumbledore suggested with a twinkle in his eye.

"Ahem... well, that's a separate matter entirely," Kasenhis muttered. Then, for some reason, he thought he heard a faint chuckle from Dumbledore.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"No, of course not."

"Then what were you just laughing at?" Kasenhis pressed.

"…Hmm… the cover of this book is quite amusing."

"...."

Spending the rest of his time at Dumbledore's office, Kasenhis finally let the hours slip by until curfew. Feeling victorious about his little escape, he leisurely left the headmaster's office and began strolling toward the Hogwarts kitchen.

The entrance to the kitchen was something Dumbledore had shared with him.

After a day under Hermione's watchful eye, enduring her so-called "healthy meals," Kasenhis was desperate for something rich in oil, sugar, and salt—proper "junk food" to revive his parched taste buds.

Truly, a day of healthy food had left his palate completely dried out.

"Good evening, Professor Kasenhis. What can I get for you?" A house-elf clad in Hogwarts-crested attire approached politely.

"Bring me some junk food," Kasenhis said bluntly.

The elf's face instantly filled with alarm, shaking its head vigorously. "No, no, no! Impossible, Professor Kasenhis. The Hogwarts kitchen could never produce junk! That's absolutely out of the question!"

"Alright then… what about fried chicken or something similar? Please pack some for me. Thanks," Kasenhis quickly rephrased.

"Oh, of course, kind Professor Kasenhis. But you absolutely don't need to use formal language with us. You only need to..."

The house-elf was clearly a chatterbox.

As it bustled around the kitchen, pulling out ingredients and seasonings to prepare food, it kept up a non-stop stream of conversation with Kasenhis.

Before long, Kasenhis left the kitchen, holding a grease-stained paper bag packed to the brim with food, and headed back to his office.

After spending most of the day confined to bed, he realized one thing: people shouldn't be too lazy. Sometimes, taking a walk was far better than lying around.

When he returned to his office, however, he was met with an unusual sight: a mirror—or rather, poor Cedric.

It wasn't actually a mirror, of course. If George or Fred had been the one under the Polyjuice Potion, there would undoubtedly have been a third "Kasenhis" by now causing trouble.

But no, there were only two Kasenhis present.

Patting Cedric on the shoulder, Kasenhis casually picked up a glass. With a flick of his hand, it was suddenly filled to the brim with milk.

"You've had a rough day," Kasenhis said sympathetically.

Cedric shook his head. "Not at all, Professor."

Kasenhis's eyes lit up. "Really? You think this is fine? That's great! Forget drinking the milk—how about staying in disguise for another day tomorrow?"

"??? What?! Professor, Can't you see I was just being polite!?" Cedric's expression nearly cracked under the strain.

"...Didn't see that."

"Huh?"

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