HP: Alchemy? Nah, It's Crafting

o(★ ω ★)ブMany thanks to Caden Skvarcek, Oprj1, and KO. Dragon for their patronage!♥♥

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"Yup! This is like Thaumcraft.. ha..hahah.."

(P.S. There'll be some modifications from Thaumcraft. Just a heads-up!)

Kasenhis gently ran his hand across the starry expanse on the book's page until he touched the brightest star within it.

With a soft hum, the image of a glass lens with golden edges appeared amidst the stars. Kasenhis tapped on it, and the starry expanse rippled, revealing a crafting recipe: four gold ingots arranged around a central glass pane. Beneath the crafting grid was a line of text:

[Thaumic Lens: Assists in observing and acquiring the world's truths.]

Kasenhis hugged the Thaumonomicon, studying it carefully. Back in his original world, he had only heard of Thaumcraft as a famous mod but was far from an expert. Piecing together the text and contextual hints, he finally managed to decipher the true meaning of the Thaumic Lens.

Based on the description in the Thaumonomicon, the lens seemed to be some kind of observational tool.

But with the word acquiring thrown in, Kasenhis guessed it wasn't just for observing. It might also involve extracting something—possibly the four fundamental elements of alchemy: earth, water, air, and fire.

By pointing the Thaumic Lens at relevant objects for three seconds, it might be possible to extract these base elements.

"Been ages since I used a crafting table," Kasenhis muttered, summoning one to a corner of his office. He grabbed four gold ingots and a single glass pane.

Of course, he wasn't about to clumsily place the materials into the slots like some kind of amateur. If he was going to craft, it would be done with finesse and a touch of science!

Exactly—science.

Slowly, Kasenhis began working. He rounded the glass pane and shaped the gold into a casing for the Thaumic Lens. Then, he tried to assemble it all… and nothing happened.

???

He picked up the Thaumonomicon again, squinting at the instructions and poring over every detail. Then, at the bottom of the page, he noticed six faintly glowing crystal fragments.

Curious, he tentatively reached out and touched a red one. A notification popped up: [Fire Vis Crystal].

???

He continued tapping on the various crystals—[Water Vis Crystal]... [Air Vis Crystal]... [Earth Vis Crystal]... [Order Vis Crystal]... [Chaos Vis Crystal]...

"What the hell is all this?"

Kasenhis slumped back into his chair and waved his hand.

A bottle of Life Water floated over from his cabinet, and he took a long swig. Honestly, he'd never encountered so many mysteries in his entire previous life compared to just this one day.

The sharp burn of the vodka snapped him back to focus. Kasenhis leaned in again, carefully running his finger over every corner of the page.

Eventually, he came to two conclusions.

First, these magical Vis Crystals could be mined from nature—most commonly found in the form of pure Water Vis Crystals.

Second, his crafting table was wrong. To make this item, he needed something called an Arcane Workbench.

"Where am I supposed to pull an Arcane Workbench from?"

Kasenhis muttered through gritted teeth as he flipped the pages again, returning to the empty starry diagram.

He resumed his strategy of randomly tapping anything that looked remotely promising.

Eventually, he found a less prominent star and clicked on it.

[Arcane Workbench Crafting Method: Transform a standard crafting table using a wand...]

"???" He stared blankly. "Transformation? But I don't know the first thing about Transfiguration!" Frustrated, he pulled out his wand and jabbed it idly at the crafting table beside him.

And it… transformed.

The warm wood surface darkened to a deep brown, and the workbench now featured a layer of dark green velvet atop it.

"…It actually worked."

Kasenhis stood in stunned silence for a moment before rubbing his chin helplessly. "This makes no sense."

Then, his eyes swept around his enchanted office, from the glimmering runes etched into the walls to his wizard robes glowing faintly with enchantments.

"…Actually, yeah, it tracks."

He leaned forward to inspect the transformed workbench. Aside from the main work surface, it had an additional small recessed slot, which seemed to be intended for the so-called Vis Crystals.

"...Never thought I'd end up mining here too."

Knock, knock, knock.

"The door's not locked!"

"Professor Kasenhis, the end-of-term feast is over, and the House Cup is about to begin. Aren't you going to check it out?" Jordan from Gryffindor poked his head into the office and asked.

"Oh, I'm on my way," Kasenhis replied, glancing at his watch. He stuffed the Arcane Handbook into his pocket and left his office.

"Oh? It seems you've been up to some interesting things."

At the faculty table, Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in mild surprise as Kasenhis approached.

"Hm? How did you figure it out?" Kasenhis asked, sitting down.

Dumbledore gestured toward him with a knowing smile. "You are so... concerned about your own image.. attending an event like this without changing into fresh robes—it was a dead giveaway."

"Right... I forgot," Kasenhis muttered, brushing it off. "By the way, Dumbledore, let me ask you something. Do wizards have a history of mining? Specifically mining for magic-infused minerals?"

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Not much, I'm afraid. Wizards mostly rely on magical plants or the flesh and blood of magical creatures for alchemy, as you well know. If I had to name something, it would be mithril. And even that's rare."

He paused before adding, "But ever since your Enchanting Table came into the picture, the demand for mithril mining has dwindled significantly."

"Ah..." Kasenhis awkwardly rubbed his chin.

"It's not your fault. Why the sudden interest?"

"I was curious—do wizards mine for crystals?"

"Regrettably, no," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "Most magical crystals are purchased from the Muggle world. And even then, the demand is minimal. Only a handful of seers or diviners might occasionally buy them for personal use."

"Ah, I see..." Kasenhis nodded thoughtfully.

"If you have any particular interest in crystals, you might want to visit Professor Trelawney. She has... quite a collection of that sort," Professor McGonagall chimed in, leaning over to join the conversation.

"Got it, I'll check with her," Kasenhis replied with a nod.

Before long, the students below settled into their seats, and a faint smirk crept onto Snape's face. He glanced up at the green banners adorning the Great Hall's ceiling, proudly representing Slytherin above the house tables.

The Slytherins managed to maintain their winning streak. The house of James' son was far behind and his godson Draco was looking very proud.

This year was very special and for the first time in ages, everything felt right in the world.

Hogwarts' House Cup had only one rightful owner: Slytherin! And its banner flew only one true color: green!

Then, of course, Dumbledore rose with a peculiar smile tugging at the corners of his lips....

"Before we begin the feast, there are a few words I need to share with you all," Dumbledore began, his voice warm yet slightly mischievous.

"As you all know, our Hogwarts faced an intrusion from an evil dark wizard this year. Thankfully, four brave Gryffindors—Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger—" 

Snape's previously smug expression instantly faltered.

The smugness vanished, replaced with a tight-lipped grimace. 

Having worked alongside Dumbledore for so many years, Snape could anticipate the headmaster's shenanigans almost by instinct.

The moment Dumbledore stood up, Snape knew precisely what was about to happen—and it was going to be a headache-inducing speech for him and his house.

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P@treon: Dragonel