HP: Alchemy? Nah, It's Crafting

o(*￣▽￣*)ブ Many Thanks to Jacob Libbert, Charles Hale, Jean C, and Terrance Smith for their Patronage!♥♥

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Kasenhis clenched his fist, feeling that his palm had stopped bleeding. He shook his head with a hint of disappointment.

"You shouldn't have stopped me. You should've looked—looked at the magical symbols the grindstone scraped off my skin."

"Every person has magical symbols—human symbols, wizard symbols. The reason I can teleport is because I've enchanted myself with Ender symbols."

"So, if I can find a way—either by overwriting or erasing—to remove your werewolf symbols, then theoretically…uh…you should be able to return to being an ordinary wizard."

Lupin nodded. "Understood, understood. But I sincerely hope next time, you tell me this while you're sober… and without, umm… using yourself as an experiment."

Kasenhis took another sip of his drink, closed his eyes, and nodded.

The next moment, two shadows loomed over them, blocking the light.

Kasenhis and Lupin simultaneously turned their heads, looking at the two newcomers—one tall and fat, the other short and thin.

The tall, chubby one wore a constant grin; the short, skinny one looked perpetually miserable.

Both were gripping their wands.

Their intent… didn't seem friendly.

"Hmm?"

"Pardon the intrusion, but may I ask—are you the English alchemist, Kasenhis?" The smiling wizard inquired.

Kasenhis let out a lazy hiccup. "Never heard of him. Who's that?"

The smiling wizard glanced at the frowning one, who pulled out a neatly cut section of newspaper and handed it over.

The grinning wizard promptly slapped a large photo of Kasenhis onto the table.

"This isn't you?"

Kasenhis shook his head. "Nope… That guy… he's… way better-looking than me."

"You're really saying this isn't you?"

"It's not!"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely not."

"...This is you."

"No, it isn't."

"This is definitely you!"

"No, it's not."

"This is fucking you!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Just as the grinning wizard burst out in frustration, Lupin's wand flicked instantly, sending a streak of red light flashing across the table.

The grinning wizard's wand was immediately blasted from his grip.

The frowning wizard reacted quickly, reaching for his own wand, but before he could finish his incantation, Lupin hit him with a well-aimed spell, freezing him in place on the spot.

Lupin then casually plucked the frowning wizard's wand away, straightened up, and looked down at the two wizards from above.

"Believe me, gentlemen, you do not want to experience the Cruciatus Curse."

Kasenhis, who was sitting back and enjoying the drama at point-blank range, took a tactical sip of his drink.

He hadn't known Lupin could even cast the Cruciatus Curse before…

Though, to be fair, while the spell was considered an "Unforgivable Curse," there weren't really any hard restrictions on learning it.

If you had three Galleons to spare in Knockturn Alley, you could buy a book detailing the incantation.

If you browsed the Hogwarts Restricted Section, you could find records of all three Unforgivable Curses.

So, when it came to actually learning them…

There really wasn't much of a barrier to entry.

Most wizards knew how to cast them, but some chose not to use them, and others just weren't capable of it.

Watching Lupin's slow, deliberate threats against the two wizards, Kasenhis took another sip of his drink.

Lupin was probably one of the ones who didn't like using them.

But judging by the eerie glow reflecting off their terrified faces…

Lupin was definitely not in the "can't use it" category.

Soon enough, the two wizards scurried off, tails tucked between their legs, too scared to even ask for their wands back.

Lupin walked over to the edge of the balcony, watching them disappear into the distance before finally relaxing.

He turned to Kasenhis. "Why were they looking for you?"

"Hmm... Probably because I'm an alchemist," Kasenhis guessed, shrugging.

"A real one. One who can actually turn things into gold."

"Someone must've gotten greedy. And somehow, they also knew I was here."

Lupin sighed. "Well… that's unfortunate."

"Looks like our night out is getting cut short."

"Or, we could just head into the Muggle parts of the city," he added. "Since, no matter where we go, anything involving me needs to be kept under wraps anyway."

"Fair enough…" Kasenhis got up.

Then paused.

"Wait, hold on—lemme steady you for a bit."

Lupin frowned. "Why don't you just drink a glass of milk?"

"Drinking is for that beautiful, warm buzz," Kasenhis slurred.

"If I drink milk now, what was the point of drinking in the first place?"

After settling the bill, the two of them staggered toward the exit of the wizarding district—only to find their way blocked.

Kasenhis blinked.

Two familiar faces stood in front of them.

The same fat and thin wizards from earlier.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake—does this place have an Anti-Apparition Jinx?"

Lupin nodded. "They just put one up."

He swiped his wand across the ground.

A blood-red line of fire flared to life at their feet.

"Believe me—none of you want to find out what Fiendfyre feels like."

The apparent leader of their opponents started to speak. "You two may be strong, but you're outnumbered—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a Wither Skull slammed into his chest with full force.

BOOM.

With Kasenhis launching the first strike, Lupin followed up immediately—directing the Fiendfyre on the ground to surge forward.

In seconds, the raging flames had devoured two wizards, while a well-aimed Blasting Curse sent another one flying into pieces.

The "two-versus-many" fight had suddenly turned into a "two-versus-two."

And, of course—

The last two standing were none other than Fat Wizard and Thin Wizard.

The two of them stood there, trembling.

"I—I—I—"

Lupin raised his wand.

Against two unarmed, defenseless enemies, he hesitated to go for the kill.

Instead, he spoke a single incantation—

"Obliviate."

With that, the two left the wizarding district.

Neither of them felt like sightseeing anymore.

In the dead of night, they checked into a hotel and slept straight through.

The Next Day

After a quick breakfast, they mounted their Z9 broomsticks and headed for the Minas mines.

Over the Next Two Days:

Minas Mines: Collected a 20-kilogram chunk of Fire Affinity Magic Crystal.

Gilas Mines: Dug up two Wind Affinity Magic Crystal geodes.

That Night

Under the crackling campfire, Lupin watched Kasenhis turn over six small crystal shards in his hands.

"Judging by that look on your face... you've finally gathered all the crystals, haven't you?"

"Mm-hmm."

"In that case, I guess it's time for me to head back to England. I mean... let's be real, after this whole trip, it's pretty clear you never actually needed me as a 'bodyguard' in the first place."

Lupin said while shaking his head helplessly.

"Hold on—no need to rush."

Kasenhis set down an Arcane Crafting Table, carefully placing the six elemental magic crystals into their respective slots.

Next, he pulled out four gold ingots and a glass pane.

A moment later—

A magic lens—about the size of his entire face—took shape.

"...This looks kind of ugly."

Kasenhis fiddled with it again, resizing it until it was a sleek, single monocle.

He clipped the magic monocle onto his eye socket and turned to Lupin.

"Looks stylish," Lupin complimented.

"Obviously, I'm always stylish. But hold still for a second."

Kasenhis peered at Lupin through the monocle.

Almost instantly, three glowing words appeared on the lens:

[Human] [Magic] [Beast]

He took out the magic manual again, and a page of it had been opened, and the three elements revealed by the monocle had been recorded on it.

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P@treon: Dragonel