HP: Alchemy? Nah, It's Crafting

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"Wait, wait, wait... repeat that for me again..." 

Kasenhis took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "So, Draco was in my office first, obediently grinding the redstone, correct?"

In the corner, a teary-eyed Draco and the four Gryffindor students all nodded simultaneously.

"Then, the four of you came looking for me, found my office door conveniently unlocked, and Draco just happened to say 'come in,' so you entered."

The five young wizards nodded again.

"After you came in, Draco was still diligently grinding the redstone. Ron, you sat there drinking cola... where did you even get cola? Never mind, not the point right now. Anyway, Draco didn't provoke you, and you, Ron, sat on the sofa, drinking cola and running your mouth."

"In the end, you finally managed to make Draco angry, wands were drawn, and a duel broke out."

The five nodded once more.

Kasenhis nodded in understanding. "I see… so, if that's the case… why didn't you just go outside to fight? As you said, my office door was unlocked. After fighting, you wouldn't have had any trouble coming back in."

"Uh… we were afraid of being caught by a professor or Filch if we fought outside," Harry said in a small voice.

"...Harry, let me ask you something. Who am I?"

Kasenhis slumped into the one remaining intact sofa in the corner, pressing his thumb against the bridge of his nose, too drained to summon any energy or authority.

"Your name is Kasenhis... and you are the Alchemy Professor," Harry blurted out without thinking, giving the first answer that came to mind. Then he realized—Professor Kasen… the last word was indeed "Professor."

"Exactly... I am also a professor. I completely understand your fear of professors, which is why you wouldn't dare to cause trouble under their watchful eyes. But can you please remember—I'm also a professor! Can someone explain to me why? Why do you treat my office like this... and my Redstone Flash? I painstakingly carved it bit by bit with my own hands."

Kasen tapped the coffee table in front of him, where a broken-in-half figure of the Flash lay in two pieces.

"..."

"I'm talking to you, kids. Why are you afraid of other professors but not me?"

Gryffindors were never known for thinking before speaking. Ron, almost as if possessed, blurted out, "Because you're a good person."

"Ridiculous! So a good person's office deserves to be turned upside down by your wand-waving antics?"

"We are very sorry..."

To be fair, this was the first time Kasen had genuinely lost his composure as a professor.

It wasn't because of the office itself—it had been blown up more than once, and every time he redecorated it in a new style.

But this time...

Sigh.

Kasen lightly tapped his knuckles on the coffee table, and the two halves of the Flash figurine instantly crumbled to powder.

"Alright, my five supremely talented young wizards, I'll just say this: I need to start planning the renovation of my new office. So I'm sending you all to Professor McGonagall."

"And Draco, you're lucky. While this isn't your fault this time, one thing doesn't cancel out another. That redstone block of yours is still on the ledger. Now, your choice: do you wait for me to finish redecorating my office and return to continue grinding, or would you prefer to let Professor McGonagall's punishment substitute for the redstone block?" Kasen asked.

"Professor McGonagall!" Draco declared firmly without hesitation.

"Alright, then, follow me."

The five young wizards trailed behind Kasenhis, shuffling dejectedly as they made their way to Professor McGonagall's office.

There, the five of them witnessed the transformation of a dignified and venerable professor into a roaring lion.

Once the reporting was finished, Kasenhis trusted that Professor McGonagall would handle things fairly. Feeling no need to stick around, he promptly left her office. On the way, while Dumbledore was busy sneaking snacks in the kitchen, Kasenhis slipped into the Headmaster's office unnoticed.

Then he discovered that the wine that was supposed to belong to Professor Kasen had Dumbledore's name written on it.

How could such a thing be allowed? 

Pretending to look at the bottle in his arm Kasenhis stuffed the bottle into his robe.

Oh, you will feel lonely if I leave you right?

Kasen looked at the second bottle and also pocketed that and headed toward Hagrid's hut.

There, he witnessed the third dramatic event of the day.

Hagrid's newly hatched dragon, now roughly the size of a table, was intently studying how to swallow the magma blocks at the base of the fireplace.

"This little one... uh, big one. Hagrid, is Fluffy supposed to grow this fast?" Kasenhis asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hagrid raised his own eyebrows. "She's not called Fluffy. Fluffy is that three-headed dog."

"Oh... Fang?" 

"Fang is the dog chewing on a bone." 

"...Alright, maybe my memory isn't great. What's your plan for her? By the looks of it, in a few days, she'll be sizing you up for dinner." 

"Don't say that—she's a good girl... Oh, but she's definitely getting too big. You're right. Actually, Ron and Malfoy gave me two business cards for dragon reserves. I've been researching them recently to see which one has better conditions." 

Hagrid pulled out a thick stack of documents. Truly, Kasenhis had never seen so much paper within a five-meter radius of Hagrid before. 

"Pick whichever you like. Also, I don't want to hear those two troublemakers' names right now. My figurine was destroyed because of them." 

As Kasenhis spoke, he pulled the bottle of wine from his robe. 

"Wow! Isn't that the wine Dumbledore brought back from France last time? That's some fine stuff!" Hagrid exclaimed in surprise. 

"What do you mean, Dumbledore's? As of forty-five minutes ago, it's part of your one and only Kasenhis's collection. Hahahah. His students gave me a lot of trouble after all" 

"Um...you went to Dumbledore's office?" Hagrid asked, stroking his beard.

Kasenhis looked at Hagrid strangely, but comforted him, "Don't worry. If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who will know? Besides, he doesn't have any evidence." 

"But I remember Dumbledore cherishing those two bottles of wine very much. I heard he even tells them bedtime stories," Hagrid said, swallowing hard. 

"Humph!" Kasenhis cheerfully opened the bottle, pouring the wine into two glasses. Hagrid hesitantly accepted one.

"Mmm... good wine!" 

"Right?!" 

"But... Dumbledore?" 

"Don't worry about Dumbledore. So many people know the password to his office, and he has no idea it was me who took it," Kasenhis said, waving dismissively before taking another sip of wine.

Hagrid took a deep breath and followed suit with a big gulp.

Later that night, Kasenhis, now quite tipsy, pushed open the door to Hagrid's hut. The cold winter wind, carrying snowflakes, didn't sober him up. If anything, it made him want to collapse face-first into the snow.

"Oh, by the way, did you know the two statues guarding Dumbledore's office have self-awareness?" 

"...."

Kasenhis instantly sobered up. The alcohol evaporating off him made it look like steam was rising from his body.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" 

Hagrid fidgeted, twisting his thick fingers together. He couldn't exactly admit that he'd been eyeing Dumbledore's fine wine for a long time, could he? 

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