43: Gryffindors... oh, Gryffindors...!!

"Haah! Haah! I was wrong! I swear, I'll never run my mouth in the papers again, truly!" 

Nearly suffocated in the muddy rain-soaked ground, Rita Skeeter lay sprawled in the muck, sobbing and wailing in remorse.

Kasenhis, meanwhile, calmly tucked away his shovel and disappeared from the quiet little forest in the blink of an eye. 

Well, at least Skeeter hadn't seen his face when the bat had "had a friendly chat" with her. She probably wouldn't go to the Ministry about it... 

Probably. 

Back at Hogwarts, Kasenhis shook off his raincoat and strolled into Dumbledore's office. With a flourish, he placed his pre-prepared office expansion request form squarely on Dumbledore's desk. 

"And that Rita Skeeter?" 

"At the very least, she should keep quiet for a good while." 

"Haha." Dumbledore nodded and signed his name on the form. 

"Would you like me to arrange a construction team for you?" 

"No need, I'll handle it myself," Kasenhis replied. 

"Oh, by the way, the expanded building will need to match Hogwarts' style—black stone walls and all that." 

"Don't worry, I'm a professional." 

"That's better."

Humming a cheerful tune, Kasenhis returned to his office and unrolled a sheet of parchment to start designing his new space.

Perhaps it could...

Knock, knock, knock.

Eh? You would come at this time?

"Come in!"

"Professor? Your office?" Neville stepped inside, followed by Harry and the others.

Kasenhis quickly rolled up the rough sketch he'd been working on and instead reached for the teapot.

Neville, wearing the memory bracelet Kasenhis had gifted him, took a seat on the sofa. Meanwhile, Ron, already munching on some snacks, was proudly sporting his new robes.

But Neville's expression was a mix of hope and disappointment as he glanced at Kasenhis.

First, the wizard robe he had gifted the professor wasn't being worn. Second, the promised office expansion he had heard about at the Longbottom estate...

Well… the office didn't appear to have expanded even a single square meter.

A wave of dejection tightened Neville's face.

"Uh… Neville, what are you thinking about? Your face is all scrunched up."

"Professor, didn't you say you were going to expand your office during the holidays?" 

"Ah, unfortunately, I've got a bit of a procrastination issue. It's still in the planning stage." Kasenhis quickly retrieved the design sketch and laid it on the desk to reassure the sensitive young wizard in front of him. 

"And the new robe I gave you..." 

"I just went out, and it was pouring rain. You wouldn't want me to get that beautiful robe all dirty, would you?" 

Kasenhis carefully deployed his well-honed verbal artistry, finally convincing Neville that he didn't dislike the robe or the idea of spending a night at the Longbottom estate. 

Of course, he truly wasn't fond of sleeping anywhere that wasn't his own space—something about it always felt off. But he couldn't very well say that out loud. What if Neville got upset? He'd have to soothe him all over again. 

"So, what brings the four of you little troublemakers here today?" Kasenhis asked. 

"Professor, do you know Nicolas Flamel?" Hermione inquired. 

"Nicolas Flamel? I don't recall including his name in the textbook I gave you," Kasenhis scratched his head. He distinctly remembered that the material he had given Hermione was just an introductory alchemy book. 

It only covered foundational theories and a few fun alchemical experiments—not nearly advanced enough to bring up a figure like Nicolas Flamel. 

"Not from that book," Hermione shook her head.

"I should've asked this all in one go. Where did you hear about that name?" Kasenhis sighed.

The four exchanged glances. "We heard it from Hagrid."

"Hagrid, huh? Oh, by the way, you went to Hagrid's new house? How was it? Do you know who built it for him? Never mind, you probably can't guess—it was me. Before I became a professor at Hogwarts, I was a highly skilled custom home designer. Basically, I did renovations—"

"Professor, please don't go off-topic," Hermione interrupted with a sigh. Looking at her professor, who seemed so adept at steering conversations off course, she suddenly felt like she was talking to an eleven-year-old first-year student.

To her, Kasenhis's attempts at deflecting and changing topics were even less convincing than Harry's well-practiced excuse to Professor McGonagall: "The essay's done, I just forgot to bring it."

"Alright," Kasenhis finally relented. "Nicolas Flamel is a very famous alchemist. The only known Philosopher's Stone in existence was created by him. He also used it to make the Elixir of Life, which has supposedly kept him alive for nearly seven hundred years... Don't you collect Chocolate Frog cards?"

Leaning back in his chair with his hands resting on his stomach, Kasenhis appeared entirely nonchalant.

"If that's the case, then the thing hidden under the trapdoor must be this so-called Philosopher's Stone," Hermione said with conviction, her tone so serious it almost made Kasenhis laugh.

How was he supposed to gently tell them that the so-called Philosopher's Stone was just a chunk of redstone—and that he'd even given each of them a piece as a gift?

Still, that amusing thought could wait.

There were more pressing matters at hand.

For instance...

"Are you still investigating that trapdoor? Or are you still tracking Quirrell?" 

"Uh..." 

"Well..." 

"Um..." 

"Professor, do you have any tea around here?" 

"Alright, where are you now in your investigation?" Kasenhis sighed. 

"When we went to have tea with Hagrid, we accidentally let slip about Quirrell being a Dark Wizard," Harry admitted. "Hagrid didn't believe us, and I might've gotten carried away and told him that Quirrell wasn't just a Dark Wizard but was also trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone from the third-floor corridor." 

"Hagrid got really flustered, said a lot of things, and then hurriedly kicked us out," Hermione added, shrugging in exasperation. "And in his panic, he accidentally mentioned something about Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel's plan... and, well, Nicolas Flamel." 

"Hagrid, huh... And now you know what's hidden there. Do you also know what the plan is?" Kasenhis sighed again. 

"Why do you want to know our plan?" 

"So I can hear it, come up with my own plan, and counter your plan by ruining it." 

"That... doesn't sound right!!"

Hermione said, her expression beginning to crack under the absurdity of the conversation. 

"Will you tell me, then?" 

The four exchanged glances and, in unison, shook their heads. 

"No, we won't." 

"Ah... really..." 

The four exchanged another glance, whispering among themselves for a moment, and then stood up in unison. 

"Goodbye, Professor Kasenhis!" 

Kasenhis's lips twitched as he watched them leave his office one after another. 

"Gryffindors... oh, Gryffindors...!!" 

__________

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