100: Second-hand Broom

"Professor, I mean… is this thing really safe?"

Neville looked at Kasenhis lying on the stone slab of the Imbuement Table, surrounded by wind-element crystal shards scattered across the surface.

The floating cube above the table continued to rotate silently in midair.

"Relax, I set up a bunch of stability-boosting rituals this time. Absolutely no problem… Oh, right—when you leave later, make sure to take the door with you."

Neville shook his head. "Professor, I wasn't talking about stability. I meant—can this thing even be applied to a human body? Last time you used it, you were enchanting magical fabric, weren't you?"

"In theory, the Enchanting Table wasn't supposed to work on— no, wait, that's not what I meant," Kasenhis accidentally slipped up, quickly correcting himself.

"What I meant was—this works just like an Enchanting Table. It can be used on objects or on living beings. You can leave now. And don't forget the door."

"Alright then."

Neville nodded, making his way toward the door.

But as he passed by a large machine, he quickly ducked behind it, silently peering through the glass toward the Imbuement Table in the distance.

Just in case something did go wrong, he wanted to be ready to rush Professor Kasenhis straight to the hospital wing.

Meanwhile, Kasenhis drew his wand and lightly tapped the floating cube above the table.

Almost instantly, brilliant blue light burst from the cracks of the cube.

At the same time, the Imbuement Table's magic locked onto the elemental essence inside the nearby bottled jars.

The wind element and motion element inside the jars were drawn into the cube, where they began merging into a new essence — The Flight Element.

At the same time, the wind-element shards on the table began melting, disappearing into thin air.

Boom!

Neville's eyes widened in shock. Without hesitation, he jumped onto his broomstick, pushing the Nimbus 2000 to its top speed, diving straight toward the Imbuement Table like a Seeker chasing the Snitch.

In just an instant, he reached the now-destroyed remains of the table—or what was left of it.

Apart from the charred, blackened rubble, there wasn't even a trace of anything left behind.

"Professor Kasen… is dead?"

Neville's face twisted in despair, his balance faltering as he nearly fell off his broomstick.

"I'd personally suggest that if you're going to fly indoors, you should at least use a slower broomstick. Honestly, full speed on a Nimbus inside an office? I can't believe that was your first instinct."

Hearing the teasing yet casual voice, Neville covered his face with his hands and shook his head.

"The professor is dead— …huh?"

He snapped his head around like a startled deer.

Kasenhis was floating midair, legs crossed, one hand resting on his knee, the other gripping the back of Neville's collar to keep him steady.

Just like this.

"P-Professor?! You can fly?!"

"What did you think I was doing just now? And why is this so surprising?"

"Also, how little do you think of me that you actually believed I'd die from a basic magic experiment?"

Kasenhis smiled, lifting Neville by the collar before gently placing him back on the ground.

"I mean, Professor, you… you're too… I… I—"

"Forget it. If you can't say it properly, don't say it at all."

He waved a hand, signaling that he was perfectly fine, and that Neville could now go back to his dorm and get some sleep.

Meanwhile, he himself had to repair the destroyed Imbuement Table, along with his poor glass flooring, the candles, and the surrounding essence jars.

Sigh..

All part of his late-night overtime work.

And tomorrow, he still had to wake up early to take Neville to Diagon Alley and buy Hermione's gift.

"Damn, what a busy life."

...

The Next Day…

"Professor, I'm not late, am I?"

Neville arrived early, standing outside the Alchemy Office, holding a bag of breakfast.

"Did you eat already?" Kasenhis opened the door, looking at the bag in Neville's hand before asking the most automated, NPC-like question possible.

"…Yes."

"Oh, come in."

Kasenhis naturally took the breakfast bag, sat down in his office area, and started eating.

Meanwhile, Neville was mentally calculating his remaining pocket money.

This trip to Diagon Alley wasn't just for buying Hermione's gift—he also needed to buy himself a broomstick.

Borrowing Harry's broom for so long wasn't exactly ideal, and with Quidditch training becoming more frequent as the match approached, he felt bad asking Harry to lend it to him again and again.

"Are we heading out now?"

As soon as Kasenhis finished eating and put on his coat, Neville asked.

"The sooner we go, the better. Otherwise, I wouldn't have woken up this early."

With October approaching, the temperature in England had already started dropping.

On top of their coats, both of them also layered up with wind-resistant wizard robes.

"Professor, I don't understand—why aren't we using the Floo Network?"

"When I renovated my office, I accidentally blew up the connection to the Floo Network… and I really dislike dealing with the Ministry. So, I just never bothered to get it fixed."

"Of course, if you'd rather let Professor McGonagall find out you snuck out against school rules and lose five rounds' worth of house points, I'd be more than happy to take you to borrow her fireplace instead."

"Uh—no, no, flying is just fine!"

Both of them tightened the drawstrings on their wizard robes, and Neville, ever the cautious one, even put on anti-slip gloves, gripping his broomstick handle extra firmly.

"Let's go."

Kasenhis lifted off, flying straight out through the open lattice window of the office, while Neville carefully followed, tentatively slipping through.

Before long, they had left a pet shop in Diagon Alley.

"This cat… doesn't look great, does it? Look at that face—it looks like it got flattened by an anvil."

Kasenhis stared down at the big-faced cat, curled lazily inside its cage.

The cat lazily lifted its eyelids, gave Kasenhis a brief glance, then turned its head away, as if refusing to acknowledge such rude comments.

"Hmm… If she doesn't like it, I can take it home and let my grandmother care for it… But I think Hermione would like it. I remember she likes uniquely-looking creatures."

"Uniquely looking?"

Kasenhis rubbed his chin, glancing upward as if in deep thought—but in reality, his eyes subtly shifted toward the big-faced cat in the cage.

"Well… I won't deny it. It's definitely… distinctive."

Soon, the two of them headed to the broom shop.

The Longbottom family wasn't lacking in money, but high-end alchemical items like broomsticks, which were the wizarding equivalent of motorcycles, were far beyond what a second-year student could afford on his own.

So, the only option was to buy second-hand.

"Hmm… I just thought of a new project for you to study."

As they walked out of the second-hand broom shop, Kasenhis glanced at the Sweeping Seven Stars in Neville's hands, and a light bulb suddenly popped up at a forty-five-degree angle in his head.

_________

o(*￣▽￣*)ブRead two weeks ahead of WN-

P@treon: Dragonel