108: This feels so damn good!

o(*￣▽￣*)ブMany Thanks to Dragonslayer 234 and Bitihotra Das for becoming new members!♥♥

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In that case, it was likely that Slytherin himself, while still residing at Hogwarts, had deliberately severed the Room of Requirement's connection to the Chamber of Secrets.

Or, to take it a step further, what if this very room was created by Slytherin himself?

Of course, that would mean ignoring the question of why he had such awful taste in tapestries.

If that were true, then he could have directly programmed the Room of Requirement to reject any attempt to access the Chamber.

However, just because it wouldn't lead directly to the Chamber didn't mean there weren't other ways to get there.

The Room of Requirement, at best, had a bit of intelligence—essentially a mix of Legilimency and Transfiguration.

The real magic was Hogwarts itself.

Thinking about it this way, the Room of Requirement was just one of Hogwarts' many magical manifestations.

And Hogwarts itself had a perfect understanding of its own structure.

If Hogwarts was a giant database, then the Room of Requirement was just a basic search engine.

Which meant… there might be a way to bypass the search engine's restrictions through some creative wording tricks—and directly retrieve information from the database.

Hmm…

Theoretically possible. Time to test it.

Kasenhis waited for the Room of Requirement to fully close again.

Then, he stepped back in front of the tapestry and began pacing three more times.

"I need a room containing a map of the Chamber of Secrets."

"I need a room containing a map of the Chamber of Secrets."

"I need a room containing a map of the Chamber of Secrets."

The door appeared.

"What kind of room did you wish for this time?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Step inside and see for yourself."

Kasenhis entered first, and Dumbledore followed.

The room was vast and empty, except for a stone pedestal in the very center.

Atop the pedestal, wisps of light intertwined, forming a complex geometric pattern.

"What is this?" Dumbledore asked.

"I wished for the Room of Requirement to become a room containing a map of the Chamber of Secrets—and Hogwarts seems to have generated one for me."

"However, the keyword 'Chamber of Secrets' was still filtered by the Room of Requirement. So instead of giving us a proper map, it ended up spitting out a pile of… scrambled nonsense."

Kasenhis explained.

"Wait here—I'll go grab a Pensieve."

Dumbledore said as he prepared to Apparate away.

"No need to go through all that trouble."

Kasenhis pulled out his Arcane Handbook, flipping it open to reveal pages that looked like a starry night sky.

Then, he slammed the book directly onto the scrambled geometric patterns.

"Now, all we need to do is decode these geometric shapes and piece them back together into the original map layout. Once that's done, the Chamber of Secrets will no longer be a mystery."

Dumbledore smiled.

"Bringing you along was a fantastic idea—absolutely brilliant."

"Mm-hmm, who wouldn't agree?"

Kasenhis closed his Arcane Handbook with a smug nod.

"So, where to next?"

"Uh… to the Muggle world to grab some food." Kasenhis replied.

"Ah—No rush, no rush. I need to stop by your office for a bit—I have some magical experiments to run. Come with me to your office first."

Dumbledore said.

Kasenhis didn't say anything, simply pulled out a key… then, after thinking about it for a moment, put it back.

"You don't need me there—just go in. I never lock my office door."

"Ugh.. this.. Still, I'd prefer if you came along. Your office is too big—I'll probably get lost."

Dumbledore said.

"Alright, alright, let's just teleport back this time. I'll wait for you at the door."

With a buzzing sound, Kasenhis vanished.

Dumbledore simply smiled before following suit.

Kasenhis leaned against the doorframe of the Alchemy Office, waiting.

A moment later, Dumbledore Apparated in.

"Alright, let's head inside."

Kasenhis grabbed the door handle, gave it a twist, and the two stepped into the office.

"So, what exactly are you looking for?"

"I'm still figuring that out. Let's keep walking for now."

Dumbledore said as he casually wandered deeper into the office.

Since Kasenhis had no clue what Dumbledore was actually looking for, he couldn't just teleport to it.

So, he had no choice but to follow behind him.

A long while later…

"Have you found it yet?"

"Not really… You know what? Forget it. Let's just head to your study area and have some tea instead. It's not like you're in a hurry."

"Dumbledore, are you serious?!"

Kasenhis was on the verge of breaking down—usually, he was the one making the students run laps around his massive office.

And today… he was the one being dragged around by Dumbledore.

Shame! Absolute shame! An utter disgrace!

"Ahem, Kasenhis."

Dumbledore suddenly called out from behind him.

"Shut it! There's no black tea, no green tea, and I strongly advise you to leave immediately before I punch you in the face."

Kasenhis didn't even bother opening his eyes—he knew that if he looked at Dumbledore's big smug face, he might not be able to hold back from throwing hands.

Sensing danger, Dumbledore instinctively took a step back and closed his eyes.

"So? You are going to go or what?! And.. Why are you keeping your eyes closed?"

Kasenhis asked.

"Because I was afraid of it getting on my eyes~" Dumbledore let out a cold chuckle.

"What—! Ack—!!" BANG!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

In an instant, magical confetti exploded in all directions, covering Kasenhis from head to toe.

Only then did he fully open his eyes—though mostly because the loud bang had startled him into closing them reflexively.

Right in front of him stood Dumbledore, the four little Gryffindors, a beaming Professor McGonagall, a very forced-smiling Severus Snape (whose face was clearly being stretched into a grin), Professor Sprout holding a giant gift box, and Professor Flitwick, still holding his wand, clearly the one who had fired off the magical confetti bomb.

...

The once spacious office was now packed with people.

Madam Pince was curiously examining Kasenhis's monocle—as she did every single time they met.

Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey were studying a whole roasted lamb, while the Weasley twins hovered nearby, stealing bites every now and then.

Hagrid was gasping for air, like he had just been released from a Silencing Charm.

Filch stood in the middle of the crowd, looking a bit awkward.

And on the far edge of the room, Kasenhis even spotted Lockhart—holding a suspiciously book-shaped gift box. Hopefully, it wasn't just another one of his self-portraits.

Kasenhis closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and quietly wiped the corner of his eye without drawing attention to it.

"You all really have way too much free time, seriously."

Dumbledore handed him a velvet handkerchief.

Kasenhis took it, casually wiping the corner of his eye—obviously just because some bedrock dust had blown into it from the wind.

"Look behind you, Kasenhis!"

Hagrid couldn't hold it in anymore and finally blurted out.

Kasenhis nodded, then turned around—his gaze shifting toward the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Black Lake.

A massive screen made entirely of Redstone lamps was somehow floating silently above the Black Lake.

Countless students on Flying Brooms circled around the giant screen, soaring through the air.

The next moment, the Redstone lamps lit up instantly.

Pixel by pixel, they formed a stick figure with a blocky head, wearing a wizard's hat.

The stick figure had its arms raised toward the sky, surrounded by a collection of blocks Kasenhis had frequently used—including an Enchanting Table.

The fact that they even managed to carve out the shape of an Enchanting Table using just Redstone lamps… yeah, that must've been a lot of effort.

Kasenhis raised a hand and waved casually.

In an instant, the massive floor-to-ceiling window shattered—but before the glass fragments could hit the ground, they vanished into thin air.

"Seeing your Redstone screen, I can only say this—for your Third and Seventh-Year final exams… I will give you a score that you will absolutely not be able to refuse."

"PROFESSOR KASENHIS, LONG LIVE!"

"PROFESSOR KASENHIS, WE LOVE YOU!"

The students circling around the screen immediately rushed through the now-broken Alchemy classroom's window.

"What's the feeling like?"

Snape walked up beside Kasenhis and pulled a small vial of golden liquid from his coat.

"Not bad… Alright, fine. This is the first time anyone's celebrated my birthday. And.. This feels so damn good!"

Kasenhis took the small vial, and in that instant, the system, which had been practically shut down for half the semester, suddenly sprang back to life like a resurrected corpse.

[Obtained: Felix Felicis infused with friendship. Unlocked: Lucky Block Module.]

"Happy Birthday." Snape said.

Kasenhis nodded, and lucky cubes appeared in his hands continuously.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

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Read 12 chs ahead of WN:

P@treon: Dragonel