Ron jumped up and caught one of the Lucky Blocks that Kasenhis had tossed out.
He stared at the small, golden-yellow cube with a question mark, then instinctively looked toward Kasenhis.
"Break it."
Kasenhis called out.
Ron, being the straightforward guy he was, punched the Lucky Block without hesitation.
BANG!
Clank-clanc~!
A shower of Sickles exploded out, with a few stray Galleons mixed in.
In an instant, the entire office erupted into excitement.
The quicker students, seeing Ron's success, immediately copied him, smashing their own Lucky Blocks—and soon, countless rare and valuable items spilled out.
The slower ones hurried to pick up any leftover blocks from the floor, opening them up and discovering all sorts of fantastic treasures.
Kasenhis glanced at the empty vial in his hand that had once held Felix Felicis.
This outcome was exactly as he had expected—after all, the Lucky Block module was a complete gamble, where one could either strike gold or fall into absolute disaster.
He definitely wasn't about to randomly distribute unfiltered Lucky Blocks to a bunch of young wizards.
Getting good loot was fine, even summoning elite mobs wasn't too big of a deal—after all, with so many Hogwarts professors present, even a stronger-than-average monster wouldn't cause much chaos.
The real concern… was if someone accidentally spawned a lava cage.
Because at that point… their joyful celebration would immediately turn into a survival horror scenario.
So, making 100% positive Lucky Blocks required Felix Felicis.
That actually made a lot of sense.
But unfortunately for the Felix Felicis supply… And also for Kasenhis, who was now feeling a little guilty as he glanced toward Snape.
"These yellow cubes require Felix Felicis?"
Snape examined the Lucky Block in his hand, tapping it lightly with his knuckle.
A potion bottle, glowing with a faint purple light, popped out.
He uncorked it and took a gentle sniff.
"…This was created through alchemy?"
His expression nearly broke as he spoke.
"Alchemy is capable of anything—especially my alchemy which is omnipotent. Absolutely anything."
Kasenhis crossed his arms, looking as smug as possible.
"Oh, Kasenhis, I just wanted to ask…"
Dumbledore walked over with a pleasant smile.
"Do you have any more of these yellow cubes?"
"Uh…"
Kasenhis fell silent.
The Felix Felicis supply was gone, and the batch Slughorn had given him had long since disappeared into the abyss.
Which meant, if he wanted to make more Lucky Blocks, he'd be relying entirely on chance.
But… this was Dumbledore.
Hmm…
The greatest White Wizard of the modern era—yeah, this should be fine.
"Wait here."
Kasenhis pulled out a Crafting Table, grabbed some gold and a dispenser, and after a bit of tinkering, he had crafted another Lucky Block in no time.
"I personally recommend keeping your wand ready—whether you get a reward or a trap depends entirely on your luck."
Dumbledore, delighted, took the Lucky Block. "But none of them got a trap?"
"That's because I chugged an entire bottle of Felix Felicis before making that batch."
"Ah, alright, alright."
Dumbledore readily agreed, though it was clear he didn't take Kasenhis's warning seriously.
With a snap, he smashed the Lucky Block in his hand.
Instantly, magical energy swirled, transforming into a cage just big enough to trap Dumbledore inside.
Kasenhis instinctively glanced upward, toward the ceiling of his office.
Sure enough—two anvils had immediately begun plummeting toward Dumbledore's head, courtesy of Newton's laws of gravity.
"....."
Dumbledore, caught in the trap, also glanced at Kasenhis, then reflexively looked up—only to see the descending anvils.
But just before they could crash down on him, the anvils suddenly veered off course.
As if Merlin himself had intervened, they gently drifted away from Dumbledore and landed neatly in the corner of the office—safe and sound.
"Uh… this thing really is dangerous."
Dumbledore forcefully broke out of the cage with his wand, then patted his chest as if he'd just had a frightening close call.
The rest of the students and professors, who had been enthusiastically opening Lucky Blocks, gradually came to a halt as well.
After all, none of them had Dumbledore's level of magical power or reflexes.
"Ah~ Don't make all those faces! Your Lucky Blocks are perfectly safe—go ahead and keep opening them. You'll only get good things."
Kasenhis reassured them.
"Oh… that's a relief."
In the corner, Draco Malfoy let out a sigh of relief, then continued directing Crabbe and Goyle to open more Lucky Blocks.
He was planning to collect all the loot and wrap it up as the first-ever gift he would give to his parents.
"Ah! Oh! I really hope that didn't hurt too much, Mr. Glass Wall!"
Kasenhis barely caught a blur flashing past his vision—And the next moment, that same blur had crashed headfirst into one of the reinforced glass walls meant to protect the machines in his office.
Only then did he finally get a good look.
A Ravenclaw girl with light golden hair was now kneeling on the ground, clutching her forehead while apologizing to the glass wall.
On her feet was a pair of delicate enchanted leather boots, shimmering with a faint purple glow—clearly something she had just gotten from a Lucky Block.
"You don't really need to apologize to them—my glass walls are built to be pretty tough."
Kasenhis said as he extended a hand to help her up.
"Even if they're tough, they can still feel pain… I heard them crying."
The little Ravenclaw girl took Kasenhis's hand and stood up as she spoke.
"Uh… I'll, um… go pat them later to cheer them up. Go have fun now."
Kasenhis said awkwardly.
"No need, I'll do it myself."
"Don't neglect your friends."
"I don't have any yet."
"Oh…"
Kasenhis rubbed his chin, debating whether he should quickly change the subject or just apologize outright.
After all, what he had just said was basically the verbal equivalent of rubbing salt into a wound.
"Are you wondering if you should apologize?"
"Well..."
"I don't think it's necessary. I just don't have friends right now, that's all. But sooner or later, there will always be people who share our interests who come into our lives."
The little Ravenclaw witch spoke in a gentle, calm tone—so much so that Kasenhis unexpectedly found himself being comforted for once.
"Uh… well, I hope you like your new boots."
"And I hope you enjoy your birthday, Professor Kasenhis."
"Oh, I absolutely will."
Kasenhis nodded vigorously, like a pecking chick.
For some reason, talking to this little witch gave him a strangely unsettling sense of pressure.
After leaving the conversation, he spotted Professor Flitwick—who was currently devouring a massive plate of roast lamb.
Hmm. Looks like this adorable old wizard is actually a hardcore carnivore.
"Professor Flitwick."
Kasenhis slowly squatted down beside him.
"What is it?"
Professor Flitwick asked, still chewing—he was clearly very, very hungry…
"That little witch over there—the one talking to the glass wall?"
Kasenhis pointed in her direction.
"Oh, Luna Lovegood. Hmm… all I can say is.. That child is more magical than anyone else."
Professor Flitwick replied diplomatically.
_______________
Read two weeks ahead:
P@treon: Dragonel