"Well then, I suppose I really must thank you on his behalf," Dumbledore said with a faint, wistful tone. "By the way, when do you plan to go?"
"Next school break, probably. You know how it is—ever since the student numbers exploded, even my little elective class is swamped. At this rate, it might turn into a core subject in a few years," Kasenhis replied, pulling a long face.
"Haha~ How does it feel to be popular with the students?"
"Tiring… but worth it," Kasenhis shrugged at Dumbledore, then Ender Teleported straight to the classroom downstairs.
He placed each student's graded homework neatly on their desks and settled in for the long wait until class began.
Before long, class time was drawing near, and a wave of little wizards started pouring into the classroom one by one—like dumplings dropping into a pot.
Soon after, all of them spotted the homework laid out on their desks… and every single one of their faces fell.
"You all don't look very happy," Kasenhis said, casually perched on the edge of the teacher's desk with no care for appearances.
"Professor, with results like this, we genuinely don't know how to feel happy," Draco said, raising his assignment—completely covered in red Xs—with a helpless expression.
And honestly, Draco's work was already ranked top three in the entire third-year class.
Kasenhis looked out over the same old scene—and honestly, he was quite satisfied.
The homework he had assigned last class involved linking soul sand with magical runes. He told the students to study it like a research assignment… but he knew full well that for third-years, this stuff was way beyond the syllabus.
So it was more like a preview assignment, really. But once the homework came back in, he was genuinely surprised to find that some of these kids had actually come up with something decent.
Sure, not much—but considering most of them were starting from practically zero, it was already impressive.
It was a promising start. If he played this right, most of his third-year class could go on to do amazing things in alchemy.
Whether they wanted to or not… was another matter.
Still, it ended up disrupting his original lesson plan.
He'd been planning to explain the rune linkages in detail during this class—but seeing the level of engagement, he decided against it.
It was like when a class had one insanely gifted, hyperactive top student. The chances of the rest of the class doing well actually went down, because that one student would solve every guided question in a flash, leaving no room for the others to think for themselves.
But right now? The atmosphere in Kasenhis's third-year class was ideal. Everyone was trying to think independently.
If he just laid out all the answers now, he'd basically be sending the wrong message:
Don't bother using your brain—the professor's just gonna explain it anyway.
That—was that the right way to go about it? No. No, it wasn't.
So Kasenhis decided to take a different path.
After this class... I shall officially become Hogwarts' one and only Supreme Thought-Guiding Sage!
He gave himself a little pep talk in his head, then pulled out a piece of chalk and whack—slammed a dot onto the blackboard to get everyone's attention.
...
"Class dismissed! This time I've unlocked every key concept for you—next homework turns out the same, and I will have words," Kasenhis said, stretching as he made to leave.
Not heading straight back to the office, of course. He was off to the Great Hall to hunt for food alongside the students.
Merlin knew how long it had been since he'd had a proper meal.
When he arrived, Lupin quickly waved him over to sit at his table. Meanwhile, Snape's expression turned an even darker shade of storm cloud… and he just stood up and stormed off entirely.
"What's up with that? Where's Severus going?" Kasenhis asked, confused, as he sat next to Lupin.
"You'll understand once I explain."
And then Lupin launched into the full story—how, during class, he'd taught the students how to conquer a Boggart, and Neville's worst fear turned out to be Snape.
Which, naturally, led to Snape being transformed by the spell into Neville's grandmother, complete with hat and handbag.
At that moment, not only Lupin, but also Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout nearby couldn't quite hold it in.
Each of them let slip the tiniest, most well-mannered trace of a smile.
Hagrid, sitting at the far end of the table, watched everyone break into laughter with a puzzled frown. Then, a moment later, it clicked for him—his booming, hearty laughter echoed through the entire Great Hall.
"I can already imagine how miserable poor Neville's next few Potions lessons are going to be... But really, you can't blame the kid. That's just Severus taking it out on him—it wasn't like Neville did it on purpose."
"And honestly," Kasenhis continued, "I still think Severus isn't the best fit for teaching ordinary young wizards who lack talent or a foundation in Potions."
"To someone like him, a genius, teaching average kids must feel like a form of torture. I get it now. With that mindset, it's hard to expect him to stay warm and patient in class."
He was clearly defending Snape.
"But truthfully," Dumbledore chimed in, always one to stir the pot with a grin, "your talent for alchemy far surpasses Severus's gift for potioneering. And yet, you haven't turned out the same way."
"How haven't I?" Kasenhis replied immediately. "You really should've seen me when I first arrived at Hogwarts my first year. Now look at me. Give it enough time, and every professor starts to shift a little. I'm just showing milder symptoms—Severus's case is more advanced, that's all."
"And besides, you can't compare me to Severus. Everyone's childhood is different. I had a drink with him once and got to know a bit about his past. You can't expect someone with his childhood to respond to things the same way as someone like me, who basically grew up soaking in a sugar jar. That's not fair to him."
"But the truth is," Dumbledore said, shaking his head gently, "you never really had a sugar jar."
"At least my mindset's decent," Kasenhis shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "And that's just how some people are wired. Severus never got a say in that, did he?"
Beside him, Lupin raised his goblet of pumpkin juice and clinked it lightly against Kasenhis's.
"Snape's lucky to have a friend like you," Lupin said, downing the last of his pumpkin juice in one clean gulp.
"…I'm not that great. I'm just telling it like it is," Kasenhis replied with a shrug of helpless honesty.
"You're selling yourself short," Professor Sprout chimed in, shaking her head.
"Mm-hmm… maybe," he replied with a noncommittal hum.
The meal that followed was deeply satisfying—truly satisfying. Kasenhis couldn't even remember the last time he'd had a proper sit-down meal. He might've actually ascended to a higher plane of existence via roast chicken.
And on his way out of the Great Hall, heading back toward his office, something caught his eye.
Or rather, someone.
A curious little girl—curious not in how she looked, but in her original personality.
She was, shall we say… not the typical Hogwarts student.
And objectively speaking?
Right now, she looked like she was in a bit of trouble.
_________
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