It had been a while since the last time Dumbledore and Lupin had their reputations unintentionally destroyed.
Kasenhis was leisurely sitting on the sofa, basking in the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching Sirius work hard not far away. At that moment, he felt like life had truly reached a state of bliss.
A job he liked, harmonious relationships with his coworkers, adorable little wizards, a boss who—though he liked to psychologically manipulate people from time to time—still paid handsomely, and even the farmwork he took full responsibility for had someone enthusiastically volunteering to help.
"Life is good!"
Ding-ling-ling…
As the crystal ball on his desk lit up, Kasenhis didn't move a muscle. A force field rippled out from his center and pressed the crystal ball for him.
Very soon, the four little ones rowed their boat right up to him from the doorway.
"Professor, guess what we've been up to all this time instead of coming to bother you between classes?" Harry asked with a sheepish grin.
"Show me what you've got. There's tea in the cupboard—still green tea," Kasenhis said, sitting up as he watched the little wizards each place a small box on the coffee table.
As for what was inside those boxes—he didn't even need to think hard. He could guess with his knees alone that they were Wither Talismans. Otherwise, there was no way these kids would come here just to show off.
Actually, it wasn't even fair to say kids—it was clearly Hermione behind this.
Compared to the completely unreliable Harry, Neville, and Ron, Hermione actually had a sense of dignity and wouldn't do something utterly shameless.
Kasenhis looked over the four Wither Talismans. Inside, the mini Withers silently roared. Although the casing workmanship wasn't exactly top-tier, at least the inner core—the actual Wither—was intact.
Except for Ron's...
"Hmm... While the craftsmanship is... let's say, questionable, it still works. But Ron, even though I told you in private you could skimp a little on the gold, if you're going to use substitutes, at least pick something in the same ballpark—like brass or something. But this... did you melt down a soda can? Is this thing cast from tin?"
Ron scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I really couldn't find any brass in the school."
"You could've asked your twin brothers. They have literally everything," Kasenhis said, handing all four of the Wither Talismans back to them. At that moment, Neville had finished steeping the tea and poured Kasenhis a cup, sliding it over.
"Thanks."
"So, Professor, about what you promised me…" Harry leaned in with a cheeky grin.
"Tomorrow, I'll be picking people in the Great Hall to help clear out Dementors. Raise your hands if you're interested. As for who I pick, I'll decide that myself," Kasenhis said, taking a happy sip of tea.
"Then, Professor, who else are you planning to choose?" Harry asked.
"A few more students whose parents still haven't signed the permission forms—besides you. I plan to invite them all," Kasenhis replied.
"Oh… then Professor, did we pass the test?" Hermione asked, eyes sparkling.
"You passed. Why?"
"Well, um, Professor Snape hasn't seemed to be in a very good mood during class these past two days," Hermione said bashfully.
And just like that, Kasenhis caught the subtext in her words: "Oh, so Snape's been docking a lot of points from you lately?"
The four of them nodded a little sheepishly.
"Gryffindor minus forty—wait, no no..." Kasenhis accidentally slipped mid-sentence, and seeing the horror on their faces, he quickly waved his hand and corrected himself, "Add! Forty points. Gryffindor gains forty points!"
The four let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Professor. Please don't misspeak like that again—it's terrifying."
"Ahem... care to stay a bit longer?"
The four of them all shook their heads in perfect sync. "No thanks, Professor, we've got Potions this afternoon… with him... oh Merlin..."
As the four left, Sirius came trotting over, backpacked with his little gardener's utility kit.
"Uh… Professor, Bruce is...?" Neville looked curiously at the little pack Bruce was carrying.
"Mhm, that's right. Your warm and gentle Alchemy Professor is gone forever. The man standing before you now is a dangerous Professor Kasenhis, who makes even passing dogs do chores."
"Got it, Professor," Neville nodded quickly, then smacked his buddies on the back—at that moment, it was like they all desperately wished they had ten more legs to run faster.
Kasenhis shrugged, then took out another teacup and poured a cup of tea for Sirius.
"Give it a try."
"Got any alcohol?" Sirius asked.
"You know where it is."
Sirius nodded and walked over to the liquor cabinet, grabbing a glass.
"Hey, wait—make that two," Kasenhis quickly added.
Sirius shrugged again and took out another glass.
Soon, the two of them were sitting on the sofa, leisurely sipping their drinks.
By the next morning, Kasenhis climbed out of bed, rubbed his face, and checked the time.
"Excellent. Just in time for breakfast."
After changing clothes, he used Ender teleportation to appear in the Great Hall.
He walked along each house table like a salesman, advertising his Dementor-clearing job offer: only open to students who had successfully made a Wither Talisman, didn't have a parent's permission form signed, and were third year or above—this last part was a hard rule alongside the talisman requirement.
Soon, after walking the length of all four tables, he had perfectly identified three qualifying students: Gryffindor's Harry Potter, Ravenclaw's Ginsonte, and Slytherin's Alia.
There were no Hufflepuffs in the lineup—not because they couldn't make a Wither Talisman, but because every single Hufflepuff had their permission forms signed.
As for the chosen students, this had all been arranged in advance—they were the kind whose families wouldn't sign the forms. Though, unlike Harry's aunt and uncle, who refused just to spite him, the parents of the other two were genuinely concerned for their children's safety.
"Alright, everyone—follow me into battle. But first, let me check your Wither Talismans. Hand them over." Kasenhis reached out, collecting the three talismans. After confirming the casings were intact and the Withers inside were stable, he returned them to the students.
"Okay, young wizards—charge!" Kasenhis waved them forward. In the next instant, a force field enveloped the group, and with a burst of Ender teleportation, they appeared outside Hogwarts grounds.
"Stick close and don't fall behind. Our mission is to drive out every Dementor lingering near Hogsmeade."
"Professor, we're using Withers to drive off Dementors—but where's your Wither Talisman?" someone asked.
"Oh, I just sort of wing it," Kasenhis said, pulling out soul sand and a Wither skeleton skull, then summoning a full-sized Wither that he led from the front.
Behind him, the three students looked at the hulking beast ahead of them… then back down at their own tiny talismans.
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