"Wow… she's probably gonna love that gliding sensation," Lupin said, gazing up at Tonks, who was currently ascending in a straight vertical line.
"...Actually, hic.. she's not really going to glide this time," Kasenhis said a bit awkwardly. "Remember what I told you about compound spells? Levitation hic.. plus gravity?"
"You mean to say…"
"Yup."
"Merlin's pants!" Lupin quickly pulled out his wand and started scanning the sky for Tonks.
"Ahem, use this," Kasenhis said, patting Lupin's shoulder and handing him a red pearl.
"What is this?"
"Just throw it at her."
Lupin took the pearl, guided it with his wand, and launched it toward Tonks, who was still climbing higher and higher.
Whoosh!
The moment the pearl made contact with Tonks, she went into a full-speed nosedive—only to be suddenly surrounded by layer upon layer of tightly woven spiderwebs just before hitting the ground, narrowly avoiding a tragic transformation from "Tonks" to "Tonks-paste."
"Woah woah woah! Junior… are you trying to kill your senior?" Tonks crawled out of the spiderwebs with great difficulty, brushing her hair back with a hint of thrill, and said helplessly.
"It was all an accident. Hic.. Do you want to go see Madam Pomfrey?" Kasenhis asked, a bit embarrassed.
"No need for now…" Tonks shook her head and stood up with Lupin's help. "Can we do it again?"
Kasenhis rolled his eyes and flipped open his spellbook, changing the last setting from gravity to glide.
And just like that, she took off again.
"The pearl? Give me the pearl," Lupin said, already prepared with a Levitation Charm and ready to catch her midair.
"No need this time. It's glide, not gravity," Kasenhis explained.
"Oh… that's a relief."
"Fuuah~" Kasenhis had no interest in playing referee for these two lovebirds. He took a deep breath of fresh air and headed back into the castle.
He still had to prepare for tomorrow's class. Aside from the third-years, he wasn't too worried about the other students making Wither Amulets. Even the fourth-years had at least a basic foundation in alchemy and runes by now.
Right now, the only real problem left was the third-years. Aside from a few prodigies and study maniacs, the rest were basically complete alchemy noobs—tiny little beans with zero foundation.
So for the whole week, Kasenhis had been treating the other year groups' alchemy classes with a "one-size-fits-all" approach. But when it came to the Wither Amulet, nearly all of his focus was directed at the third-years.
Not because the amulet itself was so crucial—but because of the Hogsmeade trip.
He knew these little witches and wizards way too well. They'd been drooling over how upper-year students could throw money around like mad in Hogsmeade. After two whole years of envy, now they finally had a shot—and expecting them to obediently stay inside the castle?
Yeah, no chance.
If this were any other year, maybe he'd turn a blind eye. But this year, the place outside was crawling with Dementors.
If anything happened, Fudge's reputation would go so far down he'd have to marry an Acromantula to save face—and even that might not be enough—Because Kasenhis would kill him.
.......
The next day...
"Class is starting—eh, forget it, don't bother standing up," Kasenhis said, standing at the podium with a smile that stretched a little too wide. "I was looking at the calendar recently, and realized in a few weeks, you'll be able to visit Hogsmeade, isn't that right?"
All the students below nodded reflexively, but a collective chill ran down their spines at the sight of that unsettling smile.
Not all smiles are the same.
The last time Kasenhis smiled like this, they all ended up wearing protective goggles for an entire term, and Professor Lockhart of Defense Against the Dark Arts was so traumatized he refused to leave his office.
The time before that, Professor Quirrell spent the whole semester lying in the infirmary.
The little wizards started putting their heads together fast—lightning-speed deduction activated.
Draco, zero hesitation, raised his hand and asked, "Professor, do you need us to help you assassinate Professor Lupin?"
"..." Kasenhis's mouth twitched uncontrollably. "Ahem. That won't be necessary."
"Really?"
"Really! You've all seen Professor McGonagall's notice, haven't you?"
The young wizards all pulled faces like someone in their family had just died, nodding in reluctant resignation.
"Originally, I was going to let you choose between learning the Patronus Charm or crafting a Wither Amulet," Kasenhis said. "Master either one, and you'd be allowed to go to Hogsmeade. But someone reminded me—the Patronus Charm is an active spell, and frankly, I seriously doubt that when you actually see a Dementor, you'll be able to remember to raise your wand and chant the incantation. So... let's take a look at your homework."
As he spoke, Kasenhis waved his hand, distributing their assignments with a flick.
Draco raised his hand again. "Professor, who reminded you?"
"Lupin. Why?"
Draco rubbed his nose with a sigh. "So… this year, we really can't help you assassinate the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"
Kasenhis's tone turned a bit stiff. "To be honest, I don't need your help assassinating any Defense Against the Dark Arts professor! If I really wanted to, I could take care of it myself!"
"Okay then…" Draco muttered, lowering his head with disappointment. Looked like Professor Snape's evil plan would have to be shelved for now.
Meanwhile, Kasenhis looked around at the dejected faces of his students. Sure, that mood wasn't exactly ideal for academic enthusiasm, but judging from their reactions, they were now genuinely too scared to try sneaking out of the castle.
Which was exactly what he wanted.
"Alright, let's take a look at your homework first, then we'll begin the actual lesson. The following students I call on—stand up and copy yesterday's blackboard notes ten times..."
...
As the lesson slowly came to an end, Kasenhis wrote a string of runic symbols on the blackboard.
"Alright, little witches and wizards, learning the Wither Amulet is exhausting enough. Now, let's move on to something a bit lighter—to cleanse your hearts and minds."
The young wizards stared at the runes on the board with bloodshot eyes.
"These runes are very simple. I just need you to take out your wands and use your magic to inscribe this rune on your wrists," Kasenhis said with a cheerful smile.
The students all started working on the task—until Hermione suddenly seemed to remember something. "Professor, what does this rune do?"
"It's definitely good for you. Just copy it, no problem."
Hermione still felt something was off… but in the end, she went ahead and inscribed the rune on her wrist anyway.
"Alright," Kasenhis said, "this rune is for your own safety. Anyone who tries to leave the Hogwarts grounds without permission will trigger the rune, and it'll forcibly teleport you back into the castle. Class dismissed!"
"Professor! What the f—"
And with that, Kasenhis bolted from the classroom.
Achoo! Achoo!
Sneezing twice in a row, Kasenhis rubbed his nose. "Once thought of, once cursed... Hmm, looks like two people are thinking about me."
_________
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