HP: Alchemy? Nah, It's Crafting

Neville stayed up late in the office crafting the glasses, meticulously polishing the crystal into lenses, casting mithril into the frames, and finally assembling them.

Once everything was completed, all that remained was to apply the prescription magic to the lenses and perform deep-level enchantments.

"Haah.. This is exhausting," Neville muttered, carefully placing the half-finished glasses into an exquisite case before stretching his back with a groan.

"Haha~ I'll walk you back to the common room. Wouldn't want Filch catching you and making you do extra detention," Kasenhis smiled lazily as he put on his coat. He watched Neville ride his small broom at a leisurely pace toward the office door before teleporting with an Ender Pearl to appear beside him.

"For the next step, I'll help you reorganize the rune symbols you've written. From now on, only enchant once per day, and only a small section at a time—this way, you won't burn yourself out."

"It's not a serious problem, but if Hermione finds out, you'll be in trouble," Kasenhis added with a look of genuine fear.

"I think I'll be fine. That kind of situation only happens to you, Professor Kasenhis. I doubt I'd end up in the same mess," Neville said.

"I'm not talking about how Hermione would handle you—I'm saying you should avoid magical exhaustion."

"Yes, Professor."

The two walked down the corridor together.

Suddenly, a flicker of words passed across the monocle.

[Magic] [Flesh] [Soul]

Kasenhis immediately grabbed Neville by the scruff of his neck and yanked him behind him without a second thought. 

A wand silently appeared in his hand, and countless tiny glowstones spread across the corridor, illuminating every inch. 

"Who's there? Come out." 

The brightly lit corridor was completely empty. 

"Stay here and hide… Close your eyes. They will protect you," Kasenhis ordered, summoning four iron golems around Neville in an instant, forming a tight protective barrier around him. 

"Close your eyes. Don't look at anything… It might really be one of those two creatures Hagrid mentioned…" 

After speaking, Kasenhis narrowed his own eyes and carefully stepped forward, keeping his movements as light as possible as he approached the corridor's corner. 

After all, even though both Nandu and the Basilisk have yellow eyes and can eat you without your content, Hagrid had said that the Basilisk could kill if one made direct eye contact with them, so with the bodyguards guarding him, it should be good just to keep your eyes shut. 

As long as he was cautious and avoided direct eye contact, Kasen should be able to take them down. 

"But those words—'Flesh' and 'Soul'… Did Voldemort possess one of the creatures?" 

He muttered to himself, keeping his gaze lowered while trying to observe the empty corridor as carefully as possible. 

Then—he heard a scream.

"Wardoff? What the hell is this?"

"Close your eyes! Wait for me!"

Kasenhis instantly recognized the voices—it was the Weasley twins. He had no idea which one had shouted, but that didn't matter. He raised his voice and barked out a command.

Getting mauled by a beast or cursed by dark magic might mean losing a limb, but it was still better than being stared to death on the spot.

There was no time to think. He immediately teleported to the source of the scream.

One of the twins was already lying on the ground—turned into a solid stone statue.

The other was crouched in a corner, covering his eyes with one arm while wildly flinging hexes and curses in every direction with his wand.

"Weasley, stop!" Kasenhis ordered.

"Professor Kasenhis? W-What happened to George? Was he hit with a Full Body-Bind Curse?" Fred, upon hearing Kasenhis's voice, let out a breath of relief and lowered his arm, revealing a comically oversized enchanted eye on his face.

Then, his gaze landed on George, frozen in place—completely turned to stone.

Kasenhis bent down and carefully propped George up, noting that he, too, was wearing an exaggerated pair of enchanted glasses.

But now wasn't the time to worry about that.

Through his monocle, Kasenhis saw George's status.

[Human] [Magic] [Rock]

"It looks like he's still alive. Take George with you—we need to find Neville first. He's here too." 

"Alright, alright," Fred sighed in relief upon hearing that George was still alive. He quickly cast a Levitation Charm, making George float beside him as he followed Kasenhis. 

Before long, the three of them met up with Neville. After dismissing the iron golems, they all headed straight for Gryffindor Tower. 

Kasenhis had no interest in continuing Neville's lessons tonight. Neville, sensing the mood, didn't ask any questions.

He simply walked in silence with the group until they reached the Fat Lady's portrait. After waking her up, they slipped one by one into the Gryffindor common room. 

"Neville, go to bed first. Don't say anything about this for now—wait until the morning." 

Neville nodded, looking like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he kept quiet and slowly made his way to the staircase leading to the boys' dormitory. 

"Who attacked you?" Kasenhis asked, placing George onto one of the sofas and turning to Fred. 

"George should've seen it—I didn't." 

"...And what exactly are those things on your faces?" 

"Uh… night vision glasses. Flashing Lumos while sneaking around makes it easier to get caught." 

"...Prepare to lose some house points." Kasenhis sighed, rubbing his temples in exasperation. 

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared, leaving behind only a few faint traces of purple light.

Fred was utterly bewildered. Before he could process everything, a loud boom sounded again, and Kasenhis reappeared in the common room—this time with a very sleepy-looking Dumbledore in tow. 

"Take a look. Is this the Full Body-Bind Curse?" 

Dumbledore pulled out the Elder Wand and cast the counter-curse on George. After a long moment, he shook his head. 

"Strictly speaking, this is not the Full Body-Bind Curse—or at least, not one cast by a wizard." 

Hearing this, Fred, who had been casually using George's petrified form as a makeshift hook to hang his glasses, immediately froze. 

His face went pale with fear as he looked at Kasenhis and Dumbledore. 

"What do you mean.. Is he going to die?" 

"Rest assured, he is not dead. Madam Pomfrey will be able to heal him," Dumbledore reassured him gently. 

Meanwhile, Kasenhis, unfazed, pulled out a glass of milk and continued examining petrified George. 

Judging by the state of his body, he must have been turned to stone so suddenly that he hadn't even had time to open his mouth. 

With that thought, Kasenhis laid George down horizontally on the sofa—then unceremoniously poured the milk into his… well, not his brain, but his ear canal.

"Kasenhis, what are you doing?" Dumbledore asked, visibly bewildered and utterly shaken by what he was witnessing.

"This is alchemy. You wouldn't understand, so don't interrupt me," Kasenhis replied dismissively as he decided to modify the milk's properties.

In an instant, the liquid milk vanished, leaving only a radiant white glow hovering in his hand.

Slowly, he pressed the glowing energy into George's chest.

The next moment—

"Gah! Cough, cough! Ha! I'm alive!" George gasped, bolting upright with a look of pure terror.

"Hello Mr. Weasley, glad to have you back but I can't help but ask.. What actually happened and what did you see?" Dumbledore stepped forward immediately, not waiting for Kasenhis to explain what had happened.

"...A snake... A huge snake!"

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P@treon: Dragonel