Not long after, it was time once again for that age-old ritual beloved by all ages—dinner.
Kasenhis strolled into the Great Hall, grinning from ear to ear… only to spot Hagrid wearing a face like he'd just bitten into a whole lemon.
"Hmm? Yo, Hagrid, what's wrong?" Kasenhis asked, sitting down beside him.
"You're a little late. If you'd shown up, say, four minutes earlier, you could've witnessed the grand spectacle of a Wizengamot summons falling from the sky," Snape said dryly, chewing as he spoke.
"Huh? What nonsense is the Wizengamot up to now?" Kasenhis was confused.
Hagrid could only hand him the summons in silence. Kasenhis took a glance…
"'Intentional harm'? What kind of bullshit is this? Didn't we record the whole thing with the orb?" Kasenhis didn't even bat an eye.
"They're suing the one that did the spitting…"
"…So the Wizengamot—or maybe the Ministry, or Lucius Malfoy—thinks that a hippogriff spitting something gross on Draco's head constitutes… bodily harm? If it was a human, maybe, but they're seriously escalating things over a hippogriff?" Kasenhis looked thoroughly baffled.
"Yeah… What do we do, Kasen?" Hagrid asked miserably.
"Hmm… let me think.. What kind of sentence are they even considering?" Kasenhis asked.
"I think they're pushing for a life sentence… for Buckbeak."
"Oh, if that's the case, then at worst—"
Lupin interjected at just the right moment, "And also charging Hagrid with endangering students through reckless teaching. That's been an official offense for ages—just no one's ever enforced it. But this time, there's a good chance they'll try to pin it on him."
"Hmm... I see. Then later, go find Madam Pince. The library doesn't just house mountains of knowledge—it's got nearly every newspaper, official document, and Wizengamot ruling ever printed. If it's got text, it's probably in there. And Madam Pince reorganizes the entire library every holiday, so she's bound to have something on magical creature rulings."
"Next step: copy out a bunch of past defense arguments."
"The problem is... do we actually stand a chance?" Hagrid sniffled.
"What do you mean?" Kasenhis was confused.
"He means—can ordinary defense statements really beat a family like the Malfoys?" Snape translated, prompting Hagrid to nod furiously.
"Oh… so it's not the case of some student's endangerment, but Lucius Malfoy wants to crush us with status and influence," Kasenhis said, finally getting it.
Hagrid nodded even harder. "Do you think you'll be able to fight back?"
"In truth, Hagrid," Kasenhis said, "aside from the Malfoy family, nobody's bored enough to pick a fight with a magical creature. So if we go looking for outside help in this situation… they'll just think we're idiots."
Lupin patted Hagrid on the shoulder sympathetically.
"Then what about Buckbeak… and the dangerous teaching charge…"
Before Kasenhis could finish his question, he noticed Professor Sprout approaching—with an uninvited guest in tow: Nymphadora Tonks.
"Uh… is this a nostalgic walk down memory lane?" Kasenhis asked curiously.
Tonks shook her head helplessly. "No, official business. I'm here to investigate Hagrid and Buckbeak for criminal charges—and also to deliver a warning from the Ministry of Magic."
Kasenhis sat up a little straighter. "What kind of warning?"
Tonks cleared her throat. "Mainly a warning for Hagrid. Right now, the Ministry—especially the Auror Office—is severely understaffed. There's no one to spare to watch over Buckbeak."
"So I'm here to warn you, Hagrid: don't, under any circumstances, let Buckbeak 'accidentally' escape while you're conveniently alone."
"And absolutely do not use Sandstorm Hex to corrode the rope, or stack three enchanted sawblades to cut through it so it looks like the rope just snapped naturally. That way, it won't be your fault and the Ministry won't be able to trace it back to you."
"And as for that so-called 'dangerous teaching' charge—don't even think about getting Dumbledore to sneak you a 'temporary instructor license,' because if you do, Hogwarts can simply fail you on your 'internship evaluation' and avoid a Wizengamot trial altogether. Then on the seventh day, Dumbledore can rehire you under the excuse of 'no better candidate available'!"
"All of what I just said—absolutely! Absolutely! ABSOLUTELY do not do any of it!" Tonks pressed both hands on the table, staring seriously at Hagrid.
Then she looked into Hagrid's wide, innocent eyes… sighed… turned to Kasenhis… and was met with an even more confused look than Hagrid's. In the end, she turned to Lupin.
Hmm. That guy at least looks like he has a brain.
"Did you get all that? Make sure to keep an eye on Hagrid for me," Tonks said to Lupin.
Lupin gave her an OK sign. "Of course. No problem."
Only then did everyone turn to look at Kasenhis—because let's face it, Hagrid's reaction was expected. But Kasenhis looking just as baffled? Now that was worrying.
Of course, Kasenhis had understood the message Tonks was clearly conveying. He just hadn't expected someone to spell it out that blatantly.
What could he say? If the Ministry had more brilliant employees like Tonks… it was doomed!
In the end, Kasenhis subtly gave Tonks a thumbs-up. "Bold move."
Tonks just shrugged. "Eh, worst case scenario, if I do get fired from the Ministry, I can always take the job as next year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." She shot a mysterious grin at Lupin as she said that.
Dumbledore cleared his throat awkwardly. "Actually… we already have someone lined up for that post next year."
"Eh?" Tonks looked utterly dumbfounded at Dumbledore.
She'd thought she had secured herself a fallback plan—only to find her backup had already been stolen?
"Professor, what if one day I can't even afford a meal?" she looked pitifully at Dumbledore.
"Perhaps," Dumbledore offered, "you could become the Hogwarts gamekeeper?"
"And the salary?" Tonks asked immediately.
Dumbledore gave a very polite smile.
Then Tonks turned to look at Hagrid. "What's he giving you?"
"Wait… the gamekeeper… gets a salary?" Hagrid asked, completely stunned.
Now, all the professors' eyes slowly turned toward Dumbledore.
"So… where exactly do those tens of thousands of Galleons the Board of Governors s every year go?" Professor McGonagall asked in a dangerously calm tone.
"Professors' salaries, routine school maintenance, purchasing magical materials of various sorts, food for the Great Hall… oh, and ..ehm.. desserts for the Headmaster's office," Dumbledore replied, bone-dry.
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