"I've heard much about you."
"…Huh? You know me?" Kasenhis asked, a bit surprised.
"As one of the governors of Hogwarts, it is naturally my duty to know every professor at the school. That includes the new Alchemy Professor, Mr. Kasenhis," Lucius said with a reserved tone.
"Oh, well, I've heard much about you too. Delighted to meet you," Kasen replied politely.
"This is my card. It has the address of Malfoy Manor. You're always welcome to visit," Lucius said, pulling out an emerald-green card and handing it over.
"I'll keep that in mind."
The two exchanged a few more polite words before Kasen left Flourish and Blotts. Meanwhile, the Malfoy father and son stayed behind, continuing to browse books.
As Draco perused the shelves, he suddenly spoke up, "Father, I've never heard of the His family before."
"You're asking why I extended goodwill to him, even though he seems to be of Muggle lineage?" Lucius replied.
"Dumbledore claims that this Kasenhis belongs to the old school of apprentice wizards. Whether he is of Muggle origin or not remains to be verified. From what I've been able to uncover, Kasenhis is an orphan, which doesn't necessarily mean he's a Muggle-born."
"Furthermore, his skill in alchemy is truly impressive. That alone is enough for me to overlook his lineage. The concept of 'pureblood' is only valuable if it brings us tangible benefits. But when the label of pureblood risks bringing us disaster instead…"
Lucius paused at this point, clearly waiting for Draco to add something. Unfortunately...
"If this title of 'pureblood' cannot bring us benefits and prestige, we must make it as transparent as possible. If this title brings us danger, we must abandon it entirely."
"What is truly valuable is never the idea of 'pureblood,' but tangible benefits. Do you understand?" Lucius had no choice but to lay out the entire answer himself.
Draco was silent for a moment, then nodded. Whether he truly understood, however, remained uncertain.
At Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Kasen arrived fashionably late and found Harry sitting on a small sofa, waiting.
"Sorry to keep you waiting so long."
"It's fine, Professor. Where's Hagrid?" Harry asked with a smile as he stood up.
"Haven't seen him. He said something about going to Knockturn Alley," Kasen replied, shaking his head.
"Let's go look for him. I remember seeing a sign pointing to Knockturn Alley earlier."
"Mm-hmm. I don't mind. Let's go."
The two found the small path leading to Knockturn Alley. Along the way, there weren't many people—just a few disheveled wizards huddled in corners.
Before long, they reached the end of the path, and Knockturn Alley appeared before them.
Its layout wasn't too different from Diagon Alley, but it was sparsely populated, with an oppressive atmosphere of deathly stillness and hostility.
"This place doesn't seem very proper. What's Hagrid doing here?"
Kasen muttered, frowning.
He didn't like the lifeless air and the clear sense that this wasn't a good place.
"Isn't that Hagrid?" Harry suddenly pointed, and Kasen followed his gaze. To be fair, with Hagrid's size, he was impossible to miss.
It seemed, however, that Hagrid had run into… a bit of trouble.
Three black-robed dark wizards had him surrounded, seemingly trying to intimidate him.
"Stay behind me and don't wander off," Kasen instructed Harry. Still uneasy, he summoned an Ender Pearl and handed it to him.
"If you're in immediate danger, throw this in the opposite direction."
With that, Kasen led Harry toward Hagrid.
"Hagrid, what's going on?" Kasen called out to him from a distance.
"What are you doing here? Honestly, I can handle this," Hagrid said, glancing back at Kasen and Harry as they approached, looking slightly embarrassed.
"This doesn't concern you, trust me, pretty boy. You don't want a taste of dark magic," one of the black-robed wizards rasped, his voice dripping with menace.
"I'll say the same thing: honestly, if you leave now, no harm will come to you," Kasen replied, shrugging and continuing to walk forward without hesitation.
"You're courting death, kid. Crucio!"
A sickly green curse shot toward Kasen, only to be blocked cleanly by a suddenly materialized obsidian block.
"Hey! Stay away from my friends! Come at me instead!" Hagrid shouted, seeing one of the wizards attack Kasen. He pulled out his wand, which was disguised as a pink umbrella. Unfortunately, he was a moment too slow, and a Disarming Charm sent the umbrella flying.
With his wand gone, Hagrid resorted to his fists. But… truth be told, dark wizards weren't the school kids at Hogwarts, and fists didn't pack quite the same punch as dark curses.
"By the end of today, all three of you are going down! Mark my words!" the dark wizard who had attacked Kasen boasted arrogantly.
"It's just dark magic. Who doesn't know a thing or two?" Kasen frowned, summoning a Wither Skull into his hand. The ominous, smoke-shrouded skull shot toward the dark wizard in the blink of an eye.
The wizard froze, dumbfounded, as he watched the silent, wandless casting of such a powerful dark magic spell.
Dark magic? Wandless? Silent?
This guy was trouble!
Oh… he got it. This was certain death!
The next second, the Wither Skull collided with his chest, exploding with a deafening bang. Previously, when Kasen had accidentally detonated one himself, the spell had at least spared its caster from certain doom. The source of thɪs content is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵
But this wizard had no such luck.
The explosion, coupled with the withering effect, ended his life instantly.
The two other dark wizards who were attacking Hagrid quickly realized what was happening: Kasen wasn't someone to mess with.
Without hesitation, they tried to Disapparate and flee.
But before they could, another Wither Skull exploded, taking out the wizard further from Hagrid. The one closer to Hagrid was struck by a dark green beam of light.
As the light shattered, Kasen materialized in front of him, a faintly glowing purple sword in his hand. Without missing a beat, he plunged the blade straight into the dark wizard's chest.
"Hagrid, are you alright?" Kasen asked, pulling the sword free. As the body collapsed to the ground, the sword disappeared from his hand.
"No… no problem at all. I didn't realize you were this strong. I thought you only knew alchemy! Hahaha!"
Hagrid said, scratching his head as he picked up his small pink umbrella wand from the ground.
At the same time, trust points from both Hagrid and Harry poured into Kasen like a steady stream.
[+10 Trust from Hagrid]
[+10 Trust from Hagrid]
[+10 Trust from Hagrid]
[+10 Trust from Harry]
[+10 Trust from Harry]
[+10 Trust from Harry]
[MC Block Upgrade: New Block Unlocked – TNT]