"Professor, don't be mad~"
Neville, now far more confident than he had been in first year, grinned mischievously, playfully whining at Kasenhis in hopes of getting forgiveness.
"Forget it. Here's your assignment for today—decrypt the logic behind this Enchantment Book. Figure out why this enchantment makes an object remain loyal to its wielder. Then, write me a report. You can choose between ten inches of parchment or five thousand words—whichever you prefer."
With that, Kasenhis tossed the Enchantment Book over to Neville, leaving him to study and decode it.
Kasenhis remained comfortably seated on the sofa, still lounging with his legs crossed.
Meanwhile, across the room, the red crystal ball on his office desk lit up once again.
Casually, he tossed the book in his hand toward it.
The throw was dead accurate.
Just as the office door swung open, Harry appeared, standing at the entrance.
From afar, he could see Neville buried in study at the office desk while Professor Kasenhis relaxed without a care in the world.
Ten minutes ago, in a moment of sheer stupidity, he had lent his broomstick to Neville.
And now at this moment, Harry wanted to die.
Of course, that feeling remained purely theoretical—he wasn't actually going to die. Even if the road ahead was long and arduous, he still had to walk it himself.
Kasenhis finished reading an entire magazine, then glanced up in Harry's direction.
Seeing that Harry had only made it halfway, he thought for a moment before pulling out another magazine and started reading again.
By the time Kasenhis had gotten through half of his second magazine, Harry—now wearing the silver-rimmed glasses Neville had made for him—finally arrived, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Not bad, you're in good shape—just what I'd expect from a Seeker." Kasenhis gave Harry a rare compliment, pouring him a cup of tea as he spoke.
"Ug.. Thanks, Professor."
Harry downed the tea in one go, still panting as he continued, "This morning, I went to the library to return some books. On my way back, I heard this weird sound—it was like it was coming from the walls. Or maybe, from inside the walls."
"Take your time—speak slowly," Kasenhis said, setting down his magazine on the coffee table. Then, he glanced at Neville.
"Neville, keep studying. Not everything interesting is your business."
"Professor," Harry pressed on, "I also heard whatever was inside the wall talking."
"...What did it say?"
Harry took a deep breath, tilting his head back instinctively as he recalled the words.
"It said a lot... about you."
Neville, who had been trying to eavesdrop, immediately looked up—
Only to be smacked in the head by a flying block.
"Go on," Kasenhis said, unfazed.
"The voice said something like…
[Why did it disappear?]
[Spatial magic? Alchemy?]
[Only a few decades have passed, and I can't recognize alchemy anymore?]
[Damn alchemy. Damn Kasenhis. This is definitely his doing.]"
"I don't remember the exact order of what it said, and the voice wasn't particularly clear, but that's everything I managed to remember," Harry explained.
Kasenhis scratched his chin awkwardly.
"Where exactly did you hear this… creepy voice?"
Harry scratched his head, thinking. "In the 2nd-floor corridor at Hogwarts."
"The 2nd-floor corridor? Was it a ghost?" Kasenhis frowned. "But I don't remember having any issues with any ghosts… Even Peeves asks me for permission before pulling pranks on me."
Harry thought back again. "Oh! Professor Kasenhis, the voice's position kept changing—sometimes it was coming from the ceiling of the corridor, sometimes from the walls, and at times, even from beneath the floor."
"To be honest, this is kinda outside my area of expertise, but I can make a reasonable deduction."
"'Why did it disappear?' and 'What is this?'—these two sentences are connected. There's probably a missing part, something like 'What's happening here?' or 'What kind of situation is this?'"
"But… why did it disappear? I haven't created any alchemical constructs that would randomly disappear. Even the Iron Golems are still in hibernation where I left them… Wait a minute…"
Kasenhis suddenly realized something.
"Harry, around what time did you hear the voice? And in what order did it change locations?"
Harry thought for a moment.
"It was around nine in the morning. The voice's positions went something :
Started from beneath the floor
Moved to the left wall
Shifted to the ceiling
Moved to the right wall
Finally returned to the floor before disappearing completely."
"Nine o'clock… That means around 9:40… The voice first appeared from the second-floor corridor…"
Kasenhis abruptly stood up.
"Stay here—don't go anywhere! I have something to check!"
Kasenhis immediately teleported away with an Ender Pearl.
Neville, still curious, lifted his head, wanting to ask Harry what exactly was going on.
Kasenhis teleported right behind him and mercilessly delivered a divine smack from above.
"I knew you'd get distracted—FOCUS AND STUDY!"
After administering justice, Kasenhis teleported once again, this time appearing in the Headmaster's Office.
"...Where is everyone?"
He blinked in confusion.
The portraits of past headmasters were all dozing off, not a single one awake.
"Oh… No one here to answer my questions? What a shame."
Muttering to himself, Kasenhis casually strolled toward the corner cabinet, intending to check if there were any of Dumbledore's personal liquor reserves left.
Kasenhis immediately snapped his head up, scanning the room.
No living creatures in sight.
"Hmph. Must've been my imagination," he muttered, turning back to search for alcohol.
"…Hmm?" Kasenhis looked up again, only to see nothing—again.
This time, he finally pinpointed the source of the voice.
It was coming from above—from the Sorting Hat.
"Oh… I thought… I thought you could only talk during the Sorting Ceremony," Kasenhis said, feeling a little awkward.
"I've always been able to speak," the Sorting Hat replied. "Otherwise, who do you think writes Hogwarts' Sorting Song every year?"
"Hmm. A talented hat, indeed," Kasenhis acknowledged. "Now, could you do me a favor and keep quiet about what I'm doing? Dumbledore's getting old—too much alcohol isn't good for him, you know."
The Sorting Hat nodded slightly. "I understand. However… I don't think I need to keep quiet about anything."
Kasenhis frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You might want to turn around and take a look."
Kasenhis turned around..
And there was Dumbledore, smiling at him.
Without missing a beat, Kasenhis casually stuffed the bottle of alcohol he had just found into his ring, smoothly closed the cabinet, and—without a single change in expression—asked,
"By the way, what time was Colin Creevey teleported back to his bed today?"
Kasenhis flashed a knowing smirk, the kind only a true genius could wear.
Without wasting any time, he quickly recounted everything Harry had told him to Dumbledore, including his own deductions.
In other words, the strange voice Harry heard had actually been the Basilisk speaking.
As long as there were pipes within the walls of Hogwarts large enough for the Basilisk to move through…
Not only did the timing match, but even the strange words Harry overheard lined up perfectly.
"The 'Why did it disappear?' was referring to why Colin Creevey suddenly vanished."
"But honestly, Voldemort is quite impressive. Even while possessing a snake, he can still distinguish between spatial magic and alchemy."
Dumbledore, on the other hand, remained completely silent—eerily so.
Kasenhis was just about to ask when the Sorting Hat, still sitting atop the cabinet, interrupted him.
"He's probably thinking about something very important right now. I suggest you don't disturb him."
After about thirty seconds, Kasen stood up and reached over to take the Sorting Hat down.
"Hmm… Would you be able to sort someone who never received a Hogwarts acceptance letter?"
"You want me to sort you?" the Sorting Hat asked.
"Haha, You are such an interesting wizard, place me on your head, kid."
Kasen nodded, sat on the sofa in the corner of the office, shook off the dust from the Sorting Hat, and put it on his head. Check latest chapters at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝙣𝙚𝙩
(≧∇≦)ﾉRead two weeks ahead: