"Well.. Why does he want to kill me?" Harry suddenly looked up and asked.
"You are the boy who lived! He is Voldemort's most trusted Death Eater, a dark wizard! Does he even need a reason to kill you?" Kasenhis shook his head.
But Lupin, off to the side, looked like he wanted to say something, hesitating between holding back and speaking up. "By the way, Kasen, would it be okay if I drop by your office later?"
"Of course. If you're up for it, I could stuff you in there right now," Kasenhis replied.
Lupin shook his head. "Later is fine. Anyway, Harry, this summer break—although your uncle and aunt keeping you locked indoors may feel dull to you, objectively speaking, it's actually been pretty safe."
"Morning Prophet's here! Who wants a copy?" Just as they were chatting, a young wizard's voice rang out from outside the ice cream shop. The boy was trailing a bundle of newspapers behind him and using a Sonorus charm to amplify his voice.
He was likely a pre-Hogwarts kid working for the shop, borrowing his mother's old wand, buying up newspapers to sell for a bit of pocket money.
"Hey there, little wizard, four copies over here," Lupin called, waving his hand.
Soon enough, four freshly printed morning editions of the Daily Prophet were laid out in front of them—even Dobby had one in front of him.
Lupin started flipping through his paper absentmindedly—until his eyes landed on the day's headline.
"Oh, Arthur and the gang are really lucky! Won that many Galleons—this should ease their living expenses for a while—wait... they went on vacation?" Lupin said in confusion.
"…Clearly, that's what it is." Kasenhis nodded as he looked at the photo on the newspaper too.
"But this…" Lupin's eyes caught on something in the photo—specifically, the small rat cradled in Ron's arms. There was something eerily familiar about that rat… It looked an awful lot like one of his dearest friends who'd supposedly died over a decade ago.
Peter Pettigrew, one of his old friends—his Animagus form had been a small rat. But maybe he was mistaken. Peter had been dead for over ten years...
Honestly, instead of wondering whether the rat in the photo was Pettigrew, he might as well worry about whether the big black dog he and Kasenhis brought back after a night of drinking was actually Sirius Black.
After all, Sirius's Animagus form did look exactly like that massive black dog named Bruce, the one always zooming around the office or sprinting through the castle.
"By the way, Kasen, that big black dog—Bruce, have you ever checked him with your monocle?" Lupin asked.
"Yeah, I've checked. The tag says 'Beast'."
Lupin nodded and gave a slightly bitter smile. "I see… I was hoping maybe he'd make it to the Leaky Cauldron or show some magical bloodline."
"Well, maybe he does—just super diluted," Kasenhis shrugged, casually folding the newspaper and stuffing it into his pocket. He turned to look at Dobby, who was sitting properly and sipping his ice cream delicately.
"Dobby, do you have any… dreams for the future?"
Dobby, startled mid-lick, suddenly looked up with wide eyes: "Yes, sir! Dobby wants to protect Sir Harry Potter!"
"Uh… honestly, I don't think I need your protection. Really. If you protected me, it'd probably just make me die earlier," Harry offered a brutally honest review without hesitation.
"Then… then Dobby doesn't know what to do anymore… maybe Dobby needs another job," Dobby said, eyes downcast.
"Wait—so did I free you for nothing?" Harry scratched his nose awkwardly.
"No, no, no! Dobby wants to find a job that pays wages! That way, Dobby can save all the money and give it to Harry Potter! Just like Harry Potter gave money to the good and honorable Professor Kasenhis!" Dobby squeaked earnestly.
"Technically, what Harry did was called 'repayment.' But I guess if you gave money back to Harry, it could count as repayment too," Kasenhis started to explain, but then paused.
He suddenly remembered—Harry had gone all out to help Dobby gain his freedom. So, in some subjective sense, Dobby returning money to Harry could be seen as reasonable.
Objectively, though, it was a bit off. Because freeing Dobby wasn't a transaction. It was a spontaneous, emotional act, not a service rendered or hired work. So from that angle, Dobby giving money back didn't make much logical sense.
But Kasenhis didn't get stuck in that logic puzzle for too long. Once he untangled his thoughts, he looked up and asked, "Do you guys think Dumbledore would take Dobby in?"
Lupin, sitting beside him, suddenly perked up like a light bulb went off. "You're right—Dumbledore would definitely accept Dobby!"
"There we go. Dobby, you're coming back to Hogwarts with me later—we'll ask that old man ourselves," Kasenhis said.
Soon after, the four of them finished their ice cream and strolled around Diagon Alley for a while. By the afternoon, they escorted a rather sulky Harry back to Privet Drive—to his aunt and uncle's house.
"At least this holiday's almost over. Try to relax," Kasenhis said, rubbing Harry's head.
"Yeah… I will, Professor," Harry replied, his face still scrunched as he trudged toward his aunt's house.
"Oh, right—Harry," Kasenhis suddenly called out.
Harry immediately turned around.
Kasenhis added, "If you want life with your aunt and uncle to be a bit more bearable, maybe consider giving them some money, as a kind of support payment. Or, if you don't like the sound of that, just think of it as rent and food money."
Harry nodded. "I will, Professor."
"Mm-hmm. Go on now."
The group watched as Harry walked back into his aunt's house. Afterward, Kasenhis sighed and said, "That's what it's like, living under someone else's roof. The adoptive parent doesn't get love, the adopted child doesn't feel love either. In the end, it all boils down to losing your parents… which is exactly why Voldemort deserved to die."
Next to him, Lupin felt those words hit like a sword—straight to the heart.
"…What's wrong?" Kasenhis asked, noticing Lupin's strange expression.
"…It's nothing. Let's head back to Hogwarts. I want to check in on Bruce… I kinda miss him," Lupin deflected casually with a lie.
"Mmhmm. Remus Lupin," Kasenhis replied knowingly.
"Mhm?"
In the blink of an eye, Lupin was sucked into the ring Kasenhis held in his hand.
"What kind of magic is that?" Dobby asked in surprise.
"Alchemy-based magic, Dobby."
"Yes, sir!"
As dusk fell, only Kasenhis remained on the street.
With the activation of Ender Blink, even he disappeared, leaving behind only a scattering trail of gently fading purple sparks.
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