The next day...
After being shamelessly forced by Kasenhis to grade homework all night, a completely drained Sirius crawled out of the office. Merlin knows if he drank too much again last night.
What kind of normal person thinks a dog should be grading homework?
Hilarious.
Just as he was planning to head over to the Gryffindor tower to freeload some food, put on a show, and maybe do a bit of scouting—try to get Peter Pettigrew to let his guard down a little. At the very least, make him stop constantly thinking about bolting.
He just needed to wander around enough, and sooner or later that stinky rat would believe that he was only hanging around Gryffindor because he wanted to get close to Harry, and that it had absolutely nothing to do with him.
Then, when the perfect opportunity came—bam! Time to show what it means when a dog catches a rat. Jie jie jie!
Just as Sirius was lost in his glorious revenge fantasy, Harry and his little gang came walking by, looking completely worn out.
Sirius immediately tossed aside his previous plan, and with his tail wagging eagerly, trotted after Harry.
"Oh, Bruce, aren't you going out to play today?" Harry looked down at Bruce by his feet and forced a not-so-happy smile.
"Woof!"
"Huh?"
"Woof!"
"...."
Harry still couldn't make out what Sirius was trying to say, so he simply pushed open the door to the Alchemy professor's office with a defeated look.
"Professor~~"
Kasenhis, lounging on the sofa reading a novel, heard the whiny call echoing through the room.
Before long, Harry and his friends appeared in front of Kasenhis—complete with a dog in tow.
"There's hot water over there, and biscuits too. I'll take green tea this time, thanks." Kasenhis, fully engrossed in his book, had successfully reversed roles and made himself the guest.
Harry brewed a pot of green tea and poured Kasenhis a cup.
"Professor, I have a rather shameless request…" Harry said with a cheeky grin.
"Mhm... speak." Kasenhis put the book down and looked at him.
"Well, Professor, you probably know that in October, we third-years are allowed to visit Hogsmeade. But we need a guardian's signature to go, and there's no way my aunt and uncle would sign for me, so…" Harry gave a sly little grin.
Kasenhis stroked his chin thoughtfully, and before he could even say a word, the dog lying on the carpet—Sirius—let out a pitiful little whimper, clearly pained.
He and James Potter were close enough to share underwear, so of course he knew all about James's beloved Lily and her family situation.
A spiteful sister and a brother-in-law who despised magic.
It was easy to imagine what life was like for a young wizard in that household—just having enough to eat was already a blessing, let alone any emotional support.
And on top of that, not being able to go to Hogsmeade with friends?
For Sirius, a daring Gryffindor who thrived on adventure, that was practically worse than starving.
"Oh…" Kasenhis sipped his tea with a strange look in his eyes. "I didn't know you were such a stickler for the rules…"
"You mean the Invisibility Cloak? There are Dementors at Hogwarts this year," Harry said bitterly.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that. I should remind Professor McGonagall: aside from the signed form, any student who hasn't successfully crafted a Wither Amulet also shouldn't be allowed off-campus," Kasenhis said with a sudden realization.
Hermione, Neville, and Ron all turned to Harry with blank, speechless expressions—the kind that clearly said: Why. Would. You. Say. That.
Meanwhile, Harry could already picture what was going to happen once today's conversation inevitably spread: every third-year and up who hadn't made a Wither Amulet giving him the cold shoulder.
Sure, he wasn't afraid—but it wasn't a fun feeling. Especially that weird, lingering guilt that made him feel like he'd let them all down.
"Thanks a lot, Harry," Kasenhis said, giving his shoulder a timely pat—delivering one final emotional gut-punch for good measure.
Ugh!
"...Professor, can you not make it sound like you only remembered all that because of me?" Harry looked at Kasenhis with pitiful eyes.
"Of course not. I'm very good at protecting student privacy. So—how's your progress on the Wither Amulet?" Kasenhis asked.
The three of them instinctively turned their eyes toward Hermione, who fidgeted with her fingernails awkwardly.
"I think there's a decent chance I can finish it before Hogsmeade opens," Hermione said, making a rather bold claim.
"Then congratulations in advance, Miss Granger. As for the rest of you, keep working hard. And Harry, don't be too discouraged. If you do manage to craft a Wither Amulet, I might be able to open... a tiny little backdoor for you."
"In short, things are different this year. The Wither Amulet is far more important than a guardian's signature."
Despite Kasenhis's assurance, Harry's mood was still pretty grim.
Honestly, if it were just about getting a signature, he might still be able to bribe his aunt or uncle with a few Galleons—at least that was negotiable.
But the Wither Amulet? That gave him a headache. You can't exactly bribe your way through that—unless you could get a student who's already succeeded to sell you one.
And even then, the odds of pulling that off weren't necessarily better than sneaking past a Dementor wearing an Invisibility Cloak.
When it came to crafting a Wither Amulet, they definitely didn't have Kasenhis's skills—who could summon a Wither like he was building with LEGO blocks. For normal students, making one of those things took at least a month or two.
…Unless he just dumped a mountain of gold and went full pay-to-win!
"Hermione…" Harry turned to look at her, but Hermione stared intently at the ceiling, pretending not to notice.
"...."
Harry sighed. At this point, there was really only one option left: successfully craft a Wither Amulet. And… maybe one more thing.
"Professor Kasenhis, what exactly is the 'backdoor' you promised?"
"That backdoor is actually a trap tailored just for you," Kasenhis said. "You're the only third-year or above who hasn't gotten a signed form. So, if you successfully make a Wither Amulet, I'll let you come with me to help clean up the Dementors."
"Once the cleanup is done, you can just stay outside."
"Got it, Professor. Understood." The four students nodded and turned to leave the Alchemy office, ready to figure out how to boost their alchemical insight—at least enough to make one Wither Amulet before the Hogsmeade visit.
At the very least, get one made for Harry. Let him go out and enjoy a day for once—given the type of guardians he's stuck with, the fact that the Dementors led to a "backdoor" this year was practically divine compensation.
Once the Dementors were gone, he'd be sneaking out under the Invisibility Cloak again anyway.
Meanwhile, Sirius quickly trotted after the group, clearly intending to slip into Gryffindor Tower for free food—and to desensitize Peter Pettigrew a bit more with his presence.
Sluuurp~
"Ahh! This guy Harry sure knows how to make a green tea."
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