"What do you want me to do?"
Ahem... "Next term, isn't the Triwizard Tournament going to be held? The first task involves dragons, and I need you to make an alchemical device that allows us to control the dragon," Dumbledore said leisurely.
"…Wouldn't that be cheating?" Kasenhis blinked and asked.
"This is a Triwizard tradition. It's not just us—Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will also do the same. But Hogwarts still has a head start; they won't know the actual event until the eve of the tournament," Dumbledore defended himself.
"Oh… alright. As a member of Hogwarts, I'll do it. But controlling a dragon… I don't have a sample after all, right?" Kasenhis frowned.
"Can't you make something more useful? Like… mind control or something?"
Kasenhis stared at Dumbledore with his trademark dead-fish eyes. "And when exactly has that ever appeared in any Alchemy textbook?"
"Don't ask me, I don't know Alchemy, right? Sigh… this old man is useless, truly useless. Can't even help his professors as a headmaster… might as well climb a tower and die on top so I stop wasting air… sigh…" Dumbledore's back hunched dramatically as he walked off into the distance like a broken man.
"Heh…" Kasenhis, meanwhile, repositioned the couch he had "borrowed" from Sirius's house according to his own aesthetic preferences and sat down comfortably. Not long after, Dumbledore came shuffling back in.
"Well, if we can't control the dragon, how about enhancing our own champion instead?" Dumbledore asked dryly.
"Just doing my job," Kasenhis said with a grin.
"Then no problem at all." Dumbledore stretched lazily and wandered off into the distance.
What followed was pure enjoyment for Kasenhis—like drawing a basin of hot water to soak his feet in comfort, then finding a breezy corner to do some exercise, and finally taking a good long shower with sweat pouring down.
He collapsed onto his bed and had a restful sleep.
As for homework, lesson plans, and all that nonsense—there was no need to worry. That stuff was like water in a damp sponge.
Leave it alone and it won't leak, but give it a squeeze and there's always some.
Until the next day… after returning from class.
The little wizards were very devoted to their studies. Just how devoted? Well, they chased him all the way to his office after class.
"Professor, guess why I came to see you?" A Slytherin student opened the door like a ship's prow cutting through waves and appeared before Kasenhis.
"What now? You finally confessed, and you're here to ask me for advice?" Kasenhis looked at the fourth-year pure-blood Slytherin wizard—Flynn.
He'd noticed recently that Flynn kept exchanging glances with a Hufflepuff girl named Elsa, a half-blood. Kasenhis had teased him about it once, and somehow ended up becoming his unwilling matchmaker.
Flynn gave a sheepish smile. "I'm a little unsure… or maybe she's the one who doesn't trust me. She always thinks my confession is just a joke, that I'm not being sincere."
"Oh?" Kasenhis raised an eyebrow. "Why does she think that?"
"She thinks that once I graduate, I'll definitely go along with an arranged marriage set up by my family… It's kind of a stereotype, really. Not all pure-blood families do that. As for whether I will… I don't really know yet," Flynn said awkwardly.
"I'll give you a fair suggestion," Kasenhis said. "If Elsa hadn't asked anything and just accepted you right away, then you shouldn't overthink it. You're both young—go enjoy the sweetness of young love. That's totally fine. But since she did ask, then it becomes a serious matter."
"What do you—"
"If she came right out and asked you that question, it means she's thinking of a relationship that leads to marriage. So—have you ever thought about marrying her? As in, for life?" Kasenhis asked.
"Of course I have! I'm not that kind of scumbag!"
"Then what about your family's attitude? Can you stand up to the pressure from them?" Kasenhis continued.
"Uh… their attitude is… gentle? They mostly don't interfere with me. They're not bad people either. Not all pure-bloods are Death Eaters, after all. The pressure… I'm not sure I could handle it," Flynn thought for a moment and gave a mixed answer.
"Then, are you willing to resist that pressure for Elsa? What I'm saying is, Elsa's from a half-blood family. That means if you really want to be with her, you're not just resisting the pressure they'll put on you—you'll also be resisting the pressure your family will put on her and her family."
"If I can, I want to!" Flynn said firmly.
"Then I'll wish you good luck in advance," Kasenhis said with a smile.
Flynn scratched his head in confusion. "But Professor, you haven't told me what to do yet?"
Kasenhis chuckled. "This sort of thing doesn't need to be taught—and even if I tried, you wouldn't really learn it. I only asked all those questions earlier to confirm your resolve. Since you've already decided to shield Elsa from the wind and rain, then from here on out, it's just a matter of perseverance…"
"Of course, if we're calling this a 'lesson,' then I do have one little piece of advice: you need your own money. Otherwise, when your parents cut off your allowance, what are you going to hold out with? People need to eat, after all."
Flynn nodded. "That's it? That simple?"
"It only sounds simple. Once you're really doing it, it won't be. Ah… such a naive little wizard," Kasenhis said with a teasing smile as he looked at Flynn.
That so-called 'Slytherin Ethics Class' he once boasted about—if Draco was at the beginner stage, in whom he'd planted a seed of independent thought, then Flynn had already graduated.
Flynn already had the awareness to rebel against the family's arrangements. Of course, 'rebelling against the family' didn't mean arguing about everything or becoming a so-called 'disobedient son' like Sirius.
That would be a bit extreme. Sure, Sirius was great to his friends, but to strangers—well, it was best not to get too close to him.
As for rebelling against one's family, it's enough just to have the idea. Even if you can't succeed right now, when the family eventually passes into the hands of the new generation, at least they won't just follow the path of the older generation.
Change—no matter how small—is precious.
"Professor, why do I feel like I came to you, rambled on for a bit, and then… uh…" Flynn didn't quite know how to finish his sentence.
"You feel like it was pointless? That I just gave you a bunch of meaningless babble?" Kasenhis asked bluntly.
"Um.. well.."
Flynn looked a bit embarrassed, but in the end, he still nodded. "Yup!"
Kasenhis: "..."
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