Dumbledore sighed and reluctantly pulled out the Elder Wand, letting its tip hover over the basilisk's corpse. Almost immediately, the massive body rippled like a rolling wave.
A pitch-black notebook emerged from within.
"Tom…" Dumbledore sighed again, bending down to pick up the diary.
"Oh-ho? This little thing's got quite the aesthetic." Kasenhis instantly teleported to Dumbledore's side, his interest piqued. He peered at the book in Dumbledore's hands with an amused grin, then mischievously reached out and scratched at its cover.
"...It's not reacting," Lupin observed, also moving in closer.
"Of course not… Where's my quill?" Kasenhis patted his pockets, eventually fishing out a feather quill. Flipping open the front cover of the diary, he scrawled onto the page with deliberate mischief:
[Come on, Riddle, show me what you got.]
A reply formed almost instantly.
Riddle: [Oh… our esteemed Professor Kasenhis…]
Kasen: [Frankly, I see no need for us to communicate through mere ink, do you?]
Riddle: [Oh? And how exactly do you propose we communicate?]
Kasenhis waved a hand, summoning his Magical Codex into existence. Flipping to a blank page, he sealed its starry void completely before pressing it directly against the cursed diary.
In an instant, a glowing light was forcibly extracted from the black notebook and absorbed into the Magical Codex.
With that done, Kasenhis casually discarded the now-empty diary onto the floor like a piece of trash, turning his attention to the newly captured soul within his book.
With a satisfied grin, he stared down at Tom Riddle, now trapped inside.
"I suppose we can now speak face to face."
"Oh… really, what has this world come too.. I wasn't aware that alchemy had advanced to this level." Tom Riddle surveyed the space he now occupied, his gaze drifting upward toward the small "skylight" above him, his voice dripping with mockery.
"But of course…" Kasenhis casually let the Magical Codex float midair while bending down to pick up the discarded black diary. Without hesitation, he tore a page from it.
"I thought your so-called soul anchor would have better… protection."
"Oh, naturally. After all, both my magic and myself have been dragged into this place…" Riddle sneered before suddenly shifting his focus. "Headmaster Dumbledore? My beloved Headmaster Dumbledore, there's no need to hide—I can see you."
It was clear that, realizing he was doomed, Riddle was trying to lash out, spreading as much negativity as he could before he disappeared for good.
"Do you want to see your former student?" Kasenhis turned toward Dumbledore.
"Hand it over."
Dumbledore took the Magical Codex from Kasenhis, staring at the familiar figure trapped within the pages—Tom Riddle, standing defiantly, head tilted upward, glaring at him.
"I can only say… this is the consequence of your own choices," Dumbledore stated simply, his words concise yet absolute.
He didn't wait for Riddle to respond. Without hesitation, he snapped the Magical Codex shut and handed it back to Kasenhis.
Kasenhis accepted it, flipping to the page where Riddle was bound once again.
"Goodbye, Tom Riddle. Say your final farewell."
In the next instant, with a mere thought, everything related to Tom Riddle and his so-called dark magic inside the Magical Codex vanished without a trace.
"When the young witches and wizards return, I believe they'll be pleasantly surprised to finally take off their glasses," Dumbledore remarked with a smile.
"Of course… And Severus as well. He'll be absolutely thrilled with his brand-new potion ingredients," Kasenhis added, glancing at the basilisk corpse beneath their feet.
"To be honest, I think he'll be furious… and it's because of me," Lupin admitted awkwardly.
"Oh? You and Severus have… a conflict?" Kasenhis asked curiously.
"Not just a conflict. It would be more accurate to call it… a grudge." Lupin shook his head with a wry smile.
"Well… I won't comment since I don't know the details. I can only hope that the one responsible for the wrongdoing will eventually choose to apologize," Kasenhis mused, rubbing his chin.
"Of course. He will."
The trio made their way back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. As soon as they arrived, Dumbledore's gaze immediately locked onto Kasenhis, his eyes narrowing at the two-meter-wide hole now gaping in the bathroom floor.
Kasenhis grinned. "Let me show you some real alchemical craftsmanship."
He reached into his pocket and fumbled around for a moment before pulling out two small cubes. With two dull thuds, the missing walls and sinks reappeared, good as new.
Lupin was utterly dumbfounded. He turned to look at Dumbledore, still struggling to comprehend what he'd just witnessed. Compared to the massive, incomprehensible machinery inside Kasenhis' office—things that looked advanced but had no immediately obvious function—this raw act of destruction and instant creation was far more shocking.
So…
You really want me to be Kasenhis' alchemy assistant? Is this even the level of alchemy that should exist in this world? Lupin shot Dumbledore a meaningful look.
The latter raised an eyebrow and then pursed his lips, his expression perfectly clear: Same answer as before—you're young, you can afford to be thick-skinned. I'm old, I still need to save some face.
Lupin rolled his eyes so hard that for a moment, Kasenhis almost thought he was looking at a certain legendary figure from his world's game lore—one that looked exactly like Steve, except his eyes were glowing white…
In other words, Lupin bore an uncanny resemblance to that for a second.
"Well, since all of this is settled, I'll be heading back. It's been quite a tiring day," Dumbledore said, promptly vanishing from the girls' bathroom with a flicker of Apparition.
"He left that quickly?" Lupin asked, a little surprised.
"Because this is the girls' bathroom," Kasenhis deadpanned.
With that, the two of them left the bathroom and exited Hogwarts together.
Lupin, after all, had signed a magical contract that wouldn't take effect until next term.
The latter half of this term, Defense Against the Dark Arts was still within Snape's jurisdiction.
As for Kasenhis, after politely seeing Lupin off, he suddenly remembered that he had promised to help hunt down Greyback. So, naturally, when Lupin extended an invitation, he accepted and followed him home.
...
A small wooden cabin nestled deep within the forest—at first glance, it was basically a knockoff of Hagrid's hut from a few years ago.
The difference? Hagrid's place had long since been upgraded, while Lupin's cabin… well, whether it could even keep out a big bad wolf was debatable.
"You got anything to drink?" Kasenhis asked as he stepped inside. The place wasn't big, but it was cozy, warm, and neatly kept.
"There's beer. Want some?"
"Yes!"
_______
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P@treon: Dragonel