"Now, let's officially begin class." Kasenhis handed out chunks of gold, mithril, and obsidian — naturally, the Wither Amulet would start with the amulet casing.
If they started with the Wither itself, never mind Withers flying all over the place — at the very least, Kasenhis would be stuck chasing after students and force-feeding them milk.
Starting with the outer shell was much more civilized. When the time came, they could just build the Wither inside the casing and carry it off like takeout.
In just half a class period, the little wizards had all finished crafting their own Wither Amulet casings.
Whether or not they looked good or symmetrical was another matter — at the very least, they were functional.
"Alright, everyone, we've finished the casing. As for the Wither itself, we'll do that next class. For now, I'll leave you some homework. I highly recommend doing it alongside your Ancient Runes assignment," Kasenhis said, writing out a massive set of rune symbols on the blackboard.
"These runes are the key to channeling soul sand's magical energy. I've already coordinated with your Ancient Runes professor — you'll be learning these symbols in full during that class."
"For those of you not enrolled in Ancient Runes, don't worry — I'll explain them again in the next lesson," Kasenhis added, handing out blocks of soul sand to each student — four pieces per person.
As for the homework, it was absolutely necessary. If it were as simple as placing soul sand in a T-shape and putting three Wither skeleton skulls on top — well, that was something only Kasenhis could pull off without burning the school down.
Just like an enchanting table — all Kasenhis had to do was hold obsidian in his left hand and a diamond in his right, clap them together in the middle, plop a book on top, and boom — enchanting table.
But for the little wizards, it required all sorts of complicated mithril inlays and rune carvings.
The Wither was the same. If making a Wither were really as easy as molding clay, there's no way Kasenhis would've tied the Wither project to their final grade.
Now, for them to learn how to make a Wither, they not only needed a ton of rune magic knowledge — but also, just physically handling Wither skeleton skulls required extensive Dark Arts defense training. Binding the skulls to soul sand demanded Transfiguration and Spellwork skills.
And on top of that, to avoid accidentally hurting themselves with the Wither, they'd need knowledge in Potions and Herbology.
All for this one little Wither — the prerequisites spanned nearly all of Hogwarts' curriculum. It was a full-course commitment, and with it came full-course difficulty.
If it weren't that intense, even if Kasenhis smashed his own forehead in, he still wouldn't dare link Alchemy grades to Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Only a student truly capable of crafting a Wither would have a solid enough foundation in Dark Arts defense for the grade link to make sense.
Otherwise, he'd be no better than that brain-fried Fudge.
...
Back in his office, Kasenhis looked over stack after stack of letters — most of them from Wizengamot-seated wizards affiliated with the England branch of the European Alchemy Association.
The contents varied wildly, but the message was always the same — "Don't panic, I'm here to back you up!"
After replying to each of the letters one by one, Kasenhis leaned back in his chair and comfortably closed his eyes for a nap.
As for the so-called Wizengamot trial, he wasn't particularly worried. The Wizengamot trial system was somewhat like a modern court — and also... not quite.
The role of the jury, however, was the same. The Wizengamot council members essentially functioned as the jury, and their authority was far greater than any Muggle counterpart.
Where it differed from modern courtrooms was in the process: in modern society, there's the concept of a "suspect," two opposing parties presenting their evidence and witnesses in court, debating over who's right, trying to either convict the other side or exonerate themselves.
The Wizengamot, though, played it differently. The Ministry of Magic usually only arrested people on the spot — not because they were particularly just or committed to procedural rigor, but simply because if a suspect or dark wizard ran off beforehand, they basically had no way of catching them again.
So, with everyone being caught in the act, the Wizengamot trials often skipped the evidence presentation phase altogether. Instead, the accused was given a kind of one-man stage — a chance to perform a solo act and defend themselves.
But this "defense" wasn't about proving innocence — it was about arguing the necessity of their actions. For example: "If I hadn't killed him, he would've killed him." That kind of reasoning had an incredibly high success rate — most of the time, it got you off the hook.
And in Kasenhis's case, even without writing letters to solicit support from the Wizengamot members, the chances of being acquitted were already pretty high.
Most Wizengamot members were long-established, highly respected wizards with lofty social standing. They weren't afraid of the Ministry's pressure — they only listened to their own conscience.
So when the time came for him to stand in the Wizengamot's courtroom, all he had to do was explain how Fudge, on a whim, decided to toss Dementors into Hogwarts — and how those Dementors ended up harming a Hogwarts student. And not just any student — the Boy Who Lived, the one and only Harry Potter.
In the end, Kasenhis just couldn't take it anymore. After giving prior warning, and in order to protect the little wizards from further harm, he lost his temper and stormed the Ministry of Magic to tear off one of Fudge's arms.
That was nothing — not even worth fussing over.
It was a textbook case of "immediate release," faster than glitch-escaping through a blind spot in an interdimensional teleportation device.
"Sigh... Fudge really made my life difficult," Kasenhis muttered helplessly, picking up the massive book in front of him — a step-by-step manual he had written over the holiday: Withercrafting for Dummies.
For Kasenhis, crafting a Wither was as easy as playing with clay. For the average young wizard, not so much. As mentioned before, for one of them to make a Wither, it wasn't just about being well-rounded — it required mastery over practically half the Hogwarts curriculum.
And to compile and copy all that knowledge, Kasenhis had basically not had a single good night's sleep all break.
"Bloody Fudge... and I still have class this afternoon?!"
Wizengamot trials moved fast — they usually consisted of a reading of the charges, a solo defense by the accused wizard, followed by a show-of-hands vote by the Wizengamot members. Guilty: Azkaban. Not guilty: walk free. Start to finish rarely took more than two hours.
But the prep?
That took time.
Wizengamot members were scattered all over the magical world year-round — here acting as ambassadors, there attending elite forums. So, taking ten days or even half a month just to get ready for one trial wasn't uncommon.
This time, though, it moved much faster... just seven days later, Kasenhis had just finished class when the Wizengamot summons arrived, right on cue.
"Kasenhis, go get changed — we're off," Dumbledore said, appearing behind him.
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