HP: Alchemy? Nah, It's Crafting

Kasen felt a bit awkward under Dumbledore's praise.

"Are you buttering me up because you have some impossible task for me?" 

Dumbledore shook his head with a smile. "No, truly. That was just an honest reflection. Now go send your letter. I'm off to the kitchen to see if the house-elves might prepare a little something special."

"Mm-hmm." Kasen shrugged, heading into the Owlery. He quickly sent off the letter and then strolled back to the castle.

Returning to his office, he casually pulled out one of his many mysterious blocks and tapped it lightly. Instantly, a cascade of positive emotional notifications flooded his view. 

Kasen sighed. Ever since he'd started teaching, these emotional pings—ranging from admiration to a few awkward crushes—had become a regular thing during classes.

Once, while lecturing, a particularly pink-hued notification about a lovestruck student had caught him off guard and nearly caused him to lose his train of thought. From then on, he'd started turning them off during lessons. 

Of course, sometimes he forgot to toggle the settings back, but hey, nobody's perfect. 

As the day's classes wound down, Kasen decided to reward himself with a fresh cup of green tea. Just as he began preparing it, a knock sounded at his office door. 

"Come in. It's open," he called out.

The door creaked open, and in walked a small figure—Neville.

Kasen raised an eyebrow in curiosity, only to notice that Neville wasn't alone. 

Behind him were three other students.

Two boys and one girl. And among them? A familiar face: Harry Potter.

The other two…

"Come on in. By the looks of it, you're all friends?" 

Neville nodded enthusiastically. 

"Congratulations, Neville. And congratulations to all of you—you've made a wonderful friend," Kasen said warmly. 

He pulled out four additional cups and poured green tea for everyone. 

"Professor, let me introduce you," Neville said, beaming. "This is Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger—my three friends."

"Mm-hmm. Have some tea. It might be a bit bitter," Kasen warned, smiling as he waved his wand. The teapot floated from his desk to a side table. After all, talking to students across a desk always felt too much like a lecture. A cozy conversation on the sofas felt far more welcoming. 

"Today, Malfoy came to mess with me again," Neville began, his excitement palpable. "I used the Levitation Charm to lift him into the air, then dropped him hard onto the ground. His two lackeys tried to rush me—using their fists, mind you—but Harry and Ron showed up just in time. They helped me chase off Malfoy!"

"Then Malfoy said he was going to tell Professor Snape," Neville continued, "and we didn't know what to do. That's when we ran into Hermione. She suggested we come to you. And besides," he added, his face glowing, "I wanted to tell you—I stood up for myself!"

Sitting on the sofa, his face flushed with excitement, Neville waved his hands animatedly as he recounted the events. 

"See?" Kasen said, nodding in approval. "You've taken a brave first step—and found loyal, reliable friends along the way."

Neville's already flushed face grew even redder with excitement at Kasen's words of affirmation. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron, hearing themselves described as "loyal and reliable friends," looked a little bashful. Hermione, however, stayed focused on the reason they'd all come in the first place.

"Professor Kasen," Hermione began, "Malfoy said he's going to tell Snape. He's sure to drag Neville in front of him and have Gryffindor docked a ton of points!"

"So? Let him dock them," Kasen replied nonchalantly. "Didn't Professor McGonagall deduct points from Slytherin last time? What's the big deal?"

"But... Professor, Gryffindor's points..." Hermione protested.

"Gryffindor's points really aren't the important thing here," Kasen said, waving it off. "What matters is that Neville won't ever again be the pushover he used to be. As for the points? Just think of it as giving Snape a little something to keep him happy. How about that?"

Hermione shook her head resolutely. "No 'how about that.' The fact is, Malfoy was the one in the wrong here. And yet, in the end, it's Gryffindor that gets punished? It's unfair."

"...You might not know this," Kasen began, "but when I was younger, I went to school in the Muggle world. From a local community primary school all the way to the University of Manchester, the general consensus among students was that conflicts between kids should be solved by the kids themselves."

"Telling the teacher—the usual approach—rarely solved anything. Often, the wrongdoer didn't face any real consequences, while the victim got retaliated against. The only method that ever worked was to settle things head-on—with your fists," Kasen explained.

"Uh... Professor, I don't quite understand," Hermione admitted, looking a little uncomfortable.

"On the surface," Kasen clarified, "I'm encouraging Neville to fight back. But what I'm also saying is: don't be afraid of losing points. Why should someone like Malfoy, who's in the wrong, not fear losing points, while Neville—who's done nothing wrong—should?"

"Should anyone just stand there and let others point a wand—or a gun—at them?"

Kasen spread his hands and said it plainly.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, nodding in agreement, while Neville had already taken Kasen's words as absolute truth. Only Hermione seemed uneasy. "But... the points..."

"Points don't matter," Kasen said, waving dismissively. "They're nothing more than an intangible concept of so-called honor. If that kind of honor makes a young wizard feel bound, unable to fight back his bullies, then that honor is better off being discarded."

"That's absolutely right, Professor!" Neville finally burst out, unable to contain himself.

"Mm-hmm," Kasen agreed with a satisfied nod. "Even Professor McGonagall will be glad to know you stood up for yourself. This whole matter? At most, you'll lose ten or twenty points. Maybe Snape will dock you more, but who cares? It'll pass. Look at the Weasley twins—George and Fred, Ron's brothers—they lose ten or twenty points nearly every day, and they're doing just fine."

"I'll remember that, Professor!" Neville said, nodding firmly.

...

After seeing the four little kids out, Kasen once again found himself with some free time.

Well, not exactly free time.

A shimmering, silver phoenix suddenly appeared in his office, its ethereal form glowing faintly. The phoenix spoke in a calm, clear voice: "Professor Kasen, please come to the third-floor corridor, the area I mentioned as off-limits at the start of the school year."

"Eh? Dumbledore's voice? What a fascinating bit of magic."

Kasen stood up with a sigh, reluctantly leaving his office. He had no idea what task Dumbledore might have in store for him this time.

When he arrived at the corridor, he realized he wasn't the only one summoned. Nearly all the professors responsible for core subjects were there, along with Hagrid. The large man was holding onto... one head... no, three... let's just call it one.

He was holding onto a massive three-headed dog, doing his best to calm the enormous creature.

"I've called you here to assist me in setting up protections, I need to safeguard something precious—the Philosopher's Stone entrusted to me by Nicolas Flamel."

From his pocket, Dumbledore produced a blood-red gemstone.

Kasen noticed that Quirrell's gaze lingered on the stone with an unsettling intensity.

[+10 Satisfaction from Quirrell]

[+10 Satisfaction from Voldemort]