"Class dismissed!" Kasenhis cheered the moment the bell rang, vanishing with a soft whoosh.
Hermione, who was in the middle of assembling a half-finished mechanical arm using the Alchemy classroom's provided tools, twitched at the corner of her mouth. She suddenly understood exactly how Professor Binns must have felt, watching students vanish the instant class was over.
But seriously—wasn't this man a little too... off?
Back in his office, Kasenhis had no idea what his students were thinking. All he felt was the sacred respect every working man held for the end of a workday.
To be honest—and it wasn't a popular opinion...
૮₍ɵ̷﹏ɵ̷̥̥᷅₎ა Fourth-years just weren't cute anymore. He much preferred them when they were first or third years—so small, soft, and adorable.
Too bad his course wasn't mandatory, or he could've been teaching those sweet little first-years right now. So cute!
Snape: "First-years are dumber than pigs."
"Eh?"
Kasenhis suddenly blinked in surprise. He felt like he'd forgotten something... Eh, whatever. He had a third-year class coming up anyway. Time to make them help install some conduit rails!
…
By the end of October, Kasenhis was slumped across his office sofa.
"Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are coming—why in Merlin's name do I, a humble Alchemy professor, need to be there? Shouldn't this be a job for the Headmaster and the four Heads of House? At most, drag Grindelwald out and let the Durmstrang students admire their brilliant alumnus."
Kasenhis grumbled endlessly, circling around the same point—no matter what happened, he absolutely did not want to stand outside in this freezing weather.
Snape, who had been sent by Dumbledore to fetch him, looked utterly exasperated.
Honestly, he was starting to envy Kasenhis's attitude—deeply. To him, greeting visiting schools was far less appealing than holing up in his office and experimenting with new potion formulas.
Still, as the Head of Slytherin, he would probably be assigned to receive the Durmstrang students. After all, both sides had very few Muggle-borns—so at least there'd be something to talk about.
Fighting among Hogwarts Houses was one thing, but losing face outside Hogwarts? That was unacceptable.
For example, if Durmstrang's students were seated at the same table as Gryffindors, it would be a miracle if nothing happened.
Picture this: Kasenhis hasn't even swallowed his second bite at dinner when some mischievous Gryffindor picks a fight with one of the stoic Durmstrang wizards—boom, instant feud.
There was even a historical precedent for this kind of chaos. According to dubious accounts, back in the day, Voldemort once went to a Muggle public restroom and found there was no toilet paper.
The Muggle on his left handed him sandpaper; the one on his right handed him a nettle leaf.
In his "wisdom," the Dark Lord chose neither, pulled up his trousers, and stood up—only to be caught by a passing musclehead who tried to "hook up." That's when they all discovered... he hadn't wiped.
Of course... that's all unofficial history. Pure rumor.
But if random Muggles in public restrooms could cause that much trouble, then the chaos potential of Gryffindors—students literally sorted by how likely they are to cause drama—sitting next to Durmstrang?
If they don't end up making enemies, they might as well hand in their Gryffindor robes.
"Then just go straight to the Great Hall," Snape said curtly, offering the simplest option.
Kasenhis glanced up at the ceiling-mounted anti-dragon cannon. Fair enough—going to the Great Hall now would just mean sitting there a bit longer. But if he waited until after the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were all seated before showing up, that would look impolite.
"You really do think ahead, Severus!" Kasenhis gave Snape a big thumbs-up.
Snape: ???
He had no idea how he'd suddenly earned a "thoughtful" award, but he didn't bother to question it. With a flicker of shadow and a puff of black smoke, the man was gone.
Kasenhis strolled into the empty Great Hall and happily plopped into his seat, resting his chin on one hand. He planned to wait until the other professors returned, then blend right in with the crowd—so even Dumbledore wouldn't have grounds to scold him.
A moment later, the doors of the Great Hall swung open. Dumbledore entered with the professors, accompanied by the heads of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons—who, of course, were walking right at the front.
And the professors' table—of course—was positioned directly facing the doors.
Kasenhis, caught red-handed in his "passive loafing," forced out an awkward but polite smile. Then he raised his free hand and, cat-like, stretched his fingers in a lazy wave.
"Hello there."
Dumbledore looked visibly uncomfortable. Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the surge of fury rising in her chest.
In the end, the whole matter was quietly brushed aside. After all, what was there to say? The more they talked, the worse it would get. Sometimes, silence really was the best damage control.
Kasenhis, making full use of his thick skin, remained seated with one hand propped under his chin, not even bothering to move an inch.
When all the Hogwarts professors and students had taken their seats, he finally noticed that the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons groups were still standing outside—along with their headmasters.
Frowning, Kasenhis tugged on Snape's sleeve and whispered, "What's their deal, standing out there not moving? Are they trying to make a statement—to Hogwarts, or just to me? You think Dumbledore's going to throw me out later to 'appease the guests'?"
Snape's brow twitched involuntarily. "It's probably just a showy entrance. When you arrive in unfamiliar territory, it's natural to demonstrate your strength. Of course, from our perspective... one could call it unfriendly intent."
"My main concern," Kasenhis said seriously, "is the second part of that."
Snape took a deep breath. Friendship, he reminded himself, only looked good from a distance. "No," he said flatly.
"So... should we give them a little 'welcome show' too?" Kasenhis asked.
"That's something you should ask Dumbledore."
But before Kasenhis could even glance toward Dumbledore, the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons performances began—the former looking like they'd come straight from a sports academy, the latter from a dance conservatory.
A wave of tall, athletic students and graceful, radiant senior girls swept into the Great Hall.
As for the Hogwarts students…
Kasenhis once again turned his gaze toward Dumbledore.
The old man gave a helpless shrug. "I'm not particularly proud to admit it… but honestly, what kind of technical school still needs self-confidence at this point?"
"........"
Fine, Kasenhis thought, I admit it—those smug faces are kind of hard to watch.
_________
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