He handed the enchanted bow to the skeleton, then rubbed his fingers together subtly. In the blink of an eye, he produced a large mass of extremely dense life essentia.
As he placed the life essentia into the skeleton's skull, its eye sockets instantly seemed to glow with a strange light.
It lowered its head in a strangely human-like manner, glanced at the bow in its hands, then suddenly aimed at Dumbledore. With a sharp whoosh, it fired.
The speed was so fast that even Kasenhis couldn't see it clearly. Only after the arrow was released did he manage to look toward Dumbledore, because he was quite curious whether Dumbledore, in his current condition, could dodge that shot.
He should be able to, right? The old man could even put on gloves and box with a skeleton.
Then Kasenhis saw that Dumbledore was completely unharmed, not a single arrow sticking out of him.
Phew~
Kasenhis smiled. With that kind of reaction speed, Dumbledore might even be better than those kids outside playing Quidditch.
Then he saw Dumbledore, looking utterly confused, raise a middle finger at him.
"That's because.. the arrow already.. passed through my body!"
As soon as he said that, Dumbledore fell straight backward.
"What the hell? Dumbledore? Dumbledore, don't die on me!" Kasenhis panicked, crouching down to check on him. Realizing that Dumbledore was actually bleeding heavily and not joking, he froze for a moment like The Scream, then quickly used an Ender field to transport Dumbledore to the infirmary.
"Madam Pomfrey! Help!"
…
Two minutes later, Dumbledore sat on a bed in the infirmary, gulping down a blood-replenishing potion, his gaze full of grievance as he looked at Kasenhis, who wore an apologetic expression, and the skeleton, which also seemed to be trying to look apologetic.
"I still don't understand what grudge you have against me, to the point that even your skeleton can nock a bow and shoot an arrow straight through me. You really ought to have it go study Voldemort instead. The two of you teaming up to beat him shouldn't be a problem," Dumbledore said helplessly.
"Mm… about that… I'm really sorry. Truly, really sorry," Kasenhis and the skeleton both nodded repeatedly, bowing as they apologized.
"You'd better truly feel sorry for what you did," Dumbledore said faintly.
Soon, the two of them and one skeleton left the infirmary. Dumbledore had only suffered external injuries. If it weren't for the fact that most of his internal organs had been shattered by the enchanted arrow, he wouldn't have even needed Madam Pomfrey's help. He could have healed himself.
After Madam Pomfrey simply restored both his internal organs and external injuries, the only follow-up treatment needed was an ordinary healing potion.
"But… why do all the students passing by look at us so strangely? Haven't they ever seen a skeleton before? Everyone has one inside their body anyway," Kasenhis said matter-of-factly, noticing the odd looks from the students.
"Sometimes I really think, Kasenhis, that the way you speak has a rather dark sense of humor," Dumbledore remarked, then reached out to tap the skeleton following behind them. "Don't you think?"
The skeleton slowly raised its head, then gave a firm nod.
"Whose side are you on?" Kasenhis shot it an exasperated glare.
Soon, the three of them returned to the Headmaster's office once again. Kasenhis and Dumbledore sat facing each other, sipping their drinks, while the skeleton sat on the sofa in the corner, reading a newspaper.
It clearly looked like it had made itself at home.
"Oh, right, Kasenhis. I'll need to trouble you in a week," Dumbledore suddenly brought up something slightly more serious amidst all the nonsense.
"What is it?" Kasenhis asked, puzzled.
"In a week, it'll be time for career guidance. Normally, this is handled by the Heads of House, but this year won't work. At that time, Minerva and Severus will be accompanying me to Europe for a very important meeting," Dumbledore said.
"Then shouldn't you just have the other two Heads help out? Professor Sprout for Gryffindor, and Professor Flitwick for Slytherin?" Kasenhis raised an eyebrow.
"Because you carry more authority. Gryffindor would be fine, but it's hard to get Slytherin students to seriously listen to a wizard with goblin heritage or one who isn't particularly powerful lecturing them about their future," Dumbledore explained.
"And I can?" Kasenhis frowned, about to argue, before suddenly thinking of something far more amusing…
He pulled out the water-spraying brooch someone from Slytherin had given him earlier and pinned it onto his chest.
"Oh, that's a nice brooch. Are you showing it off to me?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.
"Something like that." After saying that, Kasenhis tapped the little snake head on it. The snake's mouth suddenly opened and sprayed a jet of water straight at Dumbledore, splashing him in the face.
"Sometimes you're really quite childish," Dumbledore said, wiping his face in exasperation.
"I got sprayed by it before too. But it's pretty fun, isn't it?" Kasenhis raised an eyebrow.
"For a Slytherin student to give you something like this… they really do respect you. Though I wonder who it was," Dumbledore murmured softly.
"No idea. It was sent anonymously," Kasenhis shook his head, then continued, "Back to the point. If the other Heads can't get them to listen, why would they listen to me?" he asked.
"Sometimes fear works better than respect. Of course, I said sometimes, not most of the time… To be honest, I usually wouldn't dare say that in front of students. I'd be worried about accidentally encouraging another Voldemort-like figure. But you're different," Dumbledore said with a shrug.
"When dealing with students, every word and action should be carefully considered, then reconsidered," Kasenhis agreed.
"Mm. So, do you accept? The Slytherin students already have a bit of fear toward you. If you guide their career choices, it'll be much more effective," Dumbledore said, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't like relying on that kind of fear… but until Voldemort is completely gone, I don't really see a way to change how they see me," Kasenhis sighed and accepted the task.
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