HP: Alchemy? Nah, It's Crafting

"..."

Kasenhis remained silent, an oppressive stillness settling over the hallway.

Draco, for some reason, felt an eerie pressure weighing down on him and swallowed nervously.

"Uh... what does 'Mudblood' mean?" Harry and Hermione exchanged glances.

Although both of them knew it wasn't something pleasant, they didn't understand the wizarding slang.

"In short, it's a really, really nasty term aimed at Muggle-born wizards," Ron explained.

This explanation not only clarified things for Harry and Hermione but also helped Kasenhis understand. It sounded like a mix of personal insult and bloodline discrimination... Hmm, this was beyond him.

Even though he now knew the term wasn't just some casual insult, he still didn't grasp how serious it was. Should he deduct points, give detention, or drag Malfoy outside for "humane annihilation"?

He couldn't gauge the severity and decided he'd better leave it to the older wizards.

Though, strictly speaking, neither Snape nor Professor McGonagall were that old.

"I'm going to summon Professors McGonagall and Snape now. Do any of you have objections?"

Draco shrank back slightly at the mention of Snape's name but kept quiet, opting for a cold silence toward everyone around him.

As for the four Gryffindor students, they glared at Draco with fierce eyes but didn't voice any objections either.

"You all head to my office first. I'll go find Professors McGonagall and Snape," Kasenhis said before vanishing on the spot, leaving behind faint traces of purple light in the air.

"Hogwarts is supposed to prohibit Apparition, isn't it?" Draco said, looking baffled as Kasenhis suddenly vanished.

"Hmph, don't ask questions you're not supposed to," Neville said coldly.

Before long, a drowsy Professor McGonagall and Snape, who had been brewing potions in his office, were both brought over by Kasenhis.

The three of them entered the alchemy office, where the five young wizards were standing in two groups on either side of the coffee table.

"Now, can someone explain what happened?" Snape asked.

"Your house heads are here now; go ahead and tell them everything," Kasenhis said.

Ron was the first to speak, looking directly at Professor McGonagall. "We were walking back with Professor Kasenhis from Hagrid's hut, and on the way, Malfoy and Hermione were bickering. Then Malfoy suddenly called Hermione a 'Mudblood'!"

The moment the word "Mudblood" came out of Ron's mouth, Kasenhis felt the temperature in the office drop noticeably.

He slowly shuffled over to the fireplace, pressed a skull-shaped button on it, and a roaring fire immediately ignited in the hearth.

Before the visibly furious Professor McGonagall could say a word, Snape's sharp gaze locked onto Draco. "Draco… Malfoy… is this true?"

Draco swallowed hard, avoiding Snape's piercing eyes.

Seeing Draco's guilty demeanor, Snape understood immediately. Without hesitation, he announced, "Because of Draco Malfoy, Slytherin will lose twenty points…"

"He also needs a detention to learn his lesson," Professor McGonagall added.

"I don't have time for that these days. Do you?" Snape replied.

The two exchanged a glance, then suddenly turned toward Kasenhis, who was sitting on the sofa idly fiddling with a quill.

"...I don't really have anything pressing. How long does the detention need to be?" Kasenhis asked.

"A week... with additional labor during free periods," Snape said calmly.

"…Alright, fine. Let's start tomorrow," Kasenhis nodded.

Later, after escorting the last person out of the office, Kasenhis didn't lock the door and head to bed. Instead, he paid a late-night visit to the library.

Because of Snape's rather mild punishment, the devaluation of house points across the four houses was becoming something of an issue. Twenty points lost wasn't particularly impactful anymore.

So poor Professor Kasenhis found himself scouring the library in the dead of night for ideas on how to structure Draco's detention.

Should it be... strict? Or lenient?

An hour later, Kasenhis returned to his office and placed a one-cubic-meter block of redstone in the corner. He also retrieved a small file.

He had made up his mind. Tomorrow, Draco wouldn't be allowed to leave until he had meticulously ground the entire block of redstone into powder.

...

The next day, in the evening.

"P-Professor Kasenhis, are you joking?" Draco asked, holding a small file in his hand, barely thicker than his finger. He glanced at the massive redstone block in front of him, clearly heavier than he was, and looked at Kasenhis with a baffled expression.

"No, Mr. Malfoy. Why else would you be here for detention? You should know that detention isn't supposed to be comfortable."

Accepting his fate, Draco crouched down and began filing the block with the tiny tool.

"…Professor, is this really redstone?"

"You know about redstone? You're only a first-year."

"This stuff is famous around the castle. The fifth-years go around bragging about it," Draco muttered.

"Mm-hmm."

"Professor, did you use this redstone to create alchemical constructs back then?"

"Yup, and its powder. It can be used for magical circuits, which work differently from magical sigil circuits."

"Professor, what's the difference?"

Kasenhis tapped the desk. "You're here for detention, not for a lecture."

"Alright," Draco replied dejectedly, lowering his head. A minute or two passed before Kasenhis's voice rang out again. 

"Normally, the magic contained within a sigil circuit operates as magic when processed through the sigils. However, this can be handled by an enchanting table. You're familiar with enchanting tables, aren't you?" 

"Yes, I know about them." 

"And the redstone circuit corresponds to the magical circuit, acting like a switch to activate the sigil circuit." 

Draco nodded. "So what's the difference between this and a magical circuit?" 

"Faster, stronger, and tougher." 

"Huh?" 

"Keep grinding." 

Sitting at his desk, reading a book, Kasenhis added, "Please hurry, Mr. Malfoy. Your detention is measured by redstone blocks. If seven days pass and you've only managed to grind down one block, do you know what that means?" 

For some reason, Draco suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. 

"It means you'll still have six more redstone blocks of the same size to grind," Kasenhis said without waiting for Draco's response. 

"Oh, dear... Professor, you wouldn't be that cruel, right?" 

"....." 

"You... wouldn't be that cruel... right?"

Draco's hands involuntarily moved faster as he filed the redstone block. 

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