"Look on the bright side—at least now we know Hogwarts has an enemy, and one that's still lurking in the shadows, ready to act at any time," Dumbledore said softly, sitting down beside Kasenhis to console him.
Kasenhis didn't respond. Instead, he suddenly fell deep into thought. After a while, he lifted his head and said,
"...The problem is... I just remembered something. Alchemy can create objects that are almost perpetually in motion—you could even call it a kind of life. A broad definition of life, of course, like plants or grass. But those are low-intelligence entities. Sure, you can program them to perform certain spells through specific procedures, but for one to cast something like a Confundus Charm on a powerful artifact such as the Goblet of Fire? That should be nearly impossible."
Dumbledore nodded, then added, "Which means there must have been a handler behind it... or there's another one still within Hogwarts. After all, this year our school has quite a few 'visitors,' doesn't it?"
"Who could it be? Once Severus brews enough antidote for the Polyjuice Potion, we might find out. But honestly," Kasenhis said, "it won't help much. Like I said, Hogwarts has too many outsiders this year..."
"Pull out one nail, and Tom can always hammer in another seamlessly," Dumbledore replied grimly.
"We can't just leave it like that, can we? No one can guard against a thief forever. And right now, we don't even know who the thief is—there's no way to defend against that," Kasenhis said helplessly.
"My point," Dumbledore said, "is that since Neos was an alchemical puppet, the other hidden Death Eater must still be out there. We'll find them—but instead of exposing them, we'll keep them under constant surveillance."
"Otherwise, the next time Tom decides to drive another nail into Hogwarts' flesh, it's the students and the innocent who'll bleed for it. After all, when they use Polyjuice Potion, they always need an identity to steal—and for the real person behind that face, the outcome is always death."
"You're right, Dumbledore," Kasenhis nodded. "So… do we still go through with the Polyjuice plan?"
"We just need to find a time when none of us are in our right minds," Dumbledore said poetically. "Perhaps that's where your expertise comes in… Find a night—and the next morning, all of Hogwarts shall awaken with a glorious hangover."
"...You know," Kasenhis said dryly, "that actually doesn't sound half bad." By the end of his sentence, he couldn't help but laugh.
After leaving the Headmaster's office, Kasenhis used Ender Teleportation to return to the small battlefield in the Forbidden Forest. Since entering the wizarding world, he hadn't been in many serious fights—but the ones that stuck in his memory all seemed to take place right here.
This forest really did have… a certain reputation.
Sirius, meanwhile, was struggling to pull Lockhart out from a pile of splintered wood.
He looked like he was debating whether to send the man to St. Mungo's—or just dig a hole and bury him right there. Both seemed equally practical.
Fortunately for Lockhart, rescue came quickly. Kasenhis pulled a bright red potion from his pocket and poured it straight down his throat.
Within moments, Lockhart's chest began to rise and fall again, and his unfocused eyes slowly regained clarity.
"How do you feel?" Kasenhis crouched beside him.
"It hurts... everything hurts.. like hell.."
"That's nothing. Drink another and you'll be fine." Kasenhis pulled out a bottle of Healing Potion and fed it to him. After two potions, Lockhart could already sit up, bracing himself against Kasenhis's arm. Seeing that, Kasenhis figured he might as well go all the way—and pulled out one more bottle of Healing Potion.
After the third potion, Lockhart could not only walk—he could jog, even jump around.
"Thanks for helping out this time. Even though you got dragged into it and ended up as target practice for the enemy, I still owe you," Kasenhis said, patting him on the shoulder.
"It's fine... it's just... I never realized before..." Lockhart clutched his pounding chest, eyes wide. "Hogwarts, the safest place in wizarding Britain.. is bloody terrifying."
"Mhm. I'll take you back. And remember—keep this to yourself, got it?" Kasenhis said, wrapping him in a force field and teleporting him straight to St. Mungo's. A minute later, he was back in the Forbidden Forest.
"He won't talk, will he?" Lupin asked.
"He erased that part of his memory himself—right in front of me," Kasenhis replied. "Anyway, what about you? Your boss is dead. Did anyone see you?"
Lupin shook his head. "Luckily, I had the foresight to cover my tracks. No one knows Neos and I left together. By the way, did Dumbledore get anything out of him?"
"Uh..." Kasenhis's face reddened slightly at that. But after a moment, he sighed and said bluntly, "Nios was an alchemical automaton. He destroyed his own memory core—so, yeah... completely useless."
Kasenhis spread his hands helplessly.
"So all that effort was for nothing?" Sirius slumped to the ground with a sigh.
"Not entirely. At least Hogwarts now has one less enemy..." Kasenhis stopped there, deciding not to mention the possibility that there might still be another—or several—Death Eaters hidden inside the castle.
Some things are best kept quiet—less talk, fewer mistakes.
"Alright then... that's fine. So, what about Neos? What are we gonna tell everyone?" Sirius asked next.
"Maybe the Acromantulas in the forest ate him. Who can say for sure?" Lupin replied with a shrug, completely unconcerned.
"Then I'll go check on Harry and... actually, forget it. I'm not leaving. I'll stay here and watch over him," Sirius said, his bollocks shrivelling so hard they could've filed for asylum.
"Suit yourself. Though I'd suggest talking to Dumbledore first. Who knows, he might even approve a dorm room for you," Kasenhis said casually.
"I can already see it! I'm going to help Harry uncover every single secret passage in Hogwarts!" Sirius cheered enthusiastically.
"...."
"...."
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