"Is there a problem? Oh, right… once I've finished making all the parts, you can take these molds and deal with them for me," Kasen said casually.
"Remember to destroy all of them. These molds are all custom-made, and they contain my body data. If some curse master or dark wizard got hold of them, they could use that data to come up with ways to target me."
This time, Kasen had learned his lesson. He couldn't just hand the Weasley twins money outright without explanation. Instead, he had to make it feel like an exchange—like they were doing work for him—so that the gold passed through their hands naturally.
When the time came, those two little red-haired troublemakers with sticky fingers would leave behind their own share.
A gentleman does not accept handouts… but if you carve it out yourself with your own ability, then it doesn't count as a handout.
The Weasley twins exchanged a glance. "No problem, Professor!"
Kasen nodded and continued working with Cedric to make the molds.
But now, with four people in the room and two of them idle, didn't that feel a bit off?
With that thought, Kasen tossed a large pile of Netherite ingots into the smeltery. Once they had all melted into molten Netherite, he handed the finished molds over to the Weasley twins.
"Use these molds to cast the molten Netherite. Once they're done, take them out and set them aside. Make sure to sort them properly," Kasen instructed.
"No problem, Professor!"
"And remember to be careful," Kasen added.
Inside the not-so-large room, it suddenly felt like one of England's sweatshops during the early Industrial Revolution—even the temperature began to rise.
One of the twins dismantled a component and handed it to Kasenhis. Kasen turned it into a mold and passed it to George. The twins cast it, then set it aside to cool. Cedric picked up the cooled parts and began sorting and labeling them.
"Sss… why does it suddenly feel kind of hot? I've got a bad feeling about this," Lupin frowned and said.
"Ah, it's probably just the fireplace burning a bit too strong… why think so much about it? If you feel hot, just cast a cooling charm," Sirius said casually, waving his wand.
As he spoke, bursts of icy crystals swirled through the next room, instantly lowering the temperature.
Meanwhile, upstairs, the floor beneath the smeltery had already been heated to an absurd level. If left alone, it actually wouldn't have been a problem—the temperature would slowly drop once the smeltery was shut down.
In the end, nothing would've happened…
But when Sirius's cooling charm drifted over, the previously scorching floor and the structure beneath it were instantly cooled.
Just like how blazing fire and icy water, when brought together, turn into steam...
When a superheated surface is suddenly cooled, it also causes problems.
Crunch…
Crunch…
Crunch… Crunch…
"This isn't right… that bad feeling I had is getting stronger," Lupin frowned. At times like this, his first instinct was that Voldemort was attacking, so he subconsciously pulled out his wand, ready to tell everyone to stop playing.
Then they heard a clear cracking sound. Before anyone on the first floor could react, a loud crash rang out, and in an instant, dust filled the entire room.
Hearing the commotion from the kitchen, Dumbledore rushed out and casually waved his wand, dispersing all the dust.
Only then did everyone clearly see what had happened on the first floor.
In the corner, where a magical harp had originally been, there was now a pitch-black smeltery. Kasen stood at the edge of a massive hole upstairs, dragging a newly made skeletal frame glowing with purple light, his face full of confusion.
"What the hell just happened?" Dumbledore asked, equally bewildered.
"No idea… but this thing… is damn cool," Sirius said, his eyes lighting up as he looked at the smeltery, radiating intense heat and embodying raw industrial aesthetics. He turned to Kasen. "I think this big guy could be our new fireplace. What do you think?"
Kasen's expression turned awkward as he shrugged. "If you like it, you can have it. Consider it compensation for your… staircase structure… dear Merlin, I still need to fix this."
Then he jumped down and started repairing the massive hole smashed out by the smeltery.
The group of young wizards who had been happily laughing upstairs quickly rushed down as well, staring at the large hole in the ceiling…
"That shouldn't be right. Sirius, doesn't the Black house have protective magic against gravity?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"This probably doesn't have much to do with gravity." Cedric controlled the mechanical arms behind him, using them to carry himself down.
Then he crouched down, picked up a cracked fragment, and with just a slight squeeze, it crumbled into dust.
"It's probably thermal expansion and contraction. The temperature difference was too great, so the structure supporting the bottom of the smeltery shattered completely, and… well, this is the result," Cedric explained.
"Ah, don't worry about all that. Kasen will fix the ceiling and the floor upstairs anyway. Let's keep playing," Sirius waved his hand, clearing away all the dust and debris before sitting back down on the sofa.
"Where were we just now?"
"It's fine, Cedric… Sirius is just like that. He doesn't care about these things," Harry walked over and patted Cedric on the shoulder, signaling him not to worry.
"Mm… I'm not worried. That was just a necessary explanation, not some kind of excuse," Cedric still added.
At that moment, Grindelwald finally came out of the kitchen. "Clear the table. It's time to eat."
____
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel