Ever since Fudge and Umbridge pulled that idiotic stunt banning underage wizards from using flying brooms, life hadn't been going well for him.
Or rather, it had been terrible. Utterly terrible.
The retaliation from the pure-blood families and the Alchemy Association came swift and fierce. Large numbers of pure-blood families abandoned Fudge and instead threw their support behind Bartemius Crouch and Scrimgeour.
The Alchemy Association's revenge was even more direct. During one of Fudge's public meetings, right in front of a crowd, they took control of his arm and nearly strangled him to death.
In the end, it was only because Aurors rushed forward and violently blasted the alchemical arm into pieces with magic that he barely survived.
That incident truly made Fudge remember the terror of being dominated by intellectuals.
In a panic, he hurriedly revoked the flying broom ban.
All of this had absolutely nothing to do with Kasenhis, who was peacefully teaching at Hogwarts.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was a tiny bit of connection... JUST A TINY TINY BIT!
He had published another filler paper.
At this moment, Ron had dragged Kasenhis to the Quidditch stands to watch what was supposedly the team's tryouts. To be honest, Kasenhis wasn't even sure if this counted as tryouts. There simply weren't that many people.
But in Kasenhis's eyes, it made no difference. All he could see were tiny black dots flying back and forth, each trailing along like skewered candied hawthorns in constant motion.
Of course, this selection was also meant to recruit two more Beaters. The Weasley twins obviously weren't about to just pat their butts and leave Gryffindor's Quidditch team with a complete mess behind them.
At the same time, the two of them learned about Kasenhis's plan and immediately vetoed the idea of expelling someone for stepping into the classroom with their dirty shoes. The reason was simple. It was too ridiculous.
If Mrs. Weasley ever found out they had been forced to suspend their studies for such a bullshit reason, St Mungo's would probably have to free up two more hospital beds.
They were also thoroughly baffled. How on earth had such a damn idea even formed in Kasenhis's head? It made no sense at all.
But that still had nothing to do with Kasenhis right now, because a Slytherin student carefully climbed up the stands and gently sat down beside him.
"Professor… I might need some of your help."
Kasenhis glanced at the seventh-year Slytherin sitting beside him and shrugged. "Go ahead, Mr. Geddir."
"I'm a little scared," Geddir said.
"Scared…" Kasenhis stroked his chin. "Has someone come looking for you?"
Geddir shook his head. "Not exactly, Professor Kasenhis. My parents… they've gone to him."
"Voldemort," Kasenhis said bluntly.
"T-That's right, Professor." Geddir nodded. "I'm not only afraid of him. I'm also afraid of them."
Kasenhis understood. "You're afraid because your parents voluntarily sought out Voldemort, so you're worried… Don't tell me you're afraid of me?"
Geddir nodded. "Not just that. I'm also afraid they'll be sent to Azkaban. I'm afraid of our family's status falling. I'm afraid of a lot of things. The only thing I'm not afraid of is things staying the same."
"You're really quite greedy," Kasenhis sighed. "Why are your parents so fond of that bald lunatic? What's so great about him?"
"Maybe it's because… I don't know either. I don't understand them. Professor, could you help me?" Geddir swallowed nervously.
"You're not afraid of me anymore?" Kasenhis glanced at him.
"I think… compared to them staying by the Dark Lord's side and eventually being casually killed by you, if I come to you now, maybe they can still be brought back. I suspect they might have been put under the Imperius Curse!" Geddir said anxiously.
"Mhm, mhm… I believe you… I believe you. I believe they're under the Imperius Curse. Where are they now?" Kasenhis asked.
"Professor, what are you planning to do?" Geddir asked.
"Knock them out, check for the Imperius Curse, and once that's done, no matter what, send them abroad so they can't find Voldemort and Voldemort can't find them. How does that sound?" Kasenhis said step by step.
"England is right here. They'll eventually find him," Geddir said uneasily.
"You remember Professor Lockhart, whom I taught you about before, right? He's a genuine master of memory magic. I can have him erase your parents' admiration for Voldemort entirely, then you all can leave far away and never come back. Not until Voldemort is completely dead," Kasenhis said reassuringly.
"Then, Professor… should I take you to them now?" Geddir asked cautiously.
"Right now. Just give me the address and I'll go by myself. Do you need to come along?"
"Geddir Manor. You should know where it is, Professor. It's in the outskirts of London." Geddir hesitated, as if he had more to say.
"You've still got something on your mind?" Kasenhis asked.
"Professor… before, you said that we Slytherins might acknowledge dark wizards, but dark wizards might not acknowledge us… what you said back then… could you say it again?" Geddir asked quietly.
"…I've never treated Slytherin as a training ground for dark wizards. And I hope you don't give up on yourselves or develop some strange longing for that kind of group… That's what I said, right?" Kasenhis recalled.
"Then, Professor… besides me, who else do you think really listened to that?" Geddir murmured. "I've seen quite a few of my classmates…"
"To be honest, I've never been rigid about this sort of thing. Between Hogwarts students and Death Eaters, I only recognize one identity. Those two can't overlap in my eyes. So… well, when the time comes, it depends on which identity they choose to believe in more."
Kasenhis let out a somewhat helpless sigh. After teaching them for so long, how could he not feel attached?
But feelings were meant for people.
If those once-lovely young wizards truly became the kind of Death Eaters whose hands were stained with blood, who raised their blades against the innocent…
Then what was there to say? He would just have to admit he had been blind before.
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