HP: Alchemy? Nah, It's Crafting

"Class is in session."

Kasen tapped the pure gold lectern in front of him. Thankfully, it hadn't been stealthily chipped away by any mischievous students.

The students below quickly flipped open their alchemy textbooks and pulled out their folding alchemy trays from their pockets.

Each one looked up at Kasen with eyes filled with admiration and expectation.

Kasen, however, felt a little uneasy. He stepped down from the lectern and casually picked up a student's alchemy textbook to take a look.

"Ancient Runes..." he muttered.

'Ancient Runes...'

'Ancient Runes...'

'Ancient Runes... What the fuck is that?!'

A rare silence overcame him. He flipped further through the textbook, scanning quickly.

Fortunately, the sweat that was threatening to bead on his forehead disappeared as his composure returned.

Ancient Runes, as it turned out, were magical symbols with powerful properties. They were known by other names as well—for instance, the runic alphabet learned by Odin in Norse mythology when he sacrificed his eye.

Alchemy is about engraving alchemy materials to form a magic circuit, but the bastard at Flourish and Blotts Bookstore didn't write any records about runes in the book he sold.

Which absolute lunatic of a bookseller decided not to mention one of the fundamental concepts of alchemy?!

Even though he thought of me as a genuine Alchemist, he should have added this one to the list when I asked for all basic books, right?!

It seems I'll need to find a moonless, windy night to track that bookseller down and teach them a lesson—preferably with a burlap sack and a good beating.

Kasen skimmed a few more pages before handing the book back to the student.

Imbuing objects with magic through text? Simple enough for him, really.

"Have you all learned the application of Ancient Runes?" Kasen asked.

"Yes, Professor," the students replied.

Kasen nodded. "Apologies for being a new professor. This means I might have a slight mismatch in my teaching techniques. I hope you'll bear with me."

"But you all know how to use runes, right? I believe Hogwarts has a professor who teaches Ancient Runes—should be the same thing."

Without waiting for a response, he returned to the golden lectern.

"As for rune engraving, I find the common practice of filling engravings with mithril to be extremely crude. Carving grooves into an object and filling them with already magical mithril merely imbues the object with mithril's magic—not the object's own magic."

"So, I've devised a more advanced way to utilize runes. It's not engraving, exactly. I call it... enchantment."

With that, Kasen pulled out a chunk of obsidian and crafted it into a base. Then, he took out four large, radiant diamonds—each the size of a fist—and embedded them into the four corners of the obsidian base.

Next, he retrieved a blank book and casually tossed it onto the obsidian platform.

The book began to float in the air, gently suspended.

"Alright, someone give me an item. I'll show you what this thing can do," Kasen said, leaning against the enchanting table.

"Uh, Professor, what exactly does this do?" 

"It directly imprints the magic of Ancient Runes onto an object, enhancing it in various ways. For example, weapons become more powerful, tools more durable, and so on," Kasen explained casually. 

The classroom fell silent for a moment as the students exchanged glances.

Then, in perfect synchrony, chaos erupted as everyone scrambled to get their belongings to the lectern first. 

A minute later, the first spell flew from a rather unscrupulous young wizard's wand, and the rest of the class abandoned any pretense of order.

In the end, one triumphant student emerged from the frenzy and stood before Kasen. 

"Alright, hand it over," Kasen said, extending his hand. 

"Um, Professor, it's not that I don't trust you, but, you know... a wand is the most important thing to a wizard. So, I just want to ask—" 

"It's absolutely safe," Kasen reassured him before the student could finish. 

The boy quickly handed over his wand. 

"White ash wood, unicorn hair core... What's your name?" 

"Cedric Diggory, sir," the boy answered. 

"...Aren't you in your third year?" Kasen asked, scratching his chin. 

"The Ancient Runes professor last year thought my progress was too fast, so Headmaster Dumbledore let me attend this fourth-year Alchemy class," Cedric explained. 

"Oh... impressive, very impressive. So, what kind of enhancement are you looking for?"

"You can choose the effects too?" Cedric asked, surprised.

"Of course! Alchemy isn't some rigid, one-size-fits-all discipline. You just need to write the corresponding Rune effects in the book. It could even be your own book. This contraption will automatically absorb the Runes within a certain range," Kasen explained proudly.

"Oh, okay. Can I use this book?" Cedric pointed to the floating book in front of him.

"Feel free." Kasen even handed over a quill for him to use.

Cedric took the quill, dipped it in ink, and began writing elaborate sequences of Runes in the book with a flourish.

Now, Kasen couldn't read the Runes on his own, but since he had created the enchantment table himself, he had a unique perspective. In his view, each Rune was surrounded by transparent boxes displaying their functions.

Some Runes reduced magical energy consumption, others enhanced spell power, sped up spell transmission, or—quite amusingly—just warmed the wand in winter.

"Does this look okay?" Cedric asked after finishing his detailed list of Rune-based enchantments, looking up at Kasen.

"Perfect. Now, would you like to do the enchanting yourself, or shall I handle it for you?" Kasen asked.

Cedric scratched his head awkwardly. "Professor, I've grown attached to my wand, so…"

Kasen nodded knowingly, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at Cedric. "I get it, I get it. Young people often develop an inexplicable possessiveness over the things they cherish, the kind where even letting someone else touch it feels wrong."

Cedric scratched his head again, blushing slightly. For some reason, Kasen's explanation made his sentiment sound a bit... perverted, but he still nodded in agreement.

"Place your wand on the book. It will float, and then place your hand on the book. Use your magic to draw the Rune's energy and infuse it into your wand. It's simple, give it a try," Kasen instructed.

Cedric nodded, carefully placing his wand on the book. Instantly, the wand was caught by an invisible force and began floating.

He followed Kasen's instructions, channeling his magic to transfer the Runes' power into the wand. Everything seemed normal—until it wasn't.

The next moment, Cedric's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed like a felled tree.

Thud!

"...???"

Kasen scratched his head and lightly nudged Cedric with his foot. 

"Hey... hey? Diggory? Diggory? Cedric!"

With Cedric lying unconscious, the class erupted into chaos. Some students whispered that Cedric had greedily overloaded his wand with enchantments. Others, more outrageous, speculated that Professor Kasenhis had cursed him out of spite because he didn't hand his wand.

"Quiet," Kasen said, bending down to examine Cedric. After a thorough check, he confirmed it was nothing serious—Cedric had simply exhausted his magic reserves, causing a protective fainting spell from his body.

Reassured, Kasen straightened up and addressed the class. "He's fine. Quiet down."

The murmurs continued.

"I said quiet!" Still no effect.

Kasen sighed, summoning a small golden bell into his palm. With a light tap of his finger, the bell emitted a soft chime that rippled like waves through the room. The effect was instantaneous—students fell silent, and even Cedric jolted awake, sitting upright on the desk.

"Professor... am I okay?" Cedric asked hesitantly, rubbing his head with a slightly dazed expression.

"You're fine," Kasen reassured him. "Your magic reserves just weren't enough to support all the enchantments you tried to place on your wand. You nearly overextended yourself, and your body fainted as a protective response."

"Wait... does that mean I'm weak?" Cedric asked, his face flushing in embarrassment.

"You're not weak. You're just too young," Kasen replied with a smirk.

"Did any of the enchantments stick?" Cedric asked, still holding his wand.

"Well... at the very least, your wand won't freeze your hand in winter anymore. You managed to complete that enchantment. It's a start—a good start."

Kasen cleared his throat, his expression turning mock-serious. "For your bravery in standing at the Enchantment Table and attempting to enchant your wand, and for putting on an impromptu martial arts demonstration with your classmates using said wand, I award Hufflepuff ten points."

Laughter rippled through the classroom hearing those words.

"Thank you, Professor..." Cedric mumbled, breathing a sigh of relief as he reached for his wand and started heading back to his seat.

"Ahem," Kasen interrupted from the podium. "Are you not going to finish enchanting your wand?"

"I still can?" Cedric turned back, his face lighting up with surprise.

"Of course you can. Consider it your privilege as the first brave soul to try. But let me warn you, this offer won't extend to the others. Now, hand me your wand," Kasen said, holding out his hand.

Almost as soon as Kasen finished speaking, Cedric's wand appeared in his hand. Placing it on the Enchantment Table, Kasen began channeling an immense amount of magical energy. Runes flowed into the wand, embedding themselves deeply. The once pale, waxy surface of the wand shimmered, now glowing with a soft, iridescent purple light.

"Go ahead, give it a try," Kasen said, handing the wand back to Cedric.

Cedric took the wand, instinctively giving it a small flick.

BOOM!

All eyes turned to the massive hole now gaping in the classroom floor.

Below, the Potions classroom was fully exposed, with an irate Severus Snape staring up, his face covered in soot.

"Cedric Diggory?"

Snape's hawk-like eyes zeroed in on the culprit. Without hesitation, he growled, "Hufflepuff, ten points deducted!"

"Shit.." Kasen quickly stepped in, summoning a dark oak plank block with a wave of his hand. In mere moments, he repaired the hole in the floor, as if it had never been there.

"Ahem. Let this be a lesson for everyone," Kasen said, addressing the class. "From now on, always test your enchanted wands on inanimate objects. Never, and I mean never, wave them around willy-nilly like Cedric here."

"You see, a casual flick of the wand just cost your house ten points."

"This wouldn't have been such a big deal if it had been any other class, but this is alchemy, a small enhancement here can make you lose 10 points" Kasen continued, pausing dramatically. "Aren't you feeling blessed about it?"

Kasen spoke with a mischievous grin, looking like a villain.

"Oh..." The Hufflepuff students collectively deflated, looking as wilted as cabbages in the dead of winter. Meanwhile, the Gryffindor students were thoroughly enjoying the situation, treating it as if it were a well-crafted O. Henry joke.

As for the Slytherins and Ravenclaws? They had little to say, taking a stance of indifference as if this had nothing to do with them.

Before long, the class was nearly over.

"For your homework, research the Enchantment Table and write a paper of no less than three thousand words. If any of you can replicate this Enchantment Table and demonstrate its functionality, that would be even better. Class dismissed."

With that, Kasen left the Enchantment Table in the middle of the room and began heading for the door.

"Ah!"

Just as he reached the threshold, he slowed his pace and turned slightly.

"Hufflepuff, ten points added~"

"""Ohohohohoh!!!"""

"Professor Kasen is the best!!!"