"Oh… alright." Hearing Kasenhis say that, Neville replied with a hint of grievance.
Fortunately, it was only a small episode. The overall atmosphere of the dinner was still very biu-tiful, and even Sirius and Snape didn't exchange any trash talk.
Of course, that was also because they were seated very far apart, and Snape left after a simple meal that lasted less than an hour.
In total, he spent less than an hour at the Black residence.
Perhaps if it weren't for his dual-certified status as a double agent, recognized by both Dumbledore and Voldemort, and Voldemort needing him to attend this dinner to gather intelligence on the Order of the Phoenix, he wouldn't have stepped foot here at all.
The Christmas holiday was incredibly relaxing. Previously, he often lived alone at home or stayed alone in his office, but now, with this sudden shift to group living, his room was still his private space, while outside was full of lively chatter. This bustling, noisy feeling wasn't bad either.
Not to mention he now had three young, strong, and utterly childish workhorses.
…
On this day, Kasenhis finally finished tuning all the components to their optimal state. Only then did he drive Cedric and the Weasley twins out.
At the same time, he had them invite Dumbledore over.
Before long, Dumbledore arrived at Kasenhis's room. Looking at the Netherite skeleton and the mechanical arms inside, he raised an eyebrow. "So this time, you still need my Cutting Charm? And then you'll slowly squeeze yourself inside again?"
Kasenhis shook his head. "No, of course not. This time, the Netherite skeleton is an upgraded version."
Hearing this, Dumbledore let out a sigh of relief.
"I need you to take me apart, remove my original bones, and then put these bones in," Kasenhis said calmly.
"…What did you just say?"
"Hmm?" Kasenhis raised an eyebrow. "Is it that hard to understand? For a wizard, it should be pretty simple."
Dumbledore shook his head. "If it's done this way, rather than through fusion, then yes, it's simple. I'm just surprised that such a method even occurred to you. It's… rather unorthodox."
Kasenhis gave an awkward chuckle, then lay down on the stone platform. That way, if there was any blood spraying out, a simple Cleaning Charm would suffice instead of having to change the bedsheets.
Dumbledore quickly composed himself and got to work.
With something as ordinary as a Bone Extraction Charm, he pulled out the original bones, still covered with a layer of metal, and then used spatial magic to transfer the Netherite bones into place.
An adult has a total of 206 bones. It could be said that this was an enormous undertaking.
Afternoon…
Kasenhis sat up from the stone platform, casually moving his body before testing the mechanical arms behind him.
There was a faint sense of stiffness, but it wasn't anything serious. After a few days of use, they would naturally break in.
After quite some time, he once again put on the batch of specially tailored shirts and coats he had ordered earlier. The faint, cool breeze brushing from behind made him shiver in comfort once more.
"This feels really good," Kasenhis murmured in a daze.
"What kind of good? Have you become stronger?" Dumbledore asked.
"It's like… if you originally had twelve hands and suddenly lost ten of them, you'd feel like your brain had too much capacity with nothing to use it on. And now, that bloated feeling in my head is gone," Kasenhis thought for a moment before explaining.
"Is that so? If I wanted to understand, perhaps I could try cutting off one of my fingers. That way, I might grasp the feeling you're describing," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"You'd only experience what it felt like for me when I lost my mechanical arms," Kasenhis added.
"At worst, I can just reattach the finger afterward. It's quite easy," Dumbledore shrugged, then looked at the large pile of bones that had been removed from Kasenhis. "Those bones could be considered another version of you. Any thoughts?"
"No particular thoughts. Does Hogwarts need a skeleton for teaching? You can just use it as a prop," Kasenhis said casually.
"..."
"...Very well." Dumbledore waved his wand, and the pile of bones began moving on their own, reconnecting piece by piece until they formed a complete skeleton. It then grabbed a handful of Floo Powder by the fireplace, tossed it into the flames, and stepped inside.
"…He doesn't even have vocal cords. How is he going back to Hogwarts?" Kasenhis asked, utterly confused.
"Strictly speaking, I was the one controlling him to pick up the Floo Powder, so it was also me speaking on his behalf," Dumbledore explained.
"But you didn't say anything just now."
"My voice was just a bit quieter," Dumbledore said before leaving the room, intending to return and rest. After all, an elderly man performing a complete replacement surgery involving all 206 bones would naturally feel tired.
If he weren't tired, that would be truly bizarre. At that point, Voldemort shouldn't be making Horcruxes, but rather putting on his old Hogwarts uniform, kneeling in front of Dumbledore, and asking how he had become so powerful.
Meanwhile, Kasenhis slowly retracted his mechanical arms and followed Dumbledore out.
The former was heading off to rest, while the latter planned to go downstairs and see if anyone was up for a couple rounds of Dungeons & Dragons.
On the way downstairs, he ran into Harry, who looked somewhat uneasy.
"What's with that expression?" Kasenhis asked, puzzled.
Seeing it was Professor Kasen, Harry immediately pulled a helpless face. "I'm going to learn Occlumency. Honestly… that spell is… pretty… intense."
"Intense?" Kasenhis slowly looked up at the ceiling, then lowered his gaze to Harry. "Logically speaking, Grindelwald shouldn't have any ill intentions toward you. So why that look? Did he punish you or insult you?"
Harry shook his head. "Neither, Professor. It's just that learning that spell is… kind of awkward. Grindelwald is using Legilimency to train my Occlumency. When he uses Legilimency, all the memories in your head get seen. Every time I fail to resist, he mocks me for quite a while," Harry said, sounding rather exasperated.
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