"Actually, I'm not here for Sirius or Harry. It's more that everyone's gathered here, and I just happen to be free, so I got grabbed as extra security," Kasenhis explained.
"Alright, I hope that's really the case," Neville said resentfully.
"Then why does it feel like all the other adults have things to do, and you're the only one just hanging around, Professor?" Ron asked from the side.
"I originally wanted to help out in the kitchen, but your mum very clearly preferred Lupin and Mrs. Longbottom helping instead. She probably thinks I'm too clumsy," Kasenhis explained a little awkwardly.
"Mm… oh right, Professor, I remember there used to be a house-elf here. Why haven't I seen him this time? I've walked around the whole place already," Harry asked as she came downstairs, holding the railing.
"That's something you should be asking your godfather," Kasenhis replied.
"Oh, because that old guy couldn't help spouting some kind of rubbish every time he saw me, so I gave him to Hogwarts. Work's work—doesn't matter where he does it, right?" Sirius suddenly poked his head out from behind a bookshelf and explained.
"That figures… lucky Hermione and her parents got out early. Otherwise she'd definitely be saying all sorts of things," Ron said with a chuckle.
"Oh, talking about someone behind their back isn't a very good habit, you know," Kasenhis teased, eyes half-lidded.
Ron's face turned bright red, and he said awkwardly, "I was just stating a fact, that's all. It's a matter of principle."
Kasenhis rolled his eyes. "But by the same token, Hermione turned down Krum's invitation—which came before yours—because of you. That's practically breaking an agreement, and she still did it for you. So bending your principles a little for Hermione isn't exactly unacceptable, is it?"
The moment Kasenhis finished speaking, Ron hadn't even had time to react when an ear—shaped like a morning glory, complete with Mrs. Weasley's signature earring—poked out from the kitchen.
Ron looked at the ear that had floated out of the kitchen and was practically stuck next to Professor Kasenhis's mouth, and for once, he actually felt a bit embarrassed.
"By the way, didn't you and Hermione write to each other during the holiday?" Neville added, providing support.
"Didn't Hermione temporarily move to Canada with her parents? Owls are slower delivering letters, and you can't use a phone at the Burrow. If you want to, you have to go to the village post office, but that just feels kind of dumb—and it's easy for Muggles to notice, which is pretty awkward," Ron explained.
"I think that's not bad at all. The charm of writing letters is in the waiting. At least, that's how it was in our time." The door in the distance slowly opened as Dumbledore arrived with several others.
"May I ask whether dinner is settled?" he asked.
"Yes, it is." For the fourth time, Kasenhis tried to walk into the kitchen, only to be handed a sausage by Mrs. Weasley and shoved back out.
"Does Mrs. Weasley think I'm a kid?" he said somewhat resentfully to the lone ear by the dining table.
The ear immediately shook… itself.
.....
"Truly absurd."
The few people Dumbledore had brought in also took their seats, huffing and puffing, looking utterly exhausted. Who knew what they'd been up to.
At that moment, Sirius finally stepped out from behind the bookshelf. "Let's see. Looks like everyone's more or less here. I'll assign rooms to each of you. Fortunately, this house is fairly large."
As he spoke, Sirius handed out keys to the younger witches and wizards, then to the two wizarding couples—the Weasleys and the Longbottoms.
After that came the single wizards: Kasenhis, then Mad-Eye Moody whom Dumbledore had brought in, and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix—until his gaze landed on Tonks sitting alone there, and Lupin who was still in the kitchen.
"Should I give you one room, or two?" Sirius asked, troubled.
"Mm, I'm fine either way. Maybe you should ask Remus?" Tonks said, blinking.
Sirius got the hint and tossed a key to Tonks. "Then you two get one. If Remus doesn't want to sleep, tell him the Black family's sofas and carpets are off-limits for lying down. If he won't sleep, he can go sleep in the backyard with my brother."
Tonks raised an eyebrow, realizing that this blood relative of hers wasn't half bad.
Quite considerate, actually.
Meanwhile, the younger witches and wizards were completely confused by this room assignment.
"Ahem. Obviously, unless something special comes up, you won't be leaving Grimmauld Place at all during this holiday. Of course, the backyard is still fair game," Sirius explained.
"Why!" Harry wailed the instant he finished speaking.
"Obviously because it's dangerous. Letting you young wizards wander out of sight of us adult wizards really does put your lives at risk. Most of you have never actually seen Voldemort in person, so you don't have a concrete sense of it. But we adults all know just how… disgusting that man is. So this is a form of protection," Sirius said.
"It feels more like imprisonment," Ron said with a miserable face.
"That's actually not wrong. In a way, protection and confinement are pretty much the same thing," Kasenhis chimed in.
Sirius immediately turned his sharp gaze on him.
"Oh… when you enjoy freedom, you also have to bear the dangers that come with it. That's how it works. Sirius isn't wrong at all!" Kasenhis hurriedly patched things up.
Sirius nodded vigorously. "And I don't think your holiday will be all that boring. Grimmauld Place has quite a few secrets. You can form groups and explore the place, or just grab an adult and have them buy ingredients for you. You can have a barbecue in the backyard or something like that."
Kasenhis sat there, slowly picking at his fingernails, listening to the chorus of wails from the young wizards.
For the trio, the emotional damage was noticeable, but manageable.
For the Weasley twins, though, it was nothing short of the sky falling.
"Professor! You wouldn't do this to us, right?" The twins knew exactly who was the easiest to talk to and immediately appeared behind Kasenhis.
"Regrettably, Professor Kasenhis will not support your unreasonable demands! Absolutely not!"
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