They exchanged a glance, casually turned around, and left the office. Up next were Hogwarts' Gryffindor F4.
Of course, this visit was mainly about Ron. The other three were just there to accompany him.
Ron looked at Kasenhis with some embarrassment. After thinking it over, he felt that jumping straight to the point would be a bit rude, so he decided to start with some small talk.
"Uh, Professor, I just saw George and Fred leave. Was something going on?" Ron asked.
"Oh, you all know they want to open a joke shop, right?" Kasenhis said.
"Mm-hmm-hmm-hmm!!!!"
"But opening a shop requires funds. That's what they're struggling with. The two of them feel awkward asking Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for help, so I was hoping that when you get the chance, you could talk to them and maybe support them a bit."
Kasenhis didn't mention that the twins were planning to take a leave from school. After all, he was currently facing four people at once—and every single one of them had a strong personality and absolutely no filter.
Things succeed when kept secret. Since the Weasley twins trusted him enough to confide something so private and important, he naturally couldn't betray them by casually blabbing their secrets.
That said, as an adult, even if he wasn't outstanding by any stretch, he absolutely did not have certain unnecessary pride. For example, the best people to ask for help in life were undoubtedly one's parents—no exceptions.
But the Weasley twins, being young people—albeit already grown—naturally believed that once you were an adult, asking your parents for help was unacceptable, a massive blow to their pride.
But Kasenhis was different. Having lived two lives, he knew very clearly that a bit of pride was worth absolutely nothing out in society; it only really mattered in front of one's parents.
"Alright, Professor. I'll write to them," Ron nodded.
After that, the room fell into an oddly quiet silence. It didn't last long before Harry realized what they had actually come here for and quickly gave Ron a subtle nudge with his elbow.
Ron took a deep breath. "It's like this, Professor. Uh… the Gryffindor team is recruiting right now, and I want to try out."
Kasenhis nodded. "What kind of help do you need from me?"
"I don't currently have a… decent broom," Ron explained. "Of course, it's not a skill issue. It's just that my competitors all have pretty good brooms. I at least need to be on the same level as them, right…"
Kasenhis understood immediately and pointed toward the golden coat rack nearby. "I think you need that."
The four of them followed the direction of his finger and all shook their heads. Ron explained, "Professor, what I need is a broom, not money. And, um… I also wanted to ask for a bit of one-on-one help."
"Well then. No wonder you're all Weasleys," Kasenhis said helplessly, lowering his hand. "Your two brothers also refused that golden coat rack I specifically transmuted for them."
He reached out and patted Ron on the shoulder, then pointed toward the sofa nearby.
"You want me to go sit there?" Ron asked, confused.
"Of course not," Kasenhis said. "As a student coming to me for extra help, it's only right that you help me grade the alchemy homework for the years below fifth. That's very necessary."
Ron translated it in his head for a moment. He was shamelessly coming to the professor for special tutoring, and in return he'd help grade some homework…
The professor wasn't wrong at all!
Meanwhile, Harry clearly looked like he wanted to say something but was holding back. In the end, he pointed at the golden coat rack not far away. "Professor, you wanted to give that pile of gold to George and Fred?"
Kasenhis nodded. "Unfortunately, they didn't take it."
The corner of Harry's mouth twitched. "If it were me, I wouldn't take it either."
Kasenhis turned slightly toward him. "I'm all ears. Do explain."
"Because, Professor, you treated them like kids," Hermione said bluntly, not bothering with Harry's roundabout approach.
"…Aren't they?" Kasenhis fell silent for a moment before saying that. Then he suddenly felt like something was off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Something was off, but at the same time it didn't seem like it should be.
"But they're already adults," Harry said helplessly.
"They're still my students… uh… what I mean is, they haven't started working yet. They can't earn money, so I gave them—" Kasen trailed off, suddenly realizing that what he was saying had a bit of a logical flaw, his voice growing quieter and quieter.
"But Professor, your surname is His. It's not Weasley. They're just your students. You don't have the standing to go that far for them. You don't need to, and you shouldn't. And they have even less reason to accept your… golden coat rack," Neville added.
"…Mm… then if it were you, what would you do?" Kasen collapsed back onto the sofa, thoroughly defeated. He suddenly realized that after living two lives… how was his emotional intelligence still worse than that of Harry, Hermione, and Neville, a bunch of fifteen-year-olds?
"If it were me, I'd probably treat it as an investment," Harry said, pointing at the golden coat rack. "I'd see it as an investment. Even if I had no intention of getting the money back, it would be different for the Weasley twins."
"That way, to them, I'd be an investor, a partner, not an elder or someone in a superior position handing out charity."
Hermione pressed her lips together. "I might join them and look for ways to make money together… though that's only if I wanted to join them. I'm not really interested in joke shops or pranks."
Neville tilted his head. "I have money. I'd just make them write me an IOU and lend it to them."
Kasenhis leaned back in his chair once again…
Even though in both his past life and this one he was a clear-headed but foolish college student, and in this life he'd added a few years of renovation work and time as a professor…
There was no way his emotional intelligence should be losing to these little wizards… right?
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