In the end, Dumbledore sat helplessly in his chair, watching Kasen bounce around his office with an inflated apple skin in hand, searching for all sorts of random things.
His expression was full of unease. He looked like someone trapped on a long-distance coach with an upset stomach, unable to get off, while holding back some mysterious force that might have been solid, liquid, or gas.
At the moment, he was afraid Kasen would fail to find anything worthwhile and refuse to leave, yet he was also afraid Kasen would find something far too valuable.
For example, if Kasen accidentally pulled Gryffindor's great sword out from the top of the Sorting Hat, was Dumbledore supposed to give it to him or not?
None of this fell within Kasen's range of concern.
He held the apple map in one hand, sensing the warm vibrations within it, while carefully rummaging through the area around Dumbledore's desk with the other.
Sure enough, his unclean little hand eventually reached Dumbledore's drawer, and the temperature of the apple map rose noticeably again.
Dumbledore discreetly raised his eyes and cautiously watched Kasen's hand search through the drawer. In the end, he saw Kasen perfectly avoid every proper magical object and reach instead for an antique bronze pocket watch with a perpetual calendar that had already stopped running.
The instant Kasen touched the pocket watch, the temperature of the apple skin in his other hand surged to its limit before finally burning into a pile of ashes.
"So this is what you were looking for?" Dumbledore asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Looks like it."
Kasen placed the pocket watch on the desk, then began returning everything he had disturbed in the drawer to its proper place.
Only after that did he shamelessly sit down opposite Dumbledore.
"This watch..."
Dumbledore shrugged. "You can have it if you like."
"I was asking whether it has any special sentimental value to you. After all, it is already so old, yet you still kept it in your desk."
As Kasen spoke, he slipped the pocket watch into his pocket.
"...It was indeed given to me by an old friend."
After saying this, Dumbledore looked at Kasen sitting opposite him. It was obvious that Kasen had absolutely no intention of taking the watch back out and returning it.
So Dumbledore simply finished what he had not yet said.
"It was a Christmas present from a friend six years ago."
Kasen nodded in approval. "What a deeply moving tale of friendship."
"Yes. But he is not dead, and he still gives me Christmas presents every year. As for this one, it merely happened to break, I happened to be too lazy to repair it, and I happened to leave it here and forget to throw it away."
Kasen nodded. "Then there's no problem. See you."
He stood up to leave, but after reaching the door, he suddenly turned around and walked straight toward his... no, Dumbledore's drinks cabinet. After carefully looking through it, he selected a bottle of liqueur and slipped it naturally into his pocket.
"Thanks."
Kasen even remembered to thank Dumbledore before leaving.
"...At least he has manners," Dumbledore said helplessly as he watched Kasen take the bottle and pocket it.
......
Back in his office, Kasen placed the pocket watch on his desk.
It was Hogwarts' delightful eight o'clock class period, so there were especially few people around the office apart from him.
After all, those with eight o'clock classes had gone to lessons, while those without them were still asleep. The few young wizards exercising were only walking or running laps far away.
In short, no one would disturb him.
He began recalling the method described in the occultism book for activating occult objects.
That was right. Objects containing occult concepts needed to be activated, at least when their concepts were relatively obscure.
Obvious concepts such as sharpness and heat naturally had no such problem. You could simply pick those objects up and use them.
The pocket watch in his hand was clearly different. No matter how he looked at it, the concept within it was undoubtedly abstract...
He searched through his drawers again and again before finally finding an old-fashioned alloy key.
It was the key to the lock on his office door from before the office had been expanded.
Taking it out now was useful. In occultism, a key represented abstract concepts such as opening, activation, and unlocking.
It was perfectly suited for the activation ritual he was about to perform.
The only drawback was that occultism was, in a sense, very similar to alchemy. For example, occultism also followed the principle of equivalent exchange.
Every occult ritual required a sacrifice to some unknown existence or concept.
The previous searching ritual involving the apple had worked this way, and the current activation ritual was no different.
Kasen first used a file to sharpen one edge of the brass key. Then he picked up the pocket watch with his other hand and turned his wrist so the back of his hand faced upwards.
He raised the key and stabbed it straight through the back of his hand, guiding it between the bones until it finally pierced through the skin of his palm.
Blood flowed along his veins and the key until it finally came into contact with the pocket watch.
Click!
The pocket watch suddenly made a sound.
Suppressing the pain, Kasen pulled the key out and opened the watch. At some point, some unknown force had reset the hands to the correct time, 8:16. Even the perpetual calendar had been adjusted to the year 1996.
"From the looks of it, this watch..."
Kasen suddenly fell silent in bewilderment.
The hands of the pocket watch had begun turning anticlockwise, moving faster and faster.
Just as he was about to assume that the watch was broken or that something had gone wrong with the activation ritual, wildly flashing rays of light stabbed painfully into his eyes.
He raised his head. His surroundings were rapidly rewinding together with the time displayed on the pocket watch, eventually stopping at another point in time...
The year 1991, at 8:16 on some unknown day.
"This pocket watch could at least have included the month and date."
Kasen complained in utter confusion before looking around again.
Everything before his eyes was grey and white. Only he remained in colour. As for the rest of the room, it was both familiar and unfamiliar.
His office had not yet been expanded at this time...
It was so small.
Not far from him, beside the original location of his desk, two people were talking to each other. They could not see him at all.
On the desk lay a gemstone that continued to shine with a blood-red glow even though the entire world was grey and white.
The Philosopher's Stone.
Kasen lowered his head and looked at the pocket watch again. Its hands had resumed moving normally, ticking forward in a rigid rhythm as though it intended to make up for every second it had missed over the years.
"Since the entire world is grey and white, while only the Philosopher's Stone has colour... let's try it."
Kasen murmured silently, walked towards the Philosopher's Stone, raised his hand, and touched it.
[Philosopher's Stone acquired. Thaumcraft Mod unlocking... Thaumcraft Mod already unlocked... Equivalent Exchange Mod... successfully unlocked.]
The long-absent voice of the system jolted Kasen awake.
He abruptly raised his head and saw his enormous office, along with the pocket watch in his hand displaying the year 1996.
"My Merlin..."
...
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