"Oh… alright," Neville said, sounding a little wronged when he heard Kaisen.
However, this was just a small interlude; the overall atmosphere of the dinner was still very beautiful, so much so that even Sirius and Snape didn't exchange any trash talk.
Though this was also because their seats were arranged very far apart, and Snape left after eating a quick meal that lasted less than an hour.
His time at Black Old House was less than an hour in total.
Perhaps if it weren't for his dual-spy certification, jointly recognized by Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort, and Lord Voldemort needing him to attend this dinner to steal Order of the Phoenix intelligence, he wouldn't have set foot here at all.
The Christmas holiday was incredibly pleasant; before, he often lived alone in his own home, alone in the office, but now, suddenly, there was group accommodation, with his private space inside the room and a bustling crowd outside. This lively feeling was quite nice.
What's more, he gained three young and strong, yet naive, workhorses.
.....
This day, Kaisen finally adjusted all the components to their optimal state, and only then did he send Cedric and the Weasley Twins out.
He also asked them to invite Dumbledore over.
Soon, Dumbledore arrived at Kaisen's room, and he raised an eyebrow as he looked at the nether alloy skeleton and mechanical arms in the room: "So this time you still need my cutting spell? And then you'll slowly wiggle your way in?"
Kaisen shook his head: "No, of course not. This time, the nether alloy skeleton is an upgraded version."
Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"I need you to take me apart, remove my original bones, and then put these bones in," Kaisen said calmly.
".... Huh?"
Kaisen raised an eyebrow: "Is it that hard to understand? Besides, for a Wizard, it should be very simple."
Dumbledore shook his head: "If it's like that, and not a fusion, then it is simple. I'm just surprised how this method came to be in your mind. It's a bit… too sinister."
Kaisen gave an awkward laugh, then lay down on the stone slab. This way, if blood spurted, only a cleaning spell would be needed, not a change of bedsheets.
Soon, Dumbledore composed himself and began to act.
For example, a simple bone-extracting spell to pull out the original bones with a layer of iron, and then use spatial magic to move the nether alloy bones into place.
An adult has two hundred and six bones, so it was a very large project.
Afternoon....
Kaisen sat up from the stone slab, casually stretched, and then controlled the mechanical arms behind him. There was a subtle feeling of sluggishness, but that was negligible; it would be fine after a few days of use to let them break in.
After many days, he once again put on the special custom-made shirts and outer clothes. The cool breeze subtly blowing from behind once again made him shiver comfortably.
"This feeling is really good," Kaisen murmured, lost in thought.
"What's good? You've become stronger?" Dumbledore asked.
"For example, if you used to have twelve hands and suddenly lost ten, you'd feel like your brain had too much to spare, but now, that swollen feeling in your head is gone," Kaisen thought for a moment and described it to Dumbledore.
"Is that all? If I wanted to know, perhaps I could try cutting off one of my fingers, then I might understand your feeling," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"You would only experience the feeling I had when I lost my mechanical arms," Kaisen added.
"Worst case, I can reattach that finger, it's quite easy," Dumbledore shrugged, then looked at the large pile of bones Kaisen had removed: "Those bones, they could almost be another you. Any thoughts?"
"No thoughts? Does Hogwarts lack skeleton teaching aids? You can use it as a teaching aid," Kaisen said casually.
"Alright," Dumbledore waved his wand, and the large pile of bones began to move on their own, reconnecting to form a skeleton. He then grabbed a handful of Floo powder by the fireplace, threw it in, and stepped through.
"... He doesn't have vocal cords, how is he going back to Hogwarts?" Kaisen asked, looking bewildered.
"Because, strictly speaking, I controlled him to pick up the Floo powder, so I also spoke for him," Dumbledore explained.
"But you didn't speak just now."
"My voice was just softer," Dumbledore said before leaving the room, intending to return to his own room. After all, it was understandable for an elderly man to be tired after performing a full replacement surgery for two hundred and six bones.
If he weren't tired, that would be truly bizarre. In that case, Lord Voldemort shouldn't have been making Horcruxes, but rather wearing his old Hogwarts uniform, kneeling before Dumbledore and asking him how he became so strong.
Meanwhile, Kaisen slowly retracted his mechanical arms and followed Dumbledore out.
However, the former went out to rest, while the latter intended to go downstairs to see if anyone was available for a few rounds of dungeons and dragons.
On his way downstairs, he also encountered Harry, whose expression was a bit uneasy.
"What's with that expression?" Kaisen asked, somewhat puzzled.
When Harry saw Kaisen, his face immediately crumpled: "Because I'm going to learn Occlumency now, and honestly… that spell… it's quite… quite shocking."
"Shocking?" Kaisen slowly looked up at the ceiling, then down at Harry: "Logically, Grindelwald shouldn't bear you any ill will, so what's with that expression? Did he physically punish you or insult you?"
Harry shook his head: "Neither, Professor. It's just that learning that spell is a bit… awkward. Grindelwald uses Legilimency to train my Occlumency, and when he uses Legilimency, all the memories in your mind are seen by him. Every time I fail to resist, he mocks me for a good while," Harry said, sounding a bit speechless.
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